seaside divisoria.

a colleague was nice enough to accompany me to a deep dive into the streets of divisoria because i cannot be satisfied until i have achieved an all-out seaside style for my place.

my shopping list included:

• boat paddles
• white / blue hammock
• miniature lighthouses
• miniature sailboat

we parked my car at robinson's place manila and took a cab to the "other end" of divisoria. by other end, i mean the end where the sights and smells are more extreme.

recto street (lonelyplanet)

the photo above was taken on a monday morning. we went there on a saturday afternoon. needless to say, it felt like we were countless little ants swarming all over the street. i actually brought my SLR thinking that i could capture some interesting shots but i underestimated the crowd and hyperactivity. i wasn't even able to take the camera out of the bag.

map of divisoria (stoicpassion)

we walked through what felt like the entire recto street, looking for juan luna street (where all the fishing supply stores are). when we finally found it, i asked just about every store if they had boat paddles (the hammock was an easy find).

white hammock for php200 (i know this could be implemented better, but i need ideas)


i seriously need to get rid of those old blinds.

after a few hours and a LOT of walking, sweat, frustration and tagalog (my colleague and i made a bet to see who could survive without speaking in english - i lost.), we finally found wooden boat paddles back at juan luna street. the irony is... this is where we essentially started, except it was on the OPPOSITE side of the street, where we failed to look.

wooden boat paddles for php200 each

my next steps:

1. smoothen the boat paddles with sandpaper
2. apply varnish
3. distress the boat paddles to achieve an antique/vintage look
4. apply another coat of varnish

"it breaks my heart when something so new is made to look old" - J.

thank you albet, for being the driver, tour guide, and kargador. not to mention, for tolerating the questioning stares you got at robinson's manila when you were carrying the boat paddles.