Christmas in the City 2015: Beating the Holiday Traffic

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For many of us denizens of this crazy (in ways both good and bad) metropolis, the Christmas season is something we look forward to each year. What we don’t look forward to though is the traffic, traffic whose intensity is a red as the color of the Christmas lights or Santa Claus’ outfit.

EDSA traffic (file photo courtesy of the Philippine Star)

Sadly, it is a reality we have to live through at the moment, no thanks to the lack of the needed infrastructure needed to ease the traffic and the fact that the metropolis itself has been very, very congested for years now.

With the infrastructure still being built or waiting to be built at this time, at the moment the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has thought of some measures to help commuters survive the Christmas traffic hell, which we will be talking about today.

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Christmas in the City 2015: The Lighted Displays Along Ayala Avenue

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Christmas is in the air once again, and the metropolis is all aglow with sparkling lights, dazzling decorations and captivating spectacles that capture the senses. Not to mention the horrible traffic, but that’s another topic altogether.

As such, many of the streets these days are lighted with lanterns and colorful lights in Yuletide designs and colors. The main thoroughfare of the Makati Central Business District is one of those brightly lighted streets this season. However, the Makati CBD is doing things a bit differently this Christmas as motorists and commuters are treated to a different street light spectacle, showcasing the heritage and the (Catholic) faith of the country.

a lighted display representing Bohol’s Baclayon Church, (La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Church) originally completed in 1727 though it sustained major damage during the 2013 earthquake that hit Bohol

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International Bazaar: A Global Christmas Shopping Experience

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The Christmas season is a time for shopping madness as shopping malls and venues get filled up more than usual, causing unbearable traffic in the process, and bazaars being held at almost every corner of the metropolis. But the thing with bazaars is that they can be all too much of the same thing, offering the same offerings with not much variety and exciting new finds to look forward to.

With that said, there are a few bazaars to look forward to each year, one of them is the subject of this entry today, the International Bazaar that is held every November or so at the PICC Forum.

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Meet the New Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum (Plus Some Exclusive Shrine Photos!)

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It’s been a long while since the Urban Roamer visited the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum. And since then, there have been so many big changes there. And I do mean big in a manner that you won’t recognize the museum anymore if your last visit was at least last year.

You see the museum underwent a total renovation and makeover of sorts for about a year. The result: a new and improved look of the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum, now officially known as Museo ni Manuel Quezon which was unveiled just last August 19 this year, in time for the birth anniversary of Pres. Manuel Quezon.

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