the perils of

        Last Saturday (which also happened to be Valentine's Day), Rap and I embarked on a perilous quest to discover a mythical town inhabited by mutant pineapples, noodle-pullers, and, the most dangerous of all, Chinese people.         Rap and I had been to Binondo before, albeit separately. I had gone during a field trip for my Philosophy class some two years ago (and I blogged about it here ), while Rap's last visit was some four years ago, for an English class activity. But despite the time that had elapsed, Binondo still seemed as familiar and charming as ever.         We took the LRT2 all the way to its last stop in Recto. Pretty decent station. Well, except for the really dark and sketchy parts.         I know it was a risk bringing my bulky camera along on this trip, but I didn't want to have to bring out my tablet every time I wanted to snap a picture! Anyway, I kept it in my bag when I ...

YAY it's FINALLY summer and I can finally get back to blogging! I've missed this so much. There's so much I want to write about right now, but I'll get started with this: my first visit to Binondo. About two weeks ago, my Philosophy professor, Dr. Antonette Angeles, invited her students on a trip to Binondo. We had planned for this trip to happen ever since June, but it never actually materialized until two weeks ago (or was it three?). Because it was scheduled in between two hell weeks, a lot of classmates couldn't make it. I myself had a thesis deadline to meet that morning, and I was seriously considering skipping the trip altogether. Thankfully a short conversation with Jean convinced me to go. On the day itself, the class attendance ended up being just Elise, Migs, Nathan, and me. But we still turned out to be a big crowd, since Ma'am Angeles brought her family with her, along with two Japanese professors. Going there, the "young ones" rode...