The Urban Roamer

After a Long Holiday Break…

April 21, 2014 by The Urban Roamer

The long Holy Week holiday is now over. It is now back to regular programming, so to speak, for many folks here. This means back to seeing those crowded scenes, the heavy traffic along the roads, especially aggravated by delayed road work projects. I hope the past Holy Week break made you appreciate how orderly … Read more

Roamer’s Roundup: Holy Week 2014 Edition

April 16, 2014 by The Urban Roamer

It is that time of the year once again as the Holy Week is being commemorated by Christians around the world, especially among the Christian faithful in the Philippines, to remember the events in the life of Jesus Christ from his triumphant entry to Jerusalem, celebrating the Last Supper, leading to his passion, death, and resurrection.

While the celebration of Holy Week came from the influence of Spanish Catholicism that was introduced in the country in the 16th century, it has certainly evolved over time as Filipinos, especially the Catholicized ones, not only embraced this celebration but also added their own flavor into it, so to speak. These traditions still remain strong today even in a place as urbanized as Manila, from the pabasas you hear being blared via loudspeakers to the men who cover themselves while beating or whipping themselves.

Reminiscing Manila’s Magellan Monument

March 16, 2021April 14, 2014 by The Urban Roamer

Intramuros by the Pasig River was home to a towering landmark, but what became of this Magellan Monument and where is it now?

The Guide To Mass Rail Transit Names

April 8, 2014 by The Urban Roamer

Over the years of the Urban Roamer, I’ve come to realize that there are things pertaining to urban life, the ins and outs, the ways things go here n the Manila metropolitan landscape that many are unaware of. Thus, I have decided to set up another semi-regular feature on this site which I call “The Guide.” Think of it as a handy reference of sorts of what you need to know about how the city works when it comes to some aspects of its urban landscape, all its quirks included. The first I am going to tackle here in “The Guide” is a subject close to and has long been a source of annoyance for me at least.

There seems to be so much confusion and wrong going on with how Metro Manila’s 3 mass rail transit lines are named. It is something that has been bugging me for a while. Granted some may see this as petty, allow me to elaborate on this post.

the current Metro Manila mass rail transit system (courtesy of Urbanrail)

First things first, we must learn the type of mass rail transit systems available in the metropolis today. The first is the “light rail system,” which is designed to handle a limited number of passengers. From the name given, we can assume that the trains operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) are light rail systems. Well, the answer is…not really.