EMONG'S JOURNALS

If there’s a trick to enjoying the Chinese New Year, it's by doing a photowalk along the streets of the Manila Chinatown. This year, the Fire Rooster takes the limelight. Probably as old as Manila itself, the Chinatown in the Binondo district has been the center of Chinese life and culture in the Philippines since precolonial times. Perennially popular, it’s both a legitimate dining destination and a wonderland of interesting sights. All the restaurants, shops, streets and alleyways radiates that "Little China" look, enough to attract revelers from all parts of the metropolis to come marching in and celebrate. Parades, dragon dances, fireworks and marvelous food are a staple. Merrymaking on the streets and dining at the finest Chinese restaurants. Here's what we saw during the celebration of the 2017 Chinese New Year - the Year of the Fire Rooster. Kung Hei Fat Choi! Condo Vibes Ongpin Street The entrance of the Manila Chinatown is Ongpin St...

Alright, it's time to experience one of Manila’s liveliest and most colorful celebrations! The Chinese New Year in the Binondo district attracts crowds of people each year and is celebrated over explosions of vibrant colors and cultural experiences. Happening on January 28, 2017, the once-a-year event will feature lion & dragon dances, firecracker celebrations, parades, marching bands, and surely enough, the different food and dishes that Chinese folks are known for (tikoy, pansit canton, siopao, dimsum, mami, roasted meat & seafood, etc.). The Chinese New Year 2017 is the Year of the Red Fire Rooster. It starts from January 28th 2017 and extends up to February 15th 2018. The Rooster is tenth in the Chinese zodiac. Each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year cycle. Years of the Rooster include 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029. READ: Chinatown Photowalk 2017: Shooting the streets of Manila's "Little China...

Culture Club performs in Manila for a two-night concert on June 17 & 18 at 8pm at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. The Manila concert is part of Culture Club's world tour for their new album, "Tribe." Popularly considered as a new wave icon during the 1980's, the Culture Club hits includes "Karma Chameleon," "I Know You Miss Me," "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?," "It's a Miracle," and "Love is Love," Tickets are at PHP2,000, PHP3,500, PHP5,5000, PHP10,500, PHP13,500 and PHP15,000 via Ticketnet.com.ph . WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

On March 19, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, we'll be switching off the lights for Earth Hour 2016 -- a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet. Organized by the World Wide Fund (WWF), Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and the Philippines in 2008. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. The event is held worldwide towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. What lights can be safely switched off? That is a decision that has to be made individually but usually the overhead lights in rooms (whether it is your house or a business), outdoor lighting that does not impact safety, decorative lights, neon signs for advertising, television...

What better way to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2016 than visiting the world's oldest Chinatown! On Monday (Feb 8), the Chinatown district in Binondo, Manila practically shut down as people from all over the metro and nearby provinces celebrated the Chinese New Year -- the Year of the Fire Monkey. As always, the color red dominated the locale. Participants in parades and floats featured the Fire Monkey, the theme of this year's Chinese zodiac sign. Some of the parade highlights include elaborately decorated floats, school marching bands, stilt walkers, lion dancers and exploding firecrackers. Dragons and Lions The green lion dances to the entertainment of the crowd along Ongpin Street. The green and yellow lion join the blue dragon to enter establishments in the Binondo District to give good luck. In return, owners of the shops give "ang pao," those red envelopes containing tokens or cash. Teener dons the lion headgear to start the dance... ...