National Palace Museum, Taipei (part 1)

On our second day in Taipei, we had lunch at the Din Tai Fung branch in Sogo department store which was a couple of MRT stops away from our hotel. Then we headed to the Shilin MRT Station, from there we took a public bus to get to The National Palace Museum.

National Palace Museum
Tuesdays to Sundays
9:00 AM - 5:00PM
Admission Fee: 350.00 NT$

the meat shaped stone was crafted from jasper and has
distinct layered patters which resemble a braised pork belly

Chinatown Museum, Manila (part 2)

Chinatown Museum
4th floor Imperial Wing Lucky Chinatown mall
Reina Regente Street, Binondo Manila.
Tuesdays - Saturdays 10AM - 6PM
Entrance fee is 150 pesos.    

Binondo got its name from the word "Binundok" because of its low hills. It started as a Dominican parish where several Chinese immigrants settled and offered their skills and wares. Hence, the nickname "Chinatown" which to this day and age remains a pivotal commercial hub.

The Katipunan was founded at the corner of Elcano and 
Azcarraga streets in 1892

Jose Ignacio Paua was the only pure Chinese to serve in the
Philippine revolution and Philippine-American war.

 

Ramon Ongpin, the owner of El 82, a hardware and arts supplies shop was 
also one of the financiers and suppliers of the 1896 Philippine revolution.

EL 82 got its name from the year it was established in 1882
and "82" was also the store's phone number

Alcaiceria translates to "Silk Market" a unique octagonal structure.
On the ground floor are shops selling textiles, jars and wares. The
upper floors were the housing quarters of transient Chinese merchants.

Tranvia was a streetcar transport from Manila to Malabon.
It was initially horse-drawn then eventually turned into electric powered streetcars.

The Binondo, Santa Cruz, Escolta area holds a special spot in my heart. My late parents would always regale us with stories about how beautiful these places were in the 1950 - 1960s era. The tree lined, well paved streets of Manila with the tranvia as one of the main means of transportation is well etched in my mind through the vivid description of Dad who grew up in Manila. 

Sad to say, those parts of Manila and Manila in general is very different, nowadays. It is very crowded, chaotic bustling with various vehicles from the traditional jeepneys, kuligligs, pedicabs, tricycles, to e-trikes. All of them jostling for position on the narrow, traffic laden and trash filled streets of Manila. There are peddlers on side walks and on pavements, pedestrians forced to walk on the streets where you can get sideswiped by tricycles or worse by snatchers. It is really unfortunate, talaga.

Thankfully, there are still museums which preserve artifacts and old photographs of our glorious past.

Chinatown Museum, Manila (part 1)

The museum tour resumes. This time we headed to Binondo, specifically the Lucky Chinatown Mall. This is our second time to visit this mall but I had no idea that there is a museum at the 4th floor.

The museum focuses on the rich colorful history of Binondo, the location of one of the world's oldest Chinatown. The 17 galleries of the display narratives serve as visual testament to the social, cultural, economic, political and religious significance of the Chinese community. 

The Chinatown museum is privately owned by Megaworld Corporation. The real estate developer company that also operates the lifestyle malls in Eastwood, Newport, Uptown and Arcovia among others.

For years, Binondo was the center of the business industry as many Chinese merchants, laborers and artisans thrived there. Many of the Philippines' firsts like pharmacies, theaters, restaurants and departments stores started in Binondo.

Michael, a former student of the hubby who is now the manager/curator of the museum gamely toured us around the brightly lit museum. I was really impressed with the historical tidbits he shared with us. 

Chinatown Museum
4th floor Imperial Wing
Lucky Chinatown mall
Reina Regente Street,
Binondo Manila
Tuesdays - Saturdays 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Entrance fee is 150 pesos.

Tercie

From 1978 - 1982 we lived in Brussels, Belgium. Our apartment was a two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom with a bathtub, a workable size kitchen with separate dining room and a spacious living room with big windows. The view from our living room was the front street lined with big trees. It was on the second floor of an orange bricked building with an old style elevator, and an older couple who lived downstairs serving as the 'concierge' of the building. It was located in the univesity part of town in the capital of Belgium.

Our first ever car was a 3 door A/T silver Toyota Tercel hatchback. It was quite an oddity in a country prevalent with European and American cars. But Dad and I guess Mommy too decided it was the perfect car for our small family of 4.  Dad chose it because it had only 2 doors (with a hatchback) so it meant me and my sister were safe at the back. I remember we would push the passenger seat down so we could enter the back side of the car. 

It was a much loved car we named Tercie. We traveled all over Europe in Tercie, from the alps of Switzerland, the cobblestone streets of Paris, the windmills of Amsterdam, the sacred grounds of the Vatican, the old town of Cologne, Germany to the canals of Venice, Italy.  It was so fun those road trips with Dad at the wheel and Mommy as our navigator. We were just small kids but we cherish those European travels with much fondness and gratitude.

In 1982, we were recalled back home. Tercie was still our car when we lived in Mandaluyong. Dad took great care of Tercie even though sometimes, he had difficulty finding its spare parts as it was one of a kind in this neck of the woods. I still remember Tercie with no aircon but a heater (European winters were harsh) rollling through the streets of tropical, sunny and humid Metro Manila.  

In the 1990s, sister dearest drove Tercie when she was studying in UST. Still handy and quite reliable. But in 1992, Dad was reassigned to another posting abroad. This time to Singapore so it was with a heavy heart that we had to leave Tercie with some relatives. But sad to say, Tercie was neglected as it was too costly for them to maintain. Last time, I saw Tercie it was all rusty and in a state of total deterioration. It was heartbreaking.  I cried so much but Dad was strong yet I knew he was sad too.

So imagine our surprise when sister dearest and I were walking aimlessly in Tamsui, Taiwan because we got lost looking for some historical fort. We came across this silver Toyota Tercel parked along the road. Although it was a 4 door sedan and Tercie was a hatchback. We were so happy we had to take a picture.

It brought back so much memories along with the thought that it was a sign (yes I am a strong believer of signs!) from Dad and Tercie. They are watching over us because we were lost in an isolated place with the bus stop so far away. Some taxi driver didn't understand us and refused to take us to the nearest MRT station but thankfully we regained our bearings and got back on track to the Tamsui MRT station. Thanks Dad and Tercie! 

Longshan Temple, Taipei

For our Taiwan trip, we did not avail of the hop on hop off bus because we had the 3 days Taiwan FunPass. The pass came with a booklet with interesting information of the different tourist attractions along with its opening hours, the nearest MRT station as well as which bus to take to get to the sites. Quite comprehensive, really.

We discovered the Lungshan Temple when we realized it was just a few MRT stations away from where we had our hotpot dinner on our first night in Taipei. Too bad, it was already closed. But it was an impressive sight. We wanted to return during its opening hours but due to time constraints, we never got the chance. 

Lungshan Temple
Guangzhou St. Wanhua District,
Taipei City Taiwan
Free Entrance
6 A.M - 9:30 P.M

Gratitude

Sunday visit to the parents @ Loyola Sucat

This past week, we received sad news that a nephew of D collapsed and died. He was only 50 years old. It was quite a shock because we had no idea he was sick or had any lingering disease.

Saturday, we went to his wake. A reunion of relatives we hardly have time to socialize with but only keep in touch through social media posts. A glimpse here and there of what is going on with each other's lives.

Unfortunately nowadays, a wake or a funeral is the only way families, relatives and friends get to see each other. We wanted to stay longer for more 'chikahan' but San Jose del Monte is about 2 hours drive away from our place. The weather is quite unpredictable, we left Bulacan by 4 PM to avoid traveling on unknown provincial roads by night fall. We have a love and hate relationship with Waze, it keeps directing us to tiny dead end roads. Goodness.

It makes us realize just how short life is. That we are on borrowed time. We need to make each moment count. Enjoy each waking minute. Be grateful for life. Be grateful for good health. Be grateful for a roof over our heads. Be grateful for small victories. Be grateful for abundance. Basta, just be grateful.