My Very First Manila Trip

my first trip outside of Cebu this year. this trip wasn't suppose to have me on it, but due to my uncle Tommy's absence, auntie Betsy decided to tag me along.

personal agenda:
- buy Larg and Soel stuffed toys from Comic Alley
- pick up reserved Dead Master from Big Boy's

we had an early flight, 5:55 in the morning. we  had to leave the house at around four so i was still groggy with lack of sleep. we had with us some pasalubong to give to auntie Ana: some dried mangoes (Cebu's specialty), three kilos of lechon (CnT), native chorizo, and some leche flan. sadly, the syrup of the last one spilled, so we had to re-wrap it in plastic.

when it was time to board the plane, to my dismay, we were seated on the left side of the plane. which meant that i will not be able to take pictures of the sunrise. all i got on my side were some pictures of clouds catching the pinkish hue of the sun.

we landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around seven. auntie Ana was waiting for us outside. we went to the house she's sharing with tita Grace, unpacked, and auntie Ana drove us to Mall of Asia.

Mall of Asia is HUGE. they placed three malls in one setting. my feet hurt with all the walking. i bought a book at National Bookstore while auntie Betsy and Auntie Ana went to Kultura to buy some "Cory bags" for lola. lola is such a fan of the late former president Corazon Aquino.

we were leaving when i saw the Comic Alley shop then hurriedly bought four stuffed toys because the shop's staff were already harassing me about my hair: "totoo ba to?", roughly translated to "is this real?". the had the audacity to actually pick up my braid and ask me. D8<

we headed for Manila Hotel after that. auntie Betsy was going to attend the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) oath-taking; the main reason for this trip. auntie Ana had to go back home since she was not feeling well. that left me by myself when auntie Betsy was in the function. the lobby was full. gah! i had to lug around both of our bags until i find a vacant seat -which i did.

we went to Luneta afterwards.

 then back to Mall of Asia. bought more books and waited for auntie Ana to pick us up.

this trip doesn't really have an itinerary. whatever we think of, we do. this time they decided to visit "Cory and Ninoy". meaning, we had to go to Manila Memorial. this time, my map-reading skills came in handy. we mistakenly went to Loyola Memorial first before realizing that it was the wrong cemetery.

we retraced our steps and entered Manila Memorial and had another search for the graves.

this simple tomb is where former president Corazon "Cory" Aquino and her husband Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. lies buried. took pictures for lola.

after that, auntie Ana suggested that we go to Tagatay, home of the famous Taal Volcano. it was a long trip from Metro Manila. we passed through a toll gate that had a Coca Cola plant beside it.

we didn't get to see Taal Volcano very clearly since it was covered in fog. -_-

we went home at around eight in the evening -after dinner, of course- bought a Buko Pie and stopped for a bathroom break (bottomless iced tea, anyone?) along the way.

the next day, we visited yet another cemetery. this time, it's of those killed in battle during WW2 -i think. it's a big plot of land with uniformly placed white crosses and star of Davids made of marble.

two white stone structures carrying the names of those who were lost during the war (and mosaics of siege maps) sits on either sides of a chapel that housed a VERY tall mosaic of a lady holding white flowers.

the entire wall of the chapel is embedded with small colored square stones. the details and the amount of work it took to accomplish this will really impress you.

 the two stone structure beside the chapel lists alphabetically the names of those soldiers that died in battle

Resurrecion S. Kintanar
Sergeant, U.S. Army
Service # 10645006
1st Gun Crew, Coast Artillery Corps
Entered the Service from: Philippines
Died: 16-Nov-42
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards: Purple Heart

i don't know if he's in anyway related to me.

Auntie Ana parked the car in SM Makati. we rode a bus bound for EDSA. there, we headed for the EDSA shrine.

from EDSA, we rode a bus for Greenhills to get the Dead Master figma my sister reserved at Big Boy's. the shop was hard to find. the shop's contact didn't give any directions as to where it's exactly located. we managed to find it after a long walk around the shopping center.

 then to Quiapo and, later, along the side of Malacañang.

we rode an MRT back to SM Makati. we were packed like sardines inside.

we were in a hurry to get to Mall of Asia. the 2nd Pyromusical Competition starts at seven in the evening and we were still stuck in traffic. it seemed like everyone was doing the same. we arrived just another set lit the sky.

 that was our trips finale. another early flight the next dawn bound for Cebu.