Local Expert
Knox Balbastro
Having grown up outside the Philippines, Knox was raised on a diet of Macaulay Culkin movies, Barbie dreams, and the sounds of MTV. When she returned to the Philippines during her teens, she began to…
Having grown up outside the Philippines, Knox was raised on a diet of Macaulay Culkin movies, Barbie dreams, and the sounds of MTV. When she returned to the Philippines during her teens, she began to seek out a distinctly Pinoy culture. So far, she loves what she’s seeing. Manila for her is a fertile ground for art, music, fashion, and fun. Living in a little known, third world country definitely has its perks. Adventures are affordable and discovery doesn’t come in the usual package.
Her best advice for travellers new to the Philippines is to go out on the streets where faces, traffic, and landscape can create a collage of experiences that’s gritty and real.
Knox is a 24 year-old dreamer who also happens to be an advertising copywriter. She loves to travel and dreams of bag packing throughout the entire Philippine Archipelago. She hopes that through this blog, people from all over the world will find a reason to drop by.
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Kamuning Market: Fabric Paradise
Who would’ve thought I’d spend many a wonderful Saturday mornings making a considerable drive to go to a palengke or a market. The Kamuning market is worth it because it’s not just your usual meat and dry goods market. A good part of it is devoted to fabrics, fabrics, fabrics, and more fabrics. It also has clothing accessories and a slew of sewers. Thus it draws in designers, fashion students, and basically anyone in need of cloth.
When I got to the Kamuning market early yesterday, my seamstress was still putting the finishing touches on a dress I had repaired a week before. So I took the time to marvel at the quiet of the day. I sat down on one of the wooden benches each store has outside. The bench had the rough design of improvisation and the smooth texture achieved only with time. Sitting there, I could hear the reassuring snip snip of scissors, I could feel the steady breeze from an overhead electric fan, and I could see the sewers focused on their sewing machines as the outside world was filled with cars passing, children playing, and mouths chattering. For some reason the scene got me nostalgic for a past not my own. It harked back to an era when clothes weren’t mass produced and readily available. During my grandmother’s time clothes were rarely bought off the rack, they were designed and sewn.
Kamuning makes it possible to relive that time. The bargain prices for fabrics, the abundance of sewers, the accessibility, makes you want to create your own clothes instead of just buying it. For those with a penchant for clothes making, Kamuning with its infinite fabric patterns and textures will be a marvelous way to spend a free day. You'll find the damp disorderly market, a true treasure chest.
(The ride to Kamuning is also worth noting for its great local flavor. Along the way, you’ll pass thrift shops, dress shops, flea markets, antique stores, cafes, eateries, and the quirkiest store signs this side of EDSA)