Fun things to do in Quezon City

Would you like to see yourself on TV? Or Perhaps, you'd like your relatives abroad to know you're vacationing in the Philippines with the stars. Try to avail of the Studio Tours, exclusively designed for TFC Kapamilya Circle members/subscribers, providing them with a one-of-a-kind experience to watch ABS-CBN programs and visit the studios where these programs are shot.

For requests to watch live shows in ABS-CBN, you must register and book on-line at their web site at
www.abs-cbnglobal.com/studiotours

For further assistance you may contact them at 1-800-FIL-CHNL (345-2465)

For more info/requirements, go to this link:
http://www.abs-cbnglobal.com/ForCustomers/TFCStudioTours/tabid/

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The Ecopark at La Mesa Dam in Fairview has been adopted by ABS-CBN Foundation and was lately given a new facelift. Now open to trhe publc, it offers a lot of family-oriented activities. -- Boating Lagoon, Bicycle rides, Swimming Pool, Fitness Trek, Fishing Pond, Camping Ground, Open Amphitheater.

Undeniably, the most complete family-oriented Nature Park in Metro Manila.

Park Entrance: P30/head

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The Quezon Memorial is a national park and shrine encircled by an elliptical road, a fitting tribute to the First President of the Philippine Commonwealth, Manuel Luis Quezon.

Considered one of the country’s premier landmarks, the monument, built in the center of the 27-hectare rotunda park, is the tallest structure in the city, piercing 66 meters to the sky.

The memorial includes two small museums installed within the monument itself: one housing priceless memorabilia of Quezon, and the other containing items on the history of the city. A mausoleum houses the remains of the President, laid to rest in a bronze casket and marble niche inside the shrine.

Around the foot of the monument are various reliefs depicting highlights from Philippine history, sculpted out of the marble base.

After some shopping, you can stroll or sit and rest amid the bamboo trees, pond and greenery at Trinoma Gardens. When we went there, I noticed that even non-shoppers (students, families, office workers) simply sat beside the pond and garden to chat or have souvenir pictures... Yes, Trinoma is the place to go if you seek refuge in a refreshing, relaxing ambiance.

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It's been years since I was at La Mesa Dam. We used to pass by the place when we went to my friend's house at Lagro, Novaliches. I remember my friend's stories about their picking live tilapias on the road. Yes,there were tilapias jumping on the road whenever the water at the dam overflowed. It is so different now. Somehow,the road looks so narrow, being sandwiched by the high perimeter fence of the water reservoir and the equally high perimeter fence of La Mesa Ecopark.

What used to be the virgin forest beside the road has been converted into an Ecopark...thanks to the ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Kalikasan (Nature Watch) Project. ABS-CBN Foundation collaborated with Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System (MWSS, the government agency that owned La Mesa Watershed) and the Quezon City government to stop illegal settling, poaching and logging through a proactive Bantay Kalikasan Project that aims to rehabilitate, reforest, preserve and protect the area. The Adopt/Protect-A-Tree/Hectare Program was so successful that out of the 1,500 hectares that needed reforestation,only about 158 hectares remain to be planted. To sustain this noble Project,the La Mesa Ecopark was opened to the public, providing children and adults with experiential learning about environmental and biodiversity conservation.

If you'd like to breathe in fresh air and commune with nature, visit La Mesa Ecopark...good for family bonding and team building activities

Even before the Makati area became the more cosmopolitan shopping and theater distrcit, we were already fond of going to Cubao in the 1970’s. At Christmas time, the COD store would have a parade of mannequins on its roof and children would be in awe of the these mannequins on a “track” and the highlight would be Santa and his reindeers. I think there were also dwarves – but that might just be my hyperactive imagination when I was a child, hehehe…

Now Cubao has been modernized, and it still has the huge Araneta Coliseum where in the 1970’s, the dolphin “Flipper” went and I remember being there to see that ONE dolphin. I think we also watched Ann Margaret sing there – and this 50,000 capacity “Coliseum” has seen great performers and you just might catch a show when you're there.

The Ali Mall was of course named after Muhammad Ali, after the success of Thrilla in Manila. And other stores have stood their ground like Farmer’s Plaza, Shoemart (SM) and Rustan’s. There are now newer malls like Gateway Mall and Shopwise Supercenter….and these are places where you can just watch how everyday Filipinos enjoy shopping and just walking around the malls with friends and family. %c

I used to live in Quezon City and it is less busy than Makati and Manila downtown, but through the years it has developed a lot. I know it's weird to recommend malls as a tourist destination, but the malls is where you see the people going to and it is nice to "people-watch" and also to look at the good bargains.

Nice malls in the Quezon City area include, but not limited to:
Gateway Aurora Boulevard - Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Farmer's Plaza EDSA - Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
AliMall P. Tuazon Boulevard - Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Plaza Fair - Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Fairmart - Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Eastwood CyberOne Mall - Eastwood Avenue, Eastwood City, C-5, Libis, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Eastwood CityWalk 2 - Eastwood Avenue, Eastwood City, C-5, Libis, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Ever Gotesco Commonwealth- Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Isetann Cubao- Aurora Boulevard, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Robinsons Galleria-Ortigas Avenue corner EDSA, Ortigas Center, Quezon City, Metro Manila

But now, I think one should also grab a cab and head off to the NEW (opened 2006) SM Mall of Asia which is located at Bay City, Pasay City, Philippines with a land area of 19.5 hectares and a floor area of 386,224 m². It is the largest mall in the Philippines and the 3rd largest shopping mall in the world! With over 600 shops and 150 dining establishments, you'll have a lot of fun!

And visiting these malls can be very tiring, so you can head of to nice parks in Quezon City like the Quezon City Memorial Circle where you can also find restaurants. And there is also the nearby Wildlife Park. Or, head off and see my old school, the University of the Philippines which has nice green grounds and where the cream of the crop study. You got to be proud of your school, hehehe...

If you want to go for a nice walk in a nice park in the middle of the city, then head off to the Wild Life Park where Filipino families gather for a picnic, especially during the weekends. You will also see a lot of couples, most of them walking hand-in-hand and embracing under the trees (maybe hiding, hehehe, “secret lovers”)…

But, this park has a nice lake in the middle and it is also known to have a mini-zoo with a crocodile, pythons, parrots, monkeys (be careful my sister’s finger got bitten once!), peacocks, deer and of course, the famous Philippine Monkey Eating Eagle!!!! That’s why I go to this park – I am just amazed looking at this magnificent bird with its huge beak which it uses in the wild to open up the monkey! Yikes!