Inspirational murals and ceiling art for commuters in Dela Rosa pathway

Like any business center, Makati area can be a bit empty during the weekends, especially on Sundays. Although I would have been interested to compare the pedestrian traffic of incoming workers versus going home workers, I was glad I didn't need to go through it. However seeing the murals and ceiling paintings on this highly used pathway made me curious about the pace, attitude of commuters.

The pathway is a long elevated, roofed walkway that spans between the Legazpi street to Greenbelt mall. A long part of it is along Dela Rosa Street, and also serves as parking lot and office building access. It is a convenient alternative to walking along the high car traffic Ayala Avenue, and has convenient stores, vending machines, ATM machines, several food joints, and green plants to enhance the landscape of glass and metal.

Bougainvilliers, cactuses to make a parking lot preppy

Some greens to line up the grey buildings

Small garden area to stroll by

The green plants would probably lower the stress of traffic below, as well as the sights of dreary buildings around. What caught my interest and enthusiasm though was a the colourful paintings on the ceilings and walls on some parts of the walkway, mainly on the Dela Rosa street portion.

The first time I saw them it excited my sight, leaving me entertained by the variety of shapes and colours. It made me wonder if the commuters would see them. Walking this path every day in a catatonic state in the morning and evening, some commuters would not even remember seeing anything but grey walls. But on this section, they would catch colours and weird shapes here and there, between crowds, and may be curious to look up and come back to life.

Upon watching closely, most of the murals had inspirational and encouraging messages. They could make you smile, you could agree with them, or just admire the art. I am truly grateful to the artists who painted those delightful scenes.

Smile more!

Hustling nine to five

Be well

In this age of digital information overload, it was refreshing to see messages that conveyed messages that touched the heart and soul by its richness and effort put into making them: simple messages, but truly heartwarming  in its composition.

Makati astronaut

The pipes, the utility boxes were all part of the paintings, and it was a challenge sometimes to distinguish them apart from the walls or ceilings.

Goooood morning everybody

Floating lotuses

We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time

There are many more on the walls (#delarosamurals) and it makes for a nice walk on Sunday to check out creativity get a new eye on things. There are also underpasses in Makati, and I will make sure to look up and check those out once I have seen all the ones on the pathway. In general though the walls are quite entertaining with ads while the ceilings are decorated with artfully painted graffiti. It made me want to pain walls as well, in a catharsis like dance of paint splashing and smudging...

A rainy afternoon stroll in BGC

After a short nap to recover from the morning rowing, I decided to get back to BGC, Bonifacio Global City, as it promised much original and local shopping in its Market Market premises. It took about only 15min from Makati to get there, but it cost double the price fo going to Mall of Masia across town (230PHP). I supposed there were more traffic at that time.

My main objective was the Market Market mall, with its food stalls filled with specialties from the various regions of the Philippines. But before that I ended up in the fashion market stalls, where very affordable clothes (100php) awakened my dormant shopaholic tendencies. I needed a blue t-shirt for the next day rowing practice so all I could see was blue. After acquiring a top I could probably fit in, I explore the mall which was terribly crowded.

When I got outside, I understood why everyone and their hair got indoors: it was raining enough to make puddles. It took me a while to get oriented and eventually walked toward the High Streets area, which is an outdoor shopping area with restaurants and shops on both sides of a park stretching from 11th avenue to 5th avenue (yes, they have numbered avenues). The streets were empty and glistening with rain.

There were some interesting building dominating the skyline, but mostly there were constructions.

The little park in the middle was shiny silver with rain and empty, adding to the melancholy of the weather.The area was famous for its murals as well but I could only find one of them.

It was a lovely stroll, without the smell of pollution, or the pressure of hundreds of other pedestrians to navigate. I had nothing to buy and didn't feel like joining the other visitors inside the Mind Museum nearby.

So I grabbed another taxi, which got pulled over as soon as I got in it. The driver got caught making an illegal u-turn, and got away with it with 100php fine. It was another  eventful ride where we got stuck into traffic for 15min, and instead of taking 15min, the return to the hotel took almost 45min and it was dark by the time I got to the room.

Rowing with the Manila Dragons in Manila bay

What do you know about dragonboat? I didn't know much apart from the fact that you needed to row on pretty colourful boats and that there was a dragonboat festival or race wherever I lived. Yet I have never attended one.
Dropped on foreign land, suffocating in a forest of skyscrapers, I had promised myself to try this watersport. I had meant to join a couchsurfing event, but upon mentioning it at work, my boss wanted to see it as well and wanted to introduce me a former colleague of hers that did dragonboat regularly.

And so on a Friday evening I had a short night nap, to wake up at 04:00am, to be at the lobby at 4:40am and be picked up by my boss. She came with another Japanese colleague and her 7 year old daughter (gasp!) who was fresh as a flower. I was prepared for everything but the rain that day:
(non whitening) sunblock lotion
water
flipflops
hand fan
mini towel
phone
cookies
sunglasses
plastic shoes

We crossed town to Manila bay with the driver expertly slaloming in fluid traffic (a rare situation since my arrival a month ago). It was still dark humid outside, but the temperature was comfortable. We got tot the meeting point early, and walked around puddles in the big parking lot of Manila CCP centre to grab some breakfast in an empty KFC. S-chan hated Jollybee, the local chicken chain, but seemed to enjoy KFC, so she got herself a drumstick and mushroom soup for breakfast while the ladies got coffee. My brain was still on sleep mode so no hunger was registered at 5:15am.

There were many cars and rowers in the parking lot by then, and the teams would have their own colours to identify themselves. We were introduced to our team, or at least the team that J was member of: The Manila Dragons, wearing red on Saturdays. Other teams were blue, yellow, orange and green.

As dawn timidly showed the city's outlines, we jogged 5 laps around the parking lot for the beginning of the warmup.N-san and myself were feeling warmed up fast, thanking the weather to be cloudy and cooler than usual, allowing us to only sweat after the 2nd lap. By the end of the 5 laps, I was already drinking half my water bottle and sweating as much. However the warmup continued with dynamic stretches and x sets of :
1min jumping jacks
5 squats
5 jumping squats (squat, push up, jump)

By the 2nd set I was getting out of breath, tired of jumping jacks and was doing steps and moving only my arms. After the 3rd set, I was getting dizzy, and by the 5th set I blanked out, barely standing and staying conscious. During water break N-san and I were laughing it off, depleted of energy to talk or comment. The other members reassured us that it was almost over, but to watch out for the next day's soreness (no kidding!).

Eventually, after surviving millions of jumping jacks while dawn turned into day, and loosing my mind over my painful calves, it was time to start land rowing. Or at least the regular team members got some rowing movement training by the warm up coach (who didn't do any of the jumping jacks or warm up, which angered N-san). My mind was in such an open/free mode after all that jumping, that I understood tagalog  from the body language and intonation of the coach that they needed to use their lower body as well when rowing. As example, he even cited the Japanese team which won the Palawan race the previous weekend. Apparently they rowed quite calmly without the frantic rhythm other teams were using, because they prioritized form and technique to rowing speed and power.

After trying out the movement with a stick and a wooden paddle, we headed towards the water and were given a tiny life-jacket and a wooden paddle, used for training sessions. During races, carbon fiber paddles are used, which are much lighter.

With national team coach, N-san, S-chand and J

Although there was no breeze to flip our hair or refresh our very warmed up bodies, the stench of the sewage water that end up in Manila Bay attacked our nervous system and permeated our senses. Sadly dirt was everywhere, and although the boats were pretty, we could not forget about the smell around us. We also had to walk on gooey dark stuff, which we did not wish to identify, before hopping on the boat. We sat at the back, in front of the steering person. In the front, a signal person was also monitoring and coaching the rowers during practice.

We were taught the movement in water, in slow motion first, before joining the pace of other rowers in front of us. Unexpectedly the sitting position was very uncomfortable, as one had to put all the weight on the outside of the boat, extend the outside foot and row. As a nice surprise though, once everyone rowed, the water had little resistance and it was nice advancing in the still water, with a nice breeze on our face. The smell still was not enjoyable as we inhaled and hoped for that fresh and clean odorless oxygen.

A bit further of the coast, more teams were practicing and rowing in sync, racing each other and preparing for the following week's competition. The national coach was in the other boat and from time to time both boats would get closer to get instructions, before racing each other or getting individual practice. Rowers would row by pair, and the signal person would correct, comment  the rowers. We beginners even had our turns. It was fun exercise, but I realized there were much splashing water when I rowed, which was disgusting given the stench surrounding us. To be added to the equipment for future practice would be a hat, swimming goggles and face mask.

By 8:45am we finished the practice, got back to moor and took some celebratory photographs, with invitations to come back (it was 50PHP as non-member). I was eager to come back for practice and the companionship of the team members. The team was very friendly and I am grateful to have experienced such exercise, despite the less than perfect water/air conditions. We all tried to wash our feet and hand, getting rid of any speck of dirty liquid that touched us. As we hopped into the car to get back to our lodging, we felt filthy.

We still had to drop S-chan to her dodgeball practice (the reason she was up at 4am?) in Bonifacio Global City, another modern area of Manila full of expats, before getting back to Makati. So it gave me a quick view of the area.

I was back at the hotel around 9:30am, rushed for the hot shower where I scrubbed myself until I was red, grabbed breakfast and had a nap. For a dragon, I was out of fire...and there would be more rain

Climbing a volcano, a small one in the middle of lake Taal

Climbing a volcano can be on one of those lists that can be daunting to do. But I got brave when I read it would take about 1h to climb. So I settled to trek the Taal volcano, which last erupted in 1977.

I booked a car with driver (Anthony) with a local travel agency online (Filipino Travel Center) 48h before the trip. It was convenient because it was last minute and I still had time to get security clearance. On Sunday 7:50am  the driver arrived to pick me up from the trip. I wanted to start at 8:00am. The day was fresh and blue skies were disagreeing with the weather forecast (cloudy with thunderstorms).

We drove fast out of Makati and out of Manila, underneath the expressway, passing multiple shopping centers and their epty parking lots. We passed by Santa Rosa Laguna,  and drove up through Talisay (province of Batangas), to reach Tagaytay around 9:15am. After a dizzying drive down a steep road, we arrived at our resort, where after check in, a boatmaster (Nato) gave me a lifejacked to embark on his boat.

Interceptor

We sped on water, bow up in the air, flying on a motorized fishing boat for about 30min, on a glass mirror lake. The first mountain evoked an extincting volcano, hiding the fact that there are 3 volcanoes on the island.

Taal lake and volcanic island

Boatmaster Nato at the helm

The lake had many islands but the volcanic island was the most popular.

View from Tagaytay

On the island, a small community of 5000 inhabitants and growing are living without electricity, depending on what the land grows, tourism and fishing. As soon as the boat moored, I was invited to stay on the boat to take a picture, which they printed within 5min. Then a horse ride was suggested, which I refused since the whole point was to walk. The horses were small pony sized horses. The trail was dirt trail but as it was early and it rained the night before, there was no use for the face mask they brandished around.

The fresh air and fresh manure accompanied me along the trek up, with little shade to shield from the sun. A hat, sunscreen, umbrella and water are the best accessories, along with a camera. My guide Nato wore flip flops and walked so fast we barely exchanged words at the beginning. I finally asked him to slow down when we arrived towards the top, as the slope got steeper and we were passing through volcanic activity with fumes coming out of the warm ground.

At the top, the pretty sulfuric lake was brightly shining and glistening in the midday sun, contrasting with the lush green vegetation surrounding it. In the shades, it was good to rest and fan myself with local craft, while debating whether to get fresh coconut juice.

I didn't debate long and forgot myself in the scenery and the fresh coconut juice. Did you spot the island in the middle of the lake? I was on an island, which had a lake with an island volcano, which also had a lake and a tiny cute island in the middle...

There are still some fumes on the edges of the crater, and water can be seen boiling below in the lake, enough to make one sweat again. The sulfuric lake was pristine, without boat or fishing activity.

Strangely enough, there were vendors calling out for golf players, as if there were a 18-hole golf course nearby. I suppose a mini golf and a pose with the lake as background would be a nice photo op. But it was time to walk down as the sun was starting to burn, and there were a lot of tourists coming up on their valiant small steeds.

The ride back to the small resort dried my t-shirt, and gave me another view and lighting on the scenery.

And a meal in a nice wooden gazebo was the perfect pick me up from the heat and exhaustion: steamed tilapia, chop suey vegetables, chicken adobo, and rice.

 It was the perfect time and place to have a nap, but the tablecloth got invaded by thousands of micro ants, which became visible as soon as the waiter took away the plates and food. After a bit of rest I wanted to drive back leisurely while admiring the landscape of pineapple farms and side roads stalls. The region was known of its pineapple farms after all.

Taking the expressway from Santa Rosa Laguna, we quickly arrived back to the hotel mid-afternoon, and gave me enough time to enjoy the rest of the day resting and enjoying the stormy skies over Manila. It was an enjoyable day trip, providing fresh air and mental rest out of the city. And I learned a few more words in Tagalog.

Salcedo market, food fest etc...

This market was highly recommended by colleagues and guidebooks alike, and I am glas I visited it whenever I manage to wake up early. It is a parking space during the weekdays, and filled with stalls selling foods, goods from independent grocers and farmers, nearby restaurants, etc...

One entrance with a guard doing bag check

Surrounded by high rise buildings

There are a lot of freshly grilled and fried food, but also proper cooked meal that can be enjoyed in the middle of the market.

Grilled seafood and fish

Grilled meat

Of course there are butcher and fresh fish produce as well. But the fun of it is discovering local specialties.

Rice cakes with sometimes stuffings, wrapped in leaves

Salted eggs and dried fish

Pigeon dishes

Something to quench your thirst in the heat

There are some local crafts as well but mainly it is for food and maybe spices and grains etc. I got some pancake mix with 'ube', which is purple sweet potato (vomanga in Malagasy). It was fun to check out the fruit stalls as well, and I got myself some papaya.

Strawberries and durian, pineapples

Papayas

Dragonfruit and soursap

Pretty grocer's display

It will take many visits to taste all the stalls, and I hope I can come over when I am not traveling.

Tita Bambi is sooo right

And with that a Saturday morning is well spent.