6.24.2012

06.24.2012
Carlos Celdran's Walking Tour of Intramuros

 our awesome tour guide, Carlos Celdran
 Fort Santiago
 For his tour, Carlos gives away local chocolates! om nom nom :) 
kids who were with us on the tour, they seemed very interested.
 did you know that ceiling is painted? it was done because WWII brought so much damage to Intramuros that it also destroyed the original ceiling of this church
 having a refreshing cup of halo-halo after the tour
 this cute little boy was giving out souvenirs after the tour. 
Manila Cathedral

Ever since we were 14, my bestfriend Sam and I have always wanted to go on a tour of Intramuros. Yes, we've been here a couple of times, but we've heard that Carlos Celdran does a good job of explaining things around here. Also, we've been a little busy with a lot of what's going on in our lives right now which is why we didn't have the time to actually plan it out and sign up for his tour. Well, we finally have and it was definitely worth it! First we went to Fort Santiago, where he explained a lot about the Spanish colonization in our country and had a bit of introduction on the American colonization period. Then we went to the original location of Ateneo de Manila, where Jose Rizal studied. We were able to arrive at our destination riding a kalesa. There he explained about the American colonization in our country. Our final stop was at the San Agustin Church. After the tour, he treat all of us to some refreshing halo-halo, which he explained to be a metaphorical representation of Filipinos because of the bountiful mix in our culture. 

His tour was unlike most tours wherein the tour guide points at something and explains it. His had more depth. He would gather everyone around in one place and that's where he would start talking about the history. He had a portfolio of pictures that guided him as he spoke. We could tell that he is really into his job and that it's not just for compulsory and it seemed like he was really passionate about changing how we should view Manila. 

What I especially liked about this tour is that when we would walk to or next destination, Carlos would hold a casette player that had background music from the old times. It really took out the stress in walking under the heat of the sun. 

Next stop: The Imelda Tour! 

inspirational quote he said after the tour: "If you want to see Manila change the way it looks, you should change the way you look at Manila"-Carlos Celdran 

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures of beautiful places !
    Your blog is lovely !
    xManon

    Will you please check out my blog sometime? You can follow me if you like !

    ReplyDelete