Five years ago, during the early days of the site, the Urban Roamer wrote about the Christmas spectacle at Policarpio Street in Barangay New Zaniga in Mandaluyong, Being my first time to visit the place, I was amazed at the spectacle some of the houses there showcased there, undoubtedly done with such meticulousness and dedication for the love of the season.
Policarpio Street, 2009
With so much that has happened to the Urban Roamer since then, this Christmas season was a good opportunity to revisit the neighborhood and see what has changed, if any, since that last visit.
Just as commuters in the metropolis are still feeling the good tidings of Christmas with the recent decision to lower jeepney fares, not to mention a possible lowered fares for taxis and AUVs, there is an impending yang to this present yin as the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced an increase in the fares for the metropolitan mass transit lines operated by the LRTA (Lines 1 and 2) and MRTC (Line 3 or the EDSA line) effective January 4, 2015.
image of a Line 1 gen 3 train from Skyscrapercityimage of a Line 2 train courtesy of LRTAimage of a Line 3 courtesy of Rappler
The new rates would peg a trip from Roosevelt to Baclaran to P30 from the original P20 via Line 1, Santolan in Pasig to Recto in Manila at P28 from P15 via Line 2, and North Avenue to Taft Avenue at P28 from P15 via Line 3. If you use a stored value card though, you get a P1 discount on the fares.
the new Line 1 fare rates matrix (courtesy of Skyscrapercity)the new Line 2 fare rates matrix (courtesy of Skyscrapercity)the new Line 3 fare rates matrix (courtesy of Skyscrapercity)
The Christmas season has been known as an occasion to get all stuffed up with all the weight gain thanks to those countless Christmas parties and, most especially, the Noche Buena and Media Noche feasts at home. And with the rise of buffet restaurants in recent years, you can expect more dining choices, not to mention those long queues at this time of year.
To add to those dining choices is a new buffet restaurant by Vikings Luxury Buffet Restaurant. But rather than open a new restaurant under the Vikings name, they have decided to take this restaurant to the next level, for starters by giving it a different name: Niu.
In the midst of the Christmas rush the metropolis has been going through as of late, a new retail store just opened early December that has made the shopping landscape in the city a bit more interesting in time for the Yuletide season.
It was the opening of the NBA Store Manila, the official retail store of the US professional basketball league the NBA or National Basketball Association. The NBA Store Manila holds the distinction of being the first NBA Store to open in Southeast Asia, as well as for being the largest NBA Store outside the US that has opened. Just goes to show how much Filipinos love the NBA and basketball in general.
