It was another China town tour for me and this is my second time with my friend. We met early at the Carriedo fountain in front of Sta. Cruz Church. There were lots of people waiting and meeting there as well.
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| A group taking their picture. |
Our group was able to number about 12 at start and swelled up to 19. We had our group picture as well.
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| The group trying to be Chinese. |
Fronting the Sta. Cruz Church is an arch with Fu dogs. We were the only people who cared and knew what they are. One group of women soldiers were curious and asked us for help. Of course, I told them how to do it and they eagerly lined up to try making their lucks better.
The group then moved to Escolta to see the grandeur of the place that has been neglected ever since. Escolta still has its ghost and many people still remember the places and the memories. I can just imagine on how it was years ago.
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| Regina building |
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| First United Building |
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| It's hard to make out the name of the building now. |
We had another chance to see the First United buildings and this time we had more access to places we were not able to visit during the Royal Heritage Postal Tour.
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| A working and wonderful clock. |
The elevators were closed so we had to use their wonderful staircase.
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| Add caption |
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| Interesting office at the First United Building |
The first United building offers a nice view of Plaza Lacson (formerly knows as Plaza de Goiti) as well as Plaza Sta. Cruz and adjacent buildings.
As we go out I saw this poor dog with plastic leash. I wanted to take it out but the dog doesn't want to be touched.
We have a special guest with us to show us around the San Nicholas area. An area that is often neglected by people when they go to Binondo.
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| Syvel's was a popular shoe store from before. |
We passed many buildings on the way and at the same time dogs basking on the sunlight.
Next stop is Calvo building, once home to GMA 7, a TV station in the Philippines. Calvo building is home to old photos and memorabilia of the owner as well as its bottle collections. Thus you can see popular brands that have come and gone and brand that have stayed and how different they are from their former bottles.
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| Ginebra Binata next to a regular Ginebra gin bottle. |
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| The once famous Halili beer |
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| The one that stayed: San Miguel Beer |
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| Manila Carnival Queens |
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| More Manila Carnival Queens |
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| Balintawak Beer |
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| Founder of GMA 7 |
Here are some paintings of Escolta in its former beauty.
We also took pictures of the Manila Central Post Office.
Then we went to Quintin Paredes passing another Arch.
We also passed Polland Bakery to sample some munggo hopia and hopian baboy. Then straight to Carvajal St. Carvajal is a wet market that sells many Chinese ingredients and is also home to some cheap eateries.
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| Lui Choon Tong Chinese Drug Store in Carvajal |
An interesting thing is that the ati-atihan has also arrived into the picture of the Chinese New Year and I find that a bit awkward.
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