Binondo or the Chinatown of Manila is very lively at night, especially the streets near the Binondo church. You will find calesas (horse carriage), decorated pedicabs and jeepneys, food vendors selling varieties of snacks on the streets and even a roadside karaoke station. I was shooting with my Leica M9 and Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.2 ASPH V2 that night. A great lens for low light. That f/1.2 can suck in lots of lights.
According to Wikipedia, Binondo was established in 1594 during the Spanish era and it is now the oldest Chinatown in the world. The Spanish Dominican fathers made Binondo their parish and succeeded in converting many of the residents to Catholicism. The Binondo church, also known as Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, was built in 1596. One of its altar boys, Lorenzo Ruiz, who died in 1637 was canonized in 1987 to become the first Filipino Saint.
You can see part of the church in the photo below.
Food vendors on the street of Binondo. Do you see that Crispy Chicken Skin? Yummy! 🙂
Pedicabs waiting for passengers.
Taking jeepney home.
And finally, Filipinos love to sing. They have great love for music, including this man who was singing at the roadside karaoke station.
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