...along these tracks while waiting for my usual ride....

Light Rail Transit System or "LRT" is one of the main rail system.The line commences at Baclaran and ends in Monumento Station.
The photo you see here is at Central Station...
The 1st half of the LRT (from Baclaran to Central) officially opened to the public on December 1, 1984. The second half (from Central Terminal to Monumento) was opened onMay 12, 1985.
The fare of the LRT is distance-based, with fares ranging from P12 - P15 pesos (that's about $ 23-29cents).

`on another note:i'll be going on a short trip and will be back next week...so, see ya' fellow cdp bloggers, till next week!! ^-^
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anyone for a game of chess? ^-^
a larger version of chessboard taken inside the mall...
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... welcome to manila yacht club...


... exclusively for members only...

the exterior facade

~ The Manila Yacht Club a.k.a MYC - is exclusively a members-only yacht club and considered to be a social and sporting mecca here in Manila, located around Manila bay...it's the oldest yacht club around Asia. Most of the yachting and sailing events are organized here.

I was surprised at how expensive the membership can be... but of course, to own a yacht... in here, that's considered a luxury already...

so sadly, i couldn't show you what's inside...

but you can visit its official website to see more... http://www.manilayachtclub.com.ph/

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On my way home, i saw this old dilapidated house...
i think this was built around the 60's, unless it's restored as a musuem, usually houses like these are being demolished thus,rebuilding a new structure again.



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ever heard of Bibingka?

~ This food stall is selling our famous freshly scrumptious Bibingka.
It is a dessert made from ghee, sometimes with cassava, rice flour and sugar,
spread with butter or margarine and sprinkled on the top are some grated coconuts.

My best bibingka by far would be in the province of Iloilo (my hometown)... but i think some people will beg to differ. ^-^

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"SARIMANOK"

~ the motif inside the refurbished bookstore that i used to go to...
maybe you're wondering what's it got to do with books?!
i don't have any idea either. ^-^ But just a theory,...

Sarimanok- is a mythical bird which originated from Mindanao (one of our main islands) .
Manòk - is a Philippine word for chicken...

It has become as a symbol and an art.
It is depicted as a fowl with colorful wings and feathered tails.
It is said to be a symbol of good fortune also.

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sunset @ manila bay...took it last sunday

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To give you a quick tour of today's post, hopping around Manila... spotted...

On the lower left portion, you'll see this pink building. It's The Executive Plaza Hotel... i'm not sure of its history, but i think this was built around the 80's.

On the upper far left portion the green checkered design, is the edifice of Landbank. It's government owned establishment and aside from providing its banking needs, the rest of the floors are commercial or business space for lease.

The last one, on the right portion would be the new Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila, as i've mentioned on my previous july post...

It's a 5 star hotel overlooking Manila Bay around Malate district.

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Malate Church is one of the oldest churches here in Manila.
Its history: 16th century... and was originally built by the Augustinians.
It was said to be baroque inspired though frankly, i don't see the gilded or ornate designs of it. This is the side entrance of the church.
Aside from the altar, and the stained glass which i admired...
I love this huge wooden door, it reminds me of old european churches.
I'll share more about it on my next post... so i can show you the front view and the interior inside...
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what do you think?...

An art piece like this can always be subjective.

This painting caught my eye because it reminded me of what used to be an

old casa.

The interiors of detailed carving, large capiz windows, dark wood flooring and antique furnitures... you seldom see houses like these except in provinces where it's mostly owned by affluent people or big houses like these altered as museums...

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~ One of the oldest and historical places here in Manila is Intramuros.

This word literally means ~ Within the Walls. This high wall enclosed structure was the place where most spaniards used to live.

This 18th century architecture is called Casa Manila. It's a colonial museum. Personally i've never been inside but i guess cameras are off-limits.

This is only the partial exterior part of the structure, where you can find some restaurants and a souvenir shop...

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Let's Eat! ^-^

Grilled Chops with fries and ham pilaf rice


Angus Beef on fresh Ciabatta bread

( did you know: Ciabatta in italian means slipper ?!)

the side menu

partial interior of the resto

we had a hearty meal @ a resto called Holy Cow... more like outback steakhouse or Friday's kind of thing...

the food was excellent and very tasty

but the serving was a little small for me...

i'll show the interior on my next posting...

meanwhile, happy eating! ^-^

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fire trucks coming in...

waiting for the people to disperse

fireman checking the unit

the man in the middle is our security guard downstairs who reported the incident, he's talking with both of the firemen who apparently was sort of disappointed as to why he called the fire rescue when initially it was only smoke that caused it...

~ Around 8-ish last night, we were startled when we heard sirens around our area.I peeped outside the window and saw that there were already about 4 firetrucks downstairs...we immediately called security guard to ask what was the commotion all about. imagine our shocked faces as panic begins to run inside our heads...as we hurried downstairs, we were relieved to find out that it was right across our bldg. and that it was only "smoke" and not fire that caused it. It's just a "false-alarm".

I quickly pulled out my camera to get some shots while waiting for the crowd to disperse and watching the firemen re-checking the units.

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ugh! our connection brokedown again yesterday... it's really unnerving when it happens, you can't surf and you can't blog...does it happen to you? i hope not...
anyway, for today's post:
The pros and cons of living in the city...The LRT (light railway transit) is almost right beside where i live,so, not only do i see it everyday but i can also hear the screeching sound when the train would make a stop or if there was an announcement to be made.
On the other hand, i don't have to hurry on my way to work bec. i'm literally justa few mts. away... ^-^
what you see in this photo is the LRT line and an old bldg. as its backdrop.
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Universidad de Manila~ is a public school located at the heart of the mehan garden adjacent to the Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila City Library and LRT station. Not to be mistaken as University of Manila though...that's another school...

I recently discovered that its original name was City College of Manila (CCM), but when Lito Atienza took office as Mayor during 2002. He changed it to Universidad de Manila.
In 2007, when Lim was re-elected as Mayor, he reverted it to its original name; however, a few months into office, he renamed it again to Gat Andrés Bonifacio University... yeah... its history can be a little confusing...

It was lunchtime when i took this shot so I was lucky to catch a few students leaving the campus.
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~monument @ rajah sulayman park~

I must admit that when it comes to history, it's always a bit fuzzy for me.

This monument, dedicated to Rajah Sulayman was a native muslim of manila. Who is a kapampangan (name of province) and tagalog. During the 16th century, he was one of the chieftains who fought against the spanish colonization.

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can you guess what this is ?


~ presenting... Dried Grilled Squid a.k.a Inihaw na Pusit...

a street food that costs less than 10 pesos... it's very cheap and tasty.

It's basically squids that are sun dried and then grilled till perfection...

Voila! happy weekend fellow bloggers ^-^

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click to enlarge

~sunset @ the bay... around 5ish in the afternoon...

near manila yacht club...

it was quite windy when i was there, so i had a hard time taking this shot...

the wind was strong and the waves were crashing... but i was lucky to steal this shot...^-^ whew!

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~last night, as tradition... we had our family reunion at sheraton hotel...

on my way home, i noticed this sculpture outside the restaurant...

i was intrigued by the peculiar shape of it and how it was placed...

normally, you wouldn't even notice it, but since i'm getting the hang of blogging everything i see... ^-^ i decided to share this with you...

thru wikipedia... apparently this piece was done by a famous artist named Napoleón Isabelo Veloso-Abueva ,born January 26 1930, popularly known as Napoleón Abueva. He is a native boholano.

He is a sculptor given the distinction as the Philippines' National Artist.

He is also entitled as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture".

At present, he's teaching Industrial Design at

DLSU-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts.

i'm happy to say i'm learning a lot with my filipino roots. ^-^

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~ right along malate...

i have four policemen here, each with their own mobiles. i guess they're patroling the area. well, they're obviously very laid back right now... and the other one is sort of staring at me, while i'm taking this shot... yikes!

i wonder what they're talking about? hmm?! ...

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still related to "family fun-run"... participants gathered on the streets while waiting for the "go" signal... can't find any female participants though...i wonder where they went?

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yesterday afternoon, a "family fun run" competition was held at rajah sulayman park in malate... the roads were closed for a while giving way for participants from all walks of life to join and take part on this event.

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~tie a yellow ribbon...

on a sad note... our late president Cory Aquino, the 1st lady president who ruled our country past away last saturday...

headlines have been reporting non-stop since it happened.

Mourners paid their tribute and in honor of remembering her great courage and strong faith, we have to observe 10 days mourning period.

I was only 7 when our country was in turmoil during the marcos dictatorship... Cory Aquino's husband- Ninoy Aquino who was a senator back then, was supposedly the one running for presidency but was assasinated by still unknown assailants.

People blamed Marcos for what happened, he declared the martial law and thus, resulting to a coup d'etat and angry countrymen crying out for justice, freedom and democracy...Cory Aquino shouldered all these burdens and decided she would run for presidency...

she was an icon and a hero... " Filipinos are worth dying for" was the motto...

to show respect... people tied yellow ribbons and banners everywhere...

it's going to be a sad day for us filipinos... her memories will surely be missed...

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