• Roamer's Roundup

    Roundup Bits: Fare Rollbacks, Airport Makeovers, and Posh Prison Cells

    Time for another Roamer’s Roundup as we look as some of the interesting news bits happening in the metropolis recently: ========== Six months after a fare increase was implemented, news came out that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has approved a provisional P1 fare rollback effective Friday, citing developments regarding dropping global oil prices. It was a surprising piece of news, but nevertheless it was welcomed by commuters as a Christmas present of sorts that would somehow relieve them of those skyrocketing daily expenses.

  • San Juan

    The Good Ol’ Greenhills Shopping Center, Part 2

    As the firstĀ part of this series dealt with the history of the Greenhills Shopping Center and the transformation of its classic structures, this part deals with the other structures that have defined the modern Greenhills, especially the new ones that have risen and soon to rise in this complex. Perhaps the most prominent of these new structures is the one across Shoppesville and Theater Mall called Promenade, a massive building that is home to a number of restaurants, (some of them have an alfresco dining option) a Fully Booked bookstore branch, a performing arts venue called Teatrino and 6 cinemas.

  • San Juan

    The Good Ol’ Greenhills Shopping Center, Part 1

    Mention the place Greenhills and automatically, the first thing that comes to mind is the shopping center there. But make no mistake of dismissing it as just some regular shopping area. Greenhills Shopping Center is itself a landmark of sorts that urban denizens and even tourists have come to know and love over the years, long before the shopping mall chains dominated the urban landscape. EARLY YEARS Greenhills Shopping Center came about from a masterplan of the development of the greater Greenhills area as a residential-commercial development project by the Ortigas and Company. Renowned architect Juan Nakpil came up with the design of the structure as construction would begin by…

  • Roamer's Roundup

    After Ruby

    After the initial projections made about the initial strength of Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit, (as it is known internationally) Metro Manila and surrounding areas were fortunate that the typhoon weakened considerably by the time it hit there. Thus, these areas were spared of the damage the typhoon initially brought. Meteorologists explained that typhoons weaken considerably when it makes a landfall. In the case of this typhoon, it made a landfall at least twice in Samar and Masbate which helped weaken its strength from typhoon to tropical depression levels.