Jose Abada asked:




Are you planning to visit the Pearl of the Orient, the Philippines and yet you do not have any idea on where to go? Are you sick and tired of seeing frowning people in the busy streets of the usual city setting? Well, I will bet that Davao City is the best place for you!

Sweet fruits, great beaches, hospitable people – these are the words that best describe one of the most magnificent place in the Philippines, Davao City!

This beautiful city is one of the top tourist spot that the Philippines is proud of having. This place is bestowed with wonderful lands and waters that lures and tempts many tourists from and outside the Philippines.

Aside from that, the city has a wonderful history that adds in its magnificence! Originally, the term Davao means fire. It is from the word “daba-daba.” Interesting festivals marked the place. One of the most anticipated and well attended festivals in this city is the well known Dinagyang Festival. Aside from that, many other rituals are done in this place that highlights the gracious past and culture of the people.

Davao City is bestowed by different tourist attractions that really lure many visitors from and even outside the Philippines.

Among the historical tourist attraction, the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is one of the must see. It is located in Matina, Davao City. This is an open air chapel that features the replica of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague and Our Lady of Fatima. Aside from the relics, the wonderful panoramic view of the coconut plantation and other fruit bearing trees adds in the magnificence of the city.

About 9 to 15 kilometers from the city cradles a shrine for the veterans of war – the Japanese Peace Memorial Shrine/ Cemetery. Even though that there is the term Japanese in the name, the cemetery is open to all sorts of races.

Your trip to this city will not be complete if you will never get the chance to see and know the people of the place. Go and visit Davao Museum so you will surely have the chance to witness the culture and traditions of the city and of course the people.

Davao City is also known for the beautiful hand woven cloth and actually you can have a glance on this at the T’Boli Weaving Center. The T’Boli Weaving Center is located at the Insular Hotel Grounds, Insular Hotel, Lanang, Davao City. Your visit in the said place will be highlighted by the demonstration of the tribal women of South Cotabato of the traditional craftsmanship and art of the T’Boli Tribe. See how they weave and turn the native abaca into fibers. Witness how the strips turned into canvass of artistry by designing figures with the intricate of patterns.

Davao is not just a place gifted with great people but also it is gifted with splendid water. You can spend your time around the different beaches, which offer best summer activities. Dive and snorkel around its clear waters! One of the must see is the Muslim Fishing Village located at San Jose, Samal Island. In the said place, children can dive overboard while the adults will be busy side seeing over the magnificent view from the native huts built over the waters.

Last but not the least, your stay at the city will not be totally complete without bringing home the ever delicious durian fruit.

Davao City is filled with beautiful sceneries and tourist attractions and of course with beautiful people with the heart of gold! Smiles will surely be a souvenir for any visitor or tourist who will spend time in beautiful Davao!

travel philippines

Jose Abada asked:




The Philippine culture defines the unique distinctiveness of Filipinos from the rest of the world. Its richness in culture makes it highly different and more prominent from other countries. The Philippines have diverse cultural heritage, arts, traditions and spoken languages. The country has innumerable museums that take account to the wide historical and cultural evolution of its nation with churches, museums and galleries available throughout the Philippine Islands and are found in the different key cities of its provinces.

Each province has its own cultural folk dances showcasing the elegant styles of Filipino dances and the beauty of its people. They also follow their own unique traditions and have a way of celebrating their cultural practices through fiestas and events. The Filipinos naturally love arts and they can depict certain historical events through paintings, poems, songs and writings.

Historical Influence to the Philippine Culture

The culture of the Philippines is highly influenced by history and the blending of foreign influences and its indigenous civilization. The Philippines has been colonized by Spain for over three centuries. Hispanic influences are dominant in the Philippine’s folk music, foods, art, religion, language and folk dances.

The Malayo-Polynesian has influences to the Philippines during its pre-Hispanic and non-Christian era. It influenced the country’s mythology and indigenous culture along with the Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamic and Christianity traditions.

The United States also has an influence to the Philippine culture signified by the love of the Filipinos to contemporary pop music, film, basketball, music and fast foods. The Chinese and Japanese introduced martial arts, mahjong and other gambling forms. They also influenced the people’s natural preference to Asian cuisines.

The Philippine Cultural Heritage

The culture of the Philippine is diverse. About 90% of the Filipinos are Christians and 5% are Muslims. The rest practice other religions and others do not seem to have any religion at all. Despite the westernization of the country and foreign influences, many of its people remain to believe in superstitions. This cultural belief came from their ancient ancestors.

The country has beautiful traditional folk dances that showcase the elegance, beauty and grace of the Filipinos. They use flaunting Filipino dress and play Filipino music. The dances showcase the Filipino culture.

The Philippines is also a land of artists. Filipino artists are renowned in the world in the fields of music and art. They are highly respectable in these fields and brought honor and glory to their country. The Filipino people are great optimists. They always see light in the midst of darkness and always keep a positive point of view. This makes them endure the various challenges that arise in the economic, political, socio-cultural, religious and other aspects of their way of life.

There are several dialects that Filipinos can speak. They rank high as the country with most dialects spoken. The country has the most traditions to follow which continues to prevail despite its westernization. Most of these traditions are handed down in generations and continue to be practiced by majority of the Filipinos.

The diverse cultures and traditions in the Philippines make the country shine throughout the world. It has solicited fame and uniqueness to the country and its people. There is no wonder that the Filipinos are known for their warm hospitality and innumerable cultural traditions and heritage. The blend of foreign and ancient influences in Philippine culture makes the country uniquely distinct from the rest of the world.

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Christine Layug asked:


When you want to buy or purchase some magazines the convenient way in the Philippines, then the perfect place for you is the M-Express.

The M-Express is the first ever door-to-door online magazine shop that not only provides a wide collection of magazines, but also a free delivery of any magazines throughout the nation with its very own Magazine online free delivery.

Magazine online free delivery can delivery any kind of magazine that the M-Express provides such as art magazines, auto and cycle magazines, business and finance magazines, children magazines, cooking and food magazines, entertainment magazines, fashion magazines, health and fitness magazines, home and gardening magazines, lifestyle magazines, men magazines, photography magazines, sports magazine, teen magazines, and women magazines.

M-Express Magazine online free delivery can also provide the best kind of magazines made by the most popular publishers in the Philippines such as ABS-CBN publishing, C-Magazine, English M publishers inc, Hinge inquirer publications, and rogue magazine.

M-Express Magazine online free delivery can also provide and deliver the most popular magazine titles in the Philippines such as Calibre: The Luxury of Time, FOOD: The Philippines’ Largest Selling Culinary Magazine, METRO: The Independent Woman, CHALK, and Game! Magazine.

Now you might think on how can the M-Express provide a free delivery on magazines nationwide? Well there’s a very simple explanation about this, the M-Express Magazine online free delivery is s owned and operated by eLBC Direct, Inc., an LBC company that is dedicated to providing Filipinos access to products and services apart from the traditional products offered by LBC.

So if you ever wanted to try some online magazine shopping in the Philippines, then the best place to start is with the M-Express. And with its Magazine online free delivery, you’re assured that your magazines will arrive on time and free of charge.

For more information about the M-Express and its Magazine online free delivery then visit www.m-express.com.ph.

simon ramsden asked:


 

 

 

 

“Eight days a week is not enough to show I care” crooned the guitarist, serenading us on the deck of the lunch-cruise barge as we drifted down the Loboc river on Bohol. “Eight days a week, I loooooove you” he continued, the plus-forties tapping their feet or singing along. I wouldn’t go out and buy a Beatles album, as I’ve heard their songs too many times, but I do like it when someone sings one, as some of my first memories are of their songs. I pondered what it is about the Philippines that makes its inhabitants so musically talented – pretty much everywhere you go there is a guitarist playing – maybe these guitar-playing and singing talents are something that the country can thank the Spanish for.

I don’t get the impression that the Spanish are thanked for much else except Christianity, judging by the reverence in which they hold chief Lapu Lapu, who killed the Spanish conquistador Ferdinand Magellan on the nearby island of Mactan in 1521. He had sailed there in order to teach the inhabitants who was boss and, badly misjudging their fighting spirit, had decided to leave all of his mercenary forces aboard in order to save the glory and gore for the meagre Spanish contingent. After telling the mercenaries to watch carefully in order to learn the superior Spanish art of war, he marched his band of country-men ashore, only to be promptly hacked to bits, with most of his companions. This display rather confused his audience of native mercenaries, one of whom remarked that he wasn’t very impressed with the superior Spanish art of war and preferred the old-fashioned approach of just lopping heads off with a big axe.  

This text about Magellan is a bit of a digression. As a further digression within this digression, the reader may be interested to know that, according to recent findings, the straits of Magellan off the Cape of Good Hope weren’t actually first discovered by Ferdinand Magellan at all but by a Chinese admiral in 1421. For a fascinating and plausible theory that the Chinese discovered pretty much everywhere before Europeans did, I recommend the reader check out the book “1421, the year China discovered the world”, by Gavin Menzies.

As if to reinforce my musical impression of the Filipinos, our lunch barge pulled up at a pontoon on which sat about forty ukulele players and singers, aged from about eight to eighty, their faces wreathed in huge smiles. The small children wriggled with impatience at having to sit still, whilst the young women fluttered their eyelashes and, when I smiled at them, blushed and looked away, giggling to each other. Granddad plucked intently at an instrument I didn’t recognise whilst a young lad strummed a guitar bigger than he was. After a while I noticed one of the parents nod an ‘OK’ to a group of boys, who promptly downed their instruments and dived into the river, one of them climbing up onto our barge and then using it as a diving board. Some of the day-trippers aboard backed away from the spot where he was climbing, fearing a soaking when he hit the water, but they needn’t have worried, as he jumped far out and dived in head-first, hardly causing a ripple as he went in, let alone a splash. “Hmm, maybe I should have a go at that” I thought, “then they’d really have something to worry about” (my water displacement is, shall we say, rather greater than the boy’s is). After the lovely pontoon music show we finished off our lunch. The food was competent rather than superb but was enjoyed by all except my son Nigel, who turned his nose up at everything, which was no surprise, as he’s only eight. Thankfully he eventually found something he could enjoy, the superb mango, watermelon and pineapple, which tasted way better than, in my experience, they ever do in Europe.

 

I sat and watched the jungle slide by on each side of the river. Palm trees reached out from either side and above the barge, their fronds swaying in the gentle breeze and the sunlight filtering through them, dappling the decks in hazy, soft sunshine.  As I watched my wife Fon fuss over my son, a feeling of contentment and peace came over me. Everything seemed OK, even the things about life that were less than perfect. I find that as I grow older I experience happiness in a different way. When I was younger it was all about losing myself in intense concentration while doing something exciting, now it’s more about tranquillity and family values.

 

Other highlights on Bohol are the great scuba diving and snorkelling. I’m not much of a scuba diver so I went snorkelling to a spot near the little islet of Balicasag, which I unreservedly recommend. We left our resort aboard a local banka boat at the ***** of dawn in order to get a chance to see the dolphins that for some reason appear at that hour. I had somewhat cynically thought that this was probably unlikely to happen, but they appeared on schedule and in numbers, then swam around us for a good hour. They seemed to be swimming in family groups, some of them just barely breaking the surface and others (maybe displaying the exuberance of youth) jumping right out of the water.  They are such lovely creatures, with their funny faces seemingly permanently grinning at some private joke. We arrived at Balicasag a while later and, after an unusual-for-me breakfast of steamed prawns, friend eggs and rice (which tasted better than I expected it to), we boarded a much smaller, hand-powered boat. Motorised boats are forbidden to enter Balicasag Marine Sanctuary in an initiative to protect the flaura and fauna: this arrangement appears, judging from the profusion of fish swimming around the coral in the crystal-clear water, to have worked. A long column of fish swam in an almost military formation along the reef wall. They seemed so ordered and organised  that I wondered if one of them was in charge. Was it the fish in front? Or maybe he was just the expendable point-man and the fish behind him was the one in charge? 

 

A large cloud of small bait-fish swam by. I took off my life-vest (which had been supporting me in the most comfortable fashion as I had lazily floated and watched the marine life) and dived down, feeling pleased with myself for hiring flippers, as I’m a weak swimmer without them. I swam straight through the cloud of fish. At one point all I could see around me were little black fish, illuminated by scattered rays of sunlight. Beautiful, just lovely. The most beautiful thing about the experience was the way that they swam away from my moving limbs, almost as if by magnetic repulsion, all maintaining exactly the same distance from me. It felt like being clothed in fish. I don’t remember ever enjoying a snorkelling experience so much.

 

The Chocolate Hills of Bohol are the island’s most popular tourist attraction and deserve the attention they get, as they look most peculiar. 200 hundred-foot tall earthen mounds jut out of a  flood-plain, most topped in grass and looking like the perfect place for a picnic. Almost all of them are almost perfectly conical in shape. I tried to research the reason for their strange shape, but couldn’t find an answer – a bit like the authors of the official tourist tablet at the site, who didn’t seem to know either. The hills are reminiscent of the English burial ‘barrows’ (or mounds) on Salisbury Plain, only much, much bigger.  It looked as is, instead of a few prehistoric chieftains lying underground, here there were dozens of dynasties of emperors, each interred under a couple of tens of thousand of tons of earth, in a scene a bit like Salisbury plain meeting the pyramids of Giza.

 

For our first visit to the Chocolate Hills we hired a driver and mini-van and were taken to the tourist centre on the single hill which has been developed for the purpose and which is covered in concrete, fast-food outlets, hawkers and screaming children. When I asked the driver if he could vary his route so that we could experience the scenery without the crowds, he reacted with the same incomprehension as I remember getting from a donkey at a sea-side fare in England, when I used my feet on its flanks to attempt to make it change its customary route. A few days after this disappointing experience we returned to try and experience the hills in a more natural way, hiring a motorbike on which we could meander through the lanes and take in the experience at our own pace. We had planned to hire a local guide (when I say ‘local’, I mean one of the farmers working amongst the hills) and to then climb one of them. We were thwarted by a rain-storm, which was a bit unfortunate, but at least gives us a good reason to return. Those readers who are wary of motorbike-riding in SE Asia are advised to get themselves driven to the Chocolate Hills in a minivan and to hire an additional helper to trail them on a bike, and then to hop on the bike when they reach the hills, where the small roads are relatively safe.

 

After checking out one of the Philippines’ best beaches, why not visit some of Thailand’s: www.andamanadventures.com

 

 



 

Christine Layug asked:


Fashion magazines are the best way on getting a low down on the latest trends in clothing, accessories and tips and guidelines on how to become fashionable. In the philippines, magazines are widely used as a means of information on how to live your life, or learn some leasons on someones experiences, may it be good or bad.

For filipinos, magazines are commonly the popular choice of information source when it comes to entertainment, games, accessories, lifestyle, home decor, art, food and cooking, and fashion. This is why eLBC, a branch of LBC, launched its first ever online magazines store in the philippines, the M-Express.

M-Express is the first ever door-to-door magazine delivery service in the country. M-Express is the convenient way to order magazines anytime and anywhere you are in the Philippines. With M-Express, you can place subscriptions or order per title allowing you the flexibility to control your budget.

M-Express is an online magazine store that not only sell some Fashion Magazine Philippines, but a wide variety of Philippine Magazine such as Art Philippine Magazine, Auto and Cycle Philippine Magazine, Business and Finance Philippine Magazine, Children Philippine Magazine, Cooking and Food Philippine Magazine, Entertainment Philippine Magazine, Fashion Philippine Magazine, Health and Fitness Philippine Magazine, Home and Gardening Philippine Magazine, Lifestyle Philippine Magazine, Men’s Philippine Magazine, Photography Philippine Magazine, Sports Philippine Magazine, Teens Philippine Magazine and Woman’s Philippine Magazine.

M-Express Philippines Magazines online store sells many kinds of Fashion Magazine Philippines such as CHALK Fashion Magazine Philippines, K Fashion Magazine Philippines, METRO the independent woman Fashion Magazine Philippines, PINK a girls guide to shopping Fashion Magazine Philippines.

So if you plan on buying any kind Fashion Magazine Philippines, then M-EXPRESS Philippine magazine online store can provide you with such. For more information about M-EXPRESS Philippine magazine online store and Fashion Magazine Philippines then visit www.m-express.com.ph.

Christine Layug asked:

Have you ever tried ordering some magazines from a Philippine magazine online store? No? Well, its not your fault if you haven’t, actually there isn’t any Philippine magazine online store here in the Philippines. Well this is what the eLBC thought about, which is why they have started the first ever Philippine magazine online store that can provide a wide variety of Philippine magazine online store, the M-Express.

M-Express is the first ever door-to-door Philippine magazine online store and delivery service in the country. The M-Express Philippine magazine online store is the convenient way to order magazines anytime and anywhere you are in the Philippines. People can place subscriptions or order per title allowing them the flexibility to control their budget.

M-Express is also the first Philippine magazine online store that provides a wide variety of Philippine Magazine such as Art Philippine Magazine, Auto and Cycle Philippine Magazine, Business and Finance Philippine Magazine, Children Philippine Magazine, Cooking and Food Philippine Magazine, Entertainment Philippine Magazine, Fashion Philippine Magazine, Health and Fitness Philippine Magazine, Home and Gardening Philippine Magazine, Lifestyle Philippine Magazine, Men`s Philippine Magazine, Photography Philippine Magazine, Sports Philippine Magazine, Teens Philippine Magazine and Women`s Philippine Magazine.

The innovative services that M-Express Philippine Magazine online store is powered by LBC, the country’s dependable domestic and international courier service which brings over 50 years of experience and an intensive network of branches both here and abroad.

The M-Express Philippine Magazine online store is owned and operated by eLBC Direct, Inc., an LBC company that is dedicated to providing Filipinos access to products and services apart from the traditional products offered by LBC.

So if you ever have the urge of being convenient with buying some Philippine Magazine, then the M-Express Philippine magazine online store can answer that call. For more information about the M-Express Philippine magazine online store, then visit their site at www.m-express.com.ph .

Naveen Marasinghe asked:

The Ayala Museum is an Arts and History Museum in Manila, Philippines that celebrates the diversity of Filipino culture and the rich tapestry of its art. The museum was the brainchild of artist Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo who envisioned a museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing the cultural heritage of the Philippines. The museum became a reality in 1967 as a project of the Ayala Foundation and was housed at the Insular Life Building along Ayala Avenue. In 1974 the museum was moved its own custom built property at Makati Avenue and was designed by the National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin.

The museum’s architecture suits its collections and it is famous for its juxtaposing blocks that create wide spaces in the interior of the building. Among the collections at this museum the most popular are sixty diorama collections which chronicles over 50,000 years of Filipino history. All sixty exhibits are handcrafted by talented Paete artists and go back in time form the early native Filipino settlements to the arrival of the Spanish and the Americans and the subsequent struggle for independence. The exhibit also has a multimedia exhibition titled People’s Power which shows the turbulent 1950’s period and the authoritarian rule of Marcos and the victory of the People’s Power Movement in 1986.

The finely crafted sail ship exhibit is also an extremely interesting part of the museum that represents the country’s association with sea faring nations such as Spain, China and Persia. Models of traditional Filipino ships, Chinese Junks, Arabian Baghlas and Spanish Galleons can be seen at this display. The museum also maintains an ethnographic collection of cultural artifacts from the small indigenous communities from all over the archipelago.

Archelogical exhibits that trace the beginning of Filipino culture such as Gold jewelry dating back to the pre-Hispanic times and decorative tribal items some of which are more than 4000 years old are on display here. Visitors to Manila can discover the richness of the country’s culture by visiting this museum, located close by are a block of Manila serviced apartments known as Ascott Makati that offer great accommodation packages for business travelers.

Naveen Marasinghe asked:

The Philippines is heavily dominated by art galleries and the latest cutting edge fashion, which means that institutions that are dedicated to purely studying the past are rare. This is why the National Museum of the Philippines is a joy for those who are interested in discovering the rich past of the country. Discover an array of cultural and historical treasures at the national museum that is equally enlightening to both locals and foreigners alike.

One of the most interesting attractions that is present here is the San Diego galleon. Several galleries have been dedicated to the display of the various artifacts that were recovered from this sunken ship that showcases various aspects of 17th century life. Exhibits that were recovered from the ship include various porcelain items, gold, jewelry, and weapons. This ship also provides a clear cut link between the Old World, Orient and the New World.

Yet another attraction that must be seen is the story of the Philippines people that tells the history of the nation and the origins of its people spanning all the way from prehistoric times all the way till the present day. Other exhibits include an array of primitive tools that were used by Malays and Negroid Aeta tribes once used.

Of all the pictures that adorn the walls and other exhibition spaces in the museum one take the spotlight; Spoliarium by Juan Luna. This impressive painting is 23 feet wide, 13 feet tall and impressively depicts a life sized scene of Roman gladiators being dragged off after being vanquished. Impressive and surprising in scale, this picture truly deserves its place in the Main Ground Floor Gallery.

Staying in a Manila hotel that is located close to the Museum such as The Heritage Hotel Manila not only provides guests with convenient access to this destination but also a range of amenities and facilities that ensure a comfortable stay.