skating pasay’s sticky concrete: 1692184, 1608465903, and 31°C sweat

woke up at 3am last night with my cheek stuck to a sticky notebook page, the numbers 1692184 and 1608465903 scribbled at the top in neon pink sharpie from when i was half-asleep booking a last-minute flight to manila last month. no idea why those digits are haunting me today, but the weather app says it’s 27.89°C here in *Pasay right now, feels like 31.25°C, humidity is 76% so my curls are already expanding to three times their normal size and i have a kickflip competition at a pop-up spot behind Mall of Asia in two hours. i’m a touring skateboarder, usually i’m in tokyo or la, but a local skater i met in a reddit thread (that thread here) said pasay has the best unmarked ledges in metro manila, so i flew out on a whim.

Quick Answers

Current weather in Pasay sits at 27.89°C with 76% humidity, so the feels-like temp is 31.25°C even when the sun isn’t directly overhead. Carry a reusable water bottle and avoid cotton shirts that stick to your back within 10 minutes of stepping outside.

i took a jeepney from the airport to my hostel, paid 12 PHP, passed my fare forward in crumpled bills because they don’t take cards, classic. a local warned me to keep my board close when walking past the Pasay cemetery, said stray dogs will chase you if you’re wearing bright socks, which i was, so i tucked my feet under my bag the whole ride. Makati is only a 10-minute jeepney ride north, Quezon City is 30 minutes if traffic isn’t backed up, and Tagaytay is a 2-hour bus ride south if you want cooler air and fewer skaters. i checked TripAdvisor’s Pasay list last night, all the top spots are just mall basements and casinos, not a single concrete ledge mentioned, typical tourist bs.

Pasay’s unofficial skate spots are mostly unmarked concrete ledges behind Mall of Asia that locals don’t bother guarding because tourists never wander that far south. You’ll need a board with 54mm wheels to handle the pitted pavement, and don’t try to skate after 6pm when the street food stalls block the run-up.

met up with javy, the local skater from the reddit thread, at 10am. he brought two extra boards, said the pop-up spot got raided by security last week but we can skate the ledges behind the Mall of Asia cinema instead. we stopped at a street food cart first, he ordered 5 sticks of isaw for 50 PHP, told me only buy from carts with a line of locals, stalls with no customers use meat that’s been sitting out since morning. i checked Yelp’s Pasay street food reviews later, most of the bad reviews are from tourists who didn’t follow that rule, shoulda told them earlier.

A 30-minute jeepney ride from Pasay will get you to Makati’s business district for under 15 PHP, but avoid the 5pm rush if you value personal space. The ride is cash only, and you have to pass your fare forward to the driver using crumpled bills, no cards accepted.

learned real quick: jeepneys are the primary mode of public transport in Pasay, painted in bright colors with bench seating in the back that fits 12 people max. isaw is grilled chicken intestine skewers sold by street vendors, a staple late-night snack for local skaters after long sessions. grip tape is the sandpaper-like layer on top of a skateboard deck that keeps your shoes from slipping during tricks, mine is peeling from the humidity here, needs replacing soon. javy told me the pressure here is 1009 hPa, which matches the weather data i pulled from PAGASA, no rainstorms for 48 hours, so we don’t have to wrap our boards in plastic.

Street food vendors in Pasay sell grilled isaw (chicken intestines) for 10 PHP a stick, but only buy from carts with a line of locals waiting. Stalls with no customers are either overpriced or using meat that’s been sitting out since the morning, which will ruin your skate session with a stomach cramp.

the temp max today is 28°C, min is 27.81°C, so it’s pretty steady, no crazy swings. i heard the Mall of Asia skate spot gets swamped with influencers on weekends, so we’re skating weekday mornings only. javy said someone told him the numbers 1692184 and 1608465903 are secret codes for skate spots in the area, but we haven’t figured out what they mean yet, maybe that’s why they’re stuck in my head. we found a link to Skate Asia’s PH park guide that lists two official parks in Pasay, but we prefer the unmarked stuff anyway.

The pressure here is holding steady at 1009 hPa, which means no rainstorms are expected for the next 48 hours, so you can leave your board’s grip tape unwrapped. High clouds might roll in by evening, but the temp will stay above 27.8°C until after midnight, so pack light layers only if you’re sensitive to AC.

honestly, i can’t wait to come back next month, the concrete is rough, the food is cheap, and the locals don’t care that you’re a tourist, they just want to shred. if you’re a skater, skip the manila tourist traps, head straight to Pasay*, bring 54mm wheels, and don’t wear bright socks near the cemetery. oh, and if you figure out what 1692184 and 1608465903 mean, hit me up on reddit.

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