Old Manila in The Present Day

As I started my itinerary for 2013, it's a no-brainer that I began it close to home. It's very close to home, indeed. I mean, I'm from Makati and Manila is like a ride away, and yet I haven't been to some historical places in and of the city. So for a starter, since it was a Sunday, me and my cuz planned our Quiapo day. Actually, it was only Quiapo that we planned to visit that day but the list grew as we walked through the paved side streets and alleys along Palanca Street.

Quiapo Church

Black Nazarene

Wholesale stores, a great bargain for your money!

Tried our luck at lottery, and guess what, we won 100 bucks!

Lacson statue along Carriedo with the big eye sore at the background, the billboard.

Walking along these streets gave me new perspective about the place and the people living in it. It just shows that everyone try their best to live one day at a time.

As we reached Carriedo, and since it's almost noon, we opted to take a ride to Intramuros. Our first option was to walk along the bridge but it's the middle of the day, so it's a no-no. A short jeepney ride take us to Intramuros in no time.

Guardia sibil

The old COMELEC building

Enjoying the view? It's a fake window!

Enjoyed the walled city via calesa.

It's been a very memorable day, so far. There's time so headed to Luneta where the Rizal monument is at. It's so sad that it's there for so long but I haven't had the time to check out this historical place.

Goofing around in Luneta

Keeping the good times coming. It's 3 p.m. and yet we have this energy to check out other places, so we decided to head for MOA for a cool breath of air... and a bowlful of ramen with some jasmine tea at Pho Hoa for the heat and the long walks of the day.

Solved!

What a great start for the new year. We've just invested one whole day and 500 bucks for this historical adventure at the very heart of Manila! Suffice to say that we not only enjoyed it but we learned something about it, some things that we may know about Manila.

One itinerary checked out and I'm getting ready for the next one.