Short tour of Philippines's history

Good morning! Now I am fresh & ready to tell you guys about my tour of the city. Since it was given for free by the organising committee so I won't complaint that it was short & I want some more. Hehheh..

We left the university ground slightly after 1pm when we all finish our lunch & get our certificate of participation. I sat with Dr.Orkana from Thailand. She is such a pretty & soft lady...just as what I expect from her being Thai.:)

 Our first stop is at the Manila Cathedral.

 But 1st before we came in, we were briefly told about the tour and what we will see, and of course a quick story of the history of Manila. We have a fabulous and funny and informative and creative tour guide. If I were to tour Philippines again, I would love to hired him. And you know what, few months after I left Manila, I saw him on History Channel!

We went inside the church. My partner left me behind because I was slow as I have to read few things about the church right in front the main entrance. Therefore, I end up with this bunch of guys. They are form Cambodia & Vietnam. But as they get noisier, I decided I better leave them & be on my own. It's a church for goodness sake, dont they know they need to be quiet to respect the people who are in there for personal moment with HIm. Gosh...

 Then our next stop is the famous Intramuros. This is the behind gate.

Now we're inside the wall. Intramuros is Spanish for 'within the wall'. Intramuros was the seat of government during the Spanish Colonial Period. It is the oldest district and the core district of Manila. It is a huge wall and there are entrance from West, South, North & East and each entrance are for different uses. The city outside the wall is called extramuros which literally mean 'outside the wall'. The wall is a remembrance of Manila past history. Some part of within the wall has been converted to a golf course though.Hehhehe..

 The wall look like from the outside.

You still found a lot of horse carriage such as thing around the wall that offer you an opportunity to tour the wall. Yup, that basically mean you need to be watchful of horse's shit. Unlike a place that I visited in Turkey, they dont collect their own horse's shit. Hehehhe...

 Our next stop is St.Augustine Church, the oldest church in the Philippines that still remain standing and in use until today. The church was within the wall of Intramuros. Our guide told us that this is the most famous place to be married and way advance booking is require because it seem, wedding is happening everyday here.:) WEll, who doesn't want to be married in the oldest church in the country since it's so pretty and grandeur looking.

 See...there are two wedding happening in the church that day. I can see that these couples come from a prominent Filipino's family. Check out the wedding car...

 So, due to the wedding, we can't enter the church. Now that was the downside of the tour.:(

I have no idea what brand is this car. All I know, it look cute.Hehhehe

 I cant remember what the guide told us about this.Hahhaha...

 This is the middle courtyard of the church. Since we can't go inside the church due to the wedding ceremony, so we went into the back of the church. The courtyard us very peaceful.

 View from above.

There we all go, following our tour guide. And where he brought us...

 Into a room where it is full or urn! I feel so creepy in that room so I decided to go out for 'fresh air'. I do not wish to be inside a room full of dead people's ashes!

Then after, we go to the top part of the church to have a glimpse of the interior part of St.Augustine. The wedding is so beautiful. It look so grand! It is no surprise everyone want to get married here. I would!Hahaha..

 The church's organ pipe.

Our last destination is Casa Manila. This is a 'pet' project of the former first lady of Philippines, Imelda Marcos. It is a reconstruction of Spanish colonial home in the 19th century.

 There is a restaurant where you can experience an authentic Spanish and Filipino cuisine.

We were all very tired and really glad that it was our last stop.

 Casa Manila from the outside. Unfortunately, we can't take photo of the interior part of the house. Don't ask me why.

 So, everyone just have to be satisfied with pictures outside the building.hehhehe

 We just finish the inside tour and...

 I just have to take my last picture in Manila at Casa Manila..

On our way back to the bus. Overall, I had a very good time and also fun time both in the conference and also during our short tour of the city. We had a great tour guide and I made lots of new friends from all over the world during my 3 days conference which I still keep in touch until today. I would love to go to the Philippines again if I have the chance but this time, it will be all fun & game! Mabuhay Philippines!