Shot with Fuji X-T4
What's the point of going to Makati if you don't go to Poblacion? This area has a lot of hotels, bars, condo, but is mostly known for nightlife. In Kalayaan area, there's one hostel that I really liked that has a chill place, since this area can get wild for partying. xD
I actually have been here back in 2018 during the Art Fair Philippines. Funny story, when I was traveling to Manila, the airline had to re-route to another city before landing to Manila so there was a bit of a delay. Because of that, we were given one free domestic roundtrip flight. I was able to attend the Art Fair because of the free flight. :P
This was also during the time when I was very new to Ste*m, after having one post on trending I withdrew those liquids and was able to use it for my allowance for the trip hahaha. Sorry, had to try how it feels like getting rewards early on. xDD
Anyway, I stayed at a hostel in Poblacion called Z Hostel. I found out about it online and since I was on a budget, I can't afford to book a room for myself. Since I saw some pictures online how there were a lot of really good ratings, I decided to give it a go.
It's a hostel and in one room there's like 8 beds. This place is mostly popular to foreign tourists although Filipinos also book here as well. There's a room for females-only, males-only, and also a mixed one if you're into it. It was I think 600 pesos ($11) per night which was really cheap. The introvert in me couldn't believe how I was okay being with strangers in a room, and it turned out to be a really nice experience (no stealing happened) :p.
Z Hostel rooftop, 2018.
Another thing this place is famous for is its rooftop bar which can be accessed by both guests and outsiders. I feel safe here because it's a chill place and also cos outsiders have to be registered first before going up.
Lounge and front desk. You can use their PC and that table football for free.
During the recent Art Fair Philippines held at the same place in Makati, I went back here after 5 years!
I was able to convince 
I don't know what happened, but they now added the glass walls, probably for safety and also for protection from rain. Still nice tho!
The prices here were good compared to other bars. Their food and drinks range from 100-250 pesos. I like the taste of their cocktails. :D
As an introvert, this is my ideal place since it doesn't force you to socialize you know what I mean? Plus the views of the city is really beautiful. This area in itself doesn't have a lot of the tall buildings (as you can see they are at a distance) so you will really have a nice look at them with a nice wind as well.
Their food is so good! My favorite was the chicharon bulaklak and chicken skin.
The place is just small but comfy enough and not intimidating. There are like 2 "rooms", one is mostly for eating cos it has tables lol and the other is mostly for standing and dancing. I don't know if there are DJs every night or if it was only for Friday and weekends but luckily there was one when we went there! :D
At 10pm onwards, this place can get really packed especially the dancing area like literally full of people. xD It was nice dancing here cos the guests are mostly my age so they play the music according to my generation's taste. 😌
Now this is something new to me and I don't think they opened this before? But apparently there is another "very rooftop" rooftop with tables hahah. So this was my first time coming up in here and wow the view was so nice.
This area is mostly for talking to each other, catching up with friends etc and not more of a party area. There's still music since it has a speaker but it's not as loud as downstairs.
It was a bit cold in here cos of the wind lol.
It was really nice to be back in here not only because of the vibe but also because it was nostalgic and important experience for me. In this place I learned to socialize for the first time, learned to trust strangers, hangout with people from different cultures, and just had a trip alone for the first time. It was amazing how I felt safe and "at home" here with the nice staff as well.
On the left was me in 2018 vs me in 2023 at the same spot. You can tell by the quality of camera it was shit before hahah but now I'm in a much better place. So much has learned since then and this place was part of that journey. :P
Of course I will come back the next time when I had the chance. :D
