24 hours in Manila

1.30pm
Wherever your chosen ride takes you, you're sure to find a Jollibee restaurant. Just look for its distinctive logo - a smiling face of a cartoon bee in a chef's hat. What started as a two-branch icecream parlour in 1975 is now an iconic Filipino brand and the nation's number-one fast-food chain (beating McDonald's at its own game).

There are more than 600 stores nationally and Jollibees in the US, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. Try a double yum with cheese (a beef burger), chicken joy (fried chicken and rice) or palabok fiesta (Filipino-style noodles with pork, prawns and smoked fish flakes, topped with sliced boiled egg), with jolly crispy fries, for less than 100 pesos.

3pm
For peace amid the chaos, visit the Coconut Palace, commissioned by the former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos in 1978. Built at a cost of $US37 million, this two-storey, seven-bedroom mansion was intended for Pope John Paul II's 1981 visit but he refused to stay, saying it was too ostentatious. Plenty haven't been bothered by that, however, among them Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Brooke Shields. The palace was ahead of its time: most of it is made from natural materials, from the coconut-shell chandeliers to the banana-fibre bedspreads. Its design is based on the coconut palm, the "tree of life" in Filipino culture, because of its multiple uses. In one of the living rooms, there's a small sculpture made from melted 7Up bottles - who would have guessed the woman rumoured to have owned 3000 pairs of shoes was into recycling? The grounds include a pool, butterfly house and orchidarium.

Coconut Palace, Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP) Complex, Roxas Blvd, Pasay City, phone +630 832 0223. Open 8am-5pm. Tours are run on demand and cost 100 pesos.

4.30pm
Escape the late-afternoon heat in the same place as the locals: SM Mall of Asia, the fourth-largest mall in the world, which extends for almost a kilometre on reclaimed land beside Manila Bay. Beyond the Universal Studios-inspired bronze globe at the entrance, there are 750 retail stores (mostly international brands such as Gap and Marks & Spencer), 220 cafes and other food outlets, a department store, a "hypermarket" and parking for 8000 cars. There are six cinemas, too, including an IMAX; an Olympic-sized ice rink; an interactive science museum; a bowling alley; and plenty of artificial trees to relax under. It's much like any mall, except for the armed guards at every entrance, a feature of most establishments in Manila. SM Mall of Asia is a 30-minute taxi ride from Makati (ask your taxi driver to take you to "MOA").

6pm
For dinner and a sunset, head for one of the Sis Seafood restaurants on the waterfront. After you're shown to your table, choose the raw ingredients for your meal from the "wet market" (outdoor fish market) outside. Your waiterwaitress (many are transvestites in this part of town) will ask how you'd like your fish or seafood cooked: baked with cheese, perhaps, grilled with lemon butter sauce, sweet and sour, teriyaki ... Back in the restaurant, sip a mango shake while you wait for your meal, and sing along with the trio of musicians serenading diners.

8pm
For a sweet after-dinner treat, catch a cab to The Peninsula. The hotel's spectacular lobby, with its four-storey-high ceiling, palm trees and sweeping staircases, is one of the places to be seen in Manila. But the real drawcard is the hotel's version of the classic Filipino dessert called halo-halo (literally "mix-mix" in Tagalog). This trifle-cumsundae usually consists of shaved ice, stewed fruit, condensed milk, ice-cream and whatever else is at hand, served in a tall glass and eaten with a spoon. The Peninsula's Halo-Halo Harana comes in an enormous balloon glass (big enough to share) and includes purple yam ice-cream, eggyolk custard, gelatine, chickpeas, jackfruit, coconut cream and sweetened kidney beans - with sugar on top. It's tastier than it sounds.

The Peninsula Manila, corner of Ayala and Makati avenues, 1226 Makati City, Metro Manila. Halo-Halo Haranas cost 400 pesos. See peninsula.com/Manila.

10pm
Walk off the halo-halo along Makati Avenue to Greenbelt 3 mall - not to shop (most shops close at 10pm) but to sing. At Red Box "videoke" venue, private rooms keep embarrassment to a minimum and more than 100,000 of the latest karaoke and music videos, updated weekly, are sure to loosen your vocal chords. That, and the "beers of the world" tastings. There's also free use of musical instruments for DIY jam sessions.

Late-night movies are another option. At Greenbelt 3's cinema complex the last session starts about midnight, seats cost less than a box of popcorn at home (120-170 pesos) and movies are often shown on a loop so your ticket is good for multiple viewings.

Red Box and Greenbelt 3 Cinemas are both at Greenbelt 3, one of five Greenbelt malls in Makati. Red Box is open noon-4am. Rooms cost 499 pesos a person 7pm-midnight (299 pesos a person midnight- 4am) including two drinks. See redbox.com. See clickthecity.com for entertainment listings.

Louise Southerden travelled courtesy of Southern Sea Ventures.

Qantas flies non-stop to Manila from Sydney (8hr) for about $1130. Philippine Airlines flies from Melbourne via Brisbane (10hr) for about $1100; return flight is non-stop (7hr 30min). Fares are low-season return including tax. A.Venue Hotel Suites, Makati City, has one- and two-bedroom suites from 4150 pesos a night; see avenuehotelsuites.com.