Fun things to do in Philippines

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Iloilo is located in the western Visayas Region.

Iloilo City is the capital of the province of Iloilo which is a very fast growing modern city. Today it serves as a gateway to tourists heading to other tourist spots of the country like the Guimaras or Boracay.

Iloilo was hailed as the “Province of Festivals” due to its diverse festival celebrations of the city and towns. Iloilo’s popular to its “Dinagyang Festival” celebrated every 4th Sunday of January.

Paraw Regatta is one of the festivals celebrated in Iloilo. The Iloilo Paraw Regatta is the oldest traditional craft event in Asia and the largest sailing event in the Philippines. The activities for the said event are celebrated over a week. Paraw Races are held on Saturday and Sunday. They’re now on their 40th celebration as of this year, 2012.

Iloilo’s Smallville complex is the city’s nightlife spot where people go to have some fun. Coffee shops, KTV Bars & different kinds of restaurants are seen within the area. This place is really new to me since honestly I’m unaware that nightlife in the street exists in a province like Iloilo but lo and behold… Iloilo caught me with a surprise!

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Marinduque is located in the lower part of Luzon. It’s a heart shaped island that’s why it holds the title as the “Heart of the Philippines”. This island consists of 6 municipalities- Boac (capital), Buenavista, Gasan, Mogpong, Santa Cruz and Torrijos. My dad’s from the town of Torrijos which is the farthest municipality when you’ll be coming from Metro Manila.

Due to the thousands of islands in the Philippines, I really find each of these islands amazing- having each of its own culture and traditions. People of Marinduque speak very deep Tagalog and they have their own intonation too like all the provinces in the country- Cebu, Iloilo, etc.

Marinduque is popular of its annual Moriones Festival being celebrated during the Lenten Season. Moriones Festival is locally called “Moryonan” where people in masks and costumes roam the streets and re-enacts the story of Saint Longinus (a blind Roman soldier whose eyesight was restored when Jesus’s blood dropped to his wounded eye then became a believer. It’s a 7 days festival of colorful Roman costumes and painted masks.

Marinduque has a lot more to offer! The white beach, bright blue skies, hospitable people, lush nature and peaceful environment.. what more can you ask for?

I tell you a long trip from Metro Manila is really worth it!
You can choose 2 options in getting here:
OPTION 1: total of 10 hours by land and water trip:
from Metro Manila, take the JAC Liner bus going to Lucena (Kamias terminal in Quezon City) 3-4hrs travel time
From Dalahican Port in Lucena take the ship ride 3-4 hrs travel time
From Cawit or Sta. Cruz Port take the jeepney to the town where you wish to head
1.5-2 hrs travel time

OPTION 2: total of 4-5 hours travel by air and land
From Metro Manila, book online through www.zestair.com.ph, 1.5-2 hrs travel time
From Marinduque Airport (between Gasan and Boac) 1-2hrs travel time

* I really enjoyed taking pictures in this place!!!

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Before my current visit to the Philippines, I had known lttle about the place and deliberately kept it so. I didn't want to have too many preconceptions about the place and wanted to keep an open mind. I had certainly read plenty of VT tips to get an idea of relative prices etc. and had stumbled upon a few articles dealing with the idea of balut.

Have a look at the main image. That's planxty eating a boiled egg, right? Nothing too surprising there. Well partially right as this is the balut of which had heard.

Events have overtaken me, so this tip will be finished asap.

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It’s no wonder that the Philippines is still to be explored due to the thousands of islands composing it. Caramoan is just one of the many islands in the country that’s still yet to discover.

But before you intend to visit the island and its nearby islets, make sure to plan ahead and prepare your itinerary. The travel isn't that easy since the journey takes almost a day. Getting here from Manila can be done through air, land and water transportation that you must really put an ample amount of time just to get here. But I tell you, as soon as you get to see the spectacular view of Caramoan island, you'll never regret the long and tiring trip you had! It'll really be worth it!

Please also check the weather conditions before the trip since island hopping activities will depend on it as well as the tide levels. It would be very nice to have a journey without too much waves and that is before 2pm. A do-it-yourself itinerary is okay since the locals are also very much willing to help you. Good thing is, when we planned this trip, we just found out that we knew someone who happens this is her hometown! Amazing right! So we were offered to stay in their house which is a very grateful thing for her to do! There are lots and lots of budget tour packages and accommodations that are offered in the internet so you don't have to worry if don't know anyone from here... knowing a local here is just a bonus for us and we're very grateful for the hospitality they gave us.

Caramoan is one of the 35 municipalities of Camarines Sur located at the heart of the Caramoan Peninsula at the southern tip of Luzon. Such activities can be done like swimming, island hopping, camping, snorkeling, kayaking, trekking, rock climbing, mountain biking and spelunking. There are 10 islands that are very much recommended to hop on.

Over the past years, Caramoan has gained tourism popularity locally and internationally and designated as one of the National Parks of the Philippines. It’s popular due to the word of mouth like social networks (i.e. blogs and facebook) and because it became a favorite destination for the international franchises of Survivor.

I didn’t even know that it’s still being continued to patronize by this international Survivor series until we were blocked by one of the crew staffs (US Survivor) while island hopping to one of the top 10 islands of Caramoan, the Sabitang Laya.

Corinne Vaillant, TV director 8th Season KOh-Lanta (French edition of Survivor) once said in one of the Survivor edition interviews:
“The powdery sand, the coconuts on Gota beach and the neighboring islets are a ‘dream’ for the French people. We chose Caramoan because it’s really wild. It’s necessary that contestants don’t see anything other than nature for them to believe that they’re really lost in the wilds”

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the colonial masters left their indelible mark in the country ...visit many colonial buildings, towns and cities ...have a picture with different baroque and romanesque churches ...old light houses etc.
...unesco world heritage sites...

some interesting places:

Vigan in Ilocos Sur
Intramuros in Manila
Silay in Negros Occidental

art through out the centuries

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the Philippines is a tropical paradise
....its not all about beaches
...lots of jungle, beautiful mountain, rich in wild life
...flora and fauna

be adventurous and discover the mountainous part of the Philippines

Mt. Pinatubo in Pampanga
Mt. Apo in Mindanao
Mt. Daguldol in Batangas
The Cordillera in Mountain Province
etc

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For an adventurous type of Tourist visiting Dipolog City is worth seing. There are really lots of enjoyable things to do in this small City. From Skim Boarding, scuba diving, Caving, Motocrossing, biking, trekking, mountaineering, Bamboo Rafting, Banka(Boat) paddling.

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The History:
>University of Santo Tomas or just to give its complete name: The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, the Catholic University of the Philippines ((in Spanish: A La Real y Pontificia Universidad de Santo Tomas de Aquino Universidad Catolica de Filipinas) is a private university founded on April 28, 1611 by Father Miguel de Benavides, a Spanish Dominican.

The First:

UST is one of the world’s largest Catholic university in one campus, the oldest university in Asia, the only university visited by 2 popes: Pope Paul VI and 2x by Pop Paul II.. it has its many firsts.

This is where most of my family and I were sent to study and the moments we spent here were the ones we can't ever forget!

We used to call our university, UST or USTe (in Filipino) since the original name's very long.
UST was recently declared a national historical landmark since it is celebrating its 400th founding anniversary in the year of 2011.

Back from my college days, we used to have our classes in the main building which the other students were jealous of! (they really must feel that way!)

Father Benavides has his monument standing infront of the main building which another prominent landmark of the university.

The university just celebrated its 400 years in 2011 and still counting.
On March 9, 2011, the university got the Guinness World Records to form a human cross of students to which my sister participated and very proud of.

A grand celebration was celebrated in the entire year of 2011 then at the start of 2012, a closing celebration of the Quadricentennial year was held.