My aunt Sonia and uncle Boy picked us up at the airport. They had to bring an MPV to fetch us because we bring big luggage along. My mother packed a lot of stuff for her family, she called it as souvenirs from Malaysia and Singapore. At first I thought it was kind of absurd, but later I realize that she missed her family so much that she bought something for everyone. We stayed at my grandmother's house. She had been a widowed for five years that time. She cried when she saw us making our way to her house. I can see how much she missed us and I missed her too.
The next morning, my family and I went to Luneta. Luneta is like their historical city. There is an interesting park in Luneta, it is called Rizal Park. The park is situated in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines. It is at the northern end of Roxas Boulevard, overlooking Manila Bay. Rizal Park's history began in the early 1800s during the Spanish rule. While Manila's social and business activities were confined within Intramuros, a small area just south of the walls was cleared to prevent sneak attacks from the patriotic natives. The Park was also called Bagumbayan, a New Town in English.,in Spanish colonial era, and later known as Luneta. Luneta has been the site of some of the most significant moments in Philippine history . Among them are the execution of Dr. jose Rizal on December 30, 1896, whose martyred death made him a hero of the Philippine Revolution.(It was officially renamed Rizal Park in tribute to him.); the Declaration of Philippine Independence from American rule on June 4, 1946; and the political rallies of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in 1986. The monument also serves at the point of origin or Kilometer Zero to all other cities in The Philippines. The site is guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by ceremonial soldiers, known as Kabalyeros de Rizal (Knights of Rizal). His poem, 'Mi Ultimo Adios' (My Last Farewell) is inscribed on the memorial plaque.The name 'Luneta' is synonymous to the word lunette, the park was said to have the shape of a half moon in Spanish times and situated next to a Spanish fort serving as a buffer during rebellions by the locals.
Luneta was beautiful but the solid truth is the beautiful view of Luneta was polluted with the squatters.They eat, drink and sleep in the park. Sometimes they even harass the visitors. I pitied the kids of the squatters, they would do anything in order not to stay in hunger. There was one time the children ambushed me and asked for foods, I was terrified because I never encounter such a thing like that, so I run away from them. I just couldn't believe my eyes when the children chased me. Luckily my uncle save my day and he gave away my sweet potatoes to the children. My heart sank when I saw the children were fighting for the sweet potatoes. I was lucky that i didn't born in poverty like the children.
We walk and walk and walk in the park. We saw many sorts of monuments in Rizal Park. I gasped when I saw one of the plaque saying that Philippines once were ruled by a sultan. I didn't remember the sultan's name and how he became one of the ruler in Philippines. I gained so much knowledge by walking in the park.One of the knowledge is the national animal for Philippines is the mighty ox or 'calabao' in tagalog.
After strolling around Luneta and snapping beautiful photos, we went to Baclaran. Baclaran is synonym to Jalan TAR in Malaysia. They sell many cheap stuff there such as, woman accessories, cellphones, imitate handbags, clothes and many more. They even sell wedding dress for as low as 2000 pesos, which is less than 200 ringgit. I bought few clothes and lots of beads bracelet. The uniqueness of the bracelets caught my eyes that I bought every color every design.My mother bought some clothes and imitate bags, while my dad bought 'Barong Tagalog' a national garment made from pineapple. I really enjoy shopping in Baclaran because it is very cheap and the things are nice too but we have to be careful of pickpockets and bag snatchers there. It is not safe to shop alone in Baclaran. We went home straight away after shopping because it is getting late and I am getting tired.
The following day, I followed my cousins Jobelle, Joshua and Jewel to Santa Lucia Mall. From my grandmother house we took tricycle to Masinag and from Masinag we took Jeepney to Santa Lucia. Jeepney is the main public transportation in the Philippines. The Jeepney is very unique as each Jeepney was sprayed with many sorts of designs, but I really hated it when I have to compressed myself inside the Jeepney like a can of sardines with other people. It is such a discomfort matter to me because it is hot inside and then the odour of other people who doesn't concern about their hygiene makes me sneeze. Thank God it took us just 7 minutes to reach Santa Lucia. 7 minutes of misery in mylife! After having dinner at KFC, we went straight up to TIME ZONE. We played bump cars and had fun rides. We also played other fun and exciting games.
After few days of resting and lingering, we continue our quest of exploring Manila. My aunt Leonora took us to the SM Mall of Asia. SM Mall of Asia is the second largesr mall in Philippines after SM City North EDSA and the third largest mall in Asia. We didn't spent a lot of time inside the Mall because the scenery outside the mall caught our attention as the mall was built beside the sea. We strolled along the seas and snapped some photos. Ate ice creams and baked sweet potatoes. Let loosed and clear our minds.
My aunt Leonora and Uncle Ernest had a barbecue for us before we leave. They had chicken barbecue, pansit, halo halo, buko pandan and buko salad. My dad slaughtered the chicken first before my aunt marinated it with some herbs. We even went to Marikina market that morning to buy some grocery. My uncle and I bought the gulaman for halo halo. Halo halo is like ' Air Batu Campur' in Malaysia but it is much nicer. Gulaman is like sagu with many colours like red, green and yellow. Halo in English is mix. The halo halo consist of boiled banana, jack fruit, jack fruit syrup, tapioca, sweet potatoes, gulaman, shredded coconuts, corns, milk, gelatin and ice. The tastiness of halo halo is unbelievably indescribable. My parents and I even took a little bit of time at Marikina to buy souvenirs for our family and friends. I bought a lot of keychains and T-shirts for my friends. My dad also bought the same for his brothers and colleagues. My mother bought some bags made from water lily for her mother and sisters in laws. The barbecue that night was fantastic. We invited our close neighbours and relatives. I enjoy the food very much and I will missed the food too.
The next day we had to say farewell to Philippines. My aunts, uncle and cousins shed their tears as we were saying our farewells. My grandmother cried the most. She hoped that we can stay with her forever one day, but that is impossible as we had our own lives in Malaysia and Singapore. My dad promised that he would bring her to Malaysia and Singapore one day. I took a deep breathe as I sat on the taxi's cushion. I wish that I can come here every year or maybe every month, for some odd reasons, I feel at home when I'm in Philippines. I love living in Philippines as much as i love living in Singapore and Malaysia.
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