Randy C. asked:




Does Samal Island have the best beach resorts in all the Philippines? Well maybe not by most accounts, but the Island Garden City of Samal sure has a lot to choose from now a days. Along with the new developments coming in (Holiday Oceanview Samal, Playa Azalea, Kemabli Coast & Samal Highlands Garden Resort to name a few), and the potential Sama-Davao bridge, it may not be long before Samal Island is ranked up there with the best.

Some of the more popular current Island Garden City of Samal beach resorts are:

Fernandez Costa Marina Pearl Farm Balibali Punta del Sol HOF Gorei Bluewaters Isla Reta Chemas by the Sea Island Buenavista Bluejaz Resort & Waterpark Paradise Island

There are quite a few others, probably over 40 total by my latest count. The number is constantly changing but for the most part its been growing.

Everyone has their own favorite. Pearl Farm Beach Resort is probably the best known, and certainly one of the nicest and most expensive of all of them. Paradise Island Beach Resort is a favorite of many of the locals and fairly affordable, especially for a day trip. Chemas by the Sea is smaller and feels more exclusive, you won’t find a crowd there. Punta del Sol is well known to scuba divers and diving tours.

Bluejaz Resort & Waterpark specialize in water sports including waterslides. With Island Buenavista you can get the whole island to yourself and friends, for a day or overnight stay. There’s something here for everyone and it may not be long before they are not quite the secret that they’ve been in the past!

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Dan Eggers asked:


Why travel to Cebu, Philippines of all places? What makes Cebu, Philippines special among all other places in the whole country – or the world even? If your travel plans for this year includes Cebu, here are some reasons why we’re certain that you won’t regret your decision on choosing Cebu as your travel destination.

What Makes Cebu Popular

Even if we weren’t to talk about any of the famous tourist spots of Cebu, Philippines, there are still other things that make Cebu so very popular with the tourists. First, there’s the food. If you love those ripe yellow mangoes, you absolutely must go to Guadulupe because their mangoes – served dried or not – can never fail to make taste buds water.

And then there’s chicharon or pork rind; if you’ve never tasted chicharon yet, a good place to start would be at Cebu. Other food to explore in Cebu would be “puso”, the hanging rice, dangit, a dried fish usually eaten for breakfast and budbud, another type of rice.

And then there are the souvenirs or other accessories that you may only purchase in Cebu, Philippine. If you come from a country experiencing all four seasons – people back home would probably appreciate if you give them the beautifully hand woven blankets made from Argao. People with deep faith would no doubt appreciate as well gifts of the Medallions of the Christ Child. For fashion lovers, jewelry made from Mactan stone, corals or seashells are very much popular.

Lastly, there are the guitars. People with fine ears for music can’t help but appreciate the quality of guitars manufactured in Cebu. If you also want to see with your very own eyes the manufacturing process of a guitar, from start to finish, LapuLapu City of Cebu is the place to travel to.

And now finally, we come to the places…

Magellan’s Cross – Since the Philippines began to be of interest to the world thanks to Ferdinand Magellan’s discovery in 1521, tourists might as well begin their travel plans by visiting Magellan’s Cross which is found in Magallanes Street of Cebu City. This place is of much historical value to the Philippines because it’s also where the baptismal rites of the earliest Filipino Christians were held.

Mactan Island – Water sports have always been a favorite activity by tourists when visiting the Cebu and if you’re fond of this as well, make sure that you drop by Mactan Island because the waves there are alike no place else!

Cebu is also the jumping point to other exciting destinations like Dumaguete, Bohol and Sumilon.

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

 

 



 

Sharon Bell asked:


If there’s one problem most people won’t take sitting down, it’s hemor¬rhoids. They’re itchy, pain¬ful, and annoying. They’re also a lot more common than you think.

The French emperor Napo¬leon had hemorrhoids which led to his downfall at Water¬loo. Because he was in so much pain, he couldn’t mount his horse to survey the battlefield. This prevented him from getting a clear view of the situation and cost him his empire.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Komoye also suffered from hemorrhoids and was unable to attend an important cabinet meeting where a United States peace proposal was to be discussed. His absence eventually led to Japan’s entry into World War II.

Statistics show that about half of all Americans or four out of five people have hemorrhoids. Many others are unaware of this mainly because there are no symptoms.

“About 15 to 20 percent of the population have hemorrhoids. That’s probably at the low end of my speculation. By experience, however, I see a lot of people with hemorrhoids,” according to Dr. Ed T. Corpus Jr., a general and vascular surgeon at the Vein Care Clinic at Ferosa Condominium in Manila.

Hemorrhoids or piles are varicose veins of the rec¬tum. They usually appear after the age of 30 and are more common in women than in men. They can be found either inside or outside the **** canal. External hemorrhoids protrude and are visible. They’re also painful since they’re located in one of the body’s most sensitive areas – the skin in and around the ****. Internal hemorrhoids, on the other hand, can’t be seen and are often painless since there are no nerve endings where they’re at.

“There’s a specific line of distinction or demarcation at the **** region. It’s called the pectinate line and it separates the veins. Those that originate below that line are classified as external hemorrhoids. Those that are above it are called internal hemorrhoids,” explained Corpus who trained in New York and Philadelphia.

What causes the rectal veins to become swollen and inflamed? Aging appears to be a factor in the development of hemorrhoids. As we grow older, the blood vessels and connective tissue in the lower rectum become looser and weaker, gradually descending toward the ****.

This is further aggravated by chronic constipation (which is common in those who lack dietary fiber and don’t consume plenty of fluids), bad habits such as postponing bowel habits, straining during elimination, and recurrent diarrhea – all of which put a lot of pressure on the veins.

Who are more susceptible to hemorrhoids? Find out in the second part of this series. Don’t miss it!

Since obesity is a factor in hemorrhoids, it pays to lose weight. You can do this with the help of Zyroxin, a safe and natural supplement that will maximize your weight loss through its unique fat-burning ingredients. For details, visit http://www.zyroxin.com/.

Ritu Raj Mishra asked:


Configuring 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, Philippines, officially known as Republic of the Philippines, is an Asian beauty that captivates every traveler with its natural charm and magnetism. This archipelago beauty is the only Southeast Asian nation that shares no land boundaries with its neighboring countries. From the rich history that has a combined influence of Asian, European and American cultures to the eye-catching landscapes and from thriving cities that reveals the vibrancy of modern world to the relaxed and pleasant environment of beaches, Philippines is a land of themes and regions that ultimately rocks you. Besides, the cheap transportation, wonderful gourmet delights, and plentiful accommodation choices make it a dream destination for your vacation. Serving all sorts of travelers, hotels in Philippines are a major contributor in the tourism sector of the country.

Philippines has a colorful history of hundreds of ethnic groups and showcase a blend of its art and culture. The country has a sum of 79 provinces divided among three main island groups namely Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon comprises the northernmost island groups, Visayas has the central island groups and Mindanao features the southernmost island groups. Manila is the most popular city and the capital of the country lying in Luzon group of Islands. Other important cities include Angeles, Bacolod, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Bohol and Vigan.

Getting in Philippines is very easy as tourists from most foreign countries get a free 3-week tourist visa. Besides, you can even apply for a visa extension valid for 59 days. But, it is better to apply for longer visa before traveling here, to avoid any kind of hassle. To reach this country, international travelers can fly to the capital city or any of the major cities having an international airport like Cebu, Davao, Laoag and so on. Most tourists, though, prefer to travel to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila. Getting around Philippines is also very easy as there are a lot many domestic airlines available to serve tourists who want to travel to different destinations within the country. Trains, cars, taxi, bus, boat, jeep are other modes of transportation that can be used here for commuting.

There are various things to see in Philippines including its beautiful beaches. Boracay Island is popular for its lovely white sand beach. Some of the other beautiful beaches are in Mactan Island, Pagudpud, Panglao, and Puerto Galera amongst others. With its innumerable water bodies, this island provides a good option for scuba diving. As far as food is concerned, the cuisine of Philippines is influenced by different cultures that flourished here. The food available here is a mélange of Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, American, and Spanish tastes. Rice is the staple food of the people of this country.

Most of the reputed chains of hotels in Philippines are situated in its popular cities and main tourist attractions like Manila, Cebu, Boracay, and Davao etc. Bayview Park, Dusit thani Manila, Best Western Astor, and Oxford suites are a few good hotels in Manila. Similarly, Cebu also has some popular hotels namely, Maribago Blue water, Midtown, White Sands, Waterfront etc. To book a hotel in any of the cities in Philippines, you can take the help of the online internet reservation facility. You can directly visit the official website of the hotel and make the booking or can use the help of any other available websites that offer complete information. So, go ahead and enjoy a fabulous vacation in Philippines.

Wikidtravel asked:


With over 7000 islands the Philippines is a great adventure. Still a country overlooked by a lot of backpackers because of its distance away from the mainland. With its tropical white sand beaches and turquoise sea it truly is paradise.

Manila is a vibrant city and very western. You have shopping malls seemingly on every other street with all the American fast food chains. Malate is the tourist area with all the bars and restaurants. This may not be to some peoples taste as a lot of the bars in this area are targeted to the single middle aged male.

Not far from Malate is Intramuros which was built by the Spanish in the 16th century, is essentially a town within itself. It is a walled city with a moat that surrounds it (now a golf course). There is many a sight to see within Intramuros with amazing buildings on every corner and great cathedrals and forts. One was to see all the sites is to hire yourself a guide and tour the city with a horse and carriage so you can get to see everything in one day and also get all the information on what you are actually looking at.

South of Manila you have Pansagan, where Pansagan River is located. The banks of this river is where the final scenes of Apocalypse Now was filmed. There is not much in this little town apart from the trip up the river which is great fun. You hire a boat with two boat men who will pull you up river against the rapids to a waterfall where you can get a “waterfall massage” which is essentially where you lay down on your front on a bamboo raft and they pass you underneath the water so that the water falls hard upon your back. It does slightly hurt but is also much fun. After you will then make your way back down the river with the rapids which can be quite frilling depending on what time of year you are there.

On the southern tip of Luzon is Donsol. This is a must trip for anyone who visits the Philippines, from this little town you can get a boat out for the day to go whale shark spotting in which when one is spotted you get in the water with them in all your snorkel gear and swim with them for as long as they wish, in other words until they dive to deep water. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea measuring up to 10 metres in length.

Ruel Hinaloc asked:

Scuba diving Philippines does not get any diverse, anywhere in the world! No matter what level of diver you are, diving Philippines has something to offer you. In fact I can just virtually guarantee that the scuba diving you do in the Philippines is able to blow your mind and make you concur twice about diving when you get home. You will literally be spoilt when diving in the Philippines.

Water Temperature.

The water temperature diving in the Philippines, is similar to diving in your warm bath at home! It is definitely divine. A balmy 22 C to 25 C during the cooler months of December to March and 25 C to 28 C during the warmer cycles of April to November. Water temperatures want these, supplies you the opportunity of diving in the comfort of lycra skin suits or 3mm wetsuits. When you are use to diving in 5mm and 7mm steamers or a great deal dry suits, this type of diving is pure heaven.

Why Dive the Philippines?

The Philippine Islands, that there are over 7,100, have the widest variety of marine life in the world. The diving here is still making discovered, it does however have a level of popular spots which are very familiar with the diving tourist and these types of ones are world class. Outside these types of popular diving locations lie thousands of unexplored scuba diving opportunities. Since the Philippines has so many islands, with chosen of them not easily accessible, the draw for the scuba diver in the Philippines to be the first to explore an underwater reef or to discover a wreck is a real possibility.

Statistics out of the Philippine Department of Tourism indicate that scuba divers visiting the Philippine Islands, return for an average of 10 trips each. If currently is not a high recommendation on the grade and health of the scuba diving industry in the Philippines, afterward I’m not absolute what is!

Scuba Diving Philippines – What Sort of Diving?

Philippines scuba diving has everything to satisfy the most fussy diver. All you have to do, is put your wetsuit on and put your tank together, even then there is someone there to assist you. From here it gets easier. Someone will carry your gear on and off the dive boat for you, help you put your scuba reservoir and gear onto your back and help you out of the water when you have finished. Sound easy? You bet it is. Now, what type of diving should you expect? Well rather much everything you can think of is covered.

Pristine reef diving.

Exhilarating drift diving.

Big pelagic fish action.

World War II wrecks to be discovered.

Fantastic wall diving.

Muck diving for those who like macro photography.

Deep diving.

Coral Gardens.

Night Diving.

Swim throughs and caves.

Technical diving.

Soft coral spectaculars.

The majority of dives are conducted by boat, generally a basically short trip from your resort. If you are not diving from a boat you can by and large provide fine reefs right in front of your resort, superb and easy shore diving. For the final experience, live aboard dive vessels can in addition take you to areas seldom if ever visited by scuba divers, this is the ultimate experience.

Diving Philippines ? What will I see Underwater?

The list is too big to try and let you know how you will see underwater, but I will say to you about the marine life you will definitely see underwater. The marine life is exceptionally abundant, based on data from rare nudibrachs to a high density of the 27 species of clownfish or Amphiprion Sp., not to mention the gregarious colours of the soft corals and the vibrancy of the hard corals. If big fish are an attraction, then schooling barracudas, sweetlips, Thresher and Hammerhead Sharks am able to not disappoint you. The top fish in the country furthermore frequents Philippine waters, the mighty Whale Shark. Even mammals are widely seen, both dolphins and dugongs.

Diving Philippines provides you so many options that every dive will be distinct and mind blowing, a great deal if it is at the same dive site!

Note: The Philippines has had it’s fair share of dynamite fishing and cyanide poisoning. This is continually being pushed out, as more Filipinos comprehend a better times ahead in tourism dollars. Cyanide poisoning is used for capturing fish for marine aquarium enthusiasts. This practice is being addressed by the Marine Aquarium Council in conjunction with Philippine Authorities, who are training local fisherman in the use of ecological net catching of small fish. They are moreover teaching good husbandry techniques for the sustainability of this industry.

Diving Philippines is everything and more you want it to be. Your expectations will be met and driven further as opposed to you thought possible, the possibilities are endless.