Take Me Away! A Sweet Escape to Arroceros Forest Park.

Drained after making a thesis? Worn-out after a particularly long week from school? Don’t you just want to hop on a bus or get on a plane and get away from everything? And for one second in your absolutely chaotic life to just… relax?

This is obviously not an easy task. As a student, I have to find a place, a retreat, where I will be able to relax and enjoy the surroundings without making too much dent on my savings. An example of such place is the Arroceros Forest Park.

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Arroceros Forest Park, located right outside the LRT Central Station, is like an oasis at the middle of a desert. It is situated near SM Manila and is within walking distance from many universities. It is open from 8am to 5pm only, and is absolutely free. The entrance to the park is actually easy enough to find.

The first things you see when you enter are trees… a lot of trees. Trees, so full and thick, line up the pathways that it almost feels like you are standing in a forest. In fact, you might actually forget that on the other side of the fence is a highway full of cars going by. Lush greenery, just the sight of the pathway would relax you and make you nostalgic. The only sound you’ll hear are the loud chirping of the birds and the sounds made by many insects. I find the sounds, even the ones from the insects, oddly relaxing.

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If you enter deep into the trees, you’ll find benches scattered throughout the property. I found that this park is not the sort of place where you take your family and have a picnic, or ride bicycles around with your friends. It was more of a place where you go alone to think, or to read or write, or whatever things you enjoy to do on your own. The park is big enough and actually not too famous so you’ll only find a few other souls in there. It is located right smack in the middle of a busy city, an oasis with actual trees and offers peace that is just hard to find in an urban area.

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