Aftermath of Pedring

That’s the garbage that apparently originated from Manila Bay.  I don’t know if they were piled up because of the force of the typhoon or because some clean-up was already performed.  I saw lots of plastic bags, slippers, shoes, even Crocs.  I considered taking a closer shot but it was kind of disgusting.

The streets of Seaside Boulevard are already clear of debris and garbage. During my early morning run around Mall of Asia, I spotted several people cleaning the roads and the sidewalks and picking up garbage strewn on empty lots. Looks like people are raring to go back to their normal routines!

Looking for good ramen?

My lunch meeting was rescheduled. No problem. It gave me a reason to rush over next door and eat at this restaurant which serves, in my opinion, one of the best—if not, THE best—ramen. The place is called Genya Tonkotsu Ramen, located at the Hobbies Asia complex along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, Pasay.

Their ramen is fabulous. Generous serving. Five delicious pieces of pork. And they have this juicy “Ajitsuke Tamago”‘ which is a seasoned soft-boiled egg. All for P300. Highly recommended!

Japan earthquake

Various pictures from Flickr of the Japan earthquake. Photos are linked to the original Flickr photostream.

Cars and Planes tossed around like toys

More pictures after the break.

Day 5: The Philippines and PNB

January 5. Of all the banks in the Philippines, I believe that only PNB has the right to fly its flag along side that of the Philippine flag. PNB was, at one time, the de facto Central Bank of the Philippines.

I’ve always wanted to take this kind of a shot of these flags. Bright sunny day.  Clear blue sky.  Flags unfurled by the wind.

The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex

That sports complex above is the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, formerly the Manila Carnival Grounds, built in 1934 for the Far Eastern Championship Games which was the precursor to the Asian Games. It was destroyed in World War II and reconstructed in 1953 for use in the 1954 Asian Games. Since then it has played host to three Southeast Asian Games. The complex has actually two basketball stadiums, a swimming pool, a baseball stadium, tennis courts, a bowling hall, a gymnastic hall, and a boxing gym. The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is also home for the Philippine Sports Commission.

I still have vivid memories of my brothers and I watching a few NCAA basketball games at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.  During my college track-and-field days, the Rizal Memorial Coliseum was one of the few ovals that had a tartan track, and it was such a joy to run on.

This picture, taken by my iPhone from the top floor of Century Hotel, is actually a composite of 4 images that was stitched using an amazing app called Autostitch.  Click here if you want to see a high-res version.   All you have to do is take a series of shots with your iPhone and the application will take care of stitching everything to form one panoramic image.