• The Guide

    The Guide To Mass Rail Transit Names

    Over the years of the Urban Roamer, I’ve come to realize that there are things pertaining to urban life, the ins and outs, the ways things go here n the Manila metropolitan landscape that many are unaware of. Thus, I have decided to set up another semi-regular feature on this site which I call “The Guide.” Think of it as a handy reference  of sorts of what you need to know about how the city works when it comes to some aspects of its urban landscape, all its quirks included. The first I am going to tackle here in “The Guide” is a subject close to and has long been…

  • The Guide

    the Urban Roamer’s updated ePassport guide

    In case you have not heard, some significant developments came up since my last post “the Urban Roamer’s ePassport guide.” First significant development is the good news that the ePassport is now available even for first-time passport applicants. The catch is though if you’re looking to get just the more affordable machine-readable passport, (MRP)  sorry to say that the DFA has ceased issuing MRP’s since early this year. That leaves you with no choice but to shell more money to spend the more expensive, yet most technologically advanced ePassport.

  • The Guide

    The Urban Roamer’s ePassport Guide

    In case you haven’t heard (or if you were too busy/distracted with the reemergence of Cory magic at that time) the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs launched back in August 2009 the ePassport, a biometrics-based paper-electronic passport which is considered to be most advanced type of passport being adapted by many countries around the world. With advanced recognition features embedded in a thin electronic microchip located within the passport, it was specifically designed to be forgery-proof in the wake of terrorism threats in recent years. While my old passport does not expire yet for another couple of years, looking at that green passport with those hand-written entries makes the bearer…