Malabon: The Metro's Unassuming Heritage City

The proper noun "Malabon" conjures images of the pansit Malabon, the famed pansit variety that has become the symbol and pride of the place and its people. Other than its delicacies, though, Malabon struck me as uninteresting and not worth a visit. Its infamous perennial floods may have contributed to people's low regard for this otherwise culture-rich area.

Gapan City’s Old Casa Municipal Undergoing Restoration

In December 2016, the city’s old municipal building still sported its baby pink stucco façade. The side walls, however, were brick, prompting one to surmise that the cement front was most probably just a permutation of, or digression from, the original design. Whether the change in the  exterior’s material served a purpose or whether it conformed to some construction codes or engineering principles, one thing was certain: to restore the building to its original design, new materials have to be removed. And true enough, the structure’s ongoing restoration has revealed its brick masonry walls.

A Colonial-Themed Hotel & Restaurant and Bato Springs Resort: San Pablo City’s Pride

I visited San Pablo City, Laguna, in April of this year primarily to see its seven lakes, but I didn’t want a rushed day trip. I wanted to linger and experience a little more of what the city had to offer. And so I decided to stay overnight and try another destination that a friend referred, the Bato Springs Resort, and other places in neighboring towns (to be featured in a future post).

(READ:  Day Trip: 7 Lakes of San Pablo City)

Day Trip: 7 Lakes of San Pablo City

by Randy R.I. Espinoza

I have long been raring to see these lakes, prompted by a declaration of them as "the most threatened in the world" years ago by a foreign organization. After having had the time to finally explore San Pablo’s natural bounty last summer, what’s my verdict? Was the declaration warranted or a little exaggerated?

Muhikap Lake

Gapan: Nueva Ecija’s “Heritage City”

(Part 2 of a series on Gapan City)

by Randy R.I. Espinoza

Gapan's Old Casa Municipal (Municipal House), the pink building to the right

Unknown to many, Gapan City, established in 1595, is the oldest town in Nueva Ecija and one of the oldest in the Philippines. Cabanatuan City may be the provinces’s most progressive city and the town of San Isidro was declared the country’s interim capital in 1899 by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine-American War, but Gapan remains the province’s crown jewel, a veritable heritage town that rivals others in the entire Central Luzon in terms of historical and cultural significance.