Walk This Way - Intramuros

"INTRAMUROS, the old capital of Manila, was built in 1571. It remains a monumental, if ruined, relic of the Spanish period in Philippine history. It is a city within a city, separated from the rest of Manila by its crumbling walls. This ancient capital had well-planned streets, plazas, the Governor's Palace and churches. However, many buildings were reduced to shambles in World War II."

You can never predict the traffic in Manila. My walking tour is scheduled at 9.30am and I left for the LRT at 8.15am. I was late, it took me 1.5 hours to reach Intramuros and I had to wait 3 times before I got onto the LRT/MRT (because the passengers were already full to the brim and beyond the maximum capacity) and had to practically run to Intramuros. I thought I was late but the beauty of being in Manila is everyone is always late and the tour started at 10am, I was so disappointed when I thought everyone had left without me so I was sitting in front of the steps of Manila Cathedral enjoying the breeze and catching my breath and determined not to let it ruin my day when Carlos Celdran suddenly appeared!

I was so happy when I saw him. It's really an adventure to take the public transportation to Intramuros and I really dread having to go again because I've been there 3 times(for different reasons)!

Though a little bit pricy but his tours are definitely highly recommended, it feels like a walking theatrical experience! He's very entertaining and he has different soundtracks and props for different occasions during his tours! Amazing! Below was when he was talking about the Americans in Manila. He even put on the American accent while he was impersonating General McArthur.

St. Augustin Church and some of the interiors. We're not supposed to take photos, at least, not with flash anyway, but all the Pinoys *snap snap snap* with flash...

You get to make 3 wishes when you're in St. Augustin Church, what would you wish for?

Plaza San Luis

After the 2 hours walking tour, Carlos Celdran treated everybody to a glass (or as much as you want) of Halo-halo. Aww...isn't he nice? Also, because he said, Filipinos are just like Halo-halo, you're not a true Filipino unless you've decorated something to death like the Jeepneys! So Halo-halo is a combination of various sweet condiments in ice, just like our ABC.

So what did I do after the tour? Treat myself to a sumptuous meal of course!