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Destination : Divisoria  Divisoria, Manila, Philippines
Click Thumbnail to View Larger Image A Personal list on how to Survive Divisoria 1. Schedule your trip to Divisoria on a weekday, unless you want to stay longer along C.M. Recto avenue more than your actual shopping spree. 2. Bring ample shopping bags. I suggest the big ones. Our favorites are the ones from True Value hardware. This will help you from losing your fingers due to blood clot brought about by a 101 cellophanes around 'em. 3. Arrive early. 9 am is ok. Bring car and park at the Tutuban Parking (P30 first 2 hours, and P10 per hour thereafter) or you can get an air con FX from Buendia, or jeep from the Manila Post Office/Jones Bridge. 4. Eat a hearty breakfast. Remember what your mom used to say about an empty stomach and a big crowd. Its true, they don't mix. 5. Wear your trusty old soft shoes. Don't mind if it gets mud or trampled by a million hoi-polloi. No jewelries. I repeat, no jewelries. Replace your Nokia 6600 with your oldest working phone, preferably a Nokia 100. We used a Motorola Talkabout to compare prices from one stall to another or from a pasilio to the next. So I suggest, flank all the alleys and compare with your shopping partner. Do not buy from the first store you visited. 6. Be relentless in haggling. Start at 50% and then move your way up. 7. There are 5 major interests in Divisoria (with one activity of interest: shopping) : the airconditioned Tutuban Center Mall and the Cluster Mall, Ylaya, Juan Luna mall and the " 8. Make a list. Share it with your companion and tell him to call you if he/she sees anything on your list. and yes, do not miss Anding's Toy Store. Ask around, its a landmark in Divisoria. Half of the toys in Divisoria Mall and 90% of toys in bazaars and Greenhills are sourced here, close to half the price, if you buy in bulk. 9. Replicas are great products too. Especially during tough times. Ask for the receipt, so that stall owners (hopefully) pay their taxes dutifully. 11. Bring extra clothes, hand sanitizer, cologne, and a bimpo. You dont want to smell like Divisoria inside the FX or your car. Freshen up in the Tutuban mall where rest rooms are a lot better and safer. 12. If you are with a group, set up designated waiting areas as well as meeting times, if you lose your way or get oblivious of the time. Confirm. It sure beats wasting time looking for each other. 13. Divisoria is not for the faint hearted. If you are iffy about certain smell, huge crowds, kilometers of walking, bumping and haggling, then this place is not for you. But if you thrive in striking that great bargain, making more people happy with quality goods and stretching that peso - then what are you doing in front of the computer? - hie off to Divisoria! Bookmark this post on:
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