Walking with Carlos

One of the things Daz and I did together was take a tour with Carlos Celdran.  Have always wanted to take his walking tours since Micketymoc mentioned them in his blog, but for some reason never really found time to. And so it was a week after the wedding and we were bored out of our skulls that we decided to book his walking tour through Quiapo.

Texted Carlos asking if it was too late to reserve slots on the tour and he said "Not at all! Please text back your names." 

Daz asked me what name I was sending back. Heh. Smartass.  He knows I get totally wigged out when I have to use my married name.  It all just sounds so... surreal.

Anyway we got to Binondo Church (meeting place) at exactly 5 minutes before 3.  I guffawed because there was a wedding going on.  We saw Carlos in his fedora hat right in front of the church.  "You're early by Filipino standards!" he laughed and then waved us away with "Go watch the wedding, it's a Filipino wedding... surreal experience."

Daz and I laughed and he said "Not again!  We just went through this a week ago!"  LOL

Anyway, we hung back by the gates and perved :D I pointed out the million statues at the altar and Daz quipped "Washing your hands?" when I dipped my finger in the bowl of Holy Water.  Nyehe.

Bored, I looked around for Carlos while telling Daz "Now aren't you glad we didn't have a traditional wedding?" and he answered "But our wedding was exactly like this!" LOL

The tour started at the fountain in front of Binondo Church and after counting off his tour group, we rode kalesas all over Chinatown.  Visited the "mothership" of all temples, chinese pastry shops, chinese general merchandise stores, the oldest bakery in Manila, the oldest house in Chinatown (where there was a birthday party going on).

Now anyone who has been on this tour must know what I felt.  The oldest house in Chinatown is a sad sight.  It's been left to rot by its owners who have houses elsewhere and the rooms are rented out 1.5k to 2k a room. It was filthy, sad and a huge eye opener.  While I loved the thought of taking the tour into real people's lives upfront and in your face, I was too busy being a squeamish girl and worrying about falling through a hole in the floor and getting my foot eaten by rabid cat-sized rats and dying an undignified death.

Here lies Mik

eaten quick

by rats.

Apart from that and the occassional cringing whenever our driver would "whip" the horse pulling our kalesa, I was fine.

The tour ended at one of those street shrines and we actually missed most of the ending spiel because Daz and I had popped into a shop to buy some warm egg tarts, but we were just in time to hear that trademark line:  "Because if you can't change the way Manila looks, you can always change the way you look at Manila!"

Definitely a winner!  Am booking myself on his Intramuros Walking Tour soon :)

Mik post

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