It’s the only place with its own story that changed our nation and also a perfectly preserved structures that looks like it happened yesterday.
Yes, I’m talking about Corregidor island
an island that faced the wrath of World War II
here in this blog, I used a brand new Olympus EPL-3, I borrowed it from my sister, just to test drive and see how I'll be comfortable using a mirrorless camera.
Yeah, its an island, so what ?
It doesn’t have any white sand or foreigners walking along the bay wearing their bikinis, there’s no night life or disco, or parasailing couples doing their own photo ops while on air. Its an island that 2 countries want to conquer and it all started here. From a far, Corregidor is peaceful as it seems with breath taking view above the mountains and a nice breeze of air coming from the other side of China Sea. Corregidor is a place that you should visit, especially if you are near Manila.
Sun Cruises is the only ferry and tour operator for Corregidor island, it’s the only service that transport everyone going to that island. They are located at the other side of Harbour Square in CCP Complex, right after the Folks Art Theater. They are here for years and still operating at full blast. Sun Cruises is the official ferry transpo and tour organizer for Corregidor.
Ivan Man Dy of Old Manila Walks is the guy who is known as the China man of Binondo, he’s the guy who tours around the tourist in Binondo and Intramuros. My first sightings of Ivan 5 years ago, is that there’s this guy talking to a lot of tourist carrying this file folder with photos of Old Manila. Its great to see that someone is sharing the history of Old Manila and many pinoys really don’t know or not aware of it. Then his popularity went boom as he tour Anthony Bourdain for his tv show in TLC around Old Manila to try different food and share a part of our history.
Ivan and his Old Manila Walks tour went as far from Manila and now started his first tour outside the city and landed him in Corregidor, to show us the different side story of the island. Not just about World War II, there are also some stories that are not present in our text books that occur after the war and also happened years ago, hmmm. Are you curious about that..
if yes,..
then try the collaborative tour event by Old Manila Walks and Sun Cruises
titled “Of Bombs, Big Guns and Lost Gold: WWII Tales Declassified”
Here’s the poster of “Of Bombs, Big Guns and Lost Gold: WWII Tales Declassified” tour
It’s a half day tour that you’ll enjoy with lots of adventurous walking and a slice of history about the struggle of our country with the Spanish, Americans and Japanese. Corregidor is considered as a stronghold and defense for Manila, as it blocks off incoming invaders via ship that targets to invade Manila. During the Spanish time, Corregidor is also a place where ship captains visit and show off their passport before entering the county.
Me with some media, got invited to try first the tour with Old Manila Walks, I’m so excited about this because I super enjoy Ivan’s tour and also his chat about our history, his presentation to us is provided with hard copy of images, old photos, maps and funny visuals that makes you feel being part of that history. Think of that you are in a movie and you are part of story. Because their tour is much different from the traditional bus tour organized by Sun Cruises. No long bus ride around the island, no super long chit chat, no sweaty pants, all are explain in a condensed manner and you got more time to do photo op with the background and also you’ll walk in the war torn terrain.
Imagine… you walking in the forest, climbing up a hill, roaming around a war torn hospital and barracks, and enter a tunnel that is haunted by ghosts forever. yikes…
We boarded the Sun Cruises ferry and we left Manila at 8am, here’s a good view of Manila
I was seated and enjoyed the company with my blogger friends,then I didn’t even felt that we are already sailing
Here’s our seat on the upper deck of the ferry
It’s a one hour ride, or less, and here they air some Corregidor story on TV and also some documentaries about the island
I launched my Apple Maps on my iPhone4s just to map where we are and how far the island is.
Its cool to watch this minutes after minutes.
The glorious part inside the ferry is that they sell food hahahaha. I didn’t ate my breakfast that morning and at the food booth I ordered a hot beef noodles and then bought some hotdog sandwich.
We landed in Corregidor island and here we are welcomed with garbage floating by the bay, those garbage came from Manila.
We rode the Tranvia-like bus, they use this to tour around the island
yeabahhh!!!! this is my 2nd time here in Corregidor island and I’m excited to visit the place again
the mountain view of the island, I’m glad that we got a nice cloudy weather that day, when I visited this island 2 years ago, it was freaking hot during summer.
Our first stop is here in the light house, which is considered as one of the oldest lighthouse
war and bomb torn structures are seen already as we tour around, they are bombed by the Japanese
and lots of Americans and also Filipinos died here in Corregidor.
This is the main office in Corregidor, nearby are the town where married soldiers are accommodated.
Its scary to see the destruction
Here’s the Cine Corregidor or main theater, now supported by iron bars as it will help to stood still as time passes by, 2 years ago those iron bars are not yet present. You can see that the structures are starting to deteriorate year after year.
Inside the theater, I think this is my favorite structure in Corregidor
Iron bars can be seen here
Here’s a view inside the barracks
Behind me is a swimming pool
creepy 2nd floor, I took many photos and wish for a luck to capture a ghost
The walk started from cemented road to a grassy road to no road
A view inside the battery room,its my 1st time to take this photo and its so creepy inside. They store ammunitions here that is build 2-3 years
Guns that can shoot out of the island
solid bar
My view on top of the cannon gun
More walks afterwards and I started to feel…an adventure!
The hospital - one of the spookiest location
check the video here of one of the tourist just captured a ghost in video, the ghost appeared on the right side near the end of the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8_gVo0Qb7Lc
Inside the hospital
Vandalism is bad for the structure, but here’s a vandal that shows some history lesson, now perfectly preserved and looks like it was written yesterday. Names of muslim soldiers are posted here to tribute their mission that might change the country’s agenda, but too bad, all of them are killed. This vandal will immortalize their bravery for the country.
Light and Darkness
Going out now from the hospital
The backside of the barracks
Going up hill – this is the most tiring part. hahahahaha I hate stairs!
Ivan is an awesome guide, armed with a portable mic and speaker, we can roam around and listen to his talks
Guns, bullets, bombs and dead buildings are still here in Corregidor
and yes…gold and silver coins are also still here
finders keepers!
with travel blogger friends Byahilo and Pusang Kalye
Behind the scene shoot with Byahilo
Panoramic view of the hospital
Memorial donated by the US government ages ago
After the end of tour, we went to Corregidor inn and there we ate our lunch
then we got an offer for another extra activity, we can choose if we want to tour inside Malinta Tunnel, a different tour and not the light and sound show, or we can just chill out go swimming, do kayaking or zipline, additional fees are required for this extra activities, the zipline cost at P150. Just ask Ivan for the booking.
Going to Malinta Tunnel. Americans and Filipino soldiers, nurses and officials stayed here when Japanese bombed the island, many died and after it was captured by the Japanese, they stayed here too and then Americans bombed them too and many Japanese soldiers died. Gen. Douglas McArthur stayed here and uses a small tunnel for an escape going to Australia, where he mentioned “I shall return!” and brought back lots of offensive attack against the Japanese.
For the light and sound tour, you are not required to wear hard hat helmets and bring a flashlight, here in our tour, we went inside the tunnel and walk all the way to the end, it’s a freaky and scary tour for me and its my first time walk in a tunnel. There are times that we put out the flashlight and felt how soldiers live there without lights. Also we felt lots of ghost presence here..so beware!
One of the tunnel that suffered a blast
Our tour guide here is Mang Conrado
Entering the deep tunnel, I bump my head to a lower rocky ceiling and I’m glad that I’m wearing a helmet
hahahaha here’s prank inside the tunnel
The tour – “Of Bombs, Big Guns and Lost Gold: WWII Tales Declassified” by Old Manila Walks is a special tour for first timers who don’t want to get tired around the island, since the bus tour is very tiring and covered the whole island for a day, but with this tour, you can get a nice feel of the island for a half a day only and you’ll still enjoy some leisure activities such as kayaking, swimming or zipline. For old timers, it is also recommended, because there’s this part of the tour that are not covered by the bus tour, for my experience, I still enjoyed this and I prefer this tour with Old Manila Walks.
here are some FAQ about this tour
1..What is this tour and how is this different from the regular Sun Cruises bus tour?
'Of Bombs, Big Guns and Lost Gold: WWII Tales Declassified ' is the 6th installment in the Old Manila Walks historical tour series. This is a collaboration between Corregidor's main logistical and tour provider, Sun Cruises and Old Manila Walks- the city's leading historical/cultural tour outfit. Unlike the bus tour which takes you on a general overview of the whole island, this historical hike is essentially concentrated on the war memorial zone (aka the historic core) of the island and uses this setting as a backdrop in the discussion of the WWII theme of the walk.
This tour provides for a broader,more chronological, contextual, insightful and perhaps even critical understanding of WWII in the country through the use of creative visuals backed by a multi-discilpinary approach to historical interpretation (e.g. combining millitary as well as social,cultural and architectural history).
It's an exercise for both the body and for the mind. ;op
For the visitor to Corregidor, this tour also provides for more personal flexibility (tour ends at 12:30 PM and boat leaves at 2:30 PM) to explore more of the island attractions and its various 'after-walk activities' that can be done at leisure (see below).
2. How much is the tour?
P1,750.00/head and is inclusive of the following: Guided tour, Ferry Transfers and Island Entrance Fee. Buffet Lunch at Corregidor inn is OPTIONAL(not inclusive) and maybe availed prior at P450.00/head. Plated lunch options available too.
3. Is the Malinta Tunnel Walk included in walking tour package?
No, it is not. The Malinta Tunnel Walk (P150.00/head) is an 'after-walk' optional activity offered by Sun Cruises that you can avail immediately after lunch. It also includes zip-lining , kayaking, ATV-riding and swimming (rate's vary). These maybe booked prior or on the spot. It is recommended that the Malinta Tunnel Walk be booked prior due to guide availability.
4. When will tour be offered?
We're looking at February 2013 with initial runs every weekends (Sundays), please email fun@oldmanilawalks.com for details.
For inquiries and reservations
you may contact
www.OldManilaWalks.com
email: fun@oldmanilawalks.com
mobile : +63918-962-64-52 (that's +63918-9Manila)
landline : (632) 711-38-23
