Ironwulf.net Ver 6: En Route - Philippines, Travel, Photography

Manila Ocean Park is finally open! I think this is one development project a lot of people are watching out for. It was slated to open last December in which I was worried at first due to the speedy development but then it moved to late February. Buddy Oggie invited me to come along since he got invites for the Partner’s Night pre-opening. He contributed some of his photos to be used for their interactive kiosk installation thus the free invites. The Oceanarium officially opened yesterday (March 1) and we now currently have the largest oceanarium in Asia. So prepare to be a kid again.

No, this isn’t an early Visita Inglesia post in Manila nor did I shoot a wedding here, it just so happen that there’s a wedding being held at San Sebastian Basilica Church when I was there. I was supposed to shoot a few scenes around the neighborhood of Malacañang, the country’s seat of the government, as a minor assignment for a publication I regularly contribute at. My route was the same as Ivan Mandy’s San Miguel Walking tour, but since I’m no historian, I pulled out a fellow blogger, Tito of Tutubi Patrol, whose more adept to history than I am and we were also joined by another photographer/writer Joselle for a short walk around the San Miguel District in Manila.

Happy New Year people! Thank you very much for still tagging along for the ride all this time. To make the start of the year more lively, here is Makati City’s Countdown to 2008 held at Ayala Corner Makati Avenue. Just in front of Manila Peninsula Makati, where the recent Trillanes Standoff happened. So a couple of hours before the strike of midnight I headed up to Makati, the nearest vicinity where I could shoot some fireworks and scenes from the event itself.

The coastal city of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental is also considered the land of the gentle people. At some sense I had to agree with that since I found Dumaguete upon first impression very peaceful. You don’t have that sense of danger or urgency. It’s almost like any rural city but this one dominated by the large Silliman University and a lot cleaner in my opinion. And it was a surprise to see a lot of foreign backpackers and nationals are here. Just says something about the place.

Nuvo, bar and restaurant is one of the classiest night life places in town located in Greenbelt 2, Makati. On my way there I was expecting to do more food and establishment shoots. But when I arrived there about 2 hours before midnight, I never expected to walk into one of the high society’s anticipated party event as Nuvo celebrates its 5th anniversary last July 25 2007. The party dubbed as Nuvo Y5k sought to bring an atmosphere of nostalgia as it plays some feel good and vibe music of the nineties.

Happy New Year! I know it’s a bit late (blame it on the slower than dial-up DSL internet connection at home) but we still have “Three Kings” right?

My vision of Manila has been limited to DVDs, Hidalgo, LRT, crowded streets and dark grievous corners where anything can happen. I studied at U-Belt for more than four years and had only seen only the dilapidating side of Manila at that time. But a quick walk through Manila’s inner thoroughfares recently expanded my vision of this old city.