February 24, 2013
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MANILA TOUR | 02.18.13
One of our plans is to take a tour around Manila. I KNOW. It’s not really foreign into my sight but this office mate of mine actually haven’t gotten around much in Manila so we decided to take her a tour.
We pretty much got late, almost started the tour around 1pm XD although the said call time should be at 10am XD *so Filipino time* Anyways, we still had fun running around Manila :)
We met at SM Manila and had our lunch there then we start walking in Intramuros.
Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Known as the Walled City, the original fortified city of Manila was the seat of the Spanish government during the Spanish colonial period. The walled part of Manila was called intramuros, which is Latin for “within the walls”; districts beyond the walls were referred as the extramuros of Manila, meaning “outside the walls”.[2][3]
Construction of the defensive walls was started by the Spaniards in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions. The 0.67-square-kilometre (0.26 sq mi) walled city was originally located along the shores of the Manila Bay, south of the entrance to Pasig River. The reclamations during the early 20th-century obscured the walls from the bay. Guarding the old city is Fort Santiago, its citadel located at the mouth of the river. -Wikipedia.com
You will not be able to see the whole “WALL” as it’s very long XD our digicam can’t capture it. But I’ll tell you it’s a long walk :) Similar to China’s Great Wall, our wall is use for defense against foreign invasion as said above :D
Today, Intramuros is surrounded by popular Universities/Colleges. Here you can see, Lyceum University of the Philippines, MAPUA, San Juan De Letran College, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila etc… You can also see here DOLE and the MANILA BULLETIN :D So you’ll see a lot of students roaming around. It wasn’t now so historical but you can still feel it’s history :D
First picture was the Baluarte of San Diego. This is connected to the “wall” and i think the end of the wall :) LOL. I personally do not know what is this for aside from defense :D *we don’t have a tour guide to explain XD*
Next stop was The Fort Santiago :) 2nd picture was the entrance of the Fort :D
Fort Santiago (Spanish: Fuerza de Santiago Tagalog: Moog ng Santiago) is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros (“within the walls”).
The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. José Rizal, the Philippines’ national hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution. -Wikipedia
Baluarte of San Diego and The Fort Santiago both have entrance fee nowadays XD 50php for students and 75php for non-students :D
We visited Rizal Museum :D He was really awesome :D His writings and all. Not really a Rizal fan but I salute and proud of him :D
You can also see here lots of Kalesa, the one with the horse XD We have failed to ride one because we thought there will be a lot more in Rizal Park and we have seen none. It was too late then~ Good thing I took that one shot of Kalesa :D There are different designs or I mean stuctures of Kalesa. There was this one with an elegant look, much like the one the Prince and Princesses used :D I have tried one before so not really a noob in Kalesa and it was fun :D But I honestly felt pity over the horses :(
Last stop was the Rizal Park :D It’s just really a park nowadays. There’s lots of people, most of them are lovers, people who jog, lots of students and of course some tourist. Statue of Rizal (Last Picture) is the highlight of this park :D which is guarded by soldiers(?) 24/7(?) For real(?)
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing, an urban oasis for family picnics on Sundays and holidays. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Manila.
Located along Manila Bay, Luneta has been the site of some of the most significant moments in Philippine history. The execution of pacifist Dr. José Rizal on December 30, 1896, sparked the fire of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish colonizers, elevating the martyr as the national hero of the country. The park was officially renamed Rizal Park in his honor and his monument serves as the symbolic focal point of the park. The Declaration of Philippine Independence from American rule was held here on July 4, 1946 as well as the political rallies of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in 1986 that led to the EDSA Revolution that deposed Marcos ending his dictatorial government. -Wikipedia
Oh, FYI– We just walked all the way to Intramuros up to Rizal Park :) It’s near but exhausting :D It’s actually a cheap but meaningful tour :D
The tour was fun :D We actually didn’t expect lots of tourist (Chinese, Americans, Koreans, Japanese, Persians etc..) and on Monday! XD Though we still wanted to go to Manila Bay, we don’t have much time and we have work tomorrow XD So maybe next time! Manila is still indeed wonderful :D There is still this Spanish feeling! HAHAHAHA! Aside from the pollution and crowd. I hope they’ll restore MNL from its best before. More fun in the Philippines!
Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.He, who doesn’t know how to look back where he came from, will never reach his destiny.
He who doesn’t appreciate his roots shall never succeed.
-Dr. Jose Rizal
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