Places : Intramuros - Reminiscing at the Walled City

Last January I attended a symposium at a school located inside the walled district of Manila: Intramuros. Intramuros is the old walled Spanish city-fortress from where the city of Manila originated. The walls were built by the Spaniards in the late sixteenth century to protect them  from marauding Chinese pirates and other foreign invaders coming from the Manila Bay. The walled city used to be surrounded by a moat. Intramuros is one of Manila's main tourist attractions. Inside Intramuros are schools and universities, parks and gardens, churches and convents, museums, government and private offices, restaurants and shops, hotels and some private residential houses. Most of the buildings and churches have Filipino-Spanish architectures and designs. The preserved old buildings, churches, monuments, cobblestone paved streets and "calesas" or horse-drawn carriages make Intramuros looks like one of the old cities of Europe. 

I studied at one of the schools located inside Intramuros, and seeing the place again after a long time made me reminisce the good times I had spent inside the walls of Intramuros during my school days.  Here are some pictures I took of one portion of the walled city and its peripheral areas during my last visit. 

Comment : Whoever is responsible in maintaining the cleanliness of Intramuros is not doing a good job. Some parts of the walled city are scattered with litters. Considering that Intramuros is located right in front of the City Hall of Manila and being the city's prime tourist spot, it should be well-maintained. 

Click photo to enlarge

The Manila's Walled City : Intramuros

Picture Source :

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialIntramurosAdministration

Petition : Saving Manila Bay and Our Sunset

The Beautiful Manila Bay Sunset

I studied in one of the universities in Intramuros, and one of the places we used to go to kill time before going to class or study before an exam was at the Rizal Park, particularly in that small pocket park area behind the Grandstand. It was a good place go, alone or with friends. That place was also a dating place for couples, and a picnic place for families and"barkadas". The best time to go there was late in the afternoon during sunset. And the best place to sit was along the sea wall or the benches facing the sea.

The last time I went to this place was when a a balikbayan cousin invited me to a dinner in one of those seafront restaurants, two years ago. The place had changed a lot, most of the area is now a parking lot. The seawall area where we used to watch the sunset is almost gone, replaced by the Manila Ocean Park and restaurant expansions.  I was saddened with what I saw. Yes, there were new development and tourist attractions, but the sunset viewing spots were gone.

For many Manilans, it is a ritual to go to the Rizal Park and the Roxas Blvd seawall to watch the beautiful sunset of Manila Bay. Watching the sunset is a mesmerizing and an almost spiritual experience. Seeing a big orange fireball going down the horizon with the sky changing its hues with all the shades of red, orange, blue, violet, magenta as it goes down is just something out of this world. Very few cities or places have sunsets, but fewer are places with a beautiful sunset. And Manila has one of the most beautiful sunset in this planet.

Nowadays, if you want to see an unobstructed view of the famous Manila Bay sunset, you have to go to the seawall along Roxas Blvd. between the US Embassy and the Manila Yacht Club. This is the only location now left to see the sunset along Roxas Blvd. But soon, the sunset view will be obstructed by a new real estate development in this area. A big portion of the Manila Bay between the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the US Embassy will be reclaimed and developed into a commercial hub.

We hope that that day will never come when we will never see the sunset along Roxas Boulevard anymore. If ever that day comes, Manila's sunset years has come.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE PETITION NOT TO RECLAIM MANILA BAY

Please sign the petition below

Click link below to sign the petition :
http://www.change.org/petitions/s-o-s-manila-bay-save-our-sunset-stop-the-reclamation-of-manila-bay?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=18773&alert_id=oNXzRKjwGs_QxbcFZjviM

Photo Source :
http://mypinoy.tv/news/reclamation-of-manila-bay-sunset-view-revived/

Development : Circuit Makati - Makati's New Entertainment District

Circuit Makati Events Ground

Circuit Canopy- An open air entertainment venue

Circuit Makati- Makati's New Entertainment District

The Eastwood City in Quezon City, the Mall of Asia Complex and the Newport Entertainment City in Pasay City, The Fort in Taguig City are just some of the latest mixed-use development projects  that have sprung up in Metro Manila in recent years. These places are micro-cities which include all facets of development in one place. Though these places  have a lot in common with regard to mixed-use development components (residential, business, entertainment, etc) , they also have  distinguishing  features and attractions which make them unique. These developments have their own designs, themes, services and specialized locators. They also have particular niche markets to cater to. The Newport Entertainment City for example, with its gaming and casino component, is high-rollers' haven; while Eastwood City, with its canine-friendly establishments, is dog-owners' favorite. 

Soon, another mixed-use development project is joining the fray : Circuit Makati. Makati City, with its premier business and commercial districts, is not resting on its laurels yet. With this new development, Makati will soon have its new entertainment district. 

What is particularly interesting about this new development is its location along the Pasig River. This will be the first major mega-development along the banks of the Pasig River. ( Though there's one pocket development called Acqua Private Residences, a condominium complex being built by Century Properties across the other side of the river, in Mandaluyong. But this is minuscule compared to the 21-hectares Circuit Makati project ). 

With the improving quality of the waters of the Pasig River, more developments are expected to rise along its banks. Soon, properties along the banks of Pasig River will be one of the most expensive real estate properties in Metro Manila, with the scenic river view giving these properties a big premium. And with the start of Circuit Makati development along the river bank, let's hope that  a coordinated effort (by the private and government sector) to develop and beautify the whole stretch of the river and its tributaries, from Pasig City up to its Manila Bay estuary would also soon begin. The Pasig River had really been long neglected and is an untapped tourist attraction of Metro Manila.

Metro Manila literally started and grew from small dwelling settlements along the banks of Pasig River in the olden days. Centuries later ,when the Spaniards came, they also constructed the Walled City of Intramuros along the bank of the river. Intramuros, then  became the focal point of other developments and all activities in the Pasig River.

Now, with the development of Circuit Makati along the bank of the Pasig River, this symbolically completed the circuit of development in the Pasig River where all settlements in Manila started. 

Below is a brief description  of the project from the Circuit Makati webpage :

"Circuit Makati is a 21-hectare mixed-use development on the former Sta. Ana Racetrack property of the Philippine Racing Club Inc. (PRCI).  Soon to rise as Makati’s entertainment district, Circuit is  poised to be the unequivocal destination for all things entertainment – with its world-class indoor theatre, multipurpose entertainment spaces and open grounds integrated with commercial, hotel and residential blocks.  A collaboration among Ayala Land, Inc., PRCI and the City of Makati, Circuit completes the vision for Makati to be a leading city for entertainment, lifestyle and business."

Picture Source and Related Sites :

http://makeitmakati.com/

http://www.makati.gov.ph/portal/index.jsp

The former Santa Ana Racetrack is the site of Circuit Makati 

(See oval with Carmona label on map)

                                     
Map Source :
http://openstreetmap.org.ph/

Places : Intramuros

The Philippines is one, if not the most beautiful country in the world when it comes to natural wonders, landscapes, sceneries and historical places. But our department of tourism is not able to promote them the way they should be. When I went to Malaysia a few years ago, they were  promoting in their tourist brochures, maps and tourism ads a historical arch as a must-see tourist destination  in Malacca. And here in the Manila, we have the Intramuros- the Walled Spanish city, full not only of arches but churches, museums, schools, a fort and other interesting historical landmarks all in one place. But our promotion campaigns of Intramuros  pales in comparison  with the way Malaysians promote this Portugese arch in Malacca. I hope our department of tourism will be more aggressive in promoting our tourist destinations. Our neighboring ASEAN countries are earning much tourism dollars/euros with their campaigns. Can't we do the same?