I welcomed the start of the Year of the Horse in Binondo, Manila’s Chinatown. I spent my stay there checking out Chinese stores and restaurants. Of course, I also roam around the streets of Binondo to watch lion and dragon dancers.

And I found the best lion dancers there in Manila’s Chinatown.

I saw a bunch of kids playing around Binondo with their makeshift lion dance costume. They were doing their own version of the lion dance in the costume that they made out of whatever materials they could get their hands on.

I only met Paolo, 9, and Benedict, 8, in Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz, just across Binondo Church. But throughout my stay in the area, I saw more kids doing the same. Some kids were just too shy to speak with me.

They weren’t performing for money, really. They were doing it to have fun. Simple joys, indeed.

I was really amazed by their ingenuity. And I wouldn’t forget about these kids.