Marikina City For A Weekend Short Drive
Joseph Guerrero in Travel
Sep 01, 2019 • 3 min Read
Minabuti po ng Ang Pinoy na ipaki-bahagi ang mga lugar dito saatin na sa aming pananaw kaluluguran nyong pasyalan o kaya naman di kayo mapahiyang erekomenda sa mga kakilala at hindi masakit sa bulsa.
Ang Pinoy will periodically come up with some sort of a ‘go-to list’ to assist people who may wish to find a different place to go. Moreover, we identify the distinguishing attributes of a given location to assure the readers that they will not just be ‘plunging into’ a given place without foreknowledge of what they will be getting into.
The provinces are the traditional getaways among our circles of friends. During long weekends, friends would readily talk about quick drives to Baguio or Sagada and for some who enjoy long drives may venture to Ilocos Provinces for the northern areas. The frequented places in the south are of course Tagaytay City, areas in Laguna and Quezon Provinces albeit in rare four-day weekends Calaguas Island in the Bicol Region is a viable destination aside from the traditional places in the other Bicol Provinces.
We thought of looking for a Metro Manila destination to just lazily drive to or through on a regular weekend in an instance that people may decide to veer away from their regular weekend thaws. Definitely almost all of the cities have their respective ritzy and glitzy places that are surely expensive but for now, we prefer a cozy and homey place to go.
Marikina City was better known as the shoe capital when the country’s shoe industry was still competitive enough. Marikina’s shoe industry may have waned from its previous peak but its resilience as a vibrant community made it better than what it was before. This is the only city within Metro Manila that you will not have to worry of being sucked-in to some unforeseen dead-end road or parked vehicles tightly barricading weeny streets with matching topless menacing guys ogling at your predicament. This is a community that signifies orderliness by the residents’ common desire rather than flaunted threats by some persons in authority. Drive around or through the city without the company of Ms. Waze and you will be pleasantly surprised that vehicles move in clear directions. The narrow streets are made into one-way traffic while parked vehicles occupy just one side of the street. The vehicular traffic was designed and managed to ensure that we need not look for and click a ‘help’ button. We also noted, while driving, that pedestrians use the pedestrian lanes and sidewalks rather than spilling on the streets. This is a place where driving can be relaxing. The roads and streets are noticeably clean and street sweepers noticeably ensuring the cleanliness of the streets even on weekends. It is understood that Marikina City has an effectively functional waste management system.
There are several ‘food trucks’ in several locations that serve good and reasonably priced foods. The kind of places that people will feel comfortable even in the most relaxing attire. Aside from these ‘food trucks’, Marikina provides from homey to romantic dining places in several locations. It is those kinds of places that evoke warmth and friendliness. The foods in these places range from moms’ cooking to some foreign cuisines. It is said with confidence that, value for money, prices are so reasonable.
Visitors could easily find some parking spots near the Marikina River Park and do some lazy walks. Marikina River is not perfectly litter free but definitely not thrash filled compared with other water tributaries in Metro Manila areas. As you walk by, the efforts to maintain the cleanliness of the Marikina River is easily observable.
The comfort and orderliness of Marikina City can be compared with some gated communities. The difference though is that it is a community by the public that is simply clean and orderly.
