Mabuhay Guide Charisse at Binondo Church
Most of us know the famous Street Walkers in Manila, like Ivan Mandy and Carlos Celdran. They have made a name for themselves simply by their informative yet entertaining walks around Manila. They are the perfect model ambassadors to show around foreign visitors here the Best of Manila. But of course they couldn’t accommodate everyone so DOT (Department of Tourism) created a Mabuhay Guides Program and trained a few select individuals to be accompanying guides.
One of the Oldest Shoe Shops in Manila
Joining the media launch of the upcoming 20th Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) to be held on September 4-6, 2009 at SM Mega Trade Halls, we got a glimpse of how good these selected batch of Mabuhay Guides are on the field. Coming from a Pasig River Ferry Ride, we started our tour of Manila in Escolta Station.
Trying out some plums
The guest were divided in color coded groups. We had Charisse as our main guide for the yellow group. With portable mikes and speakers in tow, she led us to the streets with insightful information one would not normally know. Also whisked us to some hidden eating places I didn’t know about then.
Discovering New Pho Heng Lumpia
Of course we can never replace the aforementioned Celdran and Mandy but these Mabuhay Guides as I observed are really good in their own unique. They are very articulate, knowledgeable and most importantly humorous and entertaining.
Watching them make their Dong Bei Lumpia
The Mabuhay Guides can be booked throught the DOT. The Mabuhay Guides Binondo Culinary Tour is one of the “Beyond the Usual” tours and Travel packages which are availabe at the Upcoming 20th Philippine Travel Mart which would be held at September 4-6, 2009 at Megatrade Halls in Megamall.
The 20th PTM’s event manager is Global Visions Events & Marketing Network, Inc. (telephones 637-1257, 633-4751 email: [email protected]). For more information, please call Global Visions or PHILTOA at 812-4513 or log on to www.philtravelmart.com
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
