Hello mga ka-Hive! Here’s another entry from my travel series. I will bring you to Manila through this blog. So buckle up mga ka-Hive as we take a tour to few of their tourist spots.
After Baguio, next in my itinerary was Manila. I have a former colleague who lives there and I wanted to catch up with her. It has been a long time we talked since my resignation. We always stay at her condo every time we visit Manila.
It was a long trip via van. We stopped over at Pangasinan and I tried their famous delicacy which is tupig. It was recommended to me by kuya driver.
Tupig is a Filipino rice caked wrapped in banana leaves and is baked in charcoal. It is somehow similar to Suman.
I arrived at Mandaluyong Manila at around 10pm. She happily welcomed me and took me to her condo. I was exhausted from my Baguio Tour and the travel that I immediately took a half bath so that I could take a rest on the bed. One fact about me is that I would never lay on my bed on my outdoor clothes. My bed should always be clean thus, a shower or half bath is a must before getting on it.
My view from the 32nd floor. Oh citylights 🥰
Conversation was endless. Full of catching up and updating each other. We didn’t have a planned itinerary for our trip on the next day so we talked about it. She has been living in Manila for years but is a home buddy. She don't usually go out and she was glad that I visited her so that she could somehow take a tour of the few places.
Morning after. Since her condo is in Boni station, we took an MRT to LRT then drop off at United Nations avenue. From there, we head to our very first place in the order of business.
LRT and MRT
Our itinerary.
National Museum of Fine Arts.
This is where you could see the paintings of the famous artists such as Fernando Amorsolo and the famous Spoliarium by Juan Luna which shows dying gladiators. We were both in awe admiring the paintings in the museum. We were all praises to the artists. Wondering how they were able to come up with those beautiful art pieces. And salute to their superb skills.
Juan Luna's Spoliarium
Each paintings had its own stories to tell.
National Museum of Anthropology.
Second to the itinerary, is National Museum of Anthropology where the Archaeological and Ethnological entities are stored. You could see the ancient vases, plates, statues, traveling boats and skulls of the ancient.
Look how massive this boat is.
Every items in the museum holds many memories and are highly valued as it depicts the old times. I then realized that the world is indeed evolving.
National Museum of Natural History
There are three National Museum in Manila and this museum was our last to visit. This museum holds the biological and geological exhibits of the country. You could see the whale sharks, crocodiles, exotic flowers, and forests. Upon entering the museum, you will be welcomed by their grand white modern stairs and its vast areas. We could not stop taking photos.
A mural painting of the famous tarsier of Bohol.
Seeing those natural exhibits created a huge impact on us both. It made us value the intrinsic treasures of the Philippines. The country has bountiful natural resources. Certainly, kay ganda mo Pilipinas! (How beautiful you are, Philippines!).
Intramuros
Intramuros is a walled city. I have been going back and forth to Manila but was not able to visit the tourist spot. So I made sure that time, I should never miss it. Thus, it was a target secured when we entered into the walled city.
I was then transferred to the late 1800 with their structure and ambience. Their buildings were still in stones and woods. It was very historic. They have also cafes and restaurants where you could take a chill and eat whenever you are hungry from the tour. You could also rent a bamboo bike if you want to but we preferred to walk.
Just the two of us. A selfie at the Manila Cathedral.
Overall, we had an informative, educational yet fun tour in Manila. It made you appreciate its rich history.
Ugbo, Tondo
It was about 5pm when we finished the tour in Intramuros. And it was time for the most awaited part of the itinerary, the food trip.
Here is a little backstory. My initial plan for food crawl was Binondo. It was because of tiktok that made me want to go there and try Chinese and affordable cuisines. My friend did not know how to commute to Binondo from Intramuros. So we asked some locals to guide us to the place.
There was this one local whom we approached and asked for direction and proceeded to asking us our main agenda of going there. To which I answered,
“Ahh sa Ugbo (in Ugbo)!” He replied.
“Yes po (yes sir)” I answered not knowing where and what Ugbo was but I trusted him as he is a local.
He instructed us the route and the jeep we should take. We followed his instruction and arrived at the church near lucky Chinatown. We then asked few people specifically tricycle drivers if they could take us to Ugbo. Some declined and complained that it was too far and it would cost us 200 pesos for the fare.
My friend was kind of hesitant but not me. Determined to go to that place, I offered to pay for the fare. We hopped on the tricycle and kuya driver took us to Ugbo.
I was happy and hopeful like a child waiting for her reward. About 15-20 minutes had passed and it seemed like we got out of Binondo. Me and my friend were eyeing each other as if we were like B1 and B2. Their famous “are you thinking what I’m thinking” telepathy tag line. Questions like “are we safe?” “Where are we going?” “Where exactly is ugbo?”. Nonetheless, we just put our trust to the tricycle driver hoping that he would send us off in one piece.
Another 10 minutes had passed and we had finally reached Ugbo. And that was where I found out that Ugbo is in Tondo, Manila. I then remembered that the place kept on showing up on my Tiktok feed. I don't know what to feel at that exact moment. A mixed of dismay as it was not Binondo and joy for unexpectedly reaching Ugbo.
We were then greeted with a parade of food stalls. My tummy was growling as we strolled each one of them deciding what to eat. Every stalls offered variety of food from meals, snacks and dessert. It was very festive and made you want to try all of them. We had dinner at a certain restaurant and then bought some desserts and snacks to bring home as we were already full.
These were the food we tried and bought home.
I am telling you, we had food mukbang when we reached home.
The detour was definitely worth it.
As a summary, my tour in Manila was full of learning. It opened my eyes more to the stories of the Philippines. It made me realize that History is not just in the four corners of the wall. How we fought hard for our independence from the Spaniards. I salute those heroes for fighting for our democracy. I salute those artists for showcasing Philippines through their talents. And the natural resources of the Philippines is something to brag and be boastful of.
I am a one proud Filipina here.
Until my next blog. Thank you for reading.
With so much love - XOXO,
Bev 😘