SNAPSHOT: Uptown Place Mall in BGC

I am no uptown girl. Obviously.
But I did find myself in Uptown – Uptown Bonifacio - that is.  

This new township from Property Developer Megaworld is located in the northern section of Bonifacio Global City and one of the first to rise in this 15.4-hectare property is Uptown Place Mall. Located next to British School Manila in BGC, Uptown Place Mall is a four-storey retail, dining, and entertainment complex from property developer Megaworld. A number of shops and restos are now open, as well as the supermarket by Rustan’s and Uptown’s very own cinemas.

Here are a few snapshots of how it looks right now.
In the next couple of days, I bet it would look very different . 

Uptown Bonifacio is located at 38th BGC. 

Turn right to parking. 

Tim Ho Wan is coming to Uptown.

A new restaurant from the 1771 group?

A tree of what seem like surfboards greets guests at the reception area. 

Stationery shop The Paper Stone is now open. 

Golden Arches ready to serve their world-famous burgers and fries!

Add caption

Typo is soon to open. 

Information kiosk clad in wood to tie in with the other details. 

Wood paneling at the elevators. 

Purchase movie tickets here. 

Uptown has its own VIP movie theater. 

Good news for kids in the area; Aeon Fantasy Kidzoona is coming to you. 

This I miss in other malls - comfortable seats for mall rats. 

Interesting mix of textures, don't you?

Don't you just love it when they attention to the ceiling, too?

Pepper Lunch and Yumi Express on the level right above the cinemas. 

Here's a sneak peek at one of the ladies' rooms. 

Hello, too, home folk!

Here's the view from Uptown's Veranda. It's where some of the restaurants are, treating diners to a good view of the city. 

Do look down; Uptown Mall's atrium. 

  Good move, Uptown Mall. Skylights help keep down the electricity bills.

I spy a Hush Puppies store!

Absolutely love these lights!

Buffalo Wild Wings is located at the Sky Garden and very much happy to serve you.  

Uptown Mall has its own Sky Park. 

SNAPSHOT: 1967 Manila

“Manila… I keep coming back to Manila. There is no place like Manila, “goes The Hotdog’s song. The Manila Sound Band wrote an ode to their favorite city which has become the unofficial anthem of the Philippine capital.  Released in 1976, it talks about the longing of a man for the sounds and sights of Manila even if he has been to other parts of the world.

And whenever I look at these postcards I’ve dug at antique shops, it’s rather easy to understand his sentiments.

"City Hall of Manila, Philippines. Seen along the city hall is the modern thoroughfare with its over the underpass."
Copyright, 1967.  JMC Press, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines.

"Manila, Philippines, an aerial view of the City."
Copyright, 1967.  JMC Press, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines

WASN’T MANILA JUST GORGEOUS? I would keep on coming back too if it looks like this.

Planned by Daniel Burnham – the brain who laid out Baguio City, Chicago and designed New York City’s Flat Iron Building, Manila was designed to be The Pearl of the Orient. Burnham was an advocate of The City Beautiful Movement – a turn of the century North American Philosophy in Architecture and Urban Planning bent on beautification and introducing grandeur in cities.  “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized," said Burnham.

Now, Manila is a shadow of its former self. All that’s visible are several heritage buildings, some parks, and that underpass called Lagusnilad across the Manila City Hall.

With Election Day just a mere days away, I do hope that whoever wins as Manila City Mayor would have the plans, together with the will, to make the capital a beautiful city again. Beauty matters as it affects people’s emotions, psychological disposition, and their confidence. Not to mention pride and love for one’s country.

Back in Boracay: Girls and Sandcastles

Sandcastles intimidate me.
There is something about them that makes me feel inadequate as a functional human being.

Perhaps it's because that I never really fully fleshed out the sandcastle of my dreams. Which is nothing really grandiose. It's just simply the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. 

So I was highly amused and a bit wistful when we chanced upon these three girls building whatever it was along White Beach.  

three girls and a sandcastle?

Staying on the other side didn't mean we never crossed to the other side. White Beach is where most of the restaurants and convenience stores are.  

TRAVEL SNAPSHOT: Twilight in Coron, Palawan

This is twilight in Coron, Palawan.
And that is La Sirenetta Restaurant & Bar.

I took this while on holiday in celebration of my recent birthday and I am posting it not because I am an insensitive witch. On the contrary, I want to draw some attention to this island which was also deeply affected by super typhoon Yolanda. While relief efforts are understandably concentrated on helping Tacloban, I do hope some of it will make its way to Coron soon.

In Coron, blue is the color of romance. 

La Sirenetta Restaurant & Bar
Reef Pier, near Central Market
Coron, Palawan
Philippines

Ako ay naki-baka and said no to pork.

I pay taxes because it is the right thing to do.
No matter how much or how little money I earn, the government gets a sizable chunk that it thinks it deserves. Moreover,  every time I eat out, watch a movie, or a fly out to a destination outside of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, I still have to pay some more tax.

And I have to confess, that it hurts.

It hurts because the simplest things but are such tell-tale signs of a good city – walkable sidewalks, well-tended foliage, and efficient public transportation system still seem to be an elusive dream for the country’s National Capital Region. It hurts because the last time I was speeding along EDSA at 60 Kph, I drove into a pothole and wrecked my car’s wheel alignment. It most especially hurt when one’s suspicion of perpetual cold-hearted corruption in the government is affirmed.

A couple of weeks ago, the latest tale of corruption in the national government headlined by a certain Janet Lim Napoles made the news. Click on the following links to read more about the story and on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) aka Pork Barrel. 

1. Janet Napoles and the Pork Barrel Scam on inquirer.net                

2. Oink History: Spot.ph Pork Barrel Timeline on spot.ph

So last week, I together with two of my friends – Abe and Ket,  joined the #millionpeoplemarch at Luneta. It was a protest against the continuous allocation of funds to the each legislator’s PDAF fund.

I must say that joining the protest was such a pleasant experience. Sure, we were rather angry and frustrated with all the graft and corruption happening in the government. But this demonstration was something I would describe as quite orderly and had this pulsating positive vibe.

There were no jostling. People were respecting each other’s personal space. Though there were street food hawked around, there was the palpable absence of rubbish, goo, and unpleasant smells. It was such the ideal kind of demonstration.

Here are a few snapshots I took while at the millionpeoplemarch:

Some folks had their picture taken with the police force guarding the US Embassy. 

Manila Punk movement were there. 

I guess it pays to always dress up wherever you go.

Even kids took to the streets.

The Media was there to cover the event.

Red cross volunteers were on stand-by in case of emergencies. 

These kids want more than just abolishing the pork barrel.

No to pork but yes to dirty ice cream sandwich! 

This is just the sight - cops, clean portalets, and no queues.

Why hide in plain sight, boy? 

Some were there to pick up the recyclables. 

For some, the protest  was a family affair.

I signed the petition to abolish the PDAF. (But unfortunately was photo bombed by a certain manong.)

Ket adds her name to the list. 

Abe follows suit. 

These are what we want to happen. 

I am guessing he's a tennis fan. 

Protesters weren't all locals. There were some concerned foreigners, too!

These bikers came as pigs. 

Guess that doggie in a wash basin is also against pork?

The rubbish collected from the protest filled just a several bags!

At the end of last week, Janet Lim Napoles surrendered to President Noy Aquino and is now being detained. There were talks on using her as a state witness against the officials who went with her scam. But a rather brilliant lawyer argued that she couldn’t be since she appears to be the mastermind rather than just an accomplice, saying that Janet Lim Napoles benefited in this particular scam more than the officials who went on with it. She got the chunk while the legislators only had a percentage of the funds.

As it continually unfolds, I do hope all this drama would not quietly fade away but rather be a catalyst for better changes in Philippine Society. I pay taxes because it's the right thing to do but if our government officials don't do right with all my hard-earned money, that's enough reason for me to take it to the streets.