November 20, 2021 – With the success of the EG Walking Challenge in the Sydney team, the Manila team also had our own version of the initiative. EG created this activity for the employees to stay connected and break the monotony of work from home, and also to have a fresh perspective. We can either choose Manila’s Biking or the Walking Challenge (this one could be virtual, if not comfortable with the face-to-face interaction), and some of us chose the former.

Anyway, our group was booked to this 2.5-hour Bambike Ecotour in Intramuros. We explored the walled city to visit various historical and cultural landmarks. We had our local tour guide who shared with us the stories behind the famous sites. So we were 7 in the group, and what was funny and cool was that our group members were all from different teams. And it was nice because it felt like we’ve known each other for a long time already. I was honestly excited about this activity. It had been soooooo long since I had a proper social interaction that was not my family. I was also excited to use again my film camera! Soooo yes, I just got my film results yesterday, hence, this almost-4-month-late post.

By the way, I also had a hard time commuting to our meet-up place in Manila. I was not used to going out that I forgot where’s where. And my 5-year-old rubber shoes also gave up on me. The sole totally just came off, but thankfully, it was at the end of our tour. I had to buy a new pair. I was not ready to spend too much that day, but maybe it was a sign from the universe that I needed to buy a new one. Oh well.

We also went to Wai Ying Fastfood for lunch. They served authentic Cantonese cuisine in the heart of Chinatown, Binondo. And after our lunch, half of the group had to go, and the rest decided to continue hanging out. I, too, decided to come. We went to The Beech bar and enjoyed the rest of the day. Definitely had a great time!

We actually had tons of photos on our phones, but will just share the ones I took using my film cam. These photos were taken using my Canon AE-1 Program. I used Rollei Crossbird 200. I already used the same film stock before but using Olympus Pen EE-3 (Half-frame camera), and both produced this oldies sepia tone. I was just disappointed with the results. Mostly they were overexposed, and I’m not sure why it seems so blurry. I mean the details of our faces were not that sharp. Maybe it’s the film? Or was it my camera? Ugh, idk. But yes, the tone of the film stock used were kind of timely! It matched the places we visited. ٩(＾◡＾)۶