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July 18, 2012 | Granada

You know how sometimes you can recognize city streets without having ever been there? Like how you can tell that it’s Tokyo or Hong Kong?

I’ve lately been fascinated by what I see when assuming the perspective of an observer. This photograph just made me realize that Manila’s streets are quite unlike any other I’ve seen. Cramped, disorderly, though it may seem, there’s a certain charm to it. Like how in the modelling world there’s such a thing as ugly pretty. I haven’t traveled much myself, but from what I’ve experienced of the world, each city is beautiful in its own right.

Fun fact: Sidewalks aren’t normally this wide in Metro Manila. In fact, this isn’t a sidewalk. They’re parking spaces accessible directly from the road. In other words, when cars park here, there is no sidewalk. 

It’s an amusing thought that I call this city home.

Random, note: I totally feel like getting lost in some foreign country now.