The World of Butterflies

World of Butterflies, Marikina City

Marikina is a bustling city and pride itself as being a "Little Singapore" and it really is keeping up with the name. As part of Marikina's vision of environmental care and eco-tourism, it developed a butterfly farm or what is popularly known as the "World of Butterflies".

Getting there is easy for us. It's actually just a few blocks away from our home. The "World of Butterflies" is located near a school and some garden farms which are familiar sights in Marikina. I remember we bought some plants in this same garden farm which is in front of the "World of Butterflies" which was just a vacant lot then.

The facade of the building is pretty impressive and playful. Can you spot some familiar cartoon characters?
Inside, you'll be amazed by the landscaping and structure of place. At the lobby, there's a permanent collection of different varieties of butterflies which are showcased in glass frames. There's also a souvenir shop with interesting butterfly themed T-shirts and doodads.

At the entrance to the garden, we were greeted by butterflies flying around and playing. It's an exciting feeling to be in the same place as these butterflies enjoying their beautiful garden of flowers.
Unfortunately, I don't have the powerful camera to shoot better close-up pictures of them. Some are just not too excited to pose for some pictures! But of course, I have a few to be proud of ;).

The sanctuary also holds a breeding area for butterflies. It showcased each life stage of a butterfly. I'm sure kids would love to see the collection of caterpillars and cocoons.  I noticed also that it's not only that butterflies fly around, they also stay on the ground.

We would love to stay longer but our camera run out of film, batteries and storage, so we head off and brought this memory back with us.

If you want to see the "World of Butterflies", it's located at Gen. Ordoñez (former Molave) corner Champagnat Sts., Marikina Heights, Marikina City.  The entrance fee is P20 for students, residents of Marikina ; senior citizens (just bring ID) and P40 for adults living outside the city.
After a fun stay in the garden, Chow King, Jollibee and McDonald's are just a few blocks away.

Where In The Philippines is This Place?

Yes, where in the Philippines is this place? Look at the image real close. Closer. Closer.   Yup, you guessed it right! It's in Cubao! It's a new mall in Araneta Center, called The Gateway Mall. I'm not sure when it actually opened, I just heard it from my friend, Lei, that Cubao is now a great place to visit. So we did.  As my good friend Arnold will put it, It's the Best!

I don't how many times I uttered the words "Ang ganda" (it's beautiful) while wewere strolling the mall. But Lei said, lots!.  I took lots and lots of pictures and I'm hoping I can find a host to post them, for free (of course ;).  I did not hesitate to take my camera off my bag even if people might say and think "Where did this crazy woman come from?". Isn't it cool? I'm a tourist in my own country?

Lots of great advertising in the mall. There were two guys clad in barong and shades standing in the center of the mall, guarding an Adidas shoe, that they're claiming to be the First Intelligent Shoes.
I wonder if the shoe thinks the mall is cool too. As I noticed, great advertising though as lots of peole stopped by to read the signs.

Initially, I got disoriented when I saw the place. I don't know where I was. Even if I forced myself to imagine how the area looked like before, I can't figure it out. I got to find a map or got to go out and move around the structure to find my bearing.  Lei and I went out and finally I saw the light.  So from the vantage point of Fiesta Carnival (which is no longer there, and that's another story), the image you saw above is what you will see.  Then, from the backside, looking out from the Farmer's Plaza, here are the images that you will see. Remember good old National Book Store? (Oh, I just remembered, is Jolly Bee still there? hmmmm... have to go back for a Yum with cheese)

Then there's a walkway connecting Gateway to Araneta Coliseum

Then from Araneta Coliseum to the Farmer Plaza, right through the LRT station.

Isn't that cool?  What's more cool (or cooler?) is that the Gateway has underground 3-level parking area, lots of spaces and real neat and flashy.

Inside the Mall, I saw designer stores and high-end eating places, a floating garden which is called The Oasis,

the Cineplex which houses 10 state-of-the-art movie theaters which they said are furnished with Lazy-Boy chairs (got to see that) and a landmark which they called the Cupola, inspired by a Fiberge egg.

While going down the escalator to our parking, I overheard a couple saying the mall is beautiful. I think I heard them say "It's the Best!", but I might be wrong ;) I thought, they might be visiting Filipinos, just like me.

How to get there:
If you're not familiar with the Cubao area, I'm sure you'll find a friend or a family member who does. Sorry not much of help there, but if you do need direction, send me a note.

Adventures in Corregidor

Lighthouse - Originally built by the Spaniards on 1836 and one of Corregidor's oldest landmarks, the Lighthouse offers a great view of Manila Bay, the South China Sea, and the rest of the island. It is located at Topside and is 628 feet above sea level
(from http://www.corregidorphilippines.com/index.htm).

It was my first time in Corregidor and I was really amazed how rich the history is of this island and how well preserved this part of the Philippine history is.

I'm glad that our friend Tom accompanied us- Jovy, Arnold and myself, going home to Manila from Minnesota. If not for him, I would'nt have gone touring to corregidor. Tom was the one who chose the place as one of the places he wants to see. That's how our trip began.

Tom made our reservation- him, Arnold and myself, at his hotel, Mandarin Oriental. For an additional fee, we got to have a shuttle from the hotel to the boarding point, CCP Bay Cruise Terminal at the CCP Complex in Roxas Boulevard. It's really convenient if you're already booked in a hotel, if not you can just take a cab. We got a Guided Island Tour and that already included ferry transfer, entrance fees and a buffet lunch.

From the hotel, a guy on a blue shirt (per Tom's words, which I learned the blue shirt is a barong) picked us up and drove us to the boarding point. We arrived there before 7AM. While waiting for our boarding, we bought ensaymada, donut and drinks for breakfast .

The ferry ride was a good hour ride. The cruise ship showed a film about Corregidor and how it played part in Philippine history. That movie was shown to prepare us for the history that we're going to see in the island.

Tour buses were waiting for us when we got to the island. At the time of our tour, there were companies also doing a sponsored tour for their employees.

The buses are all open on the sides for easy getting on and off the bus during the tour.

I remembered these types of buses are common on provincial buses in the past (oooops, I'm revealing too much of my age ;)

Here are the points of interests that we got to see during the tour:

Bottomside - where we saw Locha Dock where Gen. Douglas McArthur departed for Darwin, Australia and uttered the most famous line "I Shall Return".

Malinta Tunnel - this tunnel was originally an arsenal and an underground hospital. It's located beneath the Malinta Hills which made it a bombproof headquarters. During the tour, we got the see the Light and Sound show in the tunnel.

The Batteries- Way and Hearn, where we saw mortars and seacoast guns. These sites get to be the place where lots of battles were fought.

Topside- the highest point in the island. Here, we saw the "Mile Long Barracks", Senior Officer's Headquarters, Parade Grounds, Golf Course, Post Hospital and the old Spanish Lighthouse (picture shown above). An amazing place.

Pacific War Memorial - the highlight of the tour. A breathtaking place. It's a real wonder. This memorial was built by the US Government and completed in 1968. It is dedicated to the Filipino and Americal Soldiers who shed their blood in Corregidor.

One of the highlights of Pacific War Memorial is The Eternal Flame Monument.

It is a large steel sculpture which symbolizes the Flame of Freedom burning eternally.

It is located behind the Pacific War Memorial Dome of Peace, on a raised platform above a reflecting pool and set alight in the evening through solar power.

How I wish I could see this monument in the evening flooded with light.

Corregidor is such an interesting place to see. A place where Philippine history was made and preserved.

If you want to visit Corregidor, you can book your tour thru your hotel or you can do so online at:
http://www.corregidorphilippines.com/index.htm

Check out additional pictures of our our trip to Corregidor, here.