A weekend to remember - Ongpin and Quiapo

4th entry: Quiapo, Manila

5th entry: Binondo Suites Hotel

6th entry: Ongpin, Chinese New year

(More great pictures at the bottom)



February 13, 2010 – My friends and I visited Ongpin to witness the CHINESE NEWY YEAR on the following day. We stayed at Binondo Suites that night. This hotel had a big celebration/ program for the upcoming event in the morning.

People were gathered to watch the singing and dancing of the contestants of the program. There’s even a camera shooting the programs (probably playing on every television that night – cable).

Since I always bring my tarpaulin with me, I ask my friends to take my picture as soon as the guard allowed me to enter the middle of the crowd.


The guard didn’t let me but I insisted. I tried getting in the middle lots of times and my friends successfully took a shot of my every move.


On my third try, since they cannot stop me, the guards just smiled and let me have my picture taken. It was sort of embarrassing but fun at the same time. With this experience, I met lots of people.

February 14, 2010 - We were still in Ongpin. We joined the parade were the dragon visited every establishment there.

It was so hard to be close to the dragon because of all the people and the firecrackers! Scary! Good thing my friends are wise enough to climb up the fire truck to have a good shot of what was happening in Ongpin.

Along with the other professional and amateur photographers, my friends struggled to have a good shot because of the smoke and everything that is going on.

I had quite a few good shots with the dragons and the people.

There's this one time that I was able to have a shot with the dragons while dancing and the photographers were taking pictures of me too (well, they had no choice because they were really aiming at the dragons and I was in front of them).

After the Chinese New Year Celebration, we decided to go to Quiapo and attend the mass there.

Since I have my tarpaulin with me, I also had my photo taken there with all the people (after the mass of course). I even asked one of the vendors if I can borrow her chair to stand on while raising the tarpaulin.

It was Sunday and lots people from diffrent places were there to buy different things that they need.

I just loved my weekend!