Freedom Bazaar at Club Manila East

Okay, for those who have been visiting my blog on a regular basis, you can say that I am such a bazaar addict. I love going to thrift shops and I get a nice high whenever I am in tiangge. I don't have to buy anything to be happy, just being there makes me feel so elated.

So for the last quarter of this year, I have gone to Club Manila East's Freedom Bazaar in Taytay, Rizal for not less than 10 times already. My favorite purchases there are sando for men which is for P50 only. My husband practically has ALL the colors and designs as he loves the cloth from which the sandos are made of. Plain blouses are at P100, while the printed ones range from P35 to P150. Long sleeved corporate looking tops for women range from P100 to P350 while kimonos and cover-ups are usually at P70-P150 only. Characters shirts and dresses for little girls are at P100 only, and may I just mention that I found these exact dresses at the malls and they are selling at P350!

During my most recent trip, I bought 6 pieces of pambahay tops for my daughter for P25 each! Now do the math and you'd be thrilled you'd want to hoard all designs!

I also found a stall customizing and selling paracord bracelets for P50 each, and sleeping eye masks for P35 only. Mind you, these eye masks are for sale at the malls for P39.75-P70 each!

I could go on and on about my wonderful buys but nothing beats the high of being there yourself.

For directions on going there by commuting:

From Ortigas, take the G-Liner of RRCG bus with the signage SM Taytay. These buses should reach CME or Club Manila East. From SM Taytay, it wont take more than 7 minutes before you can spot a Jollibee, then a McDonalds at the right side. Few meters from McDo is the Freedom Bazaar. The colorful and numerous makeshift tents are just so hard to miss.

For the holidays, most shops are open everyday. But the usual schedule of the bazaar is only on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I was told, but have not verified yet, that they are open as early at before 6am. They usually close at 5pm. But I would suggest going in the morning as most stalls close up once they're reached the sales quota for the day.

Bring an umbrella to fight off the heat, and the rain since the stalls are not tightly built together. Wear comfortable footwear, sneakers preferably as the floor can get muddy when it rains. Bring an ecobag as their plastic bags are not as sturdy as they should be and can easily tear up. I have never brought my 7 yr old daughter here, too as I know the crowd, the heat and the mud are not for fussy kids.

For snacks, there are a lot of street food for the not so-sensitive tummies, but if you want to cool off in an airconditioned establishment, there's a McDo, a Chowking (and I think a KFC) across the street.

Happy shopping!