On February 23, 1945, American forces aided by Filipino guerillas conducted one of the most successful rescue operations in modern military history, almost a month after the successful rescue at the POW internment camp in Cabanatuan (later dubbed Raid at Cabanatuan and made into a Hollywood movie "the Great Raid").

Following the American forces landing on Leyte Gulf to begin the liberation of the Philippines, the Japanese Imperial Army massacred Prisoners-of-War internees including those at Plaza Cuartel in Palawan.

Gen. MacArthur was worried that other POWs would suffer the same fate that he devised plans to rescue thousands of them interned at various concentration camps including those in Cabanatuan, University of Sto. Tomas and in UP College of Agriculture in Los Banos, Laguna (now the University of the Philippines Los Baños or UPLB).

It was at Baker Hall, now UPLB gymnasium and named after Charles Fuller Baker, the former Dean of Agriculture of UP which housed more than two thousand prisoners.

the historic Baker Hall, now a gymanasium where events and parties are held, also has ghost stories told by students and teachers alike

If the Great Raid at Cabanatuan was executed by crawling soldiers under the cover of darkness and a P61 Black Widow as decoy, the raid at Los Banos was executed with the help or paratroopers as the POW camp is located on the hills of Mt. Makiling with reinforcements also from Laguna de Bay.

If the Raid at Cabanatuan was made into a Hollywood movie titled "The Great Raid," the raid at Los Banos was also turned into a movie in 2004 called "Rescue at Dawn: the Los Banos Raid"

A little girl plays football on Baker Field, a football field lined with huge trees with the chapel and carillon bell tower in view

After a few days, Japanese forces arrived at the camp and found it empty of prisoners. With the help of MAKAPILI (Makabayang Katipunan ng mga Pilipino), they rounded up and massacred about 1500 men, women and children (including people who sought refuge in a chapel) and burned their homes.

The people of Los Banos felt betrayed when the Americans left them behind to feel the wrath of the Japanese but soon learned to forgive them years later.

Labels: Calabarzon, History, Laguna, Southern Tagalog, World War II

The Golden Mosque is a landmark in Quiapo, Manila with its iconic gold dome, thus the name Golden Mosque. It was built in 1976 upon orders of then First Lady Imelda Marcos, in preparation for the visit of Libya's President Muammar al-Gaddafi (that was cancelled).

This is the first time Tutubi was able to set foot inside the famous mosque, the largest mosque in Metro Manila. He has only seen it from the outside (even from the Pasig River where the golden dome can be seen).

picture of the entrance gate of Golden Mosque taken from inside the compound

Muslim prayer (salaat) times posted on the wall of the mosque

The mosque interiors with columns and the mihrab, the semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, facing the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and where Muslims should face when praying. The wall is called "qibla wall." The mosque is usually full during Jumuah prayers on a Friday

Street scene outside Golden Mosque is a typical Manila sight


Golden Mosque details:
Address: Globo de Oro St., Quiapo, Manila
Telephone Number: no information on contact number and email address for other inquiries
Entrance Fee: none. you can donate any amount before exiting though an envelope handed out by guards at the gate. You should wear appropriate dress for men and women and also take off your shoes before entering the mosque.

How to Get there:

a map of Golden Mosque can be found here via OpenStreetMap

From LRT Carriedo Station, you can just walk passing by Carriedo, Hidalgo, Plaza Miranda (Quiapo Church), Quezon Boulevard, Quinta Market then Globo de Oro Street.

You can also get there via jeepneys going to Quiapo, alight on Quezon Blvd then walk to the mosque (you can also ride tricycles, padyak or kuliglig to get there)

If you have a car, you can park near Quinta Market where parking attendants (street parking) may charge you PhP20.00 up to PhP30.00 so that you have someone watch over your car while you're away.

Around the Golden Mosques are numerous restaurants serving halal food for the Muslim community including Tausug and Maranao cuisine e.g Moud's chicken halal (arab spice chicken), Junairah Halal Center (Maranao: pater/pastil rice, palapa, fish eggs (bodi), balbacua (bulalo flavored with turmeric)). This is a different post on its own as most people go there to buy DVDs but you can also find bargain Muslim wares from Mindanao.

Related Posts for Muslims:
Mosques in Manila
Halal Food in Tagaytay
Halal Food in Manila

Labels: Islam, Manila, Metro Manila, Mosques, National Capital Region

The most popular budget-friendly destination for family and friends in Tagaytay listed as one of the "must see places" in Tagaytay for first timers, these information requested by a friend who wish to get there via public transportation plus updated entrance fees and rates.

UPDATED January 2016

Picnic Grove Admission Rates and Fees:

Entrance fee: PhP50.00/head (4 years and old and above)

Parking fee:
Car PhP35.00
Van PhP50.00
Coaster PhP50.00
Jeep PhP50.00
Bus PhP100.00

Rental Rates:

Table PhP100
Picnic Huts PhP150.00
Family Sheds PhP300.00
Pavilion PhP500.00
Viewdeck Hall PhP2,500.00

Fish Spa PhP199.00 one hour

Horseback Ride:

How to get to People's Park in the Sky Tagaytay:

Please refer to this How to Get to Tagaytay post for detailed directions.

Tagaytay Zipline Rates: PhP100.00 (weekday) PhP200.00 weekend/holidayMap of Picnic Grove plus how to commute there by public transportation (map is edited screengrab of OpenStreetMap)

No information on Picnic Grove telephone contact numbers or official website for inquiries


Related Posts on Tagaytay:
Directions to Tagaytay
Sky Ranch Tagaytay

Labels: Metro Tagaytay, Parks, Tagaytay City

Tutubi's been receiving quite a number of inquiries from Muslim visitors due to some of his posts on mosques and halal food in Manila. This time, he received inquiries for halal restaurants in Tagaytay to which he didn't have a ready answer. Research initially pointed to several Tagaytay restaurants serving halal food but he went to check them out himself to validate.

Where to find halal food in Tagaytay?

Internet sites and blogs listed two restaurants:

Andanita Taj of Tagaytay: a hotel and restaurant just near Residence Inn serving Indian and Middle eastern food

Mehren Snack Inn (sometimes misspelled as Mehran): a hole in the wall eatery along Tagaytay-Calamba road in front of Franciscan near the rotonda (roundabout)

Halal food is quite easy to find in Manila, particularly in Quiapo where the Golden Mosque is and in Greenhills Shopping Center where many Muslim traders do business plus the many Indian and Persian restaurants sprouting all over the metro. It's a different story in Tagaytay though. (Photo is of a bodi, a Maranao spicy carp roe (caviar) served at an turo-turo eatery in Quiapo, Manila)



Bad news: Tutubi found out the two supposedly halal restaurants were closed. Andanita Taj is moving to a new site but the published email address and contact numbers posted on their official website did not answer Tutubi's queries. Mehren Snack Inn is currently closed too, there's a new building being built on the site pointed on OpenStreetMap but no other information can be found.

As a fallback, Tutubi was just able to buy buko pie without lard sold at Picnic Grove to be not haram (forbidden) for his Muslim friends. The Original Buko Pie uses lard so it's out of the question. There's also cassava cake which uses cassava, cheese, milk, and coconut milk.

For Muslim tourists and travelers going to Tagaytay, better bring your own food as there's no such thing as halal bulalo in Tagaytay (perhaps Tutubi will open one but he needs a Muslim butcher and cook for bulalo to be certified halal).

This post will be updated once updated and confirmed information on halal restaurants in Tagaytay is found.

Related posts:

Masjid/Mosques in Manila
Halal Food in Manila
Halal Food in Boracay
Is McDonalds Halal?

Labels: Islam, Metro Tagaytay, Tagaytay Restaurants