Manilatourist.Com: One Morning at Ayala Triangle Park

So what exactly does one do in Makati at 7 A.M.?

That’s the question I had to answer when I found myself in Makati way too early for an appointment. I’ve been helping someone with his English and I didn’t want to be late for our breakfast chat. Makati, it seemed, was savoring its morning sweet spot – when the night owls were heading back to crawl under their rocks while the office workers were inching their way to the central business district.

There was one thing, though, that I knew for sure – I was hungry. I passed up breakfast to beat the morning rush and was now starving. Even if a breakfast meal at one of the fast food chains was the obvious choice, I opted to go classic Pinoy and walked to Pan de Manila. Eight pieces of pan de sal should do it, I supposed. I admit I can gobble up eight pieces of that fist-size bread in one sitting. And so with the warm brown paper bag in my hand, I went through the underpass and walked up to the park.

I must confess that I have a love-hate relationship with this park. I love that it actually exist, a seeming green haven amid the hustle and bustle of the business district. On the other hand, I hate that it has been dubbed as our local Central Park. It takes more than just being surrounded by skyscrapers to earn that title, I imagine.

I entered the park through the fountain area of Tower One, which was practically deserted except for a mother and her child. More people came into view as I further walked inward. Runners were making their rounds; office workers passing through; and people on benches were busy with their mobile phones.

I wanted to sit on the grass but unfortunately, it was wet. So instead, I had to make do with the stone benches around the square where they staged the lights and sounds show during the holidays. Interestingly enough, I overheard the couple sitting on the next bench talking in Hindi while two older east Asian gentlemen animatedly conversing in Chinese. I spotted a couple of white people amid the joggers and another one working on his laptop at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

To my right was a woman busy with her mobile. Thought she might be hungry too so I offered her a piece of pan de sal which she declined. As I was happily stuffing my face with freshly-baked bread, a man came up to her and kissed her. She giddily kissed him back and entwined her arms with his. He then took her bags and they happily walked away and out of the park. Who knew lovers meet at the park early in the morning? I certainly didn’t. I then looked around and apparently they weren’t the only couple in the vicinity. The others were either walking hand in hand or sitting next to each other, showing some mild public displays of affection.

I eventually finished off the entire bag of pan de sal and gulped down my tumbler of orange juice. And as I footed it back to my side of Ayala Avenue, cars were beginning to pile up at the intersections. It seems that the workforce has reached the CBD and another workday is about to start.

RESTAURANTS READY TO SERVE YOU BREAKFAST AT 7:00 AM
1. Chef Lau's Pugon Roasters
2. Cafe Momo
3. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf