Hmm, I can’t quite explain myself. There’s this thought in my head but my mouth can’t clearly spell it out, haha. If not for the stupid politicians, the Philippines could have already realized its potential by now. Despite the setbacks, the country is inherently beautiful.
The government is very aggressive in promoting the country as a premier tourist destination. The country is just a natural beauty, blessed with so many attractions. But it’s not the places alone; it’s the people and their unrivaled hospitality that make the Philippines a unique destination.
You can view more videos like this at Tourism Philippines YouTube channel.
If you’re planning to have a vacation and are in need of accommodation, Agoda is the perfect website to go to. It allows you to search for hotels in a specific location. It has a very neat interface for easy usage and provides a lot of information about the place, like rooms and facilities. It comes with user ratings and feedback to help you decide which one to take.
Another good thing is the huge discounts they give. It’s hard to beat. On top of these, they provide rewards and rebates if you make a reservation through them.
Trip, Expedia and Traveloka are other options.
So what are you waiting for? Come and see the beautiful province of Iloilo, Philippines.
Choosing the right airline when traveling is a must. Otherwise, a nasty experience will spoil the journey. I have listed here all commercial airlines in the Philippines as of this date, in case anyone needs to access their respective websites.
- AirSWIFT has limited flights to and from Manila, Cebu and Palawan only.
- AirAsia Philippines offers travel to major Asian countries. In the Philippines routes include Manila, Clark, Cebu, Davao, Kalibo, Palawan, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro and Tagbilaran.
- Cebu Pacific has some main Asian destinations, but their local coverage is extensive. very budget-friendly airline.
- Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of the Philippines and has global destinations. Local coverage is extensive too, albeit more expensive.
- SkyJet Airlines has a special Batanes route on top of Manila, Boracay and Palawan.
- Fly Scoot, formerly TigerAir is another airline that mainly caters to Asian countries. They offer plenty of local destinations, but not as extensive.
SkyScanner and CheapFlights help scour for the cheapest flights among the different airlines.
Aside from the Philippines, there are a lot of other places to visit. Use LonelyPlanet and TripAdvisor explore and select the best by reading the reviews of each tourist spot.
Rakso Travel have tour packages both domestic and international.
I like to absorb as much information as possible, and one of the things that fascinates me is culture. Each country is unique because of it. There are now online sites that allow people to learn and explore the world without leaving their home or traveling. Its all the more fun, especially in this time of Covid-19 pandemic.
Discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around you at the Google Cultural Institute. They have a huge collection divided into art projects, historic moments, and world wonders for convenience.
Open Culture is an information aggregator specializing in cultural and educational media. If you are the type that’s eager to learn more about the world, this is one site to visit. They have a large collection of high-quality video and audio for an enriching experience.
Located in the Pacific above the equator, the Philippines sits directly in the path of typhoons. And not just the type that puts you to sleep, but also includes the strongest ever to make landfall: Yolanda. If you’re not familiar, below is a documentary to give you an idea of the devastation.
In June 21, 2008, typhoon Frank(international codename Fengshen) hit Iloilo hard, with winds packing 140 km/hr. It is one of the strongest typhoon whose devastation I personally experienced and one I will never forget. Watch the video below:
Its the main reason why Iloilo Flood Control Project was started. The main component is the Jaro Floodway, which is a man made canal that diverts the excess water from the Aganan and Tigum River junction. Aside from preventing floods, it also resulted in an unexpected but positive growth of mangroves in the vicinity as reported by NASA.
Because of this undeniable reality, it is vital to stay informed of the latest weather updates. This is especially true during the rainy season. There are lots of weather apps out there. Guess which one is the most accurate.
AccuWeather, of course, haha. Their forecast is way better than PAGASA‘s. What I like most is the hour by hour breakdown. Using it, you can schedule when you’ll go out fishing and come home without getting wet!
It is a free service but ad-supported. Don’t worry, the ads are non-intrusive and done in good taste.
Aside from typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen. When the earth quakes, tsunamis may follow. I personally use USGS for real-time email notification of events that occur in the vicinity.
Did you know the Philippines had their own writing system before? It’s called Baybayin, also erroneously referred to as Alibata. It is an ancient script derived from the Brahmic scripts of India and was widely used until the late 19th century. More info from WikiPedia and OmniGlot.
Baybayin is a syllabary composed of 17 basic characters. A syllabary is a set of written characters that represent syllables and is used to write in a given language. See all the Baybayin symbols. Translate Tagalog to Baybayin. Lately its revival is on the news.
It’s a shame that it is no longer popular and few Filipinos are even aware of it. Despite this sad reality, the letterforms are alive to some degree. In fact, it is inscribed in the University of Philippine’s graduation attire, the sablay and if you look closely at the front of any peso bill, there are symbols on top of the number. It means “Pilipino”. Personally, I think the letters would make a beautiful tattoo.
There are two proposed bills that seek to promote the use of this ancient writing system. One is the Baybayin Act of 2013, which is the Senate version of the National Script Act of 2011 by Congress. However, both bills are pending as of today.
Together, the two bills aim to declare Baybayin as the national script of the Philippines. It also mandates all businesses and government agencies to use equivalent translations under their logos. When approved, all primary and secondary schools are required to teach it. The system being promoted is a modernized version of Baybayin which integrates the other commonalities from various indigenous writings throughout the country. The bills, if approved, will further cement the Filipino identity.
Meanwhile, let’s learn how to write these beautiful letterforms. Quimson.Net has a nifty tool that translates original Tagalog to Baybayin. It’s fun to use. The resulting characters are in GIF image format.
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