City on Foot: Pinaywife Venturing to Quiapo, Manila

I heard a lot about Quiapo from my elders.. My aunts used to go to church there and my cousins who are dvd and electronic freaks are always trooping to this old Manila downtown. This place is famed for the Black Nazarene Church, Plaza Miranda, bicycle stores, electronics and really great native handicrafts.

My itchy feet has always been wanting to explore Quiapo for ages and discover if there is more to this place than the fortune tellers and vendors selling herbal medicines along the street. The first time I ventured to this place, truthfully, I was more than a little scared. Quiapo is known for some pickpockets and snatchers as well as pirated Dvd's, softwares, mp3's and pornographic videos. This translates to - in my mind - frequent police raids. Now who in their right minds would want to be in the middle of raids? I remember a friend told me once, she was "dvd shopping" and there was a police raid, the owner of the shop she was purchasing from hurriedly closed the door trapping her inside for a couple of hours...:(

That didn't deter me though.. A friend told me in Quiapo you can find the best places to buy fashion jewelry making materials, and photography equipments and I was determined to check out the place. I am really into fashion-jewelry making and my husband is a photo-gadget freak so I could contain myself.

The best place to go there if you intend to shop is from Mondays to Thursdays and Saturday. Friday, its a bit crowded because Black Nazarene Mass every Friday is really jam-packed. Sundays also is a bit crowded and a lot of stores are not open.

This will be a series of posts since I'll be giving details of each Quiapo nook I visit and let me tell you, I found lots of interesting things there. Before I go on, let me just give some tips:

1. Have a budget and stick to it. It would help if you have smaller bills. There are loads of things you can buy from there and you can easily exceed your budget and this is not the best place to withdraw from ATM's (although there are plenty of ATM's around..)
2. Be aware of your surroundings and always take hold of your belongings.
3. When buying along the street, prices are not fixed so haggle for all you're worth.
4. Canvass first before making purchase. Make rounds first before settling on the seller offering the best price.
   
5. Dress simply meaning "no-frills" clothing will be best. Best to go also on sneakers or slip-ons.
6. Stick to the main roads. Stay where there are most people to avoid getting mugged.

First stop: VILLALOBOS ST. If you're taking public transportation, get down along Quezon Boulevard, in front of Plaza Miranda. Villalobos St. is the street right across the facade of Quiapo Church. This is my favorite street and this is really the " every crafter's haven".

Along Villalobos, you'll find sewing and crafting stores selling threads, cross-stitching and sewing supplies even framing services. For beading enthusiasts and fashion jewelry makers or even retailers, check out Sophie's, Buting-ting, and of course Wellmanson's shop. Get inside 88 Shopping Center also for freshwater pearls, jewelry boxes, ukay-ukay and more beads.

You will also find Chinabank, Unionbank, and Philtrust banks on Villalobos. Aside from shops and banks, this street is also home for street vendors, selling dining, kitchen and cleaning stuff. Find fresh and really cheap fruits and vegetables here. I once bought 5 pcs medium sized carrots here for only P15! Smoked and dried fish from Cavite are also sold along the street. Try the smoked boneless bangus, its absolutely yummy.

Our next stop would be Echague and let's explore Arlegui and Hidalgo Sts.. watch out for my next posts...

Read: Pinaywife Venturing to Quiapo, Manila Part 2