PLACES OF INTEREST IN PASAY CITY
Far from the dragon sounds of Pasay's frenetic streets is the Nayong Pilipino, or Philippine Cultural Village, a thirty-five hectare oasis of rustic tranquility that helps make life tolerable amid the frenzied pace of an otherwise overwhelming city. Closed to wheeled traffic, only a selected number of jeepney (above) is allowed to take visitors around this civic nature reserve. The park is planned to hundreds of species of flowers and trees where a startling variety of birds nest and breed (opposite page). Here Pasayeños come in ones and twos and in groups to breaths the fresh air, collect their thoughts, and be themselves.
But the Nayong Pilipino is more than just a park; it is the Philippines in a nutshell. Around the wide lagoon in the center, created by workers who kept digging until they reached the water table, are six regions depicted by landmarks and landscapes typical of each. The Mountain Province is recreated on an elevated clearing with rice terraces, Ifugao huts and hills planted to pine trees. Mainly Vigan, The capital of Ilocos Sur, represents the Northern Province, which was a powerful bishopric during the Spanish times. The Vigan house in the heart of the village was built out of parts actually transported beam for beam, railing for railing, tile for tile, from its original site.
The perfect sulphur cone of Mayon Volcano and the ruins of the Cagsawa Church synthesize Bicolandia. The Tagalog Region displays a plaza reminiscent of old pueblos while the Visayan section features a house of Spanish Design, with a paseo shaded by trellised walks. The Muslim region is recreated through a Maranaw Mosque and a Tausug stilt house.
Tourism was the impetus for the park's development. The buildings were obviously intended to become attractions unto themselves. Inside a number of them are weavers working at their looms and carver chiseling at wood. But if nothings else, the structures so perfectly blend with the surroundings, and in moments of weather changes and personal distress, they offer shelter, convenience, and comfort.
Everybody is welcome to partake of the park's serenity and grace. There are wooded acres, nooks and byways that can be enjoyed by tourism, sportsmen, health faddist, retirees taking their ease, and youths letting off steam. People can relax with family and friends, play cards or chess, or indulge in two national pastimes - eating and gossiping.
There is a lot of activity everywhere but it is relaxed activity. Although children swarm over the "Chocolate Hills," most adults avoid anything more strenuous than a gentle row on the lake. Strollers walk at a sedate pace, watch open-air performance and concerts, or just let the hours tick way in some secluded, sun-dappled corner. The quietude that envelops the place is a miracle of the fact that one can live in the heart of Pasay and yet a short ride away lies a park that is oblivious to the ruckus of the city, a bucolic setting that preserves a small town's intimate charm, a sanctuary that provides a sense of cozy isolation where one finds a truly quiet corner.
The pleasures of Roxas Boulevard are varied, from costly to cheap to free. The palm-fringed thoroughfare continues to hold sway over the crescent of Manila Bay, taking visitors for a breezy welcome ride to the heart of the metropolis from the airport, which is a short left turn from its southern end. When the tide is low, men, women and children hike up their clothes and gather shells and clams from the shallows. In summer, they their clothes off and swim in the waters. Every now and then, in the mornings, strollers and joggers are treated to a movie in the making. In the afternoons people gather and jockey for space on the entire stretch of the seawall to get the best seat in town for one of the greatest shows on earth, for free - the famed Manila Bay sunset
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