[Re-post from Kilometre Zero]

Themes: History, Curiousity, Nostalgia, It almost felt like a Road Trip
Sites: Chinese Cemetery (La Loma), National Art Gallery/National Museum (Manila), Children’s Park (Luneta), Trinoma (QC)

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July 28 (Saturday) was supposed to be a slow day for me. Take the Chinese Cemetery tour for YTRiP, go home, rest a bit then email, and then get to work (i.e. WRITE stuff for YTRiP – as I usually do).  

Getting stuck with flu the whole week, I was not aware that I would actually allow spontaneity to come into the picture. It is unusual for me to “change” plans (even if it means just staying home and being a nerd), but this day was different. It must have been the flu, now an ex.  

The tour was organized by YTRiP in partnership with Ivan ManDy’s Old Manila Walks. Ivan is a friend from the Heritage Conservation Society and his walks are much more interesting and educational than the regular guided tours with memorized scripts. We picked the Chinese Cemetery tour (Mounds, Magnates, and Mausoleums) because it was uncommon, it was upon Ivan’s recommendation, and I was personally very curious. And the San Miguel Tour (our 1st choice) had to be done on a weekday.

 

We invited several people, and four students from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila also joined us (they were late but it was such a surprise when they found us in the one acre cemetery!). Cat of RockEd joined, and the three people we “treated.” Several foreigners also joined the tour, through Ivan’s website (it was interesting, too because our foreigner friends were very chatty and curious). 
At the tour, I met Ron and Toks again – two wonderful people I first met way back in June through Mike of Kala. We were mere acquaintances, but Ron and I became email buddies because of another YTRiP project. At the third part of the tour, the PLM students came and also Edgar – actually the very first guy who signed up for the walk. He was already walking around the cemetery before he found us (That’s what I call guts! Then again, it’s broad daylight, hehe). It is actually helpful to know that there are mausoleums by famous families – one of our landmarks for the lost students was the one of the Monteverdes’ (think Regal films).
   
Anyway, all grouped together, the tour finished with a lot of interesting insights from Ivan and realizations on our side – but that’s for the real YTRIP essay (oh yes, I make categories now!). I was quite happy with seeing Ma Mom Luk’s tomb (I mean, the founder of Ma Mon Luk) and wished that I still had my kalachuchi blossom to offer him. I felt a tingle of childhood curiosity somewhere there, and despite the sun, it was great fun walking through the 129-year-old cemetery.    

After the tour, Edgar and I talked about YTRiP. He’s an artist and I told him about Spoliarium - to see it now since it’s open for free viewing (FYI people, entrance is free at the National Museum/National Art Gallery until August 18 only!) and without a moment’s hesitation, he suggested we see it, then we invited the others. On Ron’s car, we drove Cat back to QC, had lunch, and then went to Manila. After the Spoliarium (magnificent as it always is, at the Old Legislative Building), we also looked around the other works at the museum (notice the door handles, they are Abuevas!). From there we walked to the Old Finance Building (Museum of the Filipino People) where the San Diego Galleon stuff were at but it was near closing time so we didn’t push to go in.  

Apparently though, the “tour” has not ended. We walked to Children’s Park, where we rekindled childhood memories and recounted the spots and sites where we had pictures taken when we were kids. Walking there, we actually ate ice cream: Magnolia Drumstick, Pinipig Crunch, and Twin Popsies – it was not intentional, but those three were the stars back in the 80s!At the park, we realized the giant fish, the dinosaurs, and the little shoe house were a lot smaller than we remembered ** years ago; we also went up the huge hippo (still huge) and stayed there a bit – just for the heck of it (we almost didn’t fit through the doorways). It was refreshing and fun for a Php 10 entrance fee! 
 
The whole day we exchanged stories: traveling, love for chocolates, siblings, family, what we do, why we do it, and childhood memories. And then after spending quality time with the Hippo, we headed back… for coffee.
 
With Ron being a Starbucks “stockbroker” – we decided to go to Starbucks Q Ave to just stay a bit. After a couple of wrong turns and some traffic, we thought of going to Starbucks Intramuros. It rained and it was getting late so we decided to go back to QC. We ended up in Trinoma (the carpark entrance is very tricky there, diba Toks?! Hehe!), getting rained in at the top floor Starbucks, and finding our way (to our utter surprise and joy) to a Starbucks indoors.    And there we stayed and ended the day with ghost stories. What a full circle. And we’re not even talking about practically traveling from one end of (Metro) Manila to another. 

 Here’s the thing: the day began with a bunch of strangers at the tour, with only a few people I could really call my friends. Beyond learning new things every day, the best part of this wasn’t acquiring new knowledge or finding a new story… It was gaining new friends, and finding that any day can be really great when you’re with great people. Even if you’ve only met them that day. Cool fun.