The Wok-ing tour

I've lived in Manila while I was in college. There's nothing more cultural and hypnotic and tempting as living in Manila. Writers have lived here and wrote about its vulgarity, its beauty (both hidden and explicit) and most importantly, its food.

So, I dragged my sleep deprived ass to go on this Old Manila Walking Tour with my family. I was initially skeptical, having lived in Manila previously, I thought there would be nothing new to see. It was my city and I had this belief that I knew her well. She had nothing to hide from me and that I knew her folds and crevices.
I think I have never been so glad to have been so wrong. Apparently, my Manila still had secrets she kept from me.


The tour starts at the Binondo church, now more popularly known as the San Lorenzo Ruiz church - named after the very first Filipino Catholic Saint.

So far I was unimpressed. There was nothing about the church and the place that I didn't already know from my own research and from old school field trips. Of course, I was being grumpy as the toll of being sleep deprived was starting to bubble its way through my skin. One thing though, I do love the church and the beauty of it. After a talk about history and trivia about the church, we officially started the tour.

Before I go any further, I have to give you the following advice:

1. Don't eat anything before you start the tour. I assure you, it will be the biggest regret you will ever have.

2. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. It's a walking tour, doink. Don't forget a hat, just in case it gets hot. I wouldn't recommend an umbrella as the streets are quite tight and there's a lot of people. It would restrict your movement. Just slather the sunblock and wear a hat.

3. Be open to new things. Nobody likes a killjoy. Enjoy the tour and keep your opinions to yourself.

4. Have fun. It's an adventure, for heaven's sake.

Okay, on to our regularly scheduled program....

There are a lot of reasons why people go on this kind of a tour. For foreign tourists (we had Robert the Brazilian on this one) it's an opportunity to understand a different culture. For locals, it's to see a different perspective of our own culture; younger ones discovering things about themselves and their ancestry, older ones reaffirming their cultural beliefs and traditions - it was a meeting of generations and all agreeing on one thing: the love for food. Nobody can say no to food.

There were multiple "food stops" for the trip, all with varying degrees of consumption - light meals, snacks, heavy snacks and dessert! All yummy!! The best part is it's pretty much an "eat all you can" tour.



Our tour guide, Ivan Dy is such a fun guy! He obviously knows what he's talking about, he keeps the pace of the tour relatively easy and he keeps us in stitches!

He would always find a way to relate any historic event with food or the consumption of food. Most of the tour guides I've met were vapid robotic creatures. Ivan, was thankfully not one of them.



I don't want to spoil the tour for you by going on and on about every little detail. You have to go through the experience yourself. Trust me, it's well worth the sleep deprivation and the cost.

To know more about Old Manila Walking Tours, you can visit their website by clicking THIS. Or you can call (632) 7113823 / (63-917-329-1622) and look for Ivan or Cherry. The tours run on weekends. Ivan highly suggested that you book the Chinese New Year food tour.