Cinq Rediscovers Manila!!!!

- (April 18, 2009) We met up in CKSC at around 8:30, but left at around 9:30. Oliver came to meet us, but he wasn't going with us. Aww. I saw Abi Uy too.

- We took the train to Central, and rode a jeep to PLM (for those who don't know, PLM is inside Intramuros). We were supposed to meet Karel there. Buti hindi kami nawala. Haha. It was our first time to commute to PLM. After centuries of waiting outside PLM, Karel came out to meet us. We talked for a while, and I decided that it would be a good idea to walk around Intramuros, since Karel's council meeting in PLM is still a "decade" away. Karel was somehow familiar with the streets of Intramuros, so she sort of became our guide. She was the road guide, and I was the info guide. Haha. (I would've brought an Intramuros map with me if we planned to go there. Haha. Well at least something to add to the day's itenerary. Haha.)

- While walking through the walled city, we first saw the Silahis Craft store. From various travel blogs and other websites that I visited beforehand, I learned that the Silahis Crafts and Antiques produced some of the best Philippine crafts in the country. Knowing this, I was thrilled to see the store. I went in (and persuaded the others to come in also), and looked at the products. Ang ganda, pero ang mahal. Sigh. Hahahaha.

- Next stop, Wow Philippines!! "Conveniently", the Wow Philippines tent featured products from Region 1 (Ilocos Region). It's funny kasi I'm from Ilocos (well, my dad's side anyway). For my companions, the products were something "cute" to look at, but for me, they were not special anymore. Hahahaha.

- After Wow Philippines, we immediately went to the Ministop branch inside Intramuros to freshen up a bit.

- After going to Ministop, Karel brought us to Luneta (Rizal Park), which we found out was right across the street. Haha. She wanted to make sure that we won't get lost. Hahahaha. She left us at the Luneta Gate (the one nearest to the Mass Comm Library in Luneta). She headed back to PLM because she was already *a few minutes* late for her council meeting. Hehe.

- First stop in Luneta was the Japanese Garden. The minimalist garden was fashioned to look Japanese. It didn't have much inside though. It had a small rock-plaque things with the face of Kwanima/Avalokishvara (I think.) It was said to be from Hiroshima. It could also be a replica. I really don't know. The plaque says "from Hiroshima". Haha.
****Admission Fee: 5 pesos per person

- Next, we planned to check out the Planetarium, but it was temporarily closed. Sighhhh. Since it was closed, we headed straight to the Chinese Garden. It was "authentic" !!. I love it :) :) :) :) Complete with ducks and geese. Haha. It also had a statue of Confucius (Kong Zi). Aside from that, the patterns painted on the walls and the ceiling were very nicely made. It gave me that "classical Chinese" feel.
****Admission Fee: 5 pesos per person

- The geese were funny. When foreigners walk pass them, they'll follow the foreigners until the foreigners are far away. When Filipinos walk pass the geese, the geese just ignore them....ergo, the geese ignored us when we walked pass them. Hahahaha.

- After leaving the garden, Jessica realized that she left her umbrella inside. Luckily, the man there was kind enough to let Jessica in without paying the entrace fee again.

- We next went to the nearby eatery in Luneta and ate lunch. We ate our lunches at the open area beside the eatery. Since most of us ordered fish, the cats started coming to us. We give the cats our fish heads and tails. Since Erlyn wasn't able to finish her fish, she gave the leftovers to the cats too. 2 of the cats even fought over the fish meat. Hey, at least they wrestled far from us. Hahahaha.

- After eating our lunch, we walked outisde Luneta and went straight to the nearby Museo Pambata (Children's Museum). It's an interactive museum made especially for kids (and kids at heart)
****Adrmission Fee: 100 pesos per person (general fee), 50% discount for Manila residents (with valid ID that shows that you're a resident), but free on Tuesdays (Manila residents with valid ID). Also, senior citizens with valid ID do not need to pay for their entrace. Street children also do not need to pay for the entrance fee (well that's nice....)

- It was the first time for my 4 companions (ever), and my first time in almost 9 years to go there. I was amazed at some of the improvements they made to the museum. We all acted as if we were little children playing around with everything we can play with. In one part, we even got to dress up in our "alternative Filipiniana" attires. We saw numerous sarongs, skirts, shirts, and other costumes lying around. Since my "cloth/tela" skills here already honed through MASCKS (Ramayana memories....), I used the clothing items, and turned me and my friends into dolls. Hahahaha. Since pretty much everything didn't fir on me, I used the sarongs and random pieces of cloth, and turned myself into a Muslim from Mindanao. Hahahaha. (refer to pictures)

- After the museum, we returned to Rizal park, and went to the other end of it. We went to see the new National Museum (not the one in the old Senate Bldg ah....).
****Admission Fee: 100pesos for adults, 30pesos for students

- We didn't have pictures inside the museum because we weren't allowed to take snaps inside.

- I like the museum, because the galleries were really nicely made (not to mention airconditioned). Personally I was fascinated also at some of the exhibits there, including the Laguna Copper Plate (I'll send a link below). The Laguna Copper Plate was one of the national treausres that I wanted to see....I never thought I'd see it in my life. Hahahaha. Well at least now, I saw the original copper plate in the National Museum. :) :) :) :)
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Copperplate_Inscription

- After leaving the museum, we walked for a few minutes until we reached the UN LRT Station. We went home *super* tired and sunburnt, but it was fun. I think it would be better if we did this in the "-ber" months, so we don't really have to endure under the hot sun. Kunti na lang gumapang na kami sa lupa sa init eh....di lang namin ginawa kasi pati yung sahig mainit din. Haha.

- By the way....total amount of gastos for the day??....300PESOS. :) :) :) :)



** Pics were from my cam, Jessica's, Bless's, Erlyn's and Nathalie's.... :) :) :) :)

*PICTURES ARE COMPLETE*