Philippines: A Country to Remember (3)

May 19, 2012

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Ayala Avenue signpost at MRT station. Ah, good old days! That place brought me back memories to my first visit in Philippines. At that time, I stayed in Manila InterContinetal Hotel, not far from Ayala Avenue MRT station.

It was my third day in Philippines. That morning, Annisa and I followed Chloe to – well, actually I had no idea where we’d go. From Ayala Avenue, we took a bus. The bus was full we didn’t get the seat.

The bus stopped at Bonifacio Global City. Bonifacio! Now I knew where we were going to. Chloe had ever told me that her favorite FullyBooked was the one in Bonifacio. We were heading there.

Bonifacio is a district in Taguig City, Metro Manila. It didn’t feel like in Philippines there. Maybe it’s because the skyscrapers, maybe it’s because the atmosphere. It was more like Western countries, except the fact that it was hot. Remember when I said Rizal Park was so hot the day before? Double it. That was the level of heat in Bonifacio. 

In front of me, FullyBooked stood solidly. I entered the place with excitement. No wonder Chloe loved this place. You could find any books there, and music, and coffee. They have Starbucks inside!

Imagine this, you read a book with a coffee on the table. Isn’t it lovely?

Well, I was not in the mood for coffee that day. I had mineral water instead.

I bought four books from Mitch Albom: One More Day, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, and Hafe A Little Faith. Annisa bought more books, including The Help. It seemed like not only us who bought a bunch of books. Most people I saw brought at least three books. And you know what, we had to wait in line to pay for books. That was the longest queue I’d ever seen in a bookstore. I never see it in Indonesia.

From FullyBooked, we went to Mall of Asia. Wikipedia refers MOA as the second largest mall in Philippines after SM City North EDSA, the third largest shopping mall in Asia, and the fourth largest shopping mall in the world. Yes, it is that big!

There is a world globe in the entrance gate. Indonesia’s map seems not right. Well...

After having lunch – I had the most delicious spaghetti, it’s only beaten by the one my close friend made – three of us watched movie. In Philippines, the ticket doesn’t have any seat number on it so we have to randomly choose seats right in the theater. Lucky we got three seats in a row.

Dark Shadows was our choice. I kinda expected the English subtitle like movies in Malaysia. I forgot most Filipinos are good in English. They don’t need the subtitle. I could understand the movie, though I missed some jokes.

Right after watching movie, we went to Kultura to buy souvenirs. I was choosing magnetic pin when I heard rhythmic clapping as the folk music started. I asked the worker near me and he said that there was a dancing by the workers; three times a day. I was lucky to be there in the right time.

I went to see the dance. I clapped my hands. I took a picture too. Some poeple even recorded the dance. It was a lovely performance.

Time to go back to hotel. We took photos with the world globe as the background before going home. From MOA, we rode jeepney to the closest MRT station. Arrived in Araneta Cubao, Chloe headed to separate way to be home. That was the last time I saw her. Or so I thought.