“Walk This Way” Walking Tour of Intramuros with Carlos Celdran
This was definitely an educational AND entertaining experience.
Today, a day before our 2nd year and 11th married anniversary, my little family and I were able to enjoy a one-of-a-kind celebration…I happened to have won a prize from a contest I joined before, and it was a free Walking Tour of Intramuros with the Pied Piper of Manila, famous walking tour guide Carlos Celdran.
Included in his Walking Tour of Intramuros are the following places: Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church & Museum, and Plaza San Luis.
If you’re Pinoy and you haven’t really had the chance to go on a guided tour of Manila’s historical places (and you’re raring for the chance), this is just for you!
My husband and 2-year old daughter and I were able to see old Manila through fresh eyes by way of Carlos Celdran’s amazing presentation of facts and information. Not only did we get to walk through the halls of some very interesting places, we also got to experience riding a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage used even way back into the olden times) and eat halo-halo with foreigners who joined the tour.
Seeing foreign guests react to the beauty of the old places, and to the yummy taste of a dessert that we usually take for granted was refreshing. Aaah, it was a genuinely amazing experience to be, in Carlos Celdran’s words, “a pilgrim in your own town.”
The Manila Cathedral
Huge bells and a little girl
Our view from the calesa ride (Mamang Kutsero’s back. Hehehe!) and a shot of tourists getting down from the carriage
The ever-theatrical Carlos wearing a hat with the stripes of an American flag (He was sharing about the American influences in Manila)
San Agustin Church
Carlos sharing about our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal
Glimpses of San Agustin Museum (no video-taking or photo-taking is allowed inside, where the relics and paintings and statues are)
“Light a candle…and make a wish…”
Look at this photo carefully…
We were standing just a few feet from where the actual photo was taken. Notice how the pillars are there but don’t hold up anything? Everything is, as Carlos Celdran says, “a grand illusion!”
Plaza San Luis, which marked the end of our Intramuros walking tour
(“If these walls could talk…”)
A mix of Pinoys and foreign tourists all enjoying the halo-halo
or as Carlos described it “candied fruits in ice”
A spark of hope. I felt that. That, and a warm feeling of national pride as my hubby and daughter and I made our way through our tour of the walls of Intramuros. We were not only able to listen to snippets of national history, but we were able to peek into the places which I feel I wasn’t truly able to appreciate during school field trips as a child.
There was so much more significance looking at the places and things of old at this very time, especially at this time when there has been so much criticism for Filipinos everywhere because of certain incidents and circumstances.
What I appreciated about Carlos Celdran and his presentation of Manila was that it was not at all patronizing, and it wasn’t condescending either. He presented facts and told things as they are, but you could distinctly hear the pride he felt for his country, for this place called Manila, which is home to many of us.
I personally love seeing new places, experiencing the culture, trying new cuisine, meeting new people…I’ve been having a blast being able to see beautiful places with my Rodrin and my Drian…first, the Philippines, soon, the whole world!
While I can barely contain my wanderlust, I know that I will keep coming back home to Manila. People have a mouthful to say about it, but I will always love it for the richness of its character, the ever-evolving colors and shades it has, and the music that never stops.
Doing this tour made me love Manila all the more, and made me appreciate my being Filipino even more too. And what a blessing to share such an experience with the people I most love.
I liked this quote from Carlos Celdran that’s printed on each of the souvenir posters he gave away to us at the end of the tour, that leaves us all something to think about, especially about how we see our beloved Manila:
“I believe that Manila can be a reflection of your state of mind. Being a city of extreme contrasts it can easily become an intense personal experience. Manila can be chaotic and spiritual, dirty and divine, gritty and gorgeous all at once. If you don’t find beauty and poetry here, you will never find it anywhere….”
Check out the Walk This Way Tours, and leave with a smile and a whole lot of self-introspection. Try it, and enjoy!
Kudos to Carlos Celdran for blazing trails and keeping us all smiling in the midst of the sounds of kalesa hooves and the contrasting silence of history’s watchful yet quiet walls!
For more information, check out Carlos Celdran’s official website: http://celdrantours.blogspot.com
3 Responses to ““Walk This Way” Walking Tour of Intramuros with Carlos Celdran”
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My cousin is visiting from the States and I was checking if the Carlos Celdran trip is worth it. I should give this a try!
It was certainly fun, entertaining and educational!