Historical and the place is properly maintained.The Shrine is notable where the flag of the…read morePhilippines was flown. The Shrine grounds is popular for bazaars, flea market and zumba during weekend.

The place was very historical.even the park you see the historical of kawit cavite,and when the…read morelights start in the part it was amazing

I have to admit, I was very surprised by what I saw when I came here. Initially I figured it would…read morebe completely historical with stone fortifications, but instead there's an actual city with restaurants and homes. Must be pretty cool living within history, there's also an amazing view from top of the walls.

Intramuros has endured wars, calamities and foreign invaders and yet this 64-hectare stone city…read morestill stands as strong as it first did 400 hundred years ago. How could it live through such a beating? Clearly, there was so much more to these massive stone walls than its impeccable engineering. Everybody has a lot to say about this citadel, its squatters and scammers but it's the only window to our past and even if we try to look away, we will always come home to it. It's the heart our city, the last breathing structure that has escaped the commercialization of Manila. And while all of us will go on, the undead will remain on its streets guarding the last memory of the Philippine's colonial past.

RCBC Plaza is one of my favorite buildings in Makati. It's 14 years old, but it doesn't look a day…read moreover 5. It's a huge skyscraper office complex with 2 towers. It's always busy and milling with people but it always feels airy, open but elegant. There's always a sense of grandeur somehow when you walk through the doors, which is fitting because RCBC Plaza is home to many big companies and embassies like the Canadian Embassy, German Embassy, Australian Embassy, the South African Embassy and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. The Yuchengco Institute for Advanced Studies also operates here; this is where De La Salle University - Manila offers its MBA courses. I used to work at RCBC Plaza and two of the things I liked the best are the nicely done elevators and the hot pan de sal I can get from Pan de Manila when it's breaktime. Aside from these, they also have a lot of amenities that are top notch. They have a 7 level parking basement which surprisingly gets filled up most days, especially during rush hour. There's also a Fitness First Platinum here, a food court, a used bookshop, restaurants and a convenience store. Sometimes, there are plays which are held at the 450 seat Carlos Romulo Auditorium. It's a great place to work!

I wanted to check out Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world. We got picked up by a rideshare…read moredriver. He was a pretty cool guy. Luckily we got matched with a good driver and for the duration of the trip he was our personal tour guide pointing out interesting places. The ride was $5. I learned early on, on our vacation, that rideshare trips are really affordable in the Philippines. If we did the same route distance in Seattle, the trip would have been 40 bucks. We crossed the Jones Bridge into Binondo. It was a surreal experience driving across a bridge with European-style architecture. A bridge named after an American. Then driving under a massive Chinatown Arch. That's a lot of history to unpack. After our visit to Binondo we requested another rideshare trip. We drove across the Jones Bridge again. This time I took note of the ornamental railings and ornate lamp posts reminiscent of the lamp posts on the Pont Alexandre III in Paris. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to walk along the Pasig River Esplanade which is connected to the Jones Bridge. The promenade is like the Berges de Seine, also in Paris. I'll have to visit the Pasig River Esplanade on my next trip to the PI. It looks like a pretty popular place.

Jones Bridge is a Manila landmark, first built over a hundred years ago and then reconstructed…read moreafter World War II. It's one of the prettiest parts of the city, with a long walkway--the Pasig Esplanade--lined with shops and eateries lining the adjacent area along the Pasig River. We were there at the wrong hours for this, but it apparently gets quite lively with foot traffic and street vendors. The bridge connects Binondo and Intramuros, two of the most tourist-friendly parts of the city. I ended up there twice during a five-day trip to Manila, and it was a definite highlight, with nice views of the city, even if the waters of the Pasig are not exactly crystalline blue. The neoclassical architecture was attractive with a touch of Euro kitsch, with black iron street lamps and little sculptures of people carrying shot glass-shaped candle holders. I didn't spend much time at Jones Bridge, but it was a lovely place to walk, and I'm sure it's fun when the vendors are out. Certainly worth a visit if you're traveling through Manila.

The Manila Metropolitan Theater (Met for short and Tanghalang Pangkalakhan ng Maynila in Tagalog)…read morefor me epitomizes one of the greatest faults in our country. The MET is another Once a gem of Manila, this theater was designed by renowned Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano. Look carefully enough and you'll spot how some of the buildings architecture transitions from Art Nouveau to Art Deco. To date, many fall in love with her looks despite being as old and withered as she is. In a way, the MET , and even perhaps the entire country, is like the MET. It was once wonderful and glorious. It served as a beacon and symbol to Filipinos celebrating their own culture by hosting Zarzuelas, Filipino opera, and so much more. It withstood the Japanese occupation for crying out loud. Unfortunately, the MET fell victim to Pinoy politics. It played the rope in a tug of war game between the local government of Manila and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), though what the GSIS plans to do with a theater is beyond me. Many attempts have been made to revive this old girl. None have succeeded in restoring the MET back into the once shining and polished gem that it once was. However there is hope. Recent stories have said that the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has been given approval by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to buy this building. The NCCA now plans to spend half a billion pesos on restoring the building in the hopes of restoring its former glory.

If you're a Metro Manila local, I'm sure you've passed by the Manila Metropolitan Theater countless…read moretimes before. In my case, I used to pass by the structure every day back in college as I took my FX to class. "The Met" as many fondly call it, had hosted countless of international artists. The National Commission on Culture and the Arts also declared it a National Culture Treasure as authorized by Republic Act No. 10066. It is however very unfortunate that such a beautiful art-deco structure is being left to rot and decay. I was fortunate enough to attend a concert in The Met a few years back. My favorite Filipino rock band, Wolfgang, decided to hold a concert there. It was indeed a brilliant and cool idea. On one end, it was a nice way to change things up and hold a rock concert at an unusual venue. On the other, it was a way to raise awareness that the structure is in desperately need of proper care and maintenance. As Wolfgang frontman Basti Artadi called it, "the old battle axe." Here's to hoping that future Manila City leadership pursues a concrete and more importantly, sustainable initiative to restore this art-deco beauty to its past glory. The 5-stars I'm giving for this rating is for all The Met's history and legacy, but on how it has been forgotten and disregarded by everyone, one star would even be too generous.

If you are planning to learn more about Philippine History during the Spanish period, I believe…read moreCasa Manila is the best place to start. I particularly enjoyed the tour guides of this place. They were so knowledgeable. They are also very interactive and are open to answer any of your questions. There are also little restaurants inside the Casa for you to check out so you don't have to look no further. Will for sure come again.

Nothing to write home about, it's a large mansion with antiques, and so many guards and employees…read moreevery 5 feet of walking that ask if you have any questions. Skippable.

We took a bus trip from El Nido to the Underground River. The trip there was a little scary because…read morewe had to switch buses in a small area where there was only a bus stop. We weren't sure that we were in the right place. Once we got on the correct bus, we felt better. The bus ride was bumpy with a lot of turns. My son even got car sick. The town where you get the boats to the Underground River was packed with people. We had to wait in line for quite a while to get tickets. The tour included a lunch which was served in an outdoor tent like area. I even saw a rat! It wasn't very good food. The boat ride to the Underground River we really rough that day. Luckily it wasn't a very long ride. The actual tour of the Underground River was fabulous! My pictures speak for themselves.

When in Palawan, the Underground River is a must! I've toured this river in 2009 (without kids) and…read morein 2018 (with a 1- and 3-year-old) and it was effing amazing both times. It starts at a dock by Sambang Beach where you board a motorized (loud) outrigger boat with about 5 other people. Staff hands out hardhats and life vests. My hubs and I were the only folks who brought kids of any age and while they had childrens' life vests, they were too big for my kids. Yet, we made them work while holding adult hardhats on their heads. We were lucky that child protective services weren't watching. It's about a 20-minute ride to this other spot where you walk a little and switch to a simpler paddle boat you share with about 11 other people. Staff gives you an earpiece to listen to a recorded narration while your tour guide tells you more. It's a short and beautiful ride into a underground/cave part of the river. I don't have good pictures inside the cave because it was too dark, but there are lots of beautiful formations thousands of years old that your tour guide will illuminate with a flashlight within an incredibly peaceful ambiance. This part lasts about 45 minutes. My family really enjoyed it and I super recommend it! TIPS: **Wear rugged clothing (or stuff you don't mind getting f*cked) and waterproof/resistant footwear. **Expect to get your crotch wet. You have to wade at certain parts of the tour. **Try to bring a dry bag (brands like Earth Pak, Marchway, etc. which are also sold at stores along the way there) for your personal belongings. **Your tour guide will offer to take your picture with your own camera/phone. It's a good chance for a full family/group photo. **Life is simple around these parts including the toilet. Bring your own toilet paper for rest stops along the way. Hand sanitizer's also a good idea. **Bring cash to tip your boat crews and tour guide.

Looking at the artifacts left behind by Gregoria de Jesus, the "Lakhambini" or First Lady of the…read moreKatipunan, as well as the paintings here, I am swept into a world of fierce love and courage, and the extraordinary strength of this woman. I already knew then that Gregoria de Jesus, or Oryang, as she is more fondly called, is one of the most courageous women in Philippine history. But a glimpse of her life in this old house where she once lived made my respect for her soar and made her all the real to me. It was here that I learned of some of her bad-ass moves, like how she and other women smartly fooled Spaniards while Katipuneros were having meetings. She knew how to shoot, but she also tended to the wounded. She even has some teachings of her own posted at Bahay Nakpil-Bautista ("Sampung Aral ni Oryang"), some of them bad-ass too. I also got a warm feeling reading about her love story - how she was both unabashedly her own person and at the same time wife to Andres Bonifacio. When he died, Julio Nakpil, a general and the musical composer of Katipunan, took care of her protection and fell in love with her. The two married, and thus, Oryang lived in the beautiful stone and wood house of Bahay Nakpil.

The Bahay Bautista Nakpil is a former residence of the illustrious Nakpil family who have turned…read moreit into a museum-cum-workshop. The place has kept the old world charm of late 19th century Manila. Of special interest to art collectors are the wood carved santos created by master craftsmen and artisans at the site itself. The wooden carvings are not cheap. A bust or a head of a saint goes for P2,000 and is the most affordable of the sculpted works. The larger pieces go for anywhere from a low of P25,000 to a high of P100,000. It goes without saying that churches all over the country are among the favored clients of the sculptors, who unfortunately will never be known to the owners. Skilled as they are, they will never be known as artists like Castrillo or Orlina. This is a shame, but that's how the business side of art works. Still, the life-sized wooden santos are a joy to behold, and to own for those who can afford them.