Rediscovering Rizal Park

I  thought I have seen everything that Rizal Park has to offer so I often would take it for granted whenever I would tour some visitors around Manila.  However, this day, I saw some new additions that are worth noting.  For those who have not been to this area of Manila (probably hiding under some big rocks, or preferred traveling overseas than locally)  it might interest you that some historical figures' busts were added along the area where the fountain is.   I only have seen and recognized one really closely, Pantaleon Villegas, so I think this new feature is a history refresher course.  Pantaleon Villegas is Leon Kilat and he led the revolution in Cebu, which was not really successful because, as you guessed it, a betrayal from one of his assistants.    There are others still who have made it to our history books, but some sadly sounded obscure to me, so I definitely would suggest to history teachers to take school kids and conduct history classes here.

History classes would be more exciting if students would ride this jeepney-train that goes around the main area of the park (where Rizal's monument is) especially during rainy and sunny days.  One round on board this transpo is P50 for adults and P30 for kids.  The entire trip was around 15-20 minutes, a bit over-charged but a big break after walking from Quirino Grandstand or from the National Museum.     I think this is a great addition to the park's services.

I noted the cleaner surrounding, the absence of plastic, paper, and what-have-you around the park today, so I think the park administrators deserve a big congratulations.  Some areas are still undergoing renovations, like the Japanese Garden, which I really like visiting because of the different mood that sets in whenever I go in.  I always get in a meditation mode inside the well-manicured leaves and lawn.