Travelogue - Roxas Blvd. Mabini, Luneta

B inabaybay ko ngayon ang Roxas Blvd. I was not too quick to get a picture of Luneta but here is a glance of Luneta park together with my male model in puruntong pants. Notice the trees and the environs. Malinis at well maintained.

I am close to the U. S. Embassy to my (R) and the Savory Chicken/ Maxim's Restaurant to the (L). This is still noontime and note the traffic at Roxas Blvd - hindi humuhupa.

We went through Mabini St. Nadaanan ko ang Padre Faura where PGH is. Other buildings here are PAL and Foreign Affairs bldg. Lalong sumikip ang mga daan for dito tinayo ang Robinson's at hindi magkamayaw ang mga taong labas-pasok sa department store. Padre Faura was very busy then during my time but it just looks so different now. I missed the old Ateneo Chapel which sits right beside the Dentistry building of UP.


This is Mabini proper. Walang nabago - makasalanan pa rin. Puno talaga tayo ng irony. Sa kalagitnaan ng Mabini ay nakatayo ang isa sa mga magagandang lumang simbahan. Siguro pagkatapos magkasala, tatakbo sa simbahan para humingi ng patawad at awa. I remember this area too for this was one of our favorite hangouts - Hobbit House, My Father's Moustache, Pension Filipina (this was a bar mind you).

Too bad I can not get off & eat at the Aristocrat. This restaurant served the best & cheapest pork bar-b-que with javanese rice then. Masarap din ang halo-halo nila dito. The traffic just is so bad; besides, napakatindi ng init nakakainis lumabas ng sasakyan. Because of these mundane excuses, I have to pass up some more gastronomic delights.



I took a picture of this jeep in front of me. Ganyan kalapit ang mga sasakyan sa gitna ng traffic; parang ga-buhok lamang ang layo ng mga ito sa bawat isa. And they have the nerve to ask me HOW IS THEIR DRIVING?

Let me end my travelogue for this night at this intersection. Manila could not get much nicer than this. The famed Manila Bay view close to the Army-Navy Club. I did not check how clean Manila Bay is. I'd rather have that mental image of the 1970's Manila Bay.


Hinahanap hanap kita Manila

Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga

Mga jeepney mong nagliliparan

Mga babae mong naggagandahan

Take me back in your arms Manila

And promise me you'll never let go

Pink Elephant

How familiar are we to those inscriptions on many Manila/Quezon City walls saying - BAWAL UMIHI DITO? These signs were meant to be deterrent to the male population who has to go - and would have to go NOW. Ang kinalabasan - naka-aangseg daytoy nga kanto ta kanayon met nga umisbo da idtoy.

The MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) came up with such an idea to install these "urinals" to provide a sense of privacy to these males. Note from the picture - awan met itti urinal da ngem adda itti takip na. These pictures were taken in an area close to Dimasalang where traffic is heavily congested.
I am not so sure what these urinals were supposed to achieve. Naangseg pay latta idiay bakod - ngem dagiti immisbo idiay ket naakepan da met. Which of these reasons is the lesser evil?

Maybe it is the absence of accessible public utility rooms in populated places that sparked this idea. Hindi naman lahat ng tao ay pwedeng pumasok sa Burger King para maki-restroom. O di kaya hindi naman pwedeng pumunta sa Trinoma para maki-CR (their term in Manila) dahil maniningil ang mga establishments na ito ng sampung piso magamit lamang ang kanilang palikuran. Sabi ni Erich , di bale one to sawa naman daw ang toilet paper.
Maybe gustong ipakita ng MMDA sa madla na meron konting dignidad or sense of propriety ang mga taong ito at imbis umihi na lamang against the wall ay umihi ang mga ito against a pink wall. Ganoon pa rin. From a cruder practise (the wall) to a government sponsored cruder practise (the pink elephant wall).

Manila Travelogue

I finally recovered from my jetlag and slowly packed the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. This particular Thanksgiving celebration took a backseat as far as excitement and kwentos are concerned since everyone was more interested with my stories about Manila than anything else.

I went through Quiapo and I am now on my way to Plaza Lawton. To the left is a picture taken of the other side of Quiapo towards Binondo. If I am not mistaken, one of the buildings standing is Feati University - Papa's Alma Mater. I was impressed with the QUiapo river. Malinis sa tingin ko at wala masyadong basura. Pero hindi ibig sabihin niyan na pwede uli maligo yong mga bata roon.
As the car goes through the bridge I had a good view of the Metropolitan Theatre. Kalunos-lunos ang lagay nito. This is one building that could have been rehabbed or restored. I had the chance of watching a play in this theatre from way back then. There were restoration plans then - I guess these never pushed through.
Umabot na kami sa Lawton and namangha ako sa Post Office Building at ito ay na-maintain ng pamahalaan. I was once a reviewer of the Performance Appraisal System of this government entity. Dito na siguro ako nakakita at naka-meet ng napakaraming kartero.
It was almost noontime per the Big Ben of Manila - yong malaking relo sa City Hall.
Remember yong sa ilalim na daan ay pupunta sa Taft Ave at yong sa ibabaw na daan ay papunta sa Pier? I remember those days na matindi ang traffic dito since andiyan pa yong mga bus na papunta sa Laguna, yong mga jeep at yong mga Metro Aide na walang ginagawa kundi nakatayo lamang.
We are now at the heart of Manila noontime. I remember where I ate that day - Hizon's at Mabini. Masarap at malinamnam. More of that next entry.