I have been itching to share my thoughts on my travels. Writing and travel is a good mix like that chicken and spaghetti or the beer and chicharon (cured pork skin) which I really love when doodling on my notepad. Writing and travel combo will be best complemented with good pictures but don’t expect much here, though. This is not some super vacation journal or those once a year big budget trips on a 5-star remote island. This is something about my activities, adventures and my thoughts during my days off. I love to see places and learn more about their history, people, and their specialties but I want to keep it on a budget trip as much as possible. I don’t even consider them "real" travels since most of them will be just a short excursion to the section of Old Manila for a crash course on history, a pancit (noodles) treat to Chinatown, a gone for the weekend on a nearby province, or when I run along Pasig River for my cardio work out. Going to beautiful places couldn't be that far and expensive at all.I work in Business Processing Outsource industry just like maybe more than half of the younger people in the Metro. Working for BPO companies is mostly at graveyard shift as they cater mostly to US clients. Philippines is a half day ahead of US clock. I’m with sales so that gives me lots of stress. Ways I cure the stress? Go on foot during my free days. Pack that mini knapsack with pen, notebook, and bottled water, a fully charged digicam, would lace up my rubber shoes and there I go. Another way is run along Pasig River or trek the urban streets of my surrounding area early mornings. I have the penchant for taking the “road less traveled”. I live in the “Tri-City” of Pasig, Makati and Pateros. A landlocked area in the overlapping boundaries of these three unique sections of Metro Manila.
Pasig is one of oldest human habitation in the country. The early Filipinos settled along its banks even before the Spaniards came. The river connects Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay where according to history the flower Nilad (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea) used to be abundant. This is where Manila got its name: "May nilad" or "There's a nilad". Checking on scientific data, nilad is a shrub and not a flower. It also didn't grow along the banks of the river since they thrive only on mangrove forests and sandy beaches. Obviously, that would be the shores of Manila Bay because Laguna de Bay was a caldera of a sunken volcano. Since the flow of the river would shift between the two bays depending on the tide, Nilads could have been washed along the banks of the Pasig River. Now, the river is full of water lilies which is definitely not a good sign for any river. According to my professor back in College, a river full of lillies is a dirty river. Pasig River opens up the setting for Jose Rizal’s second novel El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed). Today, Pasig is a contrast of an old town and bustling city.
Pateros used to be a barrio of Pasig during the Spanish times. Now it is the only remaining town in the whole of Metro and I would say Pateros gives you the atmosphere of the countryside in the city.My apartment is in the outskirts of Pateros. It's so quiet at night you wouldn't think I live in the city. But just a few hundred meters from the gate of my pad, is the noisy and crowded intersection of Makati and Pasig. The town is famous for balut (duck embryo) hence, considered the Balut Capital of the country. I just missed a couple weeks ago the Feast of St. Martha, the town's patroness. One lesson learned was to always bring your camera anywhere you go. You’ll never know what would happen next, it wouldn’t hurt.
Makati is the business district of Metro Manila. It’s the Manhattan of NY. What can you expect in a place like this? Urban, hip, modern, fast and progressive and that’s the reason why I feel compelled to post anything about my place, my adventures, my walks. Three unique destinations, three different cultures, what more can you ask for. Not to mention, I am from Palawan, a place of totally different culture and environment. This makes everything interesting.
