Owner: Ivan About Town URL:http://ivanhenares.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2007 10:01:09 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Where in the world is Ivan? Travel and heritage notes of a Pinoy backpacker. Your travel guide around the Philippines and beyond. Site statistics:Click here
Protect the walls of Intramuros! 2007-03-01 18:01:00 I got a text message yesterday. It was both good news (a response of Bulacan to the Bagac project) and bad news:"1. Bulacan culture lovers have created TASK FORCE PAMANA to address the issue of vanishing old houses. The first meeting will be on March 8.2. We have another concern and this is the project of Dean Barbers, PTA GM who is building a sports complex beside the walls of Intramuros. All these stupid undertakings done out of material selfishness must be put to a STOP! Let's do something to arrest this new travesty on Philippine history and culture."The follow-up message I received states that sports complex is being built in the Club Intramuros area, in the driving range very close to the walls. The project, worth PHP85M, was done despite the disapproval of the PTA Board to which Barbers is answerable to, and a stoppage order issued by the Intramuros Administration. Barbers should not forget that Intramuros and its walls are protected by PD1616!I saw photos of it at SkyscraperCi Read more:Protect
The P1 fare of Cebu Pacific is back! 2007-03-01 08:44:00 I heard the promo is supposed to start tomorrow but you can now book P1 fares on Cebu Pacific
for both local and international destinations! I just booked a trip to Puerto Princesa for my birthday and Tacloban during my sembreak. The roundtrip tickets, inclusive of taxes and fuel surcharges, were just PHP1967.84 each! The funny thing is that news spreads fast. And even though they haven't announced it yet, the flights are going fast! A few minutes after I booked my flight, the P1 fare was no longer available for my Puerto Princesa flight. Oh well! Check out http://www.cebupacificair.com.Many thanks to Renz Ticsay for the info. Read more:Cebu Pacific
The strawberry fields of La Trinidad 2007-02-26 19:53:00 After an exhausting day the other day, and since I was on vacation, I decided to wake up late yesterday. Ching was up early since she had errands to do and meet some friends too. At 10 a.m., I passed by for her and Joyce at the Baguio Cathedral and from there, we drove to La Trinidad
, Benguet to check out the strawberry fields of the Benguet State University.We easily found the place. You simply made a left in front of the last gate of BSU where a large sign pointed you towards the strawberry fields. We had planned to pick strawberries but since a lot of people had visited the day before, all the ripe strawberries had been harvested already. If you picked your own strawberries, the price at that time was PHP200 per kilo. Anyway, we just walked around the fields and took photos.Of course, the strawberries there were relatively cheap since they were in season and you were buying them at the source. One kilo of small strawberries was just PHP60. I got the larger strawberries for PHP80 a k
Baguio City in full bloom 2007-02-25 16:11:00 After all those years watching the parade on television and seeing photos of the colorful floral floats published in our national dailies, I finally saw the Panagbenga (Baguio
Flower Festival) with my own two eyes. It was late when we decided to actually trek up to Baguio City to brave one of the biggest crowds that jampack the city annually.Since hotels would have been fully-booked and buses filled to the hilt, we decided to drive up on the morning of the float parade, just in time to find a good vantage point for festivities. We left Pampanga at about 12 midnight. It was a sleepy but smooth drive given that heavy traffic was factored out of the picture. So we made it to Baguio close to 3:30 a.m. if I'm not mistaken. We took a quick nap at a place where some friends were staying and at 6 a.m., we were off to Session Road for breakfast.Our plan was to try out the breakfast meals at Swiss Baker. But since they had a catering service that morning, they did not offer breakfast that day a Read more:full bloom
Kiong Hee Huat Chai! 2007-02-18 03:33:00 We've always known the Cantonese version of the Lunar New Year greeting which is Kong Hei Fat Choi. It means "congratulations and be prosperous" and not "Happy New Year" as most Filipinos assume. But since most Chinese Filipinos trace their ancestry to Fujian province, the residents of Binondo are popularizing the Hokkien version which is Kiong Hee Huat Chai! This holiday is not only celebrated by the Chinese but shared by the Koreans (Seollal), Vietnamese (Tết), Mongolians, Tibetans (Losar), the Nepalese and the Bhutanese as well.Yesterday was the eve of the Lunar New Year. As I was nearing the Binondo Church, I bumped into dragon dance group making its way along Ongpin Street. Anyway, my tokayo (Filipino term for person with the same first name) Manila streetwalker Ivan ManDy had a tour scheduled in the afternoon so I waited for him at the church lobby. He arrived at 2 p.m. together with two other bloggers, Anton Diaz and Sidney Snoeck. Anton and family joined his morning tour whi
Underneath the urban chaos hides Manila's former glory 2007-02-17 16:14:00 I was at Binondo today to join in the Lunar New Year festivities. Since it was definitely going to be a traffic nightmare in Binondo, I decided to park at that unsightly shopping mall beside the City Hall of Manila
(I must admit, I finally saw use for it... hehehe!) and walk to Chinatown from there. I also saw it as an opportunity to check out all the neglected heritage buildings along the way.As I've mentioned over and over again, that uninteresting mall beside City Hall used to be where the elegant YMCA Building designed by Archt. William Parsons stood. Right beside it is an early post-war government building, one among many decrepit heritage buildings near City Hall, the former GSIS Headquarters. It was a pity looking at the building. From the architectural details, I could imagine just how chic it was during its heyday.One thing the City Government of Manila lacks is creativity. There is such a thing as adaptive reuse Mayor Atienza. The GSIS Building could have been by used for th Read more:Underneath
, hides
, glory
A visit to De La Salle University 2007-02-13 16:59:00 Since I started talking about university chapels, here is another one. I was quite excited when I received an invitation from DLSU Liga Historia to speak about heritage at De La Salle
's alternative class day called LEAP (Lasallian Enrichment Alternative Program) since I had been wanting to check out the De La Salle University
campus for the longest time. I had heard so many good things about its pre-war university chapel from a lot of friends. So as soon as the talk ended, I went straight to the Chapel of The Most Blessed Sacrament on the second floor of its neoclassical main building, St. La Salle Hall.It was in November 19, 1939 that the chapel was completed and dedicated to St. Joseph. The chapel figured prominently during the Second World War having served as a refuge for brothers, priests and families. On February 12, 1945, drunken Japanese troops massacred 16 brothers and 25 civilians in the chapel. In 1947, the chapel was rededicated to the Blessed Sacrament with a ceremony of Read more:visit
Day 3 at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2007-02-10 13:05:00 Since we were coming from Manila, I had to get up much earlier today. We wanted to leave before 4 a.m. to make it there early enough to get decent parking and a good vantage point. So we had to be up at 3 a.m. And since I was driving, that meant I couldn't catch up on sleep.When we arrived at 5:15 a.m., there was already a queue entering the parking area. In fact, there was also a line at the ticket booth and it was a good thing I had pre-purchased tickets.We went straight to the hot air balloon area and good enough, there were still gaps in the crowd and Dad and Bettina were able to sit down right by the fence. One thing I noticed was the garbage that littered the grounds. It seems no one cleaned the place at the end of each day. I don't remember seeing any trash cans either. I hope the organizers read this and make sure it doesn't happen again next year.The program started with an unusual flag ceremony with a sky diver from the PAF bringing the Philippine flag. It was indeed a spe Read more:Balloon
, Fiesta
, Air Balloon
Day 1 at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2007-02-08 05:34:00 It was the opening day of the 11th Philippine International Hot Air BalloonFiesta
at Air Force City, Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Despite the fact that it had been held in Pampanga ten times before, I had not had a chance to check it out until today. According to the program, the hot air balloons begin take off at 5:30 a.m. Which is why we had to wake up really early to catch them.I passed by for Ching at 4:30 a.m. and we were on our way. We stopped at a gas station along the NLEX for a quick snack since we were so hungry, as well as coffee for me to keep me awake. By the time we arrived, several hot air balloons were already being prepared for take off. The actual flights begin at about 6:30 a.m. but it's best that you come early since parking and vantage points will be a problem when you arrive much later.My brod Ryan joined us at the festival venue. It was fun watching them inflate the hot air balloons of various colors and shapes with the sunrise and Mount Arayat as a Read more:Air Balloon
Is Yahoo! Travel serious about Manila? 2007-02-05 20:04:00 I could not believe it when travel photographer Karlo de Leon told me that Manila
was number 5 in the list of top international travel destinations for 2007 according to Yahoo
! Travel
. Was that for real?! So I checked out the site and found this article. Amazing indeed! What do you think about the news? But I also noticed they didn't spell Philippines right! Anyway, here's the short article:Where Are Travelers Heading In 2007?By Katherine Tom, Senior Editor, Yahoo! TravelDecember 20, 2006 Curious where travelers are headed in the coming year? We took a look at the most popular searches on Yahoo! FareChase to see which cities folks are flocking to in 2007. On the domestic list, perennial travel favorite Las Vegas shows no signs of ceding the top spot, while sunny Florida dominates the rest of the list, with five out of the top 10 searches.We did note a few surprises on the international list, including the appearance of Frankfurt and Manila in the top 5. Visitors rave about Frankfu Read more:serious
14th PTAA Travel and Tour Expo 2007 2007-01-31 16:39:00 Now this is something I'm putting in my calendar! The annual Travel
Tour Expo is considered the biggest in the country. It's going to be held at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall from February 9 to 11. The theme for this year is "Gateway to Your Dream Vacation" as it expects to draw nearly 100,000 visitors hoping to get the best bargains, tour packages, travel discounts and souvenir items from the various exhibitors which include 41 travel agencies, 45 hotels, resorts and tour operators, 19 travel shops, 17 internationals airlines and 5 cruise operators. Even the tourism offices of other countries will be there, hoping to lure Filipino travelers to their shores. Check out their website for more information.
We stand on a hill 2007-01-28 19:27:00 Yesterday, I attended a Mass for Ateneo jubilarian classes at the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo. My high school batch is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The Mass really brought back memories since all of a sudden, I was an impromptu lector and altar server. Hehe!The Church of the Gesu was built several years after I left the Ateneo and transferred to neighboring UP. It was a low hill during my twelve years stay at the Loyola Heights campus. Although we already knew that the University Church, one that would replace the grand San Ignacio Church in Intramuros as the landmark church and religious center of the Ateneo de Manila, would be built on that hill. According to the Ateneo website, it was in 1949 that "Fr. William Masterson, S.J. dreamed of a chapel on the highest point of Ateneo’s new campus in Loyola Heights, which was to be the icon of everything the Ateneo stands for as a Catholic, Filipino and Jesuit institution." More than 50 years later, that dream became a rea
A few hours in historic Lukang 2007-01-25 08:09:00 I had been planning to go to Lukang for the longest time after finding out that this heritage town was very near Taichung. But for some reason or another, we always had something to do. It was our last day so it was now or never. After our group heard Mass (it was like we were in the Philippines since the priest and churchgoers were all Filipinos) and had lunch at this Filipino restaurant in front, there were proposals to do some last-minute shopping. Since I had no intention of doing that, I made my move and asked permission to make my own plans.So as soon as it was given a go, I took a cab to the Taichung Train Station, which itself was an important heritage structure. It's sad that we no longer have our grand old train stations in the Philippines. Tutuban Station, our central train station at the time it was still in use, although the facade had been preserved, the interiors and the surrounding environment had been altered beyond recognition.Some quarters say it should have been pr Read more:historic
, few hours
Around Taipei in less than a day 2007-01-23 10:09:00 We made a day trip to Taipei
the day after that tiring journey to Nantou. Our first stop was the main office of MECO where me made a courtesy call to Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, resident representative of MECO Taiwan. We then proceeded to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for a courtesy call to Mr. C. T. Su, Director General of the Tourism Bureau. With all those appointments, our entire morning was gone.So after lunch, we went straight to the National Palace Museum. It is said to house one of the best collections of Chinese artifacts. In fact, the collection is quite controversial and is the subject of a dispute between the Mainland and Taiwan.The National Palace Museum was established in Beijing in 1925 with the expulsion of the last emperor Puyi. In the 1930s and 1940s, the artifacts, which consisted of the valuables of the former Imperial family, were moved from place to place to avoid falling into the hands of the invading Japanese.During the final years of the Chinese C
The mountains of Nantou County 2007-01-21 08:08:00 Since we had been in Taichung the whole time and usually did nothing during the day, our Taiwanese guide Frank, who worked with the MECO office in Taichung, arranged for a van to take us to this place he called "snowy mountain." We didn't know where exactly we were going since all the names were in Mandarin. But since we were yearning to go around, we said yes. The trip took several hours along the Central Cross-Island Highway or Route 8. I also distinctly remember that we wasted so much time because of a flat tire!On the way, our group paid a courtesy call to Mr. Yukan Nafu, chief of Jen-ai Hsiang (Ren-ai Township) in Nantou County
. The place reminded me so much of our laidback mountain towns in the Cordilleras. The mountain climate was very pleasing to the senses. It's sad Baguio City air is no longer as clean as it used to be and you really have to go into the rural areas to enjoy nature at its finest.Also in Ren-ai, we dropped by the Mona Rudao Monument, which was erected to hono Read more:mountains
Taichung, culture city of Taiwan 2007-01-19 19:13:00 How can one forget the date we left for Taiwan
. It was February 14, 2003. The City Government of San Fernando was being sent by the Department of Tourism to represent the country in the 2003 Taiwan Lantern Festival which was held in Taichung. I had previously been to Taiwan when I was five but we only went around Taipei. So this was my first time to get out of the capital city. But time was limited since although we were there for almost two weeks, most of our time was at the festival and meeting with local officials.It was a late night Philippine Airlines flight since I remember, our passports were stamped in Taipei on the 15th. We were met by the Tourism Attache who accompanied us on the two-hour bus to Taichung, Taiwan's culture
city. The bus ride was very comfortable since the chairs were really big. It was like sleeping in your own living room. When we arrived in Taichung we all went straight to bed.Most of our time that day was spent at the Taichung branch of the Manila Economi
Stopover in Manila 2007-01-15 16:00:00 To those asking about what one can do in Manila
while in transit and waiting for their flight out, here is a suggestion: Go to the SM Mall of Asia!Ton, my SSEAYP SG-mate from Thailand, was in Cebu the past few days for the 12th ASEAN Summit being part of their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was all work for him and he didn't get to see much, just Shangri-La Mactan, Cebu Midtown and the CICC as well as the sights along the way. To add to that, he only had three hours in Manila today from the time his PAL flight arrived in the NAIA Centennial Terminal 2 to the time his Thai Airways flight left the NAIA Terminal 1.So Pam, my SG-mate from the Philippines, and I played it by ear and met up with him at Terminal 2. The vehicle from the Thai Embassy was there to bring their group to Terminal 1. So we joined them in the van.We found out that they were having lunch at the SM Mall of Asia after they checked their luggage in. Good news, since at least we get to have lunch with Ton. So we waited
AirAsia is giving 1,000,000 free seats! 2007-01-09 18:44:00 Those who already know about it will kill me for posting this. But those who might find out about it when it's too late will kill me too for not posting it. It's like a damned if you do, damned if you don't thing. Hehe! Anyway, AirAsia
is at it again. I almost thought they weren't giving away free tickets this year. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the announcement in my inbox, that they had 1,000,000 free seats up for grabs.In fact, I've already booked flights to Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta this June! Although the fare is free, you pay for taxes, surcharges and other expenses. My round-trip ticket from Clark to KL came out at PHP3,290. Add the PHP1,620 travel tax you pay at the airport plus the terminal fee of PHP300 (I'm not sure about the security fee), it's really cheap! I also bought a round-trip ticket from KL to Jakarta for just RM175 (PHP2625).Hurry because the free flights are going... going... gone!
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca 2007-01-05 16:34:00 I arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Penang late in the evening. Of course, the first thing we did was go for a late dinner. If I remember it right, it was at a mamak which served roti canai, beef murtabak and teh tarik. September 19: The next day, I think we went shopping since the only thing I could remember was that we passed by KL's Central Market. That evening too, Leon took a bus from Singapore to join us in KL.September 20: We decided to go to Malacca
(Melaka) and meet up with Shyamala, another SSEAYP batchmate who lived there. Aside from me, Kenneth and Leon, two Filipino friends of Kenneth joined us.Since I had been to Malacca the previous year during the SSEAYP program, we didn't go around much. I hadn't realized it then but I had actually visited the three major towns of the StraitsSettlements
(Singapore, Penang and Malacca) during the trip.Just like Penang, Malacca had its own heritage trail sponsored too by American Express. We started at the Town Center of Malacca Town. On
Following the heritage trail in Penang 2007-01-03 20:31:00 The good thing about most Asian cities is that they have central bus terminals unlike Metro Manila where every bus company has its own terminal which, although clustered together in areas such as Pasay and Cubao, make transferring from one bus to another very inconvenient since the distance between each of them is quite far for a walk. Anyway, Kenneth had already purchased for me a round trip ticket to Penang
(Pulau Pinang) at KL's Puduraya Bus Station. A one-way ticket for the five-hour trip on Transnasional was RM22.70 then.I arrived in Penang at 5 a.m. which was good since I was able to save on hotel expenses. When I got there, it was still dark. I went straight to the hotel where I was booked and tried to get some more sleep.Penang is also referred to as Pulau Mutiara which means Pearl of the Orient. I was actually surprised when I found out about this since we all thought the Philippines is the undisputed Pearl of the Orient. Well, if we weren't heavily bombed during the Second Read more:Following
A little trip around Singapore town 2007-01-02 17:21:00 Wow! Talk about digging out albums from the baul! And talk about tedious too since I had to scan every photo!I was lucky then since I still had remaining miles on my United Mileage Plus account for a free ticket to Singapore
. The plan was for me to attend the 2003 SSEAYP reunion (SIGA) in April but that didn't work out since it was postponed to 2004 due to the SARS scare. So I had to rebook my ticket to a later date and I chose instead to visit when the M/S Nippon Maru was docked in Singapore and Malaysia in September. It was still risky since if the SARS situation didn't improve, SSEAYP could have been cancelled. But to make the long story short, the trip pushed through.September 12: I arrived in Singapore late in the afternoon on a Singapore Airlines flight. I can't remember what I did that night but eating Singapore hawker food was definitely on the list. We had dinner in Holland Village if I remember it right. I stayed at the flat of my SG-mate Leon in Ang Mo Kio while in Singap Read more:little
, little trip
Looking back 2007-01-01 20:12:00 Happy New Year to all! Time really does fly fast and I can't believe it's already 2007! Anyway, I was cleaning my room a few days ago and I got to look at some albums from previous trips when film cameras were still in style.After my voyage on the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program in 2002, I tried my best to visit my friends in the various ASEAN countries every year. I remember in 2003, my trip was postponed several times due to SARS. It finally pushed through in September and it was a blessing in disguise since it coincided with the docking of the M/S Nippon Maru in Singapore and Malaysia. In 2004, I went to Hue, Vietnam but wasn't able to meet up with anyone. My mistake was I sent the e-mail message too close to the trip and my SG-mate (the 340 participants are divided into 11 Solidarity Groups or SGs) only found out we were in the same city, attending the same festival when we got back.My blog was born during my trip in 2005 to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and Brunei. The very fi
Pampanga's pride 2006-04-27 08:51:00 Pampanga's pride is indeed its heritage and cuisine. I got a lot of texts yesterday since my blog was mentioned in the article Hit the Road in 2bU in the Inquirer Lifestyle section. And people had been calling the Center for Kapampangan Studies for information. Anyway, the article information was based on entries 9 and 10 of my blog.Just some corrections, what was mentioned as Furniture Clay (yes we had callers asking about the clay furniture) is actually Furniture City in Mabalacat, Pampanga. This is a complex of world-class furniture factories which export their products worldwide. Before you visit, please call Lisa Samia at (045) 8930092 to 93.Abe's Farm is actually the Mt. Arayat resthouse of restaurateur Larry Cruz of the LJC Restaurant Group which includes Cafe Adriatico and Cafe Havana among many others. The fabulous resthouse is in Magalang, Pampanga, the hometown of Larry's father, journalist and artist E. Aguilar Cruz. Having lunch at his place requires arrangements made m
Index of Declared Structures and Sites 2005-04-01 12:41:00 CULTURAL AND HISTORICALThis is an attempt to compile all lists of declared structures and sites in the Philippines and make it available to the public via the internet. It's sad that our government agencies do not have an updated and consolidated list available on the net. At the same time, the National Museum and National Historical Institute, both under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, maintain their own lists.The list below is most definitely incomplete. If there are any additions or corrections to the list, please make a comment to this entry. If the heritage site you are adding hasn't been declared, please comment in the other list.Also check out the comprehensive online database of Philippine architectural heritage I'm building for the HCS. For natural heritage, click here.UNESCO World Heritage Sites
1. Baroque Churches of the PhilippinesIlocos Norte: Church of San Agustin (Paoay)Ilocos Sur: La Asuncion de la Ñuestra Señora Church (Sta. Maria)Iloilo: C Read more:Index
, Structures
Index 2005-04-01 10:32:00 PhilippinesAguilar, Pangasinan 103Agusan del Norte 98Alaminos, Pangasinan 36Albay 78Alburquerque, Bohol 41Alcala, Cagayan 88Alegria, Cebu 153Angat, Bulacan 76Angeles, Pampanga 9 10 62 147 168 169Angono, Rizal 133Apalit, Pampanga 34Argao, Cebu 39Bacacay. Albay 78Baclayon, Bohol 41Bacolod, Negros Occidental 44 45Bacolor, Pampanga 62 148Bacong, Negros Oriental 43Balingoan, Misamis Oriental 106Baliuag, Bulacan 76Bagac, Bataan 145Baguio City 7 64 65 152 173 174Banaue, Ifugao 81 100 151Basilan 92Bataan 145Batac, Ilocos Norte 12 13Batangas 18 35 85 114Batangas City, Batangas 114Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya 100Benguet 174Binmaley, Pangasinan 36Bohol 40 41Bolinao, Pangasinan 36 37Boljoon, Cebu 39Bontoc, Mountain Province 81Botolan, Zambales 38Bukidnon 106Bulacan 76 132Burgos, Ilocos Norte 13Bustos, Bulacan 132Butuan, Agusan del Norte 98Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija 110Cagayan 87 88Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental 98 106Calape, Bohol 40Calasiao, Pangasinan 36Camalaniugan, Cagayan 88Camalig, Albay 78Cam Read more:Index
Taal Volcano up close 2007-03-07 16:43:00 I just came back from Taal Volcano
. I'll update my blog as soon as I get some sleep.
Shooting the rapids in Pagsanjan 2007-03-08 15:09:00 The sun was out today which was great since we were on our way to Pagsanjan, Laguna to check out the famous waterfalls. After having to deal with a drizzle yesterday morning, this was good news. The drive down south wasn't much of a hassle since we left after rush hour. It surprised me that the traffic in Calamba and Los Banos wasn't as heavy as I expected in to be.We could have passed by the town of Pila on the way to Pagsanjan but we didn't have much time since it was nearing lunch. As we got into town, we saw large tarpaulin billboards from the LGU announcing that there was a standard rate for boat rides to the falls which was PHP660 per head. It also warned people to book their rides with resorts and inns. There were actually a lot of boatmen along the road pointing us towards the resorts. While taking photos at the Puerta Real of Pagsanjan, we were approached by several boatmen who pointed us towards a resort. Just like yesterday, they would board and accompany you there.We pai
On the road 2007-03-14 10:39:00 Hi all! I'm still on the road. It's been days since I've seen my mailbox. I'll update everyone when I get back and after my report on Friday. Watch out for my visits to Laguna, Rizal, Manila, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Baguio City!In the meantime, check out my photos in Multiply.
Visita iglesia around Laguna de Bay 2007-03-09 01:06:00 After our shooting the rapids in Pagsanjan, we decided to complete the Laguna
loop with a visita iglesia. I have an older post on Laguna with details of some of the towns we visited and missed. First on the list was the town of Paete which is known for its woodcarving and paper mache industries. The Santiago Apostol Church has intricately carved retablos and centuries-old mural paintings of San Cristobal among other subjects.From Paete, we went drove to the next town Pakil. The San Pedro de Alcantara has equally interesting retablos, santos and mural paintings.It was quite a drive from Pakil to the next stop which was in the province of Rizal. Since the sun was going down fast, we were not able to pass by the town of Mabitac which according to travel guides has a church standing atop 126 stone steps. It was a pleasant drive seeing the green rice fields hit by the golden rays of the setting sun on either side of the road.After the zigzag road up and down the highway boundary between La
Inside the walls of Intramuros 2007-03-09 16:18:00 Since I had been driving around for two straight days, I decided to take it easy today. So aside from waking up late, our destination for the day was just within Metro Manila. I had some business to take care of in the Padre Faura area which was great since Intramuros was just a stone's throw away. Carly, another member of our delegation, met up with us there.Of course, a must visit is the San Agustin Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the only church in Intramuros left standing after the Second World War. Indeed, the church is a splendid example of Philippine Baroque with its trompe l'oeil murals. The San Agustin Museum houses some of the best examples of Philippine church treasures. But it looks like the San Agustin Complex will be the next issue in the ongoing Intramuros controversy since they plan to erect a modern-looking monastery! And we all thought that the sports complex was the only desecration we had to worry about in the walled city.Anyway, after our tour aroun
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