Meralco Liwanag Park

Think about thousands of fairy lights softly twinkling before your eyes, a choo-choo train to carry you around a Christmas village and a bucketful of smiles on everyone's faces. It was as if a magic wand waved us to a place of lights and cheer. I hate to disappoint but we didn't get to go to the Great Hall at Hogwarts; however, it was somewhere equally as magical and charming as that called the Meralco Liwanag Park!

Meralco stands for Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company and is the largest electric distribution utility in the Philippines. The year 2014 marks it's 111th year of operation. The Liwanag Park is actually a product of the “Maliwanag ang Pasko” project through the One Meralco Foundation. It is situated in the Meralco Compound in Ortigas. Every year, the company opens its doors to the public as it basks and illuminates everyone with light, magic and holiday cheer. Oh and did I forget to mention that it's free? Yes, you don't have to pay anything to enter the park. Simply bring any valid ID which you will exchange with a visitor's pass to gain access within the compound. You will then be greeted with a pathway filled with twinkling bliss.

Even the building's facade is basked in brightness!

"Maliwanag" in Filipino literally translates to "bright". Not only were there thousands of fairy lights, hundreds of lanterns lined up the area too!

This nativity scene was also a sight to behold. I did a little research and apparently no artist was commissioned to do these copper human installations. The design came from Marketing and were executed by their Maintenance team. Cool huh?

A train happens to run around a tall Christmas tree within the compound and is one of the main attractions of the park. You'd have to line up and wait for your turn which isn't a big deal. It only calls for a few pictorials for our giddy and goofy family.

We happen to find Little Drummer Boy within the area too! Pa rum pa pum pum! ♫♪♪

But alas, Little Drummer Boy happens to be not so little after all. Ha!

There were loads of cutesy village houses spread across the train station area too. Dobby... Frodo... are you guys in there?

The Liwanag Park also houses a "tiange" or bazaar area where you can find various items from souvenirs to traditional Filipino delicacies such as the bibingka and puto bumbong. Yum! So if you're up for thousands of fairy lights, a train ride, delicious food and all things Christmas-y then you have to visit the Meralco Liwanag Park in the Ortigas Meralco Compound. It's a must for your Manila holiday bucket list. Truly, Christmas waves a magic wand over this world and behold everything is softer and more beautiful. 

(Photos by me and my uncle Bob of Bob Gan Ferrer Fotografia)