The New Bureau of Immigration Building

Two years ago when I went with P to renew his visa at the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros, this building was being renovated. The office where foreigners went to extend their Philippine visa and other matters was in a small cramped office with makeshift counters made of wood. It was crowded and hot and unsystematic. We had to go back and forth between 2 buildings .

It's now a whole lot better. The renovated office is spacious and airconditioned. They had fliers listing procedures for the various services needed by foreigners from student visa, renewal of ACR, visa extension, etc. The fliers even indicated the estimated time each step would take.

We finished everything before lunchtime except for the release of P's passport. We decided to have lunch as it would be another 40 minute wait. I used to work in PNB, Escolta and one of my favorite places to eat was at the Bacolod Chicken House in Intramuros. This is the original chicken bacolod and none of the chicken inasal restaurants that came later can compare to the taste. Because we were so hungry, I forgot to take pictures of the food. All I have are pictures of our empty plates. Each of us had 2 orders of paa (leg part) and garlic rice and adobong kangkong. Soooo happy!

It was overcast when we stepped out of Bacolod Chicken House, so we took a leisurely walk back to the immigration building. This is King Felipe of Spain from whose name Philippines was named.

I don't know what these ruins used to be but it dates back to time the Philippines was a colony of Spain.

When we got P's passport we decided to take the Pasig River Ferry back. So we walked along Jones Bridge towards Escolta Street where there is a Ferry Terminal. This statue was a gift from the Government of Singapore.

Jones Bridge, Manila...

A view of Pasig river from Jones Bridge....

At the bottom of Jones bridge is the entrance to Chinatown (Binondo)....

The Pasig River Ferry Terminal in Escolta....

We were tired when we got home but happy that mission was accomplished.