Downtown

Today I went to Quiapo and Divisoria with my friend Jen to pick up some materials for the hat that I'm planning to make for my sister (don't ask).

Quiapo. It's amusing how this place is bustling with so much life. It's a shame I couldn't get a better picture because we all know cell phones disappear in a flash around this area.

As expected, the trip was exhausting but still fun. Here's a few memorable moments in quotes:

"Bom! Bom! Bom!"
It's the lady vendor at Divi singing 'Boom Boom Pow'.

"Liveshow! Liveshow o, liveshow!"
I assumed this man was inviting everyone to come inside the dimly lit doorway somewhere in Recto. A few steps ahead, we saw a similar "establishment". Outside were pictures of scantily clad ladies. Gawd, I didn't know these things actually exist. And they operate in broad daylight!

"Wala po tayong tawiran sa gitna! Tawid kayo ng tawid! Mga tangaaa!"
He screamed like crazy to all the jaywalkers including yours truly. I swear to god I thought this traffic enforcer was losing it. My friend and I got lost in the middle of chaos that is Divisoria so we just followed everybody else. Everyone ignored him by the way.

He sells snakes by the sidewalk.

By sunset, after endless walking, the only thing I got is a pack of hair clips. We were either looking at the wrong places or Divi had a shortage of tulle today.

At the end of our unproductive trip, we decided to meet up with another friend, Hanna, who's visiting for a week. Not even the bumper-to-bumper traffic, noise and air pollution and the feeling of being filthy could stop us from dropping by Robinson's Manila for a little reunion. Not only did we get to catch up, I also got most of the materials for the hat/head piece.

P.S.
Anyone heard of Astrotel? It's like a Startrek-inspired hotel somewhere in Quiapo. Sounds interesting.

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