Arriving Back in Makati — Tired of the Loop
Makati wasn’t meant to be this long.
Originally, it was just a stopover. A couple of nights at the familiar Makati Palace Hotel on Burgos Street. A chance to catch my breath after Subic, reset, plan my next move. But travel has a way of deciding things for you.
I arrived tired. Not just tired from the bus ride back from Subic or the Grab crawl through Manila traffic. I mean tired of it — of the loop. The bar scene. The late nights. The rehearsed chatter. The lady drinks. The fluorescent dream that quickly curdles into something flat and repetitive.
And yet, despite that, there I was again. Burgos Street. First night back. Two Red Rocks and a chicken curry. Ringside bar. Midgets dancing on stage — something surreal I won’t forget in a hurry. But even then, there was a feeling growing in me like a shadow stretching under neon.
When The Body Says No — The Cold Kicks In
By Day 2 it wasn’t just psychological tiredness — it was physical. The tell-tale signs of a cold creeping in. The inevitable price paid when your nights out outlast your immune system. It forced my hand. I booked extra nights at the hotel.
This was no longer a stopover. It was a reset.
Slowing Down — Ferry to Chinatown & Quiet Days
The days blurred into a quiet rhythm. Breakfasts alone in Cuba bar. Walks down by the river, catching a ferry over to Chinatown. The randomness of travel still intact — street scenes, life unfolding around me. But internally, I was winding down.
I flirted with ideas of Puerto Galera — it was supposed to be next. But my heart wasn’t in it. It felt like it would be just another Subic. Another bar scene. Another loop.
Making The Call — Bangkok Beckons
Bangkok started calling me back. Thailand always has a certain gravity. Especially when energy is low and you crave something familiar but different.
By the end of my stay, I knew I had stayed too long. Not just in Makati. But in that mode of travel. The mode where the night leads you, instead of you leading it.
The boat trip to Chinatown stands out in memory. Something raw and alive about Manila’s rivers. Chaos on the surface but with moments of strange calm. It felt like the perfect symbol of where I was mentally.
Related Caveman Passport Topics
This short stopover in Makati ended up touching on a lot of core ideas that come up again and again in long-term travel — especially solo male travel.
The Burnout Loop
When you can only stay in because you’re ill or exhausted… that’s not freedom, that’s compulsion management. This trip showed me the danger of the travel burnout loop — where the nights out keep stacking until something breaks.
Related topic: The Burnout Loop – Why I Can’t Stay In Unless I’m Sick
Hedonism vs Purpose
Makati nightlife was fun once — but now felt hollow. Without a mission, without a deeper reason for staying in a place, hedonism starts to feel like repetition, not freedom.
Related topic: Hedonism vs Purpose – The Two Faces of Travel
Rhythm vs Routine
This was where I really saw the difference between rhythm and routine. Not going out because it’s Friday… but going out when it feels right. And crucially — staying in when it feels right too.
Related topic: Rhythm vs Routine – Finding Your Travel Balance
The Travel Cycle – Plateau into Decline
Makati was the classic late-stage plateau slipping into decline. The indecision, the restlessness, the body crashing. Knowing these stages means you can spot them earlier — and maybe change course before burnout hits.
Related topic: The Travel Cycle – How Every Trip Has Phases
The Lesson From Makati — Stillness Before Burnout
Watch the full video below to see the story of these 5 days in Makati — the reset I didn’t plan, the moments that stood out, and the realisation that brought it all together.
(Includes scenes from Burgos Street, the ferry to Chinatown, and those quieter days recovering in Makati.)
My final days were simple. Walks through the Greenbelt area. The glow of the city. Solitude returning not as loneliness but as clarity. And finally, the decision to move on. Back to Bangkok. Then home.
In hindsight, this was the lesson of Makati:
“I only stay in when I’m burnt out. But I get burnt out because I can’t stay in.”
That’s not freedom.
Real freedom is choosing stillness before you’re forced into it.
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