26 May, 2009

Botanical Garden


After our tour of Wright Park, my friend was stumped on where else to go. The night before, I declined her offer to climb up the hundred stairs of the Grotto of Lourdes as my feet were aching and I was just so tired. As she was enumerating more places to go to like the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the religious sisters' place where I could buy the best jams etc, I shook my head on each option as they held little appeal to me. When she mentioned the Botanical Garden, my eyes lit up and I eagerly said yes.

I love gardens and flowers, as mentioned before in my previous post about wanting a garden. There's something eye-catching in their vibrant colors, something that manages to elicit serenity every time I gaze at them.

In the entrance of the Botanical Garden were locals in their finery. Tourists who wanted to have their picture taken with them had to pay them though and I refused to do it as in a way, I felt as if I were exploiting them. I mean, why would I allow myself to be part of it when I knew that they were only donning their costume and dancing their native dance in exchange for money? That's commercializing their heritage!

Thus I just took a photo of this, which was in their entrance. I had to wait for like 15 minutes though as their were just a lot of tourists!


Inside, I was greeted with this walkway. Isn't it lovely?


There weren't a lot of flowers though and my friend says I should visit it during the summer, when almost all flowers are abloom.






There's a replica of their native house too and statues.


On one end of the garden is a field of Bandera EspaƱola in a color so rare as I only see these in yellow or red. This one is pinkish in color. What a bevy of beauties!



Too bad that when I visited the place, the flowers weren't all in bloom. Maybe I'll drop by there during the summer season so I can see them in all their magnificence. Hopefully this happens next year.

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