bikes and birthdays
Manila, 14 April—To mark C’s birthday this year, we went on a sunset bike tour around Intramuros with Bambike Ecotours and their fleet of bamboo bicycles.
This particular tour ran for one and a half hours, and took us around historic areas of interest, which included an original Japanese canon at Muralla, the magnificent facade of the Intramuros gates at Puerta Real and Puerta del Parian, and the Manila Cathedral.
Our guide was a guy named Bo, who is saving up for med school by telling stories of Manila to tourists for a living. I think he’s pretty good at it, and we definitely enjoyed the tour with him at the helm.
I haven’t been on a bike in decades—and my inexperience definitely showed haha. My handlebars were shaky throughout, and I kept braking so as not to fall into gutters. Biking alongside motor vehicles likewise got me a bit jittery at first, but as I got used to my bike, the rest of the trip was relatively smoother.
The tour ended with a breathtaking 360-degree view of Manila atop The Bayleaf, and a couple of beers to boot. Dinner was at Ristorante delle Mitre near San Agustin Church, where we had chicken adobo simmered in olive oil with lemon, calamares, and, yes, two more beers (because why not, it’s her birthday).
The Intramuros tour has a 2.5-hour full-blown version, an Express version, as well as a Night Tour version, during which the guides talk about Philippine folklore. They also have tours in BGC and Poblacion. The bike tours are beginner-friendly and are generally chill throughout—if my rusty bike skills could make it through, so could you, probably. :)
As a friend pointed out, Intramuros is so underrated as a tourist destination, and I agree. There’s still so much to see. Personally, we’re looking to visit the Destileria Limtuaco Museum and the newly opened National Museum of Natural History, too. Someday, maybe.
Anyway, forgive our faces—onto what really matters:
SEASON 8 OF GAME OF THRONES IS UPON US.
I am happy to inform that, after starting our rewatch of Season 4 last month, I have now officially caught up with the rest of the season—this means, YES, I have now watched up to the Season 7 finale. (My years-delayed reaction remains to be, What the ever-loving fuck???)
We’re so excited for Monday’s season premiere! Where are you catching it? We’ll probably be in the office, so I don’t know how that’s going to work, but I sure hope there’s a cable TV somewhere that we could raid for a couple of hours in the morning haha.
Reads around the Internet
Women over 30 are leaving their husbands and boyfriends for other women via Instyle
An ancient human species is discovered in a Philippine cave via NYT
Say cheese: First-ever picture of a black hole has been unveiled + Black Hole 101 via National Geographic
What’s on your radar?
xo,