Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Visited on December 2010

Show of Dancing Lights at the Ayala Triangle Park.  Runs every 30 minutes from 6pm onwards.  Hope you still catch it!  It’s really pretty!  Cheers!

The Jellyfish Display at the Manila Ocean Park

Visited on March 2010

Notes from the Author.  Catch the new Jellyfish display at the Manila Ocean Park this summer.    Just got a preview today of the so-called “dancing sea fairies”.   Really magical to watch.

One of the jellyfish featured was the Blubber Jellyfish.  They were placed in light changing aquariums.  Since the Jellyfish is a semi-transparent creature, the colored lights pass thru their skins, and the effect is amazing!    (Reminds me a bit of the lava lamp.)

See the Jellyfish glow in the dark…

  Dramatic in Red!

One of the jellyfish which I found interesting  is  the ‘immortal jellyfish’ because it has the ability to return to it’s juvenile stage, thus, it never dies, until it gets eaten. 

Some facts about the Jellyfish:  They dont’ have eyes, noses, ears or brains.  They only have tiny sensors.   I’m not sure whether they have the ability to feel pain or fear, because even bugs can sense fear. 

Of course, the Manila Ocean Park is known for housing different aquatic animals, especially fish. 

Some photos in the Oceanarium

  The underwater tunnel

Visit their site:  http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/index.html

The Ayala Triangle Courtyard

Notes from the Author.   There’s a new park in Paseo de Roxas corner Makati Ave.  Actually, it is not really  new as the park has been there for a long time, but it was not developed until recently.  So now, the park was given a facelift, and  it’s now known as the Ayala Triangle Courtyard.  The nice thing about this park is it’s WIFI-ready, so you can  relax in the park while you surf the net.  

I haven’t seen the park at night time, but they say that it’s pretty with all the lights.

The Ayala Triangle Courtyard is adjacent to or the back of   the Ayala Stock Exchange building

Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center

Notes from the Author. Who would have thought that there is a nature park in the middle of Quezon City?

Last September, we held our ad photoshoot with Kuya Kim Atienza at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature , located in Quezon Avenue, Diliman QC. The park is government property and managed by DENR.

The park is about 65 hectares of land. It’s a temporary shelter for rescued animals such as birds, reptiles, pigs and deers. It also has a botanical garden and a man-made lagoon.

It’s place to hold picnics and fieldtrips within Metro Manila.

“Behind the scenes” shoot

“ Barkada” chikitings. Our tiny models

This turtle is a family pet. Kuya Kim Atienza brought his pets to the shoot as extras.

This turtle had more attention than anybody else.

Read more…

Morning Walks at the Fort Bonifacio Global City

6am, 07-2009.

Notes from the Author. Briskwalking has been part of my exercise routine. The Fort is one of the few places in Metro Manila that is nice to do briskwalks. Since it is a relatively new area, it is clean and less polluted, and there are still a lot of greenery which makes walking more enjoyable.

I took random shots one day, while I was walking. Construction of new buildings are going so fast that sooner or later the Fort will be the next Makati city.

Just enjoying the view, while it’s still there. You’ll never know, these lots could be replaced by buildings by the next year or so.

The best time to take photos is early in the morning when the sun is just starting to go up.

High rise buildings (Pacific Plaza at the farthest left, One Mckinley beside it, one of the earlier buildings built here).

Nice to see people jogging, walking and cycling.

High Street Bonifacio in the morning. Open air mall.

More on-going construction.

I can’t help but stop to look at the store window display of one of the shoe stores. (One of the many enjoyments of walking here :P)

Metro Manila

Metro Manila. A snapshot from the plane. 2004

Makati Skyline. Metro Manila. 2007

View of the Pasig River. 2007

Cityscape. Makati view from Fort Bonifacio. Just right in front of the buildings is the Manila Golf Club, the most exclusive golf country club in the Philippines. 2008

Notes from the Author. I showed all these photos of Metro Manila, as I think other countries still perceive the Philippines as a rural country where most people still live in the 'bundocs'. I blame it on the tv networks who are still showing old documentaries of the Philippines where people live in nipa huts. True, we still have a lot of underdeveloped places, like anywhere else. But Manila is a modern city with buildings and modern infrastructures. We have one of the largest malls in Asia, which makes the Philippines as one of the potential shopping havens in South East Asia. Here in Metro Manila, you have almost everything you need. Read more...

How to cross the streets of Metro Manila

Filipinos are not the best in observing road courtesies and traffic rules. In other countries, motorists would stop when they see pedestrians who are about to cross the road. Here in the Philippines, you basically have to watch out for yourself. Not that motorists will run you over, goodness noh! But you have to develop some sort of instinct as to when or when not to cross the road.

Motorists, most often than not, won’t stop at you if you are walking on a pedestrian lane, unless the traffic light is at a full stop. The trick in crossing a road here is to gauge whether the cars are slowing down to give way to you or to see whether they’re speeding up while nearing the pedestrian, because that means they have no intention of stopping. I think Filipinos have already developed this street-crossing intuition, and they know basically when to cross or not to cross. For tourists however, it can be a challenge. My advise is just follow the Filipinos, or ask when it’s ok to cross.

On the other hand, motorists are not the only people guilty of not following road courtesies. People crossing the streets don’t use pedestrian lanes lots of times, and sometimes they would just cross the streets whenever they wish, and they have a better advantage if they cross in numbers. So as a motorist, it is a bit irritating when you are brought to a full stop because the pedestrians are crossing when they are not suppose to. But then again, who are you to complain as a motorist?