Mall-Ratting in Manila

This trip is definitely more about visiting with friends and family rather than being a tourist. Usually when travelling, I make a list of all the sites I want to see and try to do everything on the list. This trip, I didn't make any such list. We have been sleeping in, having a nice breakfast with Ramil and Lovelle, Alfie's mother, and Melanie. Then we hang around, planning what to do the rest of the day and sometimes Alfie and I will go over a song.

A quiet morning where Alfie and his mom get to visit, after not having seen each other for many years.

Facundo Street: our home for the month.

Alfie's favourite breakfast food is Taho: soft tofu with tapioca and hot syrup. Delivered right to the door by this gentleman!

Tuesday, Alfie, Inna and I picked up her three other children at their grandmother's place and went to Greenbelt Mall in Makati.The girls wanted Forever 21 but ended up not buying anything there. I found a huge poster of Chris Sharma climbing some stinking hard overhanging route, advertising some kind of fancy watch. I got alfie to take a picture: me spotting the great Chris Sharma.

The malls are no different from Winnipeg only they're bigger and have security guards at each entrance checking bags and purses for bombs or suspect objects.

How to shop when you're three! Evawwen finds a good deal.

The girls are still shopping but the boys have had it!

After mall-ratting there was barely time to drop the kids back off and head home for a pizza dinner and then Ramil drove us to Infinitif Studios to practice.

Finally what we came for - a reunion with the gang in full performance mode. It was amazing how they all just plugged in, tuned up, and launched into a song - they knew how each other rolled so perfectly. I was also impressed at how easily they welcomed me and the violin voice into the lineup. Exhausting but satisfying. After practice we all went out for food and visiting.

Rupert and Joel in action at Infinitif studios.

After an exhausting first practice. Yes, that is a guitar pick stuck to the middle of Rupert's forehead. L-R back: Ramil, Bebet, Carol, Alfie, Aldrin, Joel. L-R front: Rupert, me, Rain.

Wednesday I wanted to get out and do something but ended up waiting until after noon when Pet arrived to take me for a walk. I needed to pick up symphony tickets at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines so we walked to around the Libertad LRT and caught an airconditioned version of the Jeepney up the main drag to the CCP. From there we walked past the Manila Bay area that's under construction after a huge storm made waves that destroyed the waterfront.

Rupert shows me his former elementary school: St. Mary's Academy just off Pasay Road near Facundo Street where I was staying.

Manila Bay.

Hotel Manila and Olympic sculpture.

Statuary of Philippine national symbols including the Caribow across Paseo de Roxas from Rizal Park.

We ended up at Joze Rizal park, the site where the national hero of the Philippines was executed - his story reads much like that of Louis Riel. More on him later as I've just got back from Thursday's practice and am dead tired...zzz

Pathetic fallacy: a huge rainstorm moves in on Rizal's execution site and final resting place.

Filling in the blanks of this post with some photos...

When it doesn't rain, it pours. Caught in a sudden downpour in Rizal Park, Rupert and I sought refuge in a small canteen along with about 50 other people!

A small sculpture hiding under some topiary in Rizal Park.

A prime example of a 19th Century Spanish house: stone first floor, wood upper floor, with inlaid shells on the window shutters.

The entire Philippine islands in relief at Rizal Park.

After wandering through the park, we had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Lunetta, the former Red Light district that is now full of interesting shops and restaurants.

Rupert, kankong (a type of spinace with fried garlic and coconut), and buko juice: there's a whole litre of the stuff in one coconut.