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CALAMBA |
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| The small town of CALAMBA , built in Spanish colonial style, with a
pleasant square in front of a town hall and a church, is at the end of
the South Luzon Expressway, about an hour from the southern outskirts of
Manila. Its main attraction - in fact its only attraction - is that it
was the birthplace on 19 June 1861 of national hero Jose Rizal . The
house he was born in is a typical nineteenth-century Philippine family
home, with floors of narra wood and windows made from capiz shell. It
has now been turned into a memorial and museum (Tues-Sun 8am-noon &
1-5pm; P20). Many of Rizal's old belongings are here, including the
clothes he was christened in and a suit he wore as a young man. It's
incredible to see from his clothes how diminutive he was: a little over
five feet. To get to Calamba from Manila catch a BLTB bus in Pasay
marked for Santa Cruz. From Batangas City some buses going back to
Manila pass through Calamba. From Pagsanjan, Manila-bound buses take an
hour to reach Calamba. |
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