Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines

When it comes to shopping, there are lots of places in Metro Manila that you can think of. There are the huge Ayala and SM super malls. You have Araneta Center in Cubao and lots more. But among the most famous ones and probably one of the most visited shopping center by tourists (lots and lots of foreigners) would be Greenhills Shopping Center in the city of San Juan in Metro Manila, Philippines.

First of all, let's talk about its accessibility. If I'm not mistaken, it is very accessible and is around in the middle of EDSA (Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue) which is the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila and is on the eastern side of the Greenhills shopping center. You can ride the Light Rail Transit (but you'd have to walk a bit) or city buses and most of them can drop you off near Greenhills. Jeepneys (the main mode of public transportation in the Philippines) are also available if you're coming in from Ortigas avenue which is on the southern side of the Greenhills shopping center. Taxis are also very abundant.

However, if you have your own car, it would be much easier since there are lots of open space parking areas and a couple of carpark buildings where you can park your car. It was an issue a few years ago since there were very few parking spaces. But now, they are continuing to improve in terms of available parking spaces and even during peak shopping season (Christmas season) it will not be as hard as it was but still due to the number of people, the waiting time could be longer.

Now, what do Greenhills shopping center has that makes it very attractive to shoppers? It is most likely because of the Tiangge (mini-stalls that sell almost all kinds of stuff). You can buy clothes, shoes, toys, electronics, and they even have almost an entire floor full of gadgets from watches, cellular phones to PSPs. The prices do vary though so it would be best to have someone who is familiar with the area accompany you especially if it's your first time to shop there.

Among the many improvements of Greenhills shopping center is Virra Mall. A couple of years ago, the top floors caught fire. Among those that were caught were my favorite shops since the area that was affected the most was where most of the computer and gadget shops were. Now, it's a whole new mall. It has Toys, sports equipments, clothes, videos/music, hardware stores and a whole lot more. Plus, the place is easy to navigate since there are lots of escalators and 2 elevators are placed conveniently in the center on both sides of the mall.

There's also a chapel where you can stay for a while and pray if you'd like. And just near that would be the designer shops which are quite expensive compared to the tiangge stores. Then, you also have the Unimart supermarket if you like to buy groceries. They are fairly priced might I say.

Hungry? No problem. There are lots of places to eat such as fine-dining restaurants, fast food chains, coffee shops and even small food stalls. They're scattered all over the place. You can also go to the food court in Virra Mall although it is small compared to food courts in other malls but still, it's a good place to eat especially if you're trying to save money. There are also amusement centers here where your kids, or even yourself, can play.

If you want to fancy on watching movies with your family and friends, there's the movie theater where you can watch the latest movies at fair prices. There's also the Music Museum which is a famous theater where some artists perform such as singers, dancers, theater actors and actresses and lots more.

Those are just a few of the things you can do in Greenhills shopping center. You'd probably get tired walking around for hours since you have lots of choices and places to go. You just have to bear with the dense shopper population. It would be almost impossible not to bump into someone. The open space tiangge is not air-conditioned but some of the other shops are like in Virra Mall. Nevertheless, as you spend your day in Greenhills shopping center, it would be a different but very nice experience. You can definitely fill an entire day while you're there and you'll most likely want to visit again. Enjoy your shopping!