Travel

Dazzling Davao

by Armie Marie Chiu Bausas

posted on Wednesday April 9, 2008 in Travel Blog, Places, Escapades

Considered as the window to the island of Mindanao, Davao City is home to various national prides. The alluring orchid called the waling-waling, the intriguing endangered Philippine Eagle, whose sanctuary is at the foot of Mt. Apo, the country’s highest mountain are among the tourist attractions in this bounteous province. No wonder my friends and I opted for an adventure trip to Davao City, one of the world’s largest cities.

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Talipanan Beach

by Gmeleen Faye B. Tomboc

posted on Friday March 28, 2008 in Food, Travel Blog, Places, Escapades

Puerto Galera on a Holy Week is normally cramped, overcrowded and noisy. You'd be hard-pressed to find your own spot by the sea on White Beach or Sabang. If you want a piece of Puerto Galera to yourself, try Talipanan Beach on the edge of town. Even during the so-called super peak season, you can have a sunrise all to yourself.

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Hiking Up Mt. Pinatubo

by Gmeleen Faye B. Tomboc

posted on Tuesday March 25, 2008 in Travel Blog, Places, Escapades

For a hike up Mt. Pinatubo, the jump-off point is Pinatubo Spa Town, Capas, Tarlac. It’s best to get there by around 8:00 in the morning so that the hike up would not be too hot. Jovi Balbiro, the tour organizer, met us warmly and introduced us to our driver and our guide. We clambered up an open 4x4 jeep. Soon, the jeep turned off the road into a sandy meadow of grasses, shrubs and the occasional massive carabao.

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Sun, Sand and Snapshots 2008

posted on Monday March 24, 2008 in Promos

Can you feel the heat? I sure can! Its summer again and, you guessed it right, its time for the third Sun, Sand and Snapshots! Pack up your gear, hit the road and start snapping those photos.

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Bayawan City Puts On A Fiesta

by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen

posted on Thursday March 20, 2008 in Festivals, Travel Blog

It was mesmerizing, the way indigenous materials were put together. The way shadows of the earth colors of brown, green with shades of orange yellow and blue buntings were fluttering above the huge quadrangle of the new bus terminal of Bayawan City, 102 kilometers from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

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Lenten Rites In Pampanga

by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen

posted on Friday March 14, 2008 in Events, Festivals, Travel Blog

During Good Friday, a spectacle is played out in various barangays in Pampanga and even further up in the Campangpangan speaking towns of Tarlac with sinners – mostly male – sacrificing themselves for the community by being literally crucified in a re-enactment of Christ suffering. Hordes of local and foreign tourists, including budding photographers descend and are drawn on these sites.

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Pampered Bliss at Mandala Spa

by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen

posted on Friday March 7, 2008 in Places, Vitality

Tucked away from the touristy area of Boracay Island along Station 3 in a Bouganvilla covered winding road is Mandala Spa and Villas. This place has established itself as an alternative healing center and has become one of the country’s multi awarded destination spa having received again the Baccarat Asia Spa Awards with the Holistic Treatment of the Year for their signature Hilot Trilogy treatment.

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Easy Going in Zambales

by Vic Albornoz Lactaoen

posted on Thursday February 21, 2008 in Travel Blog, Places, Escapades

As a child, every mealtime, my mother would tell me that the sweetest and largest mangoes found in metro Manila comes from the mango orchards of Zambales, an elongated strip of land kissing the South China Sea just beyond Manila’s Bay, that stretches northward toward another bay of the Central Luzon plain, Lingayen. It is bounded by Pangasinan in the north, Tarlac and Pampanga on the East, and Bataan down south. The sea is on its western side which boasts of 173 kilometers of pristine beaches speaking little of what the province of Zambales is actually all about – the home of umpteen ways to spell adventure, fun and beauty on this side of Central Luzon.

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A Sweet Escape: The Hypothetically Perfect Date in Tagaytay

by Cookie Posadas

posted on Wednesday February 13, 2008 in Accommodations, Shopping, Food, Escapades

I write this article not to tell you what the perfect date is. Instead I’m writing to tell you about my idea of the perfect date in Tagaytay. (Ahem! Ahem!) So boys, pay attention and girls, please read on so that the next time you find yourself preparing for a trip to Tagaytay you’ll have more options to choose from.

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Xiamen

by Gmeleen Faye B. Tomboc

posted on Friday February 1, 2008 in Foreign Travel

Xiamen, China may not be as famous as, say, Shanghai or Beijing. But if you’re looking for a few days of laidback shopping and sightseeing, Xiamen would be just right. For starters, the city is not as busy. There’s hardly any traffic, and there are no long lines to get a taxi or a table at a restaurant. Plus, shopping and eating out cost much less, and tipping is not expected.

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