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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 »

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 »

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 »

It’s officially summertime. It’s going to be a very hot Philippine summer full of fun, sand and sun. It’s time to take time off from work or school, and relax even for a while. But before you go invading the resorts and hotels for the anticipated summer vacation with your family and friends, you need to go through the hassle of preparing, making travel plans, booking and reservation. Here are some unsolicited reminders: Continue Reading »

There are a number of factors when planning a vacation. Others who want a more relaxed and not-so-crowded vacation would want to have it when others are not on vacation. One of the factors to consider, therefore, is the date of holidays, primarily on account of the “holiday economics” in the form of long weekends (on the other hand, it would be handy to have the list for those who may want to know what are the expected long weekends). Continue Reading »

This site caters to everyone, Filipinos and foreigners alike. There are topics, such as this one, that would seem weird to Filipinos because they’re supposed to know all about the Philippines. Still, this site is also intended for foreigners to get to know, and visit, the Philippines. This is the reason why, aside from the usual travel updates, we post articles to help foreigners to better understand Philippine culture and society. This time, let’s discuss the basic structure of the Philippine government. Continue Reading »

Getting up early in the morning for an out-of-town hearing is something I look forward to. Well, not particularly the getting-up-real-early part, but the thought of the out-of-town trip. It’s always a welcome therapy. Continue Reading »

(Let’s call this a tip on Philippine names. If you’re a foreigner and it’s your first time to visit the Philippines, you may encounter certain “unusual” names. This is captured by Matthew Sutherland, a British expatriate, whose article circulated by email some years back. The article below is written by Mr. Sutherland.) Continue Reading »

If you’re planning to travel to the Philippines, and we hope you are, there may be certain helpful information that you might want to know about this archipelagic nation composed of 7,107 islands. We shall be discussing these tips and reminders in this category from time to time. Continue Reading »

If you’re travelling to the Philippines, you’ll definitely come across the terms probinsiya and probinsiyano. Probinsiya is defined as a “part of a country at a distance from the capital; a big regional division of a country” (see Tagalog Dictionary). It’s equivalent to the Filipino term lalawigan. A probinsiyano, on the other hand, is someone from the probinsiya. Continue Reading »

I’ve read an article about taking vacation the slow way. Ordinarily, we would cram our vacations by seeing so many places in a short span of time. The other way of doing it, according to the article, is to take the slow lane:

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a) Spend your vacation, your dollars, in our Philippines

It is understandable for our OFWs, balikbayans and Pinoy expats to spend vacation in other countries. The world is truly beautiful and majestic. But please do spend some of your vacation, and some of your dollars, in our Philippines. Every dollar that you bring into our country will help build our Philippines. It will help our tourism industry. It will mean more sales and more jobs for our local industries. It will mean an increase in our country’s international dollar reserves. It will help stabilize the Peso. And ultimately, it will help stabilize our economy. Continue Reading »