The Urban Roamer joins the call for the Filipino people to make a discerning and intelligent choice for the next leaders of our country, province, city, or town. So much has been said about voting for our next national leaders. But I believe the local elections are also important. We cannot fully be able to love and stand up for our country if we do not feel proud and love for the city/town we were born, grew up, and/or have lived in.
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the Urban Roamer’s updated ePassport guide
In case you have not heard, some significant developments came up since my last post “the Urban Roamer’s ePassport guide.” First significant development is the good news that the ePassport is now available even for first-time passport applicants. The catch is though if you’re looking to get just the more affordable machine-readable passport, (MRP) Â sorry to say that the DFA has ceased issuing MRP’s since early this year. That leaves you with no choice but to shell more money to spend the more expensive, yet most technologically advanced ePassport.
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reminiscing the Insular Ice Plant
At this time when we in the metropolis are suffering from the effects of El Niño and temperatures reaching as to as high as almost 37 degrees Celsius, this urban roamer cannot help but look back at a time when there was such a thing as a literally cool spot in Manila where perhaps we can take refuge from all the heat. I’m referring to none other than the Insular Ice Plant. Back in the days when refrigerators either were non-existent or not widely used yet, the Insular Ice Plant was one of the first buildings built by the Americans to keep the steak and beer fresh and cold. Designed…
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the heritage of Santa Ana (part II)
As was mentioned before, Santa Ana’s overlooked heritage flavor is a tourism goldmine of sorts waiting to be utilized fully, thanks to a number of Spanish and American-era architecture that still defines the area. If the houses along Plaza Hugo are not enough for examples, you can also find some old, grand, and, sadly, some dilapidated houses right across the plaza, along the vicinity of Old Panaderos St. If you’re hungry, you won’t find any bakeries here, unfortunately. However this area was once before the place where bakers live and/or ply their business during the Spanish times. I’m not sure if the old houses still standing in the area once…