With Manila’s temperature hovering in the mid-60s Fahrenheit lately, posting this entry today may suggest wrong timing. Nonetheless, thought I’d better post it now instead of waiting another month or two before doing so.

This picture of a reproduction of a 19th-century ice box was taken inside Casa Manila in Intramuros. Although the museum’s no picture taking policy was strictly enforced on that particular day as in every time it is open, through a friendly request, one of the security guards allowed me to take a quick shot of it while no one else was around.

Many of you may already know about this, but it was only last year when I first learned from Carlos Celdran — while taking his Intramuros walking tour — that blocks of ice used to be exported to Manila from Boston. Smaller chunks of which would then be delivered house-to-house wrapped in cloth or rice husks on a horse-drawn cart. A typically-affluent household back then spent about a thousand pesos a month to get a daily delivery.

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