Last May 16, 2010, my family and I joined the free Postal Heritage Walking Tour of Manila organized by the Filipinas Stamp Collector’s Club. I actually talked about the said walking tour of Manila during the first few minutes of my newest podcast, EDUC Today. In the said tour, we get to learn about the different monuments and buildings around Manila that have significance in the Philippines’ postal heritage.
The Manila Metropolitan Theater
Manila Metropolitan Theater
The first stop of the tour was the Manila Metropolitan Theater. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been wanting to go inside the Manila Metropolitan Theater—to watch a show and to look at its interiors. However, it has been closed to public since the mid-1990s, I think, and was declared a condemned building.
Today, several government agencies and non-governmental institutions are responsible for the current rehabilitation-slash-renovation of the Manila Metropolitan Theater. In fact, the theater had its soft opening late April 2010.
While at the theater, we get to see the art deco design of the theater—from the ceilings with mango and banana leaves design to its wrought iron gates. This was sort of the highlight of the tour because we stayed there for quite a long time to check out the different function rooms, the stage, control rooms, etc.
Juan Arellano, the architect who designed the Manila Metropolitan Theater also designed the Manila Central Post Office building. Click to continue reading »
Although I really love traveling, I’ve never been out of the country and I rarely go out-of-town. It’s just that traveling involves a lot of spending, spending, spending and yes, you’ve guess it right, spending. It seems like one cannot travel without breaking the bank despite the cheap airfare and travel packages left and right. So, yes, my life is actually boring as most of my time is spent either in school or at home. Before this entry would sound like as if it’s a justification why I chose not to travel, although I really want to travel, let me give you my top five reasons why I want to go to Kuala Lumpur this November.
- I WANT TO GO OUT OF THE COUNTRY — I have renewed my passport once and up to this day, my passport still has no stamp on it. Yes, I want to collect “stamps” or “visas” on my passport because I want it to serve not only as a government-issued ID, which I use when opening bank accounts or receiving money through Western Union but also as travel document.
- I WANT TO TRAVEL ALONE — Nothing beats the feeling of being independent, especially in an unfamiliar place or country! Do I need to say more?
- I WANT TO ATTEND THE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT SUMMIT 2009 IN KUALA LUMPUR — The Youth Engagement Summit 2009 will be happening on November 16 and 17 in Kuala Lumpur that will bring together youths, active youth leaders, world leaders in business, government, entertainment, and the general public to a platform where opinions, discussions and experiences can be shared. The summit would be about saying “YES” to change.
- I WANT TO MEET BIZ STONE — Biz Stone, co-founder of the popular social network website Twitter is one of the speakers on the Youth Engagement Summity 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. Of course, being a Twitter addict, meeting one of the people behind it would be bliss.
- I WANT TO MEET NEW PEOPLE — By attending the Youth Engagement Summit 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, I would be exposed to different cultures and different people and it would sure be a life changing experience to interact the youth from the different parts of South East Asia.
Fortunately, SEACHANGE Movement is giving away 500 free trips for South East Asian youth worth $2,500 each so you and me could be part of the Youth Engagement Summit 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. I have already joined SEACHANGE and hoping to be one of the 500 people who will be winning the free trip to Kuala Lumpur to attend the Youth Engagement Summit 2009.
To join, you must be:
- 18-35 years old
- Permanent resident of Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam
The free trip to Kuala Lumpur includes:
- Return airfare from the Southeast Asian country of origin.
- Accommodation for 4 days 3 nights (15th November 2009 ~ 18th November 2009)
- Summit pass to the Youth Engagement Summit 2009
- A priceless experience to meet fellow youths from the region, business leaders, and global change icons!
To win a free trip to Kuala Lumpur to attend Youth Engagement Summit 2009, all you have to do is go to the Youth Says Philippines website and answer the very short survey. Hurry! You only have until Sunday, November 8, 2009, 6pm (GMT+08:00) to enter.
See you in Kuala Lumpur!
