Cultural Tour Part II

On the second weekend in Manila, we have a cultural Tour Part II. On August 18^th 2018 we had made an appointment with Sir Jeremy to meet in Isetan Mall. So first, before we start our cultural tour part II. We decided to have our lunch first, then we go to the Bonchon restaurant for having our lunch there, after that so we start our trip. First trip we go to the National Museum of Anthropology by using a Jeepney. After arrived at the Luneta Park it is really crowded there, so we directly enter the National Museum of Anthropology, because it is weekend so the museum is really crowded so we need to be queuing first before entering the museum.

After we enter in the museum, we surround around the Museum and we enter some gallery there. The national Museum of Anthropology formerly known as the Museum of the Filipino People is a component museum of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the anthropology and archeology divisions. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the National Museum of Fine Arts building. The building formerly housed the Department of Finance. It also houses the wreck of the San Diego, ancient artifacts, and zoology divisions. This museum has 5 floor. On the ground floor there are Ifugao House / Courtyard, Office of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, office of the Archaeology Division, office of the Ethnology Division, office of the Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division, National Museum Library. On the second floor there are a Marble Hall, the San Diego: 500 Years of Maritime Trade, Garing: The Philippines at the Crossroads of Ivory Trade. On the third floor there are War and Peace, National Living Treasure, “Lumad: Mindanao”, Faith, Tradition and Place: Bangsamoro Art from the National Ethnographic Collection and Archaeological Treasures. On the Fourth floor there is an Ethnological and Zoological Repositories. The last place that we visited in the museum is National Museum Library. We saw some of the book there, it was a nice place to visited because the book is complete there and the place is also comfortable for reading.

Well, after we visited national museum library then we move to our next destination that is National Museum of Natural History, The National Museum of Natural History is the national natural history museum of the Philippines. It is located along the Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila. When we arrived in that museum there are very many visitor that wanted to visit that museum also so that we need to be queuing first before entering the museum. But it is okay because we are excited to visit that museum and see the “Lolong” that is the skeleton of the crocodile, after enter in the museum, I was amazed to see the building, it was a good and beautiful building. The building was constructed as the Agricultural and Commerce Building in 1940. It is designed in neoclassical style by Filipino Architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930, having the same dimension and floor plan as its twin building located at the northern side of the circle, the Finance Building. Both buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Manila during World War II. Both buildings were reconstructed according to the original plans after the war. The building was occupied by the Department of Tourism (DOT), hence the building became known as the Department of Tourism Building up until 2015.

After we surround the Museum the last we see the Lolong. That is the Skeleton of the Indo-Pacific Crocodile. “Lolong”, a male Indo-Pacific or Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porasus) was captured in the wetlands of the Agusan Marsh within the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, by his namesake, Ernesto”Lolong” Canete, a veteran crocodile hunter, on September 3, 2011. This was the culmination of a hunt, which lasted three weeks, in search of a certain giant crocodile that was blamed by locals for the deaths of a fisherman, a young girl, and several water buffaloes.

After finished circling the museum, then we go to the Intramuros is also called the Walled City, and at the time of the Spanish Colonial Period was synonymous to the City of Manila. Other towns and arrables (suburbs) located beyond the walls are referred to as extramuros”, the Spanish for “outside the walls”. It was the seat of government and political power when the Philippines was a component realm of the Spanish Empire. There are very many beautiful building that we see in Intramuros of walled city. It was also the center of religion, education and economy. The standard way of life in Intramuros became the standard way of life throughout the Philippines. The Manila Galleons which sailed the Pacific for 250 years, carried goods to and from Intramuros (Manila and Acapulco, Mexico. 
After we trace intramuros by walking as far as around 1 kilometers then we go to the Fort Santiago, that place was really historically. This fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. Jose Rizal, one of the Philippine national heroes, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. This Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution. It is only a few meters away from the Manila Cathedral and the Palacio del Gobernador. After we visited fort Santiago then we are going to have our dinner, and go back to the dorm. It was a very fun cultural tour because we visit some places in one day.