Batang Quiapo

Today I went to Quiapo again. This is already my routine every month since my college days. What exactly am I doing in Quiapo? There are so many things to buy here. Call me weird but yeah this is my opinion. This is where I buy my HD, Dolby, BlueRay DVD - well I am not guilty, I still pay my taxes though. Before I used to buy Cds here, but since I download every mp3s in the internet nowadays, I never got the chance to visit the CD area again. But it's cool because it is a huge building with these mountain-like Cds. Really heaven for music lovers. If I need camera & accessories, Hidalgo Street is camera heaven. It was a pretty interesting place but this is also a the place of snatchers so be careful. It was full of nearly everything you could think of cameras. Some of the shops here are Avenue Photo Supply, Henry's Photo Supply, Watson Photo Shop, 24K, and Mayer Photo. All of their prices are cheaper than the malls. If you want electronics, RAON is the place to be. Of course, there are no originals here but if you're not looking for heavy duty kind of brands but usable, you can consider buying here. My favorite food stop in Quiapo is Pinoy Burger located under Plaza Miranda. I often dropped by in Quiapo Church but never attended any mass because I cannot take the ambiance inside, it's very noisy and I cannot hear the priest. Also, there is a shop near the Church called Butingting atbp & Wellmanson Sewing Notion where I often buy my accessories. I can find almost everything here like headbands, swarovski, beading materials, and fancy jewelries. Optical Shops that have the most cheapest prices for the same quality you can have in shops inside malls like Ideal Vision is also located here. Other things available here are: kitchen and dinning-ware, costume shops and rentals, market place of fruits, vegetables and fish, "magical" stuff for faith healers and witch doctors, clothes for any age type (but I still prefer the diversity of the clothes they have in 168). Quiapo is a very dangerous place for first timers, but for me, if you are cautious and you just never fail to check your bag, you will be OK. That's it! Gotta love Quiapo.