I felt nostalgic reading your post, it reminded me of youth taking the train to school. Walking and taking the MRT and LRT are excellent ways to experience Manila and its art culture. It is tiring. It's also the vibe of the city where energy levels get depleted easily. Weirdly enough, it's also a place that inspires action influenced by busy city folks who have a full task list to achieve during the day.

Yes, you're right, Carriedo station is the closest to Binondo and China Town. I'm glad you visited Escolta's Hub and shared it with us. I have never been. It's cool that in the last decades, most of the once-abandoned ruins of heritage buildings have been restored including Metropolitan Theater and Luneta Hotel. Did you get to try the food crawl?