celebraTINg exisTENce: Park

A famous quotation from Henry Miller says, "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."

I have done this before with a different set of friends and to be honest, I don't even remember how many times I've been to Intramuros but it's always worth coming back to so why not? Anyway, we had a challenge when we went there so this walking tour in the Old Manila was also known as the P 500.00 challenge. We wanted to tour Intramuros and Rizal Park spending less than P 500.00 each.

From the LRT Station, we just walked to the southern gate of Intramuros.
This gate is near Puerta Real and PLM.

Should you want to spend the whole day touring around Manila, go there on a Sunday because museum admissions are free on Sundays. National Museum (NAG and MFP) link: here.

Or should you opt for a WOKing tour before the walking tour, you might want to go to Chinatown first before heading to Intramuros. Binondo Food Wok link: here.

Anyway, since we're on a tight budget... :))

Here's the Plaza del Gobernador.

It used to be the home of the governor-general during the Spanish Colonization era but this 8-storey building now houses offices such as Intramuros Administration.

Here is the Manila Cathedral.

The last time I was here was during our Visita Iglesia 2014.

Across the Manila Cathedral is the Plaza de Roma.

The monument is made in honor of a the Spanish king Carlos IV as a tribute for the introduction of the smallpox vaccine.

Thanks to Intramuros Administration that the street from the gate to Fort Santiago is now pedestrian-friendly. There are several pedicab drivers who would offer to tour you around the historical landmarks inside the Intramuros but the fun is in the walking... or ako lang natutuwa pag naglalakad? haha. Support their livelihood and hire one if you don't want to walk a lot. :)

It was written in one of the tarpaulins of IA that "Intramuros was Manila," there's so much history and heritage in that place so it's a good thing that they're reclaiming the historic streets to encourage more people to do a walking tour in the area as well.

Infairness sa announcement na 'to, gusto ko 'yung, "... not about the shortest route or time traveled. IT'S ABOUT GETTING THERE." Parang metaphor lang ng buhay, noh?

There are a lot of tombs inside the San Agustin Church and we spent several minutes looking for the tomb of the Spanish Conquistador/Founder of Manila, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. We were shy to ask around so we just looked for it on our own but to no avail. But I learned that it's located in the room beside the altar so the next time I'll go there, I'll definitely pay his tomb a closer visit. (Tama ba 'tong pinagsasabi ko? HAHAHAHA)

There are currently 8 places in the Philippines that are included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO and I'm proud to say that I've been into 3 of them. Wow, laking achievement naman!!! HAHAHAHA. Gusto mo rin? Punta ka na San Agustin Church. I mentioned this because I'll be needing a back link when I get to visit the rest some time in the future (Di ko alam kung paano, gusto ko lang. Haha!). So for the three of them that I've been into: San Agustin Church. Intramuros; Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte and Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

They preserved the cobblestone streets in this area.

On our way back to Fort Santiago from San Agustin Church, a street name caught my attention because it's one of the things that I need in this life. HAHAHAHA. Konting konti na lang maglalagay na ko ng Donate Button dito baka lang kasi may generous na tao, ganyan. :))

Yes pls. Marami. #intramuros #manila

A photo posted by Tin Gallemaso (@xtintina) on Mar 29, 2015 at 10:57pm PDT

Yan. Mga ganyan lang talaga kasiyahan ko. Tuwang-tuwa na ko nung nakita ko 'yung Anda St. Hahaha. K. Fine.

Going here has an entrance fee but I think paying is worth it since you may spend the whole day in this area.

We're so paranoid that we almost ran for our lives the moment we walked near this area. One of my friends saw the statues inside and he was like, "ANO YUNG NASA LOOB?!" Parang kami, without even looking, "HALA ANO NGA 'YUN?" Konting takbo palayo sabay nung naisip namin na nakakahiya kasi medyo maraming tao, "AH WALA. WALA PALA. WALA NA LANG PALA" Pero wala, statue lang. Kinabahan lang kami. hahahaha! Lam mo na. Pranela.

Pasig River

Just like the Fort San Pedro in Cebu which is facing the sea, Fort Santiago is strategically built near mouth of the Pasig River.

The facade of Fort Santiago.

After our Intramuros Walking Tour, we went back to Rizal Park and waited for the start of the free dancing fountain show.

It doesn't have to be extravagant to enjoy the goodness of life. Char. 😂😂😂 #rizalpark #fountain #manila #arte #damingsinabi

A video posted by Tin Gallemaso (@xtintina) on Mar 30, 2015 at 3:34am PDT

And our walk to the past ended here in Rizal Park link: here.

As for the expenses, we have managed to survive spending less than P 350.00 each. Yes, sightseeing doesn't always have to be far and expensive. There are a lot of near and affordable places for us to go to and it is never a bad idea to relive the past by visiting heritage sites like this. :)

So ano na? Magbabasa ka na lang ba? Gora na sa Intramuros! :))