El Hogar or Mosquito Central

We're out of Tondo and moving into Quiapo and Binondo tomorrow. I love the Quiapo markets thanks to walking around with Carlos there all the time. That's going to be exciting for sure.

Then there's El Hogar, that beautifully decrepit old building on the banks of the Pasig River. It was built in 1911 and survived World War II. Mateo and Francois love the building and I do too but it's very musty and dank and there's a gazillion mosquitoes. Of course it will seem like the Shangri-la compared to Smokey.



This building has gorgeous bones.


The staircase is so elegant.

Not a lot of tenants, as you can imagine.


It's also a bit creepy.

Hmm. I'm bringing sandalwood incense cones and lots of organic anti-mosquito oil.