Before Malacañan Palace was featured on National Geographic Channel, I've already been fascinated by it---its history, the people who lived in it, and of course, its architecture and interior design. I've always dreamed about living like royalty and that's probably the reason why I'm a super fan of Imelda Marcos. She and her family lived in the original presidential residence, now Kalayaan Hall, for twenty years and that fact drove me even more to realize my dream of entering the palace doors, walking on its pavements, touching its walls, and just be amazed by its spectacle and splendor and grandeur! I may not be a royalty in real life, but being under the roof of Malacañan made me feel like one.
During the tour, one of the visitors asked where the name Malacañan came from. I was so excited to answer, but I didn't want to overpower our very warm, smiley, and quite good-looking tour guide! Hahaha :-D But the name came from three words "may lakan diyan" which means "there is a noble man there." Lakan meaning nobleman during the olden times! The palace was originally owned by my great great great great great grandfather (in my dreams) Don Luis Rocha in 1750 as a summer house along Pasig River. It was bought by the state in 1825 as the summer residence of the Spanish Governor-General and eventually became the residence of the Philippine presidents though not all of them!
Due to tight security, which wasn't so tight at all :-D, I wasn't able to take that much photos. For every group, only one camera should be used so I had to hide my iPhone from time to time as we only declared my buddy's camera for the tour. For this blogtry, I am only posting photos of my favorite spots in the palace though there should be a lot more. My buddy and I didn't have enough time to transfer photos too because we needed to head to the airport! :-(
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| Taking photos outside of the palace isn't allowed. I didn't know that yet when this photo of the Kalayaan Hall was taken while we were waiting for our tour to start. This hall is the old executive building and now he oldest part of the palace. |
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| We were ushered by security to this press room of the palace, which is still being used by the current president when he faces the media for questions about certain issues. And here I am trying to put myself in the president's shoes. |
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| This window just took me years back. I'm yearning so much of the past. |
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| There are probably four or five rooms in the palace with grand chandeliers like that. I lost count of them as I was so engrossed and enthralled by this lighting beauty, which was worth one million dollars in 1939. How much do you think is its worth now? |
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| It's obvious that this meeting room is my favorite as I took loads of photos of it. It's just so elegant with the furniture, curtains, wooden floor, carved walls, and romantic lighting fixtures. This room is now called The Quirino Council of State Room, named in honor of the late president Elpidio Quirino. |
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| Here's where I got scolded again because I didn't know taking photos wasn't allowed here again. I had to run back inside and assured the guard I deleted the photos, but of course I didn't. I know deep inside my heart I'm not going to do something to hurt the building and president so I kept the photos. :-D |
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| Look how grand that is! |
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| There's a room in the palace dedicated to the First Ladies of the country. I looked at their photos, but of course, I was all about Imelda. This is a statue of Imelda donated by the Steel Butterfly herself. |
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| The Main Hall---The Northeast and Southeast Galleries. When this was built, the second floor of the original structure used to have eight bedrooms and during the time of the Marcoses, this area was converted into a ballroom. |
Book your own tour now. Check the last photo below for a few reminders. You can also check some pieces of information there on how you can book your trip---contact numbers, email address, physical address, etc! Another dream come true for me. I've visited the "Imelda Buildings" early this year, but then there's still one that I'm dying to get in. :-D I'm going to book that very soon with my buddy! :-D Hope you enjoyed this tour with me. I'd like to credit @AlexanderTravels of Instagram for some of the photos. Check me out on Twitter and Instagram too @LifeOfRedEye (August 2014)
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| For more information! :-) Just enlarge the photo so you can see the details! |
XoXo,
Red Eye :-)
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