A different world

"That's universal—we all want to bring every good thing to our children. But what's not universal is our ability to provide every good thing."

~Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist

These are just a few of the high-rise residential condominium towers in Bonifacio Global City. The shorter buildings are restaurants and shops around Burgos Circle, a roundabout with a park in the middle, from where I took this photo. Standing there, it was almost easy to forget that the Philippines is a third world country (or, to be politically correct, a developing country).

The air we breathe

"In tough times, some of us see protecting the climate as a luxury, but that's an outdated 20th-century worldview from a time when we thought industrialization was the end goal, waste was growth, and wealth meant a thick haze of air pollution."

~Alex Steffen, American futurist and sustainability advocate

This is the same view of Metro Manila as my post from May 8 but taken early in the morning rather than in the middle of the day. Unless one lives in a building more than one kilometer high, there's no way to escape from that air pollution. The Philippines enacted a clean air law back in 1999 but, like many of our other laws, it isn't fully implemented or enforced.

Commonwealth

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not Guilty'."

~Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

This is a view of Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, looking north, from the rooftop of a medium-rise condominium. The white, spiky building in the center is one of the bigger churches of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the third largest religious denomination in the Philippines. The bulky yellow building to the right is the Sandiganbayan, a special judicial court which has jurisdiction over graft and corruption cases against government employees and officials. I hear their backlog of pending cases is tremendous, and that it takes five years or more for them to try and decide a case.

Toy town

"All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant.
All cities are beautiful, but the beauty is grim."

~Christopher Morley (1890–1957), American writer

The skyscrapers of Metro Manila as seen from the Eugenio Lopez Center, which is situated in the hills of Antipolo City in the province of Rizal.

Manila skyline

This view of the City of Manila is exactly like the night shot I posted on August 26, taken during the next (very overcast) morning. Aside from the two creamy yellow neoclassical buildings of the National Museum of the Philippines, one can see the water hazards of the Club Intramuros Golf Course, and parts of the 16th century walls of Intramuros on the lower right.

City lights

This is the skyline of the City of Manila as seen from the 9th floor patio of The Bayleaf Intramuros. The two neoclassical buildings just beyond the trees are the National Museum of the Philippines. The National Art Gallery is the building on the left, which used to be the Legislative Building. The Museum of the Filipino People is the building on the right, which used to be the Finance Building. Both were built in the early 1900s during the American colonial era, suffered extensive damage during WWII, and reconstructed soon after.

Evening lights

9 Spoons, the 9th floor restaurant of The Bayleaf Intramuros, overlooks the Club Intramuros Golf Course and has commanding views of the historic, neoclassical government buildings along Padre Burgos Avenue. Our table had a lovely view of the Manila City Hall and its distinctive clock tower. Aside from the lights and bayleaf-patterned screens of the restaurant, also reflected in the window is the keyboardist who provided the evening's pleasant dinner music.
 

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?

Building blocks

One of the brick walks of Eastwood Central Park, flanked by the colorful Eastwood Mall and the 1800 Building (an office building), leads to the Excelsior (a residential condominium building) across the street.

Low smog

This was the view from my room during my first-ever overnight stay in a hospital in mid-April, in The Medical City. We are looking southeast over Pasig City, and in the foreground is Valle Verde, a gated residential community. I love the fact that you can hardly see the houses because of the trees, but I think it's only because I was just on the fifth floor.

BKK: Fit for a king

The Rama IX Bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand is named after King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He is known as Rama IX and is Thailand's longest-reigning monarch, having occupied the throne since 1946. The Chao Phraya is one of Thailand's major rivers, and in English, it is called the River of Kings. The bridge was built in 1984–1987, and was renamed during King Bhumibol's 60th birthday in 2006.

It is the first cable-stayed bridge I have ever seen, and we saw it only once, during an evening Chao Phraya River sightseeing cruise. I was completely awed.
 

Bridges around the world: Sunday Bridges

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.

Countdown

Fireworks and firecrackers are not illegal in the Philippines, so anyone who cares to and who can afford them can set them off to celebrate the coming of the new year. Small bursts of fireworks were already going off all over Pasig City, and the rest of Metro Manila, half an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve.

Land under construction

THEME DAY: UNDER CONSTRUCTION • The Cultural Center of the Philippines (including Sofitel Manila and Harbour Square which are in the same complex), SM Mall of Asia (currently the 4th largest mall in the world), and many of the luxury residential condominium buildings in Pasay City with fantastic views of Manila Bay and its gorgeous sunsets, all stand on land reclaimed from the sea. And it looks as if the sea is still trying to get some of it back.




What is man constructing all over the world? Let City Daily Photo bloggers show you. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

MMMoody

Bukal ng Tipan is situated on a hilltop (Maryhill) and has commanding views of the towns of Rizal Province and the cities of Metro Manila (MM). From this height, the skyscrapers of the cities of Pasig, Makati and Taguig suddenly look quite puny.




With the backlighting provided by a setting sun, one can even see the skyscrapers of distant Manila and Pasay cities.




Our weather has been really strange, with strong rains—and even a typhoon, Bebeng (Aere)—in the middle of what is supposed to be our summer. Combined with Metro Manila's air pollution, one can hardly see the metro during an overcast day.

Smoggy afternoon in the city

From another balcony on the other side of the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, a view of the City of Manila with the small white yachts docked at the Manila Yacht Club. The concrete bunker in the foreground is the Folk Arts Theater. Its formal name is Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas, after one of the Philippines' greatest poets, though no one I know has ever called it that. Imelda Marcos had this covered amphitheater built in 1974 especially for that year's Miss Universe Pageant, and since then has been used mostly for concerts and religious gatherings. In more recent years, however, it has been quite neglected and ignored as a concert venue.

Unknown jungle

A view of Pasay City from a balcony of Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. Except for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, I rarely have reason to go to Pasay and know next to nothing about it.

The Tent

Here is another view of the still mostly empty lands of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City, including part of the parking lot of the posh dining and shopping center that is Bonifacio High Street. Except for the first few buildings constructed in the area soon after much of the army's land was sold to the highest private bidder, almost all the buildings in BGC are high-rises. One of the most notable exceptions is the NBC Tent, which you can see a bit to the right and two blocks away. It's an events venue that can be rented and it really is just a tent, though a large and air-conditioned one. It is most notable for hosting the (more than) monthly Shop@The Fort bazaar organized by Karl Edwards International. I've only gone once but that one trip helped me understand why the bazaar has been around for years. Export over-runs, original, unique and locally-designed clothes and accessories, home-made spreads and baked goods—let's just say that that one trip left a pretty big hole in my purse, and I am both dreading and looking forward to my next Karl Edwards bazaar experience.

City of lights

I posted a similar view of Metro Manila from Timberland Sports and Nature Club in the past, albeit during the day. I've also revised my previous estimate—there's more than three cities that one can see from up there. It's amazing though how the metro looks so flat from the Sierra Madre's foothills. It was a cloudy evening but Venus still managed to shine through.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page and tour the skies of our beautiful world.