I think the lack of responses says something about Manila From what I've been able to glean on the Net, two days in Manila is probably about right. I think by this point, I've been to most common places in SE Asia (HAN/SGN, BKK, KUL, HKG, etc) that I'm looking for stuff a bit more off the beaten path.

I was leaning towards the InterContinental. I'm open to the Peninsula or Shangri-la as well, but is there a reason I should choose those over the IC? I haven't done much homework on the hotels just yet.

Jakarta was originally on my list, but couldn't find anything decent to do. The 21 page Q&A thread is basically a restaurant recommendation thread! The fallback is Bali, but I'm cringing at the thought of beach type resorts, although I understand there's a lot of cultural stuff to do there as well.