hooves and wheels

a star

a star wheel, a detail of a calesa's wheel... calesa used to be the king of the street of the old manila


it seems i have a penchant for calesas as well, looking at my archive i saw a handful of posts i've done in the past with calesa |:) you can check all of them here.

kalesa

Kalesa - A kalesa (sometimes called a karitela) is a horse-driven calash (carriage) used in the Philippines. The word, also spelled calesa, predates the Spanish conquest and descends ultimately from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning "wheels." This was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford. They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in tourist spots and some rural areas.

Source: Wikipedia

downtown

alternative

the fare increase is taking effect today and more commuters are now relying on the lrt and mrt, which cost less and faster.

and i remembered the original king of the road (the calesa or caritela) from the video in my old manila post. i guess we can use the good old calesa as an alternative way of transportaion since oil prices are getting more expensive everyday.

these folks surely are having a blast in this calesa ride... so why not bring back the original king of the road, what do you think?

cowboy grill

The Cowboy Grill at Malate, the bar looks so laid back when i took the photo but at night, this place is thriving with young people who wants to enjoy.

only in the philippines

wanna ride?

optimus prime in binondo?

Still having a transformers hangover :) I really thought of optimus prime when i saw this colorful fire truck. Please click the small image to see the details, you can also see the old man passing by (who just got out of the church). The smaller photo include a calesa passing by, remember when i told you that Filipinos love having their picture taken? See the driver waving his hand for the photo op? =) I just have tons of photos of strangers waving and giving their biggest smiles to my camera. Someday i'm going to share 'em with you.

by calesa or by foot?

When i took this photo i didnt realized that there was a man in front of me because i was so intent in capturing the calesa passing by, but the man made my photo more beautiful i think... it looked like the calesa and the man were on a race.

I have always been fascinated with calesas, and i really love riding them. Maybe its because they are so scarce now a days that you only get to see them at escolta, binondo, divisoria, and at intramuros. Let me share with you this beautiful calesa song that we used to sing during elementary days.

Kalesa'y may pang-akit na taglay
Maginhawa't di maalinsangan
Nakahahalina kung pagmasdan
Kalesa ay pambayang sasakyan

Kabayo ay di natin problema
Pulot at damo lang ay tama na
Matulin din sa kalsada
Tumatakbong maginhawa
Wala pang gasolina

Kalesa ay panghatid tuwina
Nung panahon nina maria clara
Mga bayani nitong bayan
Sa kalesa'y dinuduyan

Kalesa'y nakaaaliw
Lalo na pag gumagabi
At kung kasama ko ang aking giliw
Mangangalesa na rin kami

Matulin din sa kalsada
Tumatakbong maginhawa
Wala pang gasolina