Panda's Last Night Out Virtual Cache
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APB Panda TB spent her last night in the Philippines enjoying the ambiance of this section of Intramuros, the old walled city in Manila. This virtual cache is a historical marker inside Intramuros. The marker is about 7 feet high and has the information being asked for in the first question below.
*** IMPORTANT UPDATE PLEASE READ ***
*** The marker was removed last month, May 2019, but may yet be replaced. Please see details below in Description***
Menie 06/15/2019
*** IMPORTANT UPDATE PLEASE READ ***
*** The marker was removed last month, May 2019. All markers inside Intramuros were changed by the Intramuros Administration and so far no replacement was put in place for this marker. I will not yet disable this since the Intramuros Administration may yet replace it with a new marker. I will continue to monitor the replacement and will update this cache once I know if it will be replaced or not.***
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Menie 01/12/08: While the cache has not changed, the area is not as lively as it was when I placed this cache in 2003, and the activities mentioned in the third paragaph are no longer happening there and at night the place is gloomy. However, it is a truly historical place and very much worth a visit still. I am keeping the original description below. Thanks to all who have come to visit this cache and my country.
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Menie 12/14/08: GOOD NEWS! The area is alive again, thanks to our Department of Tourism. They have revived the stalls (food and handicraft) and live performances starting Dec 5, and at least until Dec 30 there will be activities here, although I hear that the plan is to continue this into next year. Best time to go is in the late afternoon/early evening. On Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights they have a historical parade which is similar to the electric parade in Disneyland, with dancers in front of the floats and on the floats, as well as excellent narration and music. This starts around 6:30 PM.
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Having spent more than two months with the cute APB Panda Travel Bug, I am dedicating my first cache to her as she goes around Manila on her last night in the Philippines. She and I will be leaving for Singapore tomorrow morning and I hope to leave her in one of the caches there. (Note: I was able to leave her the next afternoon, March 3, at Singapore's First cache).
Intramuros was the old walled city during the Spanish times. It is located near the mouth of the Pasig River, and is surrounded by the Club Intramuros Golf Course. Most of it was destroyed during World War II, but it is slowly being restored.
Just this year, our Department of Tourism has developed one section of Intramuros as "History Town Philippines". This section of Intramuros has a very vibrant night life with cultural and pop perfomances, dining or drinking al fresco on the streets and on the wall ramparts, shopping in a big airconditioned tent, sidewalk portrait painting, and "calesa" rides (a calesa is the native Filipino horse-drawn carriage). There are park benches galore for anyone to sit on and enjoy the ambiance. On Friday and Saturday nights, there are usually performances until midnight. On other days the performances end about 9 PM. The best time to come here would be early evening, any day of the week.
To get credit for this cache, please email me the answer to the following questions (please do not post the answers here, Internet "finds" will not be accepted):
1. What was the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur during the American Period - please give the Spanish name as well as the popular name.
2. Directly across this marker is a plaza named after the church whose ruins lie there. What is it called?
(Menie 01/12/07- this question is no longer applicable. Please ignore)
3. What is the name of the eating area right beside the cache? (Hint: Its name is the Tagalog word for fireflies)
Please go around the area once you've found the cache (or even if you haven't). I'm sure you will enjoy even just a simple walk along the well-lighted streets.
NOTE: Mapquest seems to be off by a few blocks. Intramuros is to the east of Bonifacio Drive. I confirmed this same error in A Filipino Hero cache. Again, it is showing the cache as west of Bonifacio Drive when it should be east. Follow your GPS. The coordinates given are pretty accurate, and both areas have open views of the sky.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)