A rainy day isn’t the best time to visit the place, but if you’ve never heard of Dangwa – the flower market in Sampaloc – you cannot yet consider yourself a real “Manilenyo”. It is home to over fifty flower vendors, and a haven to the diverse daily crowd of visitors looking for the cheapest blooms to fit the occasion.
I’d be foolish to suppose myself a connoisseur in floral affairs, but when my friend, an event organizer, declared that the weekday night wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the brightest spot in Dos Castillas' most famous market, I had to oblige. And so should you.
Bring a camera if you wish (the colors will simply astound you), and take the liberty of posing beside remarkably cheap chrysanthemums, the price of which you may still haggle with the vendor. To my knowledge, all the shops are open 24-7. If you’re running on a really tight budget for those imported tulips, a trip to Dangwa is also your best bet. Dangwa’s flowers are, by nature, completely the opposite of today’s gasoline: there’s always a great supply; it’s affordable even in high demand; and the pricing won’t make you think twice.
For a guy like me, Dangwa comes in handy during the most sudden of dates. Indeed, it's the ultimate florists' corner, the romantics' favorite pit stop, that smells of La Trinidad, Davao, Cotabato, Thailand, Holland, and Ecuador; of the petals and twigs and pleasantnesses of elsewhere. But what makes Dangwa truly unique is that it represents what Manila is all about: creativity, color, cut-price commodities, and cherished traditions. Oh, and of course, the familiar chatter of Pinoy customers asking for “tawad, tawad po, wala bang tawad?”
For a guy like me, Dangwa comes in handy during the most sudden of dates. Indeed, it's the ultimate florists' corner, the romantics' favorite pit stop, that smells of La Trinidad, Davao, Cotabato, Thailand, Holland, and Ecuador; of the petals and twigs and pleasantnesses of elsewhere. But what makes Dangwa truly unique is that it represents what Manila is all about: creativity, color, cut-price commodities, and cherished traditions. Oh, and of course, the familiar chatter of Pinoy customers asking for “tawad, tawad po, wala bang tawad?”
