Luneta

LUNETA

I stumbled upon the video above while browsing through my YM news page. Watching this video a smile immediately formed on my lips as I started to reminisce about my past encounters with Roxas Boulevard and it's ever famous Luneta Park, also known as Rizal Park

Back in the day, my mom and dad would often take my brother and I out on mini excursions. I remember Luneta being one of those wonderful places. We would take a short ride from our place in Manila and in less than 30 minutes hop off into a giagantic play area!

We'd be welcomed by tall trees, long stretches of grass, famous monuments, and dinosaurs... yes there were dinosaurs. All around us was a place where we could make adventures, have fun, and frolic under the sun - there were even times the sun would already be down and we'd still be in the park.

My favorite place would be the Dinosaur Playground in the side of the park. There you would find slides and towers shaped in dinosaurs bodies. I would imagine I was in the age of the dinosaurs escaping from the ferocious beasts as I jumped from one tower to the other. My brother and I would race to make it first to the top of the slide and quickly sliding down only to find ourselves in a mad scramble to the top again.

We'd take a break and drink gulaman along with some fishballs or green mango with bagoong. Sometimes it would be ice cream or scramble. The occasional mais would be a treat to eat too. The break doesn't last very long though because as soon as we were done eating the play would once again commence.

Then we'd start to make sandcastles in the grey sand around the Dinosaur Playground using the plastic cups we used while eating and would use spoons and forks found strewn on the floor (sad to say manila's problem with trash has been there for quite some time), of course these were first rinsed with some clean water first before being used.

The swing and the see-saw would be our last stop. I'd be the bully and take longer in the swing and refuse to push off when the see-saw lowered on my side. My brother would then be saved by my dad who would push down his side to even the weight.

*Sigh*

Years and years would pass before I would go back to Luneta. Over the years, safety, cleanliness, and upkeep would deteriorate and the once beautiful park would loose it's appeal. What would bring me back would be a project for work.

Manila Ocean Park opened it's doors behind the Quirino grandstand in March 2008 and the company I worked for at that time had a project inside the oceanarium. Because of this, I would frequent the area and seeing that the park was only a hop and skip away I decided to visit it once again. I was not to be disappointed as walking through the park I had a chance to see the park of my childhood once again in a good light.

Over the years the park has been improved immensely, now boasting an updated look and new attractions, like the fountain light show. Now it is my little sisters turn to romp in the park with dad and playing with our dogs.

Why don't you pay a visit to this heritage site and enjoy one of the few parks we have left in this city?

And to give you more motivation to go visit Luneta, check our this video by Mickey Bustos, our Filipino Ambassador in Youtube. Enjoy!