There should have been nothing special with the free ride in LRT and MRT two Saturdays ago except that it was in celebration of our Independence Day, but to free ride with someone who I haven’t seen for almost a year and whom I have been waiting to see for almost a year, it was surreally special.
The plan was to go to Quiapo for some DVD hunting. The easiest route from where we were was to ride a jeepney bound to Quiapo, but no, we rode the MRT from end to end—SM North to Edsa Taft—then transferred to the LRT line and got off at Carriedo station. Good thing that it was still early morning and that it was a Saturday, which means that there were relatively fewer passengers because there was no work (We all know how the trains transform into cans of sardines during weekdays at almost any time of the day, but most especially during rush hours.).
From Carriedo station, it was a walkathon to the mecca of DVD that is Hidalgo Street. But we had a stopover at a fast food chain to eat breakfast (and for En--the one I’ve been waiting for--to trim his beard. I know. It’s weird) and a detour at Meyer’s to check for DSLR camera prices. After we realized that it was too early a morning to spend thousands of money for a DSLR cam, we headed to the underpass to go to Hidalgo. As always, vendors lined up in the underpass with their wares. The little toys bouncing with colorful lights caught En’s attention. He wanted to buy one for his favorite nephew, Seraf, but he seemed to be saving his first purchase for DVDs.
Finally, we emerged from the underpass—unharmed and ‘un-snatched’— and we were greeted by the sight of vendors selling DVDs and just about everything you need. I love Quiapo!
We headed straight to our suki. When we arrived, we excitedly scanned the DVDs one by one. En, after a year without Quiapo, was like a child—wide-eyed and with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Every time we found a treasure film, we would exclaim its title as if we were Archimedes who ran around naked shouting, Eureka! (“Woooowww. Stagecoach!” “The Men Who Stare At Goats! Up in the Air!” Said En, who’s a George Clooney fanatic.).
After almost 30 minutes, the damage had been in thousands. Best DVD buy: 2010 Oscars Best Picture Nominees. Next time I go to my heaven on earth (which would be in a few weeks time), I would buy the Miyazaki anime collection with 16 DVDs at P60 each (you do the math).
We left Quiapo with our bags heavier with all that loot! Our Quiapo escapade did not end there though. We searched Raon for the cable converter I need and found one at a good price with a three-month warranty. Didn’t I say I love Quiapo? Before that though, we passed by the underpass again to get to Raon, and En couldn’t resist the bouncing, colorful toy and bought one. He also bought a rubber ducky (For Seraf. Or for him?).
For lunch, we binged on Chinese food at Wai-ying (we call it Wong Kar Wai-Ying because it resembles the set in some of the Chinese director’s films) in Benavidez Street near Recto. We haven’t eaten in that restaurant for a year, so we ate as if we haven’t eaten for a year! Ok, I’m exaggerating. Maybe three days. Good Chinese food as always, especially the Roasted Peking duck and Hakaw, shrimp dumpling. We had two orders of that and good thing I did not have an allergy attack. We swore that when we get back, we will order the P1, 100-worth whole Peking duck for a feast. Nobody knows when it will be, but it will be.
It was almost 2pm when we finished, and En had a 6pm flight going back to Iloilo (L). He still had to go to UP Diliman to get some of his things then head straight to the airport. The plan: from Recto, ride the LRT line 2 to Katipunan, ride a taxi to campus (to save time but not money), get things in five minutes, ride a taxi to MRT (but we rode a jeepney instead because he wanted to sit in front of the jeepney, beside the driver), free-ride in MRT from Quezon Ave. to Edsa-Taft (we said our goodbyes here), he, ride a taxi to airport and me, ride the MRT back to Cubao for Lakwatcha meeting and lakwatcha.
It was indeed a surreally special Saturday, and I hope I don’t have to wait for another year to experience it again.
*Photo of hakaw, shrimp dumpling, from http://forum.philboxing.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=129344&p=3329402
No comments:
Post a Comment