Day 2: Exploring Manila

Reminder: Make sure you’ve read Day 1 before you proceed! πŸ˜€

The following took place on Friday, 17th October 2008:-

Since we arrived late the previous night, we didn’t get to know our “home away from home”.

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Malate Pensionne: This is the lobby/reception area.

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This is outside the main door which is at the side of the building.

There is a famous cafe at the front of the building. Care to guess the name of the cafe? πŸ˜‰

We went on-foot and scouted around for a place to have breakfast nearby and we found this open-24hrs eatery called McRon’s and decided to give it a try. Here’s the menu. See anything you like?

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I ordered the Carbonara – Cheesy!

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Mie, Fab & I at McRon’s.

After breakfast, we went back to our hotel again and from there our van driver took us around Manila. We had arranged for the hotel to get us a van the night before.

Our first stop was the Mall of Asia.

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This is a MUST-GO-TO since it is the biggest mall in Southeast Asia.

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I especially LOVE the globe (below) at the roundabout in front of the Mall’s Main Entrance.

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It feels so UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! πŸ˜€

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The view is AWESOME dontcha think?

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Yeah, we’re quite the model-material here. Hehehe…

Our next stop was Rizal Park.

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The park is of course named after the National Hero, Dr Jose Rizal. (No idea who? Go wiki!)

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There were 2 armed guards at the monument but in this picture you can only see one. The other went marching around the monument.

It’s really awesome to watch the guards because they’re like those Palace Guards in England that stay stationery and after a while march around – the only indication to people that they are real and NOT statues! Super…

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Lovely background…

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Took a picture with one of the guards. He was off-duty of course. LOL!

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At another statue/monument at the Park.

Next, our driver took us to Mananzan Handicrafts. Here is where they specifically sell souvenirs for tourists like us. Hehe.

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Where was I? Still souvenir-shopping inside. πŸ˜‰

Whilst we were inside the Handicrafts Shop, our van driver pulled over a horse carriage for us!

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The guy near the horse is the horse man.

Plus, our horse carriage comes with a tourist guide too!

Awesome!

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In our horse carriage…

We used the horse carriage to go around more tourist spots around Manila.

Here is the Manila Cathedral.

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When we passed this magnificent building, our tourguide advised us NOT to get married in THIS church. Why? Cos according to him, the celebrities get married there and eventually get divorced. Joking? For real? Who knows. πŸ˜‰

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This picture is taken in this Museum-like place (I forgot what it’s called πŸ˜‰ ).

Wonder why we all have flowers in our hair and what we were looking at?

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It’s this dude serenading us with classic oldies from Elvis etc…he was also responsible for the flowers in our hair. Hehe.

And THAT is our tourguide. His name is Jorji Porji and he says he’s a lecturer teaching Tourism at the Manila University and that he’s only a tourguide on a voluntary basis.

Anyways, after that, we stopped at the Baluerta De San Diego. My fave tourist spot in the Philippines!

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Why my fave you ask?

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Because of this…

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I’ve never seen anything quite like it! Reminds me of the Collaseum in Rome. Lovely!

According to Jorji Porji, this used to be a water reservoir thingy, and then a cannon area and then a place to torture prisoners. Look it up. πŸ™‚

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Backdrop: New City meets Old City. LOVELY!!!

And then, we went to…

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Fort Santiago…

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The entrance at the Fort leads to the Rizal Shrine.

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A grand statue of Dr Jose Rizal outside the Rizal Shrine (the building on the left).

That marked the end of our horse carriage tour but from there we continued by van to China Town, Downtown Manila and Quaipo.

We only passed through China Town and Downtown Manila to take in the sight. We wanted to stop at the Black Nazarene church in Quaipo but being a Friday, there were throngs of people there for Mass so we postponed that.

Thus, we immediately went to Tutuban Mall – the Mall that sells things at the cheapest of prices!

No pics there cos all we did was shop. Shop. And shop.

Until the mall closes at 8pm. Then it’s back to the hotel.

But no, the day ain’t over yet! πŸ˜‰

At night, we all went to a gay bar (yes, you read it right) called FAB because our friend is called Fab. Haha.

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Chel, Say, Mie, Ted, Me, Fab.

FAB: FreedomΒ And Belongingness. That’s what it stands for. πŸ˜‰

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And remember this guy. Christopher aka Jobert. You will encounter him in future posts. πŸ˜‰

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No, I am not tipsy. I was just jumping at the camera thus the awkward angel. LOL!

And that was the end of Day 2…

~To be continued~

Next: Day 3 (Cowgirls on the loose!)

4 responses to “Day 2: Exploring Manila

  1. And I tot 1 Borneo was the biggest… Mmmm…. Enjoying your trip, I see….

    1Borneo is the biggest mall in BORNEO. Mall of Asia is the biggest mall in SOUTHEAST ASIA. πŸ™‚

  2. Pingback: Day 1: Arrived in Manila « Perfect Imperfections

  3. Pingback: Day 3: Cowgirls on the loose! « Perfect Imperfections

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