We love travelling, going to places we haven’t been through and we love sharing our experiences in our travel blog.
These past few days of October was such a hellweek for all of us. That’s why we thought that it would be a great time for us to travel even just for a little time. Travelling would be a great help for us for it refreshes our mind and our soul. For us to enjoy and forget all of our problems that were experiencing right now.
“Travelling? Hmmm… Where would it be?” Same question that we asked from ourselves. That’s why we searched some best places in manila, then realized that we had already been in some places around manila except for one, and that is Intramuros. Searching informations about Intramuros, it is a city inside a defensive wall built by the Spaniards in the late 16th century. The rampart protected the city from foreign invaders. It is known as the walled city and became a National Historical Monument in 1951. Intramuros is one of the most historical attraction here in our country, Philippines. Did you know that Intramuros is the oldest district in Manila? Come with us as we travel the world inside the Intramuros.
On our way to Intramuros from Quiapo Church we rode a jeep to Kalaw then stop at the National Museum of Fine Arts and start walking for an estimated time of 10 mins. Afterwards, we finally arrived in our destination. First thing that we saw before entering it was the activist that rally for the rights of the laborers or so called “manggagawa” then later we realized that inside the Intramuros there is the building of the Department of Labor and Employment. So moving on, we enter the intramuros and on our left we saw the Pamantasang Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM). Entering in Intramuros was like travelling from the past, most of the buildings were built in 1800s.
We decided to go in the Intramuros to know what happened before late 16th century and also to witness the beauty of the historical place. Travelling to Intramuros was amazingly fun experience. We started our trip to Casa Manila but we failed to enter because it has an entrance fee worth ₱50.00 and yet we don’t have enough money so we just take some pictures outside it and continue walking. Just a short trivia, Casa Manila is a museum depicting colonial lifestyle during Spanish colonialization of the Philippines. Walking inside the Intramuros we’ve found out that there were also houses and families living inside it. The next one we saw is the Ateneo De Manila and both of us were shocked because we don’t know that Ateneo De Manila was once built in Intramuros. As we read its information, it was founded in 1817 as Escuela Pia De Manila. When it was destroyed during World War II they moved it to Loyola Heights, Quezon City in 1952. Around 11 AM we went to Manila Cathedral and taked some pictures outside after that we enter inside and pray for just a few minutes. We continued our tour and reached the Fort Santiago, we hesitated at first to enter inside because it has an entrance fee worth ₱70.00, luckily we brought our students ID so they gave us a discount. And were just amazed by the beauty of the place inside and we saw the foot steps of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. It is the prison cell where Dr. Jose P. Rizal started hist last walk to martyrdom. His last steps were embedded on the pathway that leads to Bagumbayan, where he was executed. Afterwards we realized that it’s already 3:00 pm and its time to go home.
There are lots of buildings inside it there were old and yet still manage to show its beauty. Before going home, it is also the moment that, “Buti na lang dito tayo nagpunta”. We’ve experienced sweat, heat, stomachache and long walks. Yes, were tired after it but still no regrets, for it was all worth it.
Tips in Intramuros:
- Make sure that you have an umbrella and a fan with you.
- It is better to walk than to ride a trike, You’ll enjoy it more.
- Best time to go there is in the morning and in the afternoon 3:00 pm onwards. As much as possible go there in the morning so that you’ll have a lot of time seeing other places in Intramuros.
- Be friendly and don’t hesitate to ask directions. You might get lost.
- Bring your barkada with you, it is better to travel with someone than to travel alone.
- Don’t get tired easily there are lots of beautiful/historical places there.
- Lastly, bring your student ID to have discount for the entrance fee in some buildings.
Virtucio, Niña Angelica L.
Wee, Charmaine C.
Humanist Talk 