Sea of HaPENess*

After postponing it for several weeks, I was finally off to Binondo one bright, sunny, refreshing Saturday. Wee!

Like most of my Saturday trips, I started late, because, there was a heavy downpour just before I was about to leave the house, and... because I woke up late. Gah. By the time I got to Sucat, traffic was moving very, very slow, and I had to endure the loud snoring noise of someone across me from my bus seat. Ew. But I still made it to Taft before 1pm. Great.

I got on a jeepney going to Divisoria, and though the ride took longer, I still enjoyed the cacophony of sounds, sights, and smells that is so Manila. Cosmos Bazaar, the store which I will visit, is just across Binondo Church, also known as the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz.

The store was easy to find because of its proximity to Binondo Church, and when the jeepney driver told me it's my stop, I almost jumped off. I only needed to cross the street and voila! Cosmos Bazaar is right in front of me. Woo-hoo!!!

Once inside the store, I stood for a moment in wonder and awe. I mean it. Can anyone blame me? Cosmos Bazaar is a literal pen store! A big Pilot store!!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!! I've never seen so many Pilot pens like that. And the store reminded me of those Tokyo stationery shops I've seen in so many internet photos.

I browsed and peeked through the long cabinets and saw familiar pens, old and new to my eyes. Pilot ballpoints, G2s, Hi-Tec Cs, Frixions, and the new Coleto are just among the pens filling up the long cabinets. I was brought to a smaller stand alone cabinet in the middle of the store by one of their clerks, and there, right before my eyes, separated only by glass, are plastic-wrapped Pilot 78G pens. My jaw almost dropped when I saw them.


The 78G pens at Cosmos Bazaar were available in both fine and medium nibs, but the medium pens were available only in black, green, and teal barrels. No red for me. So I got all the three, since the store gave me a big discount off the regular price. I also got myself a green Hi-Tec C 0.4mm which is hard to get elsewhere. After an hour, (and several hundred pesos poorer), I was on my way out to scour the other stores in the area. My only regret though, is not having bought the Coleto, because Cosmos have all the available refills, and these are hard to find elsewhere. Then again, I still have a reason to visit the store again.

Here are some photos inside Cosmos Bazaar.

So many pens! My pen friend Mona Caccam is right. This is truly a sea of *haPENess.