A delightful fortress

"Museums should be places where you raise questions,
not just show stuff."

~William Thorsell, past Director & CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum

This is the side of the Ayala Museum which can be seen from the park in the middle of Greenbelt. Only the ground floor has windows. The windows on the second floor do not open to the museum but to a walkway connecting two of the buildings of the mall. Other than that, the rest of the building looks like a fortress, and it probably is, given the priceless artifacts exhibited in the museum. One of their permanent exhibits is Filipino garments from the 19th century, some of which are painted on the walls of the walkway.

See murals from around the world in Monday Mural.

Pebble park

"My life is full of mistakes.

They're like pebbles that make a good road."

~Beatrice Wood (1893–1998), American artist and potter

A wooden bridge connecting two of the buildings of Greenbelt, a large retail complex in Makati City, seen through the trunks of some very tall and skinny palm trees. I like how Ayala Land used light and dark pebbles in this part of the park—they make the ground look like freeform art.

The golden pond

"Alive without breath, As cold as death;

Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Just a few of the hundreds of koi we saw in the ponds of Greenbelt, the large retail complex in my Lush post from the other day.

Lush

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap

but by the seeds that you plant."

~Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish novelist, poet & essayist

It is easy to see how Greenbelt, a large commercial and retail complex in Makati City, got its name.

Weaving life

"We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing."

~Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), American novelist

On display at the 3rd floor of Greenbelt 5 mall are the gorgeous nito vine baskets of the indigenous Iraya Mangyan of the island province of Mindoro. The Ayala Foundation has committed to providing education and skills training to a community of Iraya Mangyan in the town of Puerto Galera, a popular beach and diving destination. Part of their commitment is to revive the traditional art of weaving beautiful and functional baskets made of nito (Lygodium circinatum), a forest vine. Sales of the baskets go directly to the families who weave them.

You can learn more about—and support—the Ayala Foundation's Iraya Mangyan Project here.

After silence

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

~ Aldous Huxley, Music at Night and Other Essays

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) performed last night in a charity concert at the Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City for the continuing rehabilitation of towns devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, which is locally called Typhoon Yolanda.

Tug-of-war

Bonifacio High Street has many fantastic restaurants and is, therefore, very popular as an evening destination. Because of this, even the shops stay open late—until midnight, at least.

All these years of blogging, whenever I posted something about Bonifacio Global City (BGC), I identified it as part of Taguig City. Just this August 5, however, the Court of Appeals declared that BGC is part of Makati City. Of course, Taguig can still raise the case to the Supreme Court, and they probably will, with six billion pesos (US$ 137.7 M) in annual revenue at stake. My problem is, will I now tag this post as Makati or Taguig?

Tracks

I've only just noticed the small rocks on the tracks of the Metrostar light rail system—better known as the MRT (Metro Rail Transit)—at the Ayala station. The MRT is elevated for most of its length and I suddenly wondered if there are also rocks on those elevated portions.

Heavenly

On New Year's Eve, my husband and I stayed overnight in Hotel Céleste, a small boutique hotel at the corner of Makati and Arnaiz Avenues, a short walk away from Makati City's countdown party. We booked online and didn't really know what to expect, though the hotel had good reviews in both Agoda and Trip Advisor. The lobby wasn't spectacular, but our room was lovely, and, because Céleste only has thirty rooms, very quiet and peaceful—a marked contrast to what it was like in the streets and what it would have been like in bigger hotels with their hundreds of rooms. And for the first time ever, we didn't have to call housekeeping for more pillows.

Christmas elegance

The Ayala Museum's very elegant interpretation of the traditional Filipino parol, or Star of Bethlehem.

Partaaay!

Makati City has been hosting a New Year Countdown street party for quite a few years now, but it was the first time that my husband and I managed to go.
  A stage was set up at the intersection of Ayala and Makati Avenues—two of the major roads of the central business district—for a street dance competition and lots of bands. The tents at the sides of Ayala Avenue housed food stalls, and for the duration of the party (which started at 7:00pm though we only went at 10:30pm), drinking liquor was allowed on the streets.
  There were lots of projection screens for people who were far away from the stage, whether by choice (like us) or because they could no longer get to the front because of the crowds.
  At five minutes to midnight, Makati's mayor, Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay Jr., and his family and political allies, were called onto the stage. Present was Junjun's father, Jejomar Binay, the current Vice President of the Philippines and the former mayor of Makati. VP Binay is reputedly going to run as president in 2016. About the only thing that ruined the night for us was the emcee introducing him as "the next president of the Philippines." A little too premature there.
  The city even had its own 2013 ball, but I don't think it dropped from anywhere—it was just hanging on the stage. Unless I missed the drop because I was looking at the fireworks.

Stand out

One of the towers of The Residences at Greenbelt, highrise residential condominiums integrated with Ayala Land's shopping and dining center, taken from under the canopy of the much smaller building across the street.

Heave!

CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY: THE WATER'S EDGE • A toddler trying to get out of the kiddie pool of the Makati Shangri-la Hotel without using the steps. It will be some time yet before he will be able to do it with grace.

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My Manila will be on autopilot from November 1 to 5.  Be well, be good.

Tree ornaments

I do not know if the lanterns and string lights hanging from the trees of the Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City are there all year round, but I imagine the residents of the many condominium buildings in the area would want them to be. Because its real name is quite long, the park is better known simply as the Salcedo Park.

One block

One small block—that's the size of the Jaime C. Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City. It is one block of prime real estate, surrounded by medium- and high-rise commercial and residential condominiums, in the heart of the Makati Central Business District. I just love the fact that it exists.

Bright welcome

A one day art fair open until midnight with food and drinks and live music in an al fresco setting—that's what Art In The Park is. The artists who participate in the fair are given one rule: all the pieces have to cost less than Php30,000 (about US$700). The Museum Foundation of the Philippines organizes this annual event to encourage people who do not normally visit galleries or invest in art to do so. And the artists and artist groups, whether well-known, up-and-coming or students, are given the opportunity to introduce themselves to other galleries and to a wider market. Visitors to this year's fair were greeted by Bacolod-based artist Charlie Co's colorful, cosplaying vaudeville trio (strictly my interpretation, okay).

Portugal, Italy, Philippines

Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati City, is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, a Portuguese Franciscan friar who died in Italy.

The Titanic

That's the nickname given by the students and faculty of the Ateneo Professional Schools to the diamond-shaped bridges crossing the central atrium of the Rockwell Campus building. They do look a bit like a ship's prow, especially from the fourth floor lobby.

Encircled

The lovely landscaped gardens and fountains of Greenbelt Park at the center of several malls which are, in turn, surrounded by the high-rise commercial and condominium buildings of the Makati Central Business District. The only building I recognize in this cluster is the tallest one on the right: the BSA Tower, a condotel.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

A lesson in perspective

Two more luxury residential condominium towers in Rockwell Center, and the last of the series for now. On the left is Hidalgo Place, which is across the Ateneo Professional Schools. On the right is the Rizal Tower. This photo is deceiving in two ways. One, Hidalgo Place is a long, rectangular building and this is only its narrow end. Two, Rizal Tower is much farther than it looks here. It is 47 floors high, compared to Hidalgo's 24.

SEE IT SUNDAY: SKYSCRAPER