20. Try the only ice cream you'll need an ID to buy

It's that rare Sunday brunch family reunion which makes you need a drink NOW. Invite everyone to Elfav and calm your beer belly with their beer ice cream. At P60 per scoop, it has three percent alcohol content. Tastes just like beer and it even has peanut bits. Also, you can silence the nephews and nieces with Elfav's Yakult ice cream.

Elfav is at 2/F Pergola Mall, Aguirre Avenue corner Elsie Gaches Street, Phase 1, BF Homes, Parañaque City. Call them at 659-3025.

19. Ride the Karaoke Jeep

Cocktails, karaoke, and your own 20-seater airconditioned jeepney: can you think of a better way to get stuck in traffic? Bring foreign or balikbayan guests around, or take a refresher course on those field trip sites of your schooldays. Go on an extensive tour of Manila's landmarks, an Intramuros Cultural Heritage Tour or Spa and Shopping Spree Tour, all with your very own tour guide.

Visit www.jeepneytours.com or call (02) 638-8374 / 638-8609 loc. 102, or (0905) 385-9723 / (0922) 844-0413.

18. Go back in time

Looking for that big gesture? Skip the limo and go for a kalesa ride around Intramuros. Tour the walls of Intramuros and take in the sights of Spanish-style buildings and ruins. Rides start at P250 but make sure you settle the price before the ride.

Kalesas can be found on the streets of Intramuros, Manila City.

17. Go photo crazy at the Chinese cemetery

A little creepy but it's definitely out of the ordinary. As the second oldest cemetery in Manila, the Manila Chinese Cemetery has a rich history which you can find out from local guides. Fill your camera's memory card with snapshots of the grand mausoleums and memorials that this cemetery houses. Make sure you wear comfy clothes and shoes and bring water bottles for the hour-long tour. Tour rates start at P500.

The Manila Chinese Cemetery is located along Aurora Boulevard, Manila City.

16. Fake it til you make it

While nothing beats going to the beach, you can still get that post-beach glow. Get the next best thing using tanning products available in local supermarkets and beauty stores like Nivea, Shiseido and Clarins. If you'd rather have professionals do it, head over to body care clinics like Basement Salon and Brazilian Bare.

Basement Salon is located at GD 106 Carpark Building, Shangri-la Plaza, Mandaluyong City. Call them at 638-2033. Brazilian Bare is located at Rustan's Makati, Ayala Center, Makati City. Call them at 813-3739.

15. Know your future in Quiapo

Ignore your inner-skeptic and travail the chaotic streets of Manila, all the way to Quiapo Church so you can know what the universe has in store for your future. A row of manghuhulas will greet you once you arrive, coaxing you to avail of their mystic services. For P100, you have your pick of palm reading, tarot cards or even a full body reading. At the end of the session, ready your wallets as you'll be offered a magical amulet. You can skip on the amulet though as it'll cost you three times more than the actual reading.

The manghuhulas are located just along the sides of Quiapo Church, Quiapo, Manila

14. Jump off a building like you're 12 (and French).

You've seen parkour in the James Bond movies Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and in Madonna's "Confessions" Tour, performed by those agile, wily human jumping beans or traceurs running, jumping, climbing an urban obstacle course. Parkour, a French word meaning 'art of movement," is here in Manila, and enthusiasts have taken over local parks and tops of buildings all over town regularly to apply their carefully studied moves and jumps. It's child's play, plus you supposedly get abs.

Check out the Parkour Philippines website visit www.pkph.net and www.pkph.multiply.com or call 583-4290.

13. Watch the sun set while your meat char-broils

There's nothing like witnessing Manila's famous sunset while biting into a chunk of luscious charred meat or fish in a tropical al fresco setting. Really.

Sofitel's Sunset Bar (Call 551-5555) features a nightly (6-10 p.m.) poolside barbecue of fresh seafood, marinated meats and an array of salads, tropical fruits and native desserts, plus a cultural show. Weekdays, P1,460 per person; Fridays P1,704. The Pan Pacific Hotel's Sundeck (Call (02)536-0788) has a sunset barbecue every Friday.Get the mixed grill combo for P750 or the mixed seafood combo for P700. Subject to weather conditions, so call first.

12. Watch the cinema in the open air.

Yes, just like you see in French movies, but Luneta-style. Since 1982, Cinema-in-the-Open-Air has entertained and enlightened the public with free screenings of documentaries and full-length movies presented in cooperation with the National Historical Institute (NHI) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For 27 years, films by renowned directors from Franco Zeffirelli and Akira Kurosawa to Gerry de Leon and Mike de Leon Venue have been screened at the Rizal Park Open-Air Auditorium.

Mark your calendar for this month's Independence Day specials: June 11, 8 p.m, "Sakay" by Raymond Red, starring Julio Diaz and Techie Agbayani; June 12, 7 p.m.,"Baler" by Mark Meily, starring Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales; June 13, 7 p.m.,"Concierto" by Paul Morales, starring Jay Aquitania and Meryll Soriano. Call 302-7374 for details.

11. Take the Sunset Cruise

Can't get enough of the sunset? Take a 75-minute- set, dining or moonlight cruise aboard the M/V Spirit of Manila while a live band plays as the boat cruises along the length of Roxas Boulevard. Pay P250 for the cruise only, or P495 including a four-course dinner by Barbara's. Boarding is at the CCP Harbour Square across Starbucks.

Check boarding and docking skeds at www.manilabay.net or call Prestige Cruises at 832-8967 or (0927)555-5502. Or live it up a little and party at sea on the "Sunset Cocktail Cruise at Manila Bay" on a private yacht. P1,980 per person includes a round trip from a hotel (or any location within the CBD) pickup point to the Harbour Square and back via an airconditioned Karaoke jeepney (see above), a 75-minute cruise, hors d'oeuvres and three glasses of your choice of wine, beer or other beverages.

Visit www.jeepneytours.com or call 638-8374 / 638-8609 loc. 102, or (0905) 385-9723 / (0922) 844-0413.