To Intramuros: My Solo Excursion

I have long been wanting to go to Intramuros alone and just walk around, taking pictures and looking at stuff. The Walled City was a very beautiful city during its glory years, and it still is at present, in some parts. Nevertheless, as my previous post suggests, I am an all-talk-no-act person. That is, I tend to retain whatever I want to do in my head instead of actually acting up on it.

However, I am really getting tired of this counter-productive attitude and I am starting to struggle my way out of it. I am trying to fight off my stupid anxious thoughts and to just get my ass moving. And so, last Sunday, I finally got up, after much internal debate, walked the whole stretch of Katipunan Ave., casually rode two trains, and found my way inside the city.

Of course, there were also a few side trips before I actually got in the city.

I passed by Universidad de Manila which had NoyNoy's portrait posted on its entrance. I don't know how different this school is from the University of the Philippines-Manila.

Across the university is a plaza. In front of it is a huge monument depicting the KKK. I've always stared at that figure and have always wanted to walk pass it. If allowed, I would have even stared at it a while longer instead of just snapping a shot.

Behind the statue, people were singing, dancing and clapping. It seemed like a religious worship but the audience composed of dark, house-clothed locals instead of elegantly well-dressed church people. I figured the party was organized by some korean church who wanted to entertain or give something to the residents of the area.

After a hundred more steps and a couple of life-threatening underpasses, I finally reached the city.

My first stop, of course, was the Muralla. The Muralla is the road that goes around the perimeter of the city. It is lined by thick walls, studded with moss, bullet holes and brick bits. It was designed to house canyons and artillery and to allow people to easily go around the city on top of it.

After that, I aimlessly walked around trying to avoid the crowded streets. It was actually weird seeing people shooting hoops on a concrete road perpendicular to a cobbled street lined with old, historical buildings. The two certainly don't belong together and both are an insult to the other.
Anyway, I passed by a souvenir shop whose concept was pretty similar to Papemelroti's. It also sells paper products except that its material is printed with Intramuros-reminiscent pictures. There were a bunch of nice finds from notebooks to planners to bookmarks and even necklaces. I was looking for an office thing, like a pen, to give to newlycorporatebirthdayboy but couldn't find anything except for paper weights. And so, I ended up buying an Intramuros-designed rubik's cube thinking he knows how to play it.
After a few more streets, I realized it was getting late and I needed to wrap-up my trip soon. I decided I want to walk up the walls again and so I headed for the main city entrance where one can have a view of the majestic golf course and of romantic couples. On my way, I saw a peculiar thing.

A man was riding his bike with his dog perched on the handles

In less than an hour, I was out of the city again. I can’t say I was enormously joyful for conquering not only Intramuros but also myself but I can say that I certainly enjoyed my solo adventure and that I was extremely tired. It was an experience and I still definitely want to go back to the city. I believe there are still many other streets and sights to explore and restaurants to try but I’ll try dragging others with me the next time.

Cheers to solo trips and spontaneous Sundays!

Next stop: Solo climb, hopefully.