Manila Is An Acquired Taste a field report from James Navé

Welcome to Twice 5 Miles Radio. I'm your host, James Navé, and today, I'm going solo, reflecting on the four months I've spent in Manila from October 2024 to March 2025. The title Manila Is An Acquired Taste comes from something I've heard repeatedly: "Give it time." At first, I wasn't sure how to do that. Manila travel is an experience like no other—life in Manila is fast-paced, unpredictable, and filled with cultural contrasts. A city of 14 million people, 100,000 scooters on the highway, and traffic that turns a five-mile drive into an hour-long journey, Manila demands patience. But beneath the surface, I've found something else: a deep under-layer of Manila culture, humor, and human connection. In this episode, I share stories of expats in Manila adjusting to this dynamic city, my visit to Subic Bay, a sandwich-eating monkey, a war journalist, and the spoken word poetry scene that thrives here. This podcast on Manila is my way of making sense of it all—maybe, after all, I've acquired the taste. Enjoy the show