| 03.26.2019 – It is rare to take notice about a lot of things when you’re on the road heading for work or school. Most of the time your travels doesn’t let you see a lot of things but either inside a Jeepney, Bus, or aboard the elevated train aka the LRT (Light Rail Transit). Most of the times Filipinos are rushing because of their daily destinations that none have the time to take things slow.
The time is important for most that some are always in a hurry to get off to their chosen public transport to admire parts of the city or even take notice that little things that might be good, probably bad, or even just plain ugly. But everything else that is how things are now in this country and the opportunity to see things up close will give you an idea reasons why… |
It is only Tuesday and there are times things may be slow for some and it goes quickly for the rest. But today was just another ordinary day to take a slight detour through Manila’s public areas to just see what’s around Rizal Park and other interesting areas within this sprawling parts that still have an abundance of hidden greenery that rarely see by most people.
For someone who never usually go to this part of the city Manila has a lot of good places to explore, but often they’re not the usual kind of are some would get lost into. Rizal Park or Luneta as it is known has been around even before the place was named after its National Hero. Most often people would spend their time at this part for family gatherings for picnic or just admiring the statues and monuments that adorn some corner of this well-known part of the city.
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| Children's Playground di not emphasize the sign that you can't enter without accompanying children. |
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| Children's Playground does not charge and it is FREE ENTRY but you need to bring Children. |
A Playground Not For Adults
The Children’s Playground ‘back in the day’ WAS Open to the Public it still to this day, but unless you don’t have children to accompany at this place you’re not allowed to enter. They don’t charge for entrance they just take the name of this area so seriously because it is a playground for kids. But even if you’re a ‘kid at heart’ and if you don’t have any children you’re barred from entering this place.
It is unfortunately how that seemed to work as a way to make sure to control the volume of walk-ins that enter this premises and exploring this place was something to look forward to when I had the chance to pass by heading to my actual destination and the only way to get in this place is you need to accompany kids since it is a “Children’s Playground.”
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| This is the State of the National Library of the Philippines. |
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| It appears to be dilapidated with the aesthetics that this library did not age gracefully. |
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| The stone marking recognizing that this is the National Library of the Philippines. |
Not-So National Public Library
Just when you want to visit the National Public Library of the Philippines turns out the place was not open for public and they are only tasked to do only relate to Thesis Collection. Back in my youth this was a place to go for research and Google has not even exists given the pre-internet age was the only way to do school research if your school library does no0t have the archives to support what you need.
The National Public Library of the Philippines is probably the equivalent of the Marion Libraries or even lower than what to expect due to how the standards about public libraries has become almost non-existent in this country, where support has been on a decline that most influence that society dictates to is ‘popular opinion” to spend on buying the books instead of borrowing them thus building consumerism for those who can afford to be educated rather than given for free who can’t.
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| A Pedestrian Lane but the obscure aesthetics of the plants blocking its pathways is un-pedestrian friendly. |
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| Made by hand for an hour these used to be Mountain Dew plastic bottles that turned into ornamental plastic plants. |
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| Can you find the sidewalk at the back of Manila City Hall from the ocean of motorcycles and scooters in this picture? |
Another Day in the Streets of Manila
Random things you get to notice in this city simply like how the set up on the sidewalks and center islands that it might look hilarious for some, but that’s where the tax of the Filipinos go to that it’s a head scratcher why the aesthetics is horrible when the corner supposed to be where people walk through instead end up crossing on the street along with the vehicles
The past few weeks you find unique vendors this side of Manila. Some make recycling plastic as an art form with these Mountain Dew bottles turned into ornamental plants. It is quite ingenious and I’ve seen these things pop in and out of some remote part of the city. Most people would ignore it but there has been quite underrated and popular for some who appreciate art in recycling plastic soda bottled into probably your coffee display piece or something to brighten a small area of your room.
Lastly, sidewalks that do not exist in one part of Manila favor of motorcycles and scooters as a pay parking lot just at the back of Manila’s City Hall. It might be absurd for some, who has not live in the Philippines, but here is where moral and ethics does not exist in favor of business. It is either your respect and ignore it or remind everyone how mess up this perspective which depends on everyone’s opinion. Given that it is a sidewalk you are seeing not a parking lot you’ll be surprised if you see it for yourself when you have the chance to pass by this side of Manila.
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| A rare sighting of BMW's i8, a hybrid sports car stuck in traffic along Taft Avenue. |
While there are things have been good, bad, and terribly ugly sometimes you surprised to know there are still luxury sport cars passing through the roads in the area and it’s also a hybrid car that I have not seen since the 2016 Philippine International Motorshow was a concept car being exhibited that turned out to become a mass produced product for BMW namely the i8 that was slowly zooming out along Taft Avenue that was a rarity that I could have seen on Adelaide roads until now.
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