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| Source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/%27beware-the-kraken%27-queue |
I have been planning to go on a tour with Mr. Carlos Celdran a couple of years back, but never had the opportunity to do so. I recall seeing his rates were rather pricier and most of his scheduled tours were full around the time he did the "DAMASO" stint in the Manila Cathedral. I never went back to his site to check for updates and merely subscribed to his page on facebook.
Last Saturday evening, I was fortunate enough to see one of his posts announcing a barter tour on the following day. A barter tour is a "free" tour wherein all you'd have to pay for are the museum, entrance, kalesa and other miscellaneous fees. You would also need to bring a gift to barter with, may it be food, canned beans, artwork... ANYTHING! Since he rarely does this on a weekend, I simply HAD to go!
The trip from Pampanga to Intramuros was... harsh. I did research and asked friends how to get to Intamuros from Cubao so on and so forth, and before I went to bed, I had 5 routes listed down on how to get there. Travel time was about 3-4 hours. Really frustrating.
So how did I get there? Here: 3 Jeepney Rides to Bus Station >Bus to Cubao > MRT to Taft > LRT1 to Central > Clueless Pedicab Driver (or acting stupid to defraud me of my little cash)
Disclaimer: I am absolutely in no way belittling pedicab drivers. Its just a shocker that he was absolutely clueless regarding the whereabouts of Fort Santiago when it's barely 2 kilometers away. A little known trait about "most" Kapampangans as well is the grander we look, the poorer we really are. :D
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| Carlos preparing for his first act |
Taking pictures throughout the tour is allowed (except inside the museum) but capturing videos isn't. There was one lady recording the entire thing but no one seemed to mind, it's as long as it's for personal viewing only I suppose :)
I was such a dummy for not bringing a spare memory card on the trip that's why all of the photos here are basically 90% of what I took. I was able to take short video clips as well. :)
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| San Agustin Church Entrance. Me with Mr. Celdran |
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| Me with Mr. Celdran at the end of the tour |
The rates for the "If these walls could talk!" Tour are:
1000php - Adult
600php - Student (Bring a school I.D.)
400php - Barter Tour
I would love to share more about the
tour experience but I'd rather not spoil the fun for everyone who
intends to go to one of his tours. Let me just end this part of the entry by saying, If I had known it would be this cheap, I wouldn't have waited for a barter tour!
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| Drawbacks of being alone. Self-Pics :)) |
On another note....
I'M MOVING BACK TO MY OLD HOUSE! :D
Other than having the extended family around you, I reaaaaally dislike the apartment were staying in. The structure isn't so bad but I hate RATS! I can deal with them nibbling on unattended food items but not clothes and dry goods.
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| New Dressing Room/Study/Studio! |
I'll be moving in on Friday. Stuff to be transported are not yet packed and the place I'm moving in is still a bit messy! Got to keep moving!!!! :D
Have a fruitful week ahead,
DianeShishio
