Bay walk and beyond
Last Friday was the last day of Felix in our company after more than 20 years. I would say that he is one of our best field auditors! He said he and another auditor who also recently resigned were going to treat me out but the latter called that he could not make it so I told Felix that I will treat him instead and they could treat me another time. He agreed.
We went to Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard. I have passed the area a couple of times but I have never really ventured on walking or hanging out there. We got there around 7:30 pm and the colorful streetlights were already lighted. There were also a lot of people there already. All sorts of people! From babies in stroller to oldies in walker… local tourists to foreign tourists. At first we just walked along the whole stretch observing the scene. There were several “open air” restaurants there with some of the waiters/waitresses offering their menus to passersby. There were live bands, folk singers, solo performers accompanied by minus-one music. You could eat in one of the restaurants that sponsor the music/band you are interested in so you could be properly seated or if you have NO such budget (actually food are not really that expensive) you could just stand while watching or sit in the some part of the stretch of the breakwater. There’s no one really there that’s going to stop you.
We noted a short cruise ship that gets passenger in one area (you could just join the 1 hour and 15 minutes ride or opt for ride with dinner) and some men actually fishing. I asked one if he caught anything and he pointed to me his bait with a squid running after it (he didn’t catch it though and threw his bait again).
There we also kiosks and other peddlers and places offering Henna tattoo or e-loads for the cellphones. There were people handing out brochures for Real Estate or prayer leaflets. There were some people walking or jogging. There were families, friends, officemates, classmates (they were in uniform) and of course there were lovers too! There were all sorts of people and the crowd was getting thick as the night goes deeper!
The weather was nice plus the moon was almost full! We finally decided to eat in a place that has folk singer and stayed in a table near the breakwater overlooking more colorful lights from a distance. A lot kids would come to our table and sell us roses or small balloons and I would shake my head and tell them to offer them to lovers instead!
After dinner we decided to walk the stretch again to let the food go down and to observe some more. We noted some dinosaurs (am not sure of what material they were) and lots of kids (yes even if was already late) playing and some being photographed by their parents. We also observed closely the different statues there including the one of Ninoy Aquino and Evelio Javier. Even decided to sit with them while Felix read their short Bio. And on our second walk we noted several street performers most of them doing pantomime. I thought one dressed somewhat like a Russian was really good, at a distance I thought he was a statue but when we got near he would move when you place some money I his box. Of course they were far from doing an act like Jerome Murat but they entertained lots nevertheless.
I was really enjoying myself but we have done the stretch twice already so we decided to cross to the other side and pass through Rajah Solaiman park (did I get that right?) then head for Remedios Street towards the Malate area where the night life is. Felix initially told me that business there was probably affected by the boom in the Baywalk area but he retracted his word after seeing the thick crowd there also not just inside restaurants and venue places but also outside. I was just happily observing the scene and noted the Remedios circle. Don’t really know how it looked before it was renovated but the paver tiles and seats were nice and wide. When we got to the other side of Remedios Street, Eating establishments were already lesser and there were little or no people at some point. But I knew that it would head straight to Taft Avenue where we could get an FX ride so we continued walking. After all the weather was really conducive for walking. At one are we noted a big white house with gold paint around its windows and the glass windows painted white. At first I thought it was a funeral parlor but I noted that the doors were not wide. In fact I observed 2 male foreigners on the door waiting to be let in. Of course I was curious and I was asking Felix what he think it was. Well Felix was curious too, probably more than I was so asked the people nearby what the place was. They said it was a business club and we both looked at each other and smiled… Hmmm… just what is a business club??? We again talked about the windows. They were painted white so no one could really see what’s inside. So his guess was as good as mine and this time we were not just smiling but chuckling as well. We could already see the LRT (light rail Train) posts and knew we were near our ride home. We were lucky to get front seats in the FX ride and after a few talks we were content to just be silent and enjoy our trip back home!
That was one good walk!
We went to Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard. I have passed the area a couple of times but I have never really ventured on walking or hanging out there. We got there around 7:30 pm and the colorful streetlights were already lighted. There were also a lot of people there already. All sorts of people! From babies in stroller to oldies in walker… local tourists to foreign tourists. At first we just walked along the whole stretch observing the scene. There were several “open air” restaurants there with some of the waiters/waitresses offering their menus to passersby. There were live bands, folk singers, solo performers accompanied by minus-one music. You could eat in one of the restaurants that sponsor the music/band you are interested in so you could be properly seated or if you have NO such budget (actually food are not really that expensive) you could just stand while watching or sit in the some part of the stretch of the breakwater. There’s no one really there that’s going to stop you.
We noted a short cruise ship that gets passenger in one area (you could just join the 1 hour and 15 minutes ride or opt for ride with dinner) and some men actually fishing. I asked one if he caught anything and he pointed to me his bait with a squid running after it (he didn’t catch it though and threw his bait again).
There we also kiosks and other peddlers and places offering Henna tattoo or e-loads for the cellphones. There were people handing out brochures for Real Estate or prayer leaflets. There were some people walking or jogging. There were families, friends, officemates, classmates (they were in uniform) and of course there were lovers too! There were all sorts of people and the crowd was getting thick as the night goes deeper!
The weather was nice plus the moon was almost full! We finally decided to eat in a place that has folk singer and stayed in a table near the breakwater overlooking more colorful lights from a distance. A lot kids would come to our table and sell us roses or small balloons and I would shake my head and tell them to offer them to lovers instead!
After dinner we decided to walk the stretch again to let the food go down and to observe some more. We noted some dinosaurs (am not sure of what material they were) and lots of kids (yes even if was already late) playing and some being photographed by their parents. We also observed closely the different statues there including the one of Ninoy Aquino and Evelio Javier. Even decided to sit with them while Felix read their short Bio. And on our second walk we noted several street performers most of them doing pantomime. I thought one dressed somewhat like a Russian was really good, at a distance I thought he was a statue but when we got near he would move when you place some money I his box. Of course they were far from doing an act like Jerome Murat but they entertained lots nevertheless.
I was really enjoying myself but we have done the stretch twice already so we decided to cross to the other side and pass through Rajah Solaiman park (did I get that right?) then head for Remedios Street towards the Malate area where the night life is. Felix initially told me that business there was probably affected by the boom in the Baywalk area but he retracted his word after seeing the thick crowd there also not just inside restaurants and venue places but also outside. I was just happily observing the scene and noted the Remedios circle. Don’t really know how it looked before it was renovated but the paver tiles and seats were nice and wide. When we got to the other side of Remedios Street, Eating establishments were already lesser and there were little or no people at some point. But I knew that it would head straight to Taft Avenue where we could get an FX ride so we continued walking. After all the weather was really conducive for walking. At one are we noted a big white house with gold paint around its windows and the glass windows painted white. At first I thought it was a funeral parlor but I noted that the doors were not wide. In fact I observed 2 male foreigners on the door waiting to be let in. Of course I was curious and I was asking Felix what he think it was. Well Felix was curious too, probably more than I was so asked the people nearby what the place was. They said it was a business club and we both looked at each other and smiled… Hmmm… just what is a business club??? We again talked about the windows. They were painted white so no one could really see what’s inside. So his guess was as good as mine and this time we were not just smiling but chuckling as well. We could already see the LRT (light rail Train) posts and knew we were near our ride home. We were lucky to get front seats in the FX ride and after a few talks we were content to just be silent and enjoy our trip back home!
That was one good walk!
posted by elizabeth | 11:35 PM
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