Manila to MoA on Foot

It was one of those weekends when I got the urge to revisit some old routes that I’ve not been to for quite a while. This time I thought of running along Manila Bay via Roxas Blvd. from Quiapo, Manila to the SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

This tour includes a magnificent view of the sunset at Manila Bay!

I started my walking/running tour with a visit to Quiapo Church. It was a Sunday so the church was expectedly jam-packed. Even on the outside!

After having my prayers, from Quiapo I crossed the Pasig River via Quezon Bridge and landed in Lawton area where two landmarks await.

The historic but highly disregarded *Metropolitan Theater*

The statue of *Andres Bonifacio*, one of the Philippines’ national heroes

From Lawton, I headed towards Manila City Hall to get some quick bites in a nearby mall.

*Kartilya ng Katipunan Shrine*, located right before the city hall

From Manila City Hall you’d get to pass by the National Museum (Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas) and Rizal Park. Since my last visit to the park was pretty recent, I just passed through to get to Roxas Blvd. Initially you’d see Museo Pambata followed by the Embassy of the United States of America. Afterwards you have the contiguous view of Manila Bay.

*Museo Pambata* with the statue of *Dolphy* (Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr., OGH)

View of Manila Bay just after the US Embassy. Sunsets are great here but sadly, the beach is just terribly littered with garbage.

The sidewalks though are pretty wide and unobstructed in general

And there is another one beside the Roxas Blvd. that is equally wide if you don’t like the sea breeze

Crossing Roxas Blvd. is probably the widest pedestrian crossing in the country. It crosses towards *Rajah Sulayman Park* in Malate area.

These buildings sure have grand view of the bay sunset

Upon reaching the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) area, I had to make a detour to JW Diokno Blvd. via Vicente Sotto and Magdalena Jalandoni because I still wanted to be close to the shoreline because of the sunset.

The still magnificent Cultural Center of the Philippines

The Makati skyline as seen from JW Diokno Blvd.

And upon reaching the SM Mall of Asia compound, I settled for Seaside Blvd. to watch as the sun slowly sets upon the horizon. This is practically as far as you can get into Manila Bay in the area, and this is where this tour ends.