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S M A R T T R A V E L
who’s
Mike C. Aquino tracks down
three high-profile city guides
responsible for leading tourists and
locals alike to experience Manila
and Cebu with fresh eyes, open
hearts and critical minds
Frequent visitors
may think they
know a place like the back of their
hand. Intramuros brings up images
of walls, stone churches and
squatters; Binondo with its esteros,
banks and Chinese food; and Cebu
City rings in mangoes, guitars and
the busy markets of downtown
Colon. Even long-time locals can
be lulled into a false sense of
familiarity. These are the ones who
tend to express shock after going
through a single well-conceived
walking tour, as that’s when they
realize how out of their depth
they are. Manila’s Carlos Celdran
and Ivan Man Dy, and Cebu’s Ka
Bino Guerrero are not as much
tour guides as they are agents of
perceptual change, walking you
through your own preconceptions of
a place and smashing them apart.
talking
Look
