BGC Manila is SO Different Now! We Didn't Expect THIS Much Change in 2 Years

Things that have kind of changed in BGC. It's a green light and then people just cut in front anyway. I love it. Can you see the piece of thread leaning on the microphone? Good morning everyone. Welcome back to a brand new video. Welcome back to another juicy vlog. Do join me from a very busy and chaotic BGC this morning. It's so busy, I swear. Like, BGC has definitely changed since the last time we were here. It's still an incredible place. We do absolutely love it here. But there's quite a few things you've noticed that are completely different to last time. More on that soon. However, I am very nearly late. Well, I'm not late yet. But I don't think I'm going to be there before the time I'm meant to be there. I have a hair appointment and a nail appointment at a salon in BGC. Actually, my friend's mum's salon. And I am heading there today to check it out. Yeah, it's a four-minute walk. And the appointment's in two minutes. So I actually need to get a walk on and stop vlogging. Or vlog and walk. I'm not sure why I'm still vlogging when I'm late for an appointment. So if, salon, you are watching this, I apologize for being two minutes late. But yeah, I hope you guys are all doing well and having a good day, whatever you are. All right, quick one before we carry on with the vlog. You know when you get like five minutes of peace to yourself? Very rare. And you end up just picking your phone up, scrolling for no reason. I often find myself doing that way too much. So I've been trying to swap it out for something a bit more, I don't know, just slightly more useful and fun at the same time. This video is sponsored by an app called Polybuzz. It's basically an AI chat app that you can create your own characters and chat to them. I didn't want to just mess around with it for no reason. So I've created something that's actually quite useful. I've got one called Barista Bill, and he's this cool home barista expert guy. So you can set them up however you want, what they know about, their personality, and then just message them, interact with them. I've been using it for random coffee stuff. If I'm dialing in new beans or trying out a new coffee machine, if I'm having any issues, something's a bit off. Instead of going down a whole YouTube video rabbit hole of having to watch whole videos to try and find a solution, I can just ask questions. And it actually gives you proper answers, which I wasn't really expecting. I was expecting maybe a sentence or two back, but it actually goes into so much detail. It's actually really quite useful. I'm also thinking of setting up another one as like a personal travel advisor. So it could suggest places to visit, where to stay, find me good flight prices, show me the best rated hotels in certain areas, help me find topics for these vlogs. I'm thinking that could be really useful for planning some future trips. And then outside of that, there's loads of other stuff on there as well. There's anime characters, stuff from movies and TV, celebrity style ones, obviously not the actual celebrities. But I was messing about chatting with Elon Musk earlier on, which was quite funny. You can just scroll and explore. There are already millions of characters that have been created on the app. Some people use it just to chat to characters as well, more like a companion type thing. And you can just chat to them about whatever you want. And they can't leave you on read either, because they always reply. So yeah, you can either use it for something more useful or just for some entertainment when you've got a few minutes. If you want to try it out, I've put a link and a code in the description, which unlocks some of the premium features as well. But anyway, yes, just something that has been a little bit more fun and useful instead of constantly scrolling. Right, back to the vlog. Today is a random Wednesday for us. And yeah, lovely day, blue skies. The weather's actually been perfect so far. It's not too hot. It's not that humid. It's just nice and warm, blue skies, sunny days. So nice. So we had a bit of breakfast in the condo this morning. Slightly slower start for the boys to let them chill a bit, have some more playtime. We had quite a busy, full-on day yesterday, out all day exploring. And it's so warm for them. So having like a couple of hours in the morning without plans was really nice for them. We've got some fun bits going on today as well. So yeah, really excited to get the day going. My first conundrum, great word for the day, is how short do I get my hair? Because I'm at this like awkward length. I kind of like it. And what I don't want to happen is I get it cut short and then everyone comments like, I liked your hair before, because that's what always happens. So if you think you like my hair before, please refrain from saying it so I don't have any post haircut regrets today. I think I want it like here, because that's my usual kind of like fun length. Then I could do like half up, half down. It looks quite good. This is the awkward length. Ah, 15 seconds, run. So many times, it's a green light and then people just cut in front of me, something that we've noticed. Anyway, I'm thinking this is the awkward length where you kind of have to style it to make it look good. But when it's cut shorter, it kind of looks good on its own without having to like do much to it. So yeah, that was my thoughts. I don't really know. I'm also getting my nails done because they look horrendously bare. Money, pedi, on the way. If you are coming to Philippines, don't bother getting your nails and hair done before you come out. Get all your treatments here. They're better. It's cheaper. It's higher quality, in my opinion. And like the standard and the service level you get, the price you're paying is absolutely wild. So yeah, that is what I'm doing today. I've now rambled for several minutes. So I'm going to go and I'll catch you guys when I get to the salon. I want to get there out of breath like, hi, I've got an appointment at 10.30. Yeah, I don't even know where I'm going either. It's on the high street somewhere. It's called Couture Studio. Oh, I think I'm literally, I've overshot, I've overshot, I've overshot. Right, I need to cross the road. Right, see you in a minute. Right, six minutes late now. It's on the second floor up. I didn't know there was a second floor on the high street. So we're learning today. Found it. Okay, back out onto the high street. So nice in there. So that was Couture Studio Hair. Let me get the exact name. It starts with Couture, but I don't want to get it wrong. Couture Studio Hair and Nails BGC, to be specific. Yeah, amazing. And they also gave me the Grand Linkage treatment, which is this Japanese hair treatment. That basically, they applied it and then used this, like, steam to make it go, like, absorb into the hair more. And it's just the softest my hair has ever felt. If you could feel my hair right now, I'd let you. If you can give it a go there. Yeah, so happy. And the cut's perfect. I didn't go, like, the shortest I've ever done because, I mean, they even suggested, like, the length that would suit my face. And I think they got it really right. I think I'm about to get sprayed by someone watering the grass. Oh, my God. Can you imagine? Look at my new hair. Yeah, so happy with it and the style and everything. So, yeah, and they've even, um, he left some shorter pieces around my face so that then when I put my hair, like, in sort of half up, half down, there's some bits that can, like, frame my face still. So it's perfect. Really happy. Also really happy with my nails. I went for, like, a pastel purple-y colour and toenails. Yeah, so really happy. I'm getting a bit of a pace on now because I'm going to go and pick the boys up. George has been with them on his own for the last, actually, when did I leave? Three hours ago. So that is probably the longest he's ever had them on his own and probably the longest I've ever been away from Remy. But it's nice to sort of do that for me because since having Remy, he has been velcroed onto me. So, yeah, it's been good having time to get that done and even, like, feeling really fresh and stuff as well. So ready for Ireland coming up very, very soon when we leave Manila. And then, yeah, picking them up, quick turnaround, get everyone ready and heading for some lunch today. We've got some delicious lunch plans. Right, let's go get the boys. Okay, let's get George's reaction to my hair. Wow, very nice. Hello. That's so nice. Thanks. That's better than before. I don't know I've had your hair cut before. Thank you. Hello, Rose. I've tidied up. Oh, it looks great in here. As you can see, it was actually way worse. That is so nice. Look at mummy's hair. Wow. Really? Yummy. He's happy to see you. That's so nice. How did it go? Yeah, really good. Really nice. Nice salon? Really good salon, yeah. Cool. Burger place just behind me here called Green Light Burgers. I had to go in and ask someone what it was called. There's no sign or anything. Last night, I picked up our laundry. 6 p.m. It was super busy. Looks super popular. So, some point, definitely need to try that. Right, okay. So, this is what we were talking about earlier. That wasn't as bad today. Oh, there's a guy letting us go. Yeah, there is this time. It depends on the time of day, I think. But then people started moving out before he moved. Yes, true. And everyone's sort of hesitant, like, shall we? But we have mentioned in the last vlog or two, or I think I've filmed it. It's so much more difficult. Oh, get some light on me. There we go. It's so much more difficult to cross the road. That road, we used to just sort of go out and just, I don't know, maybe like put your hand out slightly just to make the cars aware that you're crossing. And everyone used to give you right-of-way there. But at the moment, the cars are, like, pushing through. They don't want to let you go, which is a big change that we've seen. It used to be really easy to cross these streets over the high street areas. But it's a little bit more difficult now. That, and the fact that, look, it's busy again. It's a weekday. What day is it? I was saying to the guys at the salon, I was like, do you think it's busy yet? Like, we've obviously not been here for two years, and they were like, no, 100% it is. Yeah. Like, the traffic, the people. I said it feels, on Monday night, the other night, it felt like a weekend. Like, BGC weekends are always busy, and that's, like, standard. But now, they don't call it the weekend. Yeah, and that's how we used to be able to, kind of, differentiate from the weekends and the weekdays, was because you'd notice it was busier on the weekends. But it's a Wednesday right now. It feels like what an old weekend used to feel like here. Has the word of BGC been spread around too much? Are people beginning to realize how amazing it is? A lot of foreigners here as well. I think the word is getting around that it's the place to be, and a lot of people are now here. I don't know, it was Koda's got this thing where he pulls this very cheeky face. It doesn't tell us what it is, but we know he's done something. He's just put a piece of bread on top of the microphone. So, cheers. We have come to a new restaurant here called Bistro Le Cucu. I think that's how you would say it. It's a French restaurant. No, more. It's beautiful inside, super comfortable chairs, and we are trying their set four-course lunch menu. Honestly, life before kids was filming these videos in a more serious manner. These days, let me try and show you what my camera looks like right now. Can you see the piece of bread leaning on the microphone? You are crazy. Take a picture of it. Take a picture of it, okay. It's a good idea. That will be on my Instagram later probably. French bread aside, we've ordered their four-course lunch menu, which is a starter, salad, a main, and a dessert. Really nice menu. We've ordered a burger for Koda. We're getting Remy to sleep. This whole sleeping baby while we eat lunch thing is going very well. He brought us over some French bread, French stick, I suppose, which looks amazing. It's warm, crusty, soft in the inside. You already had that before in the new burger. Same. Thank you so much. Did you say thank you for your drink, Kodes? Thank you, Paul. Is that mine? Could we please have some extra butter? Thank you. Thank you so much. Koda's first mango shake. Oh, look at that face. He is a happy boy. I love it. Do you? I'm very glad, my boy. Very glad we can give you these experiences. I didn't have a mango shake until I was 27. Okay, the French onion soup has arrived. It looks delish. We've got one of these little pastry tops ready. Look at that cheese. So whilst we're on the topic of things that have kind of changed in BGC, I mean, restaurants like this, places like this, this is one of them. This was not here before. This was a place called Sunae, S-U-N-A-E, which is no longer. Over the road there, there's a different restaurant now. That used to be La Pecara, where we used to go. We would often have that as like a bit of a treat. We'd like finish up on a Friday, the editing of the vlogs and stuff. Do you remember? Go down on it. Friday, Saturday night at La Pecara. Great atmosphere. Fond memories in this whole kind of strip. But I mean, look behind me now on the camera. This is really, really stunning. This is a brand new restaurant. I believe the mains are arriving right now. Yeah, new restaurants. Harlan & Holden, one of my favorite coffee shops here, has moved. It is no longer in that unit underneath the big screen. It is, as you saw maybe if you watched our first vlog here, I'm going to also grab a coffee from there after this. It's now in kind of like a glass box in the high street. Snapped a little photo of it earlier. It now looks like this, which I actually think is cooler. I actually think that is a really cool... Imagine that just popping up in our town at home. No, you can't. It just looks so cool, like a glass coffee greenhouse. I'm just trying to think of what else has changed. It feels, I mean, yeah, definitely feels busier. The road crossing thing. I think Lucy said it in a vlog the other day that one of the areas we go to or near the Jordan store, all of that now feels complete. We remember empty units there before. We remember people kind of still building and things, but that area feels finished. We haven't seen any empty units. It's feeling like a really great time to be in BGC. I have no idea what the next five years might hold. What's BGC going to be like in like 10 years time? I don't know, it might be... I'm hoping it doesn't go too far and get kind of too busy and go the other way. Oh, the main tier, sorry. Yeah, go ahead. Thank you so much. French Hunter's chicken with mashed potatoes. Wow, thank you so much. French Hunter's chicken with mashed potato. Please enjoy. Thank you. No, I didn't think there was anything in this world sweeter than Lucy. However... Sweet? No one's ever called me sweet before. No, that's true. Dessert has arrived. We have... What do we have? I knew you weren't listening. They're beignets and I've never had a beignet. Ah, right. They're like little doughnuts. Look at that, nice and soft. Is that coffee caramel sauce? I've got a friend called Ben and whenever I invite him over to my house and he arrives and I open the door, I say, Ben, yay! You watching only have to experience this once or twice a week, Mondays and... No, Wednesdays and Sundays. I have to experience this every day. Anyway... Please pray for me in the comments. Let's try this. Did you have the sauce? Oh, it's like a doughnut. It smells like a doughnut. It's like a caramel sauce. It's really good. It's like... The actual doughnut's not too sweet, but it's hard, like slightly hard on the edge. I was gonna say crispy. It's not crispy. It's more like hard, but in a good way. Slightly fried. And then super soft in the middle. You can see that. I was just gonna keep doing that and I was thinking, how long is he just gonna hold it there while I keep going like this? It wasn't that long. They're gonna let Coda try the chocolate mousse. That's not crazy, actually. It looks... Wow! That's a generous portion. Wow! Please enjoy. Thank you. What should we say, Codes? What do you say, Cody? Good boy. Thank you. That looks good. And if you can't finish it, mate, you know exactly where I am. A few hours later now. Coda has been playing around on this area of the high street. He's found some other kids he's been playing with. It's very, very cute to watch them running around. It's like language doesn't matter. We found that traveling so many different countries, even from when he was like age one up to right now, if he doesn't speak their language or they don't speak any of the language, then we just noticed it doesn't matter. Kids will just play. So it's really, really fun to watch. They got this huge kind of, what do you call it, installation kind of thing. It's like a waterfall. Very, very cool. And he's just been playing around. Trying to go in, basically, and then looking back at me just to see if I'm telling him off or not. He managed to get his socks absolutely soaked. And then he thought it'd be funny to come and step on my white shoes with his muddy socks. So then I had to get a wipeout. I look like a very pretentious parent. He loves, like, stepping on my feet. And I should just be having fun with my kids. Instead, I'm getting a wipeout and I'm wiping my shoes. It doesn't matter that much, but... I got these new only a few weeks ago. So it does matter. It does matter, really. Okay, I completely forgot that BGC has some incredible car dealerships. And we are just coming past Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, Bentley. All these amazing things. And Koda loves cars as well, don't you, mate? Look at that. That is a Lamborghini. Wow. Not only I love it. That is so nice, isn't it? Oh, wow, wow, wow. Look at that. Koda, you know the Porsche we've got at home? Yeah. This is, like, the newest version of that. And it's a GT3, so not really. Yeah, I think you're pushing ours a bit there. Yeah, slightly, slightly. 996 Carrera 4. Still very nice. However, 911 GT3. The 1% of the price of that. Oh, we could probably have... I can't do the maths. Several of ours for one of these. But yeah, look at that. That is the ultimate goal. What do you think of that? Darning car. So we ate quite a late lunch today. And it filled us up. It was a big lunch. I didn't actually eat breakfast. So I'd actually only eaten one meal today. And it's now 8.30 at night. And we were like, we're quite hungry. Let's order a frozen yogurt. It's not a frozen yogurt. And then once we'd ordered it, it said, would you like to add to your order for free delivery on that? So we were like, ooh, could have a burger. So we've ordered a chicken burger from Shake Shack to go with our frozen yogurt. It's all escalated very quickly. Anyway, it's very good. And it's one of the foods we wanted to eat while we were here. So we're just ticking those off. End of vlog club, yep. If you're watching now, please comment end of vlog club. I know you always explain what it means, but it's quite obvious, isn't it? I mean it every time. You always say, what do you say? I try and say how you do it. And if you're still watching the end of vlog, we've got a thing around here called end of vlog club. And if you're still here, just comment it below, end of vlog club. Are you mocking me? No, I'm copying you. If you take it as a mock, that's on you. And also make sure you follow us on Instagram if you're not already. Yeah, so thank you so much for watching today's vlog. Hope you enjoyed it. We've had a great day. Another long day with lots of steps. So it's been good. 8,000, not bad, not bad. What are we doing tomorrow? We are meeting up with some friends tomorrow and we are so excited. So make sure you are subscribed to see the next vlog on the channel. We've met loads of you in BGC today. Loads of you came up to say hi, which was amazing. And if you do see us around, we get messages often saying, I saw you, but I was like too shy or I didn't want to come and say hello. Always come and say hi. Give the video a big thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Make sure you're subscribed if you're new. And we'll see you very soon in the next juicy vlog. Goodbye.