Jun 29 2008
The robe of Diaz has the initial DDD, which stands for the Dangerous David Diaz. However, he looked anything but dangerous in his WBC lightweight championship defense against the Philippines’ Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. In this championship fight dubbed “Lethal Combination,” it was Pacquiao that clearly threw the lethal combinations. Continue Reading »
Jun 23 2008
A typhoon, somewhere else in the world, is also called a storm, cyclone or hurricane. No matter how it is called or how it is characterized, I’m confident that you don’t want a typhoon if you’re planning to go on a vacation to the Philippines. You don’t want canceled flights and delayed travel schedules because of the weather. However, regardless of your preference and as sure as the sun rises, typhoons pass through the Philippines. It’s just a matter of how many typhoons pass in a year and how strong each typhoon is. Yesterday, typhoon “Frank” (international code name, “Fengshen“) was in town (read more about it here or here). Continue Reading »
Jun 22 2008
When I was just starting to work in the Manila area, I was culture shocked. I grew up in Quezon City and studied there all my life so I am used to its residential and more or less safe atmosphere. Also, having worked in Makati for four years, I was used to its towering buildings and clean sidewalks, and my idea of relaxation from work was having coffee at Starbucks and spending hours inside Powerbooks which was a good fifteen minute-walk from my previous office. So imagine my disgust when I realized that one of the things I had to get used to when I started working in Manila, aside from the pollution and the extreme difficulty of getting a cab, was the scarcity of a good bookstore in the area. Continue Reading »
Jun 11 2008
A prince is stately and gold is one of the most expensive metals, as is. Putting the two together may conjure an image of something expensive and stately, but as they say, never judge a book by its cover, er, name?. The Golden Prince Hotel is not one of the more expensive hotel in Cebu City, although it’s also not the most grand like, say, Shangri-La Mactan. Continue Reading »
May 26 2008
Time flies really fast. Standing in front of Splash Island, I smiled at the thought that the first time I was here, I was still single and in school. I’ve been back here so many times, but today is different. Today, I’m taking my two-year old son to this wonderful waterworld. Children naturally love playing in water and I thought my son would enjoy this oasis, which is a few kilometers away from the concrete Metro Manila jungle. When it comes to water fun, I must say the Splash Island is one of the best in the Philippines today. Continue Reading »
May 18 2008
The rain came midway our trip to Leisure Dive Resort. It was still raining when we arrived in this Batangas beach resort on Friday night. It was really a bad timing for Typhoon Cosme to enter the Philippine area of jurisdiction this weekend. I mean, c’mon, we’ve planned the outing for more than a month and, besides, May is still summer. We should pass a law banning typhoons, at least for the summer season (that sounds like daydreaming, but what would you do with rain and wind messing up your weekend vacation?). The good thing, however, is that it stopped raining the next day, Saturday. The sun came out and the waves toned down, allowing us to enjoy the seawater. By the way, when I said the waves “toned down,” here’s how it looked like: Continue Reading »
May 12 2008
The fiesta, while not a uniquely Filipino tradition, is one of the main cultural and religious events in the Philippines. The celebration of fiesta, which means feast, is one of the influences of Spain that has taken root in the Philippines. Each barangay has a fiesta, which probably holds true for most municipalities and cities (refer to the Philippine political subdivisions). The festivities mostly coincide with the day of the Patron Saint of a particular place, although it’s on the charter day in some places. Here are the more famous fiesta celebrations (if there are others that you believe should be included in the list, please let us know through the comment section below): Continue Reading »
May 11 2008
Let me guess, you stumbled on this site looking for relevant information about vacation spots in the Philippines. Or maybe you followed a link. Or maybe…well, whatever the reason why you’re here, there’s something helpful that you could do to promote the wonders of the Philippines. It’s so simple — since you have an internet access (otherwise, you won’t be reading this post), just vote for the Philippine wonders as nominees for the New 7 Wonder of Nature. Here’s how. Continue Reading »
May 11 2008
Clear waters are normal in the province way back then. A stream ran beside our old house, for instance. With clear and clean water, we could wash plates in that stream if we choose to. It was not too deep so we could go fishing and take a swim. It’s now gone, killed by overpopulation and pollution. No, not just the fish, but the stream itself. Continue Reading »
May 05 2008
This one should come easy. I mean, Rizal Park is in honor of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, and we’ve studied about him and his life since elementary. So, writing about this Philippine landmark should be easy. Continue Reading »
May 03 2008
In every place you go in the Philippines, there’s bound to be a food specialty closely associated with that place. Otap and lechon of Cebu. Durian of Davao. Piyaya of Iloilo. Buko Pie on the way from Tagaytay. Binagol and moron from Tacloban. Ube jam from Baguio. Balut of Pateros. The list is endless. These food and delicacies immediately jump off your taste buds when those places are mentioned. Continue Reading »
May 01 2008
The Filipino word “halo” means “mix” in English, so if we’re to be literal about it, “halo-halo” means “mix-mix”. But just the interplay of the individual, completely distinguishable ingredients of halo-halo, it’s hardly possible to be literal about this food. The final product — the halo-halo — is way greater than the sum of all its ingredients. It’s like carbon to diamond. Continue Reading »
Apr 27 2008
The Manila Ocean Park is a seaworld, where kids and adults are treated with the sights of different marine animals (think of Ark Avilon Zoo, but all sea creatures). When you hear “seaworld,” you think of Seaworld in Orlando, Ocean Park in Hongkong and, in the Philippines, Ocean Adventure in Subic. Unlike those destinations, however, Manila Ocean Park is located in the heart of Metro Manila, so it should be easily accessible (rates are P400 for adults and P350 for kids). And unlike those destinations, the Manila Ocean Park has no shows like the whale and sea lion shows (although these shows may come later, as the Manila Ocean Park is still unfinished). There’s something, however, that makes up for that. Continue Reading »
Mar 30 2008
Baguio City, which is perched on high elevation, is known as the “Summer Capital” of the Philippines because of its cold weather. The original blueprint of the city was made by American architect Daniel Burnham (which is the reason why the main park at the heart of the city is known as Burnham Park). It’s also known as the “City of Pines” because, well, pine trees dominate the landscape. It’s usually enough for me to stay in the hotel and just relax when I go there, but if you want to go around, here are some observations. Continue Reading »