Trifter

At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the lounge is bustling with tourists -balikbayans and foreigners alike. Amidst the April summer heat is the excitement to experience not only the scenic landscapes and the sea itself but the adventure that only the Philippines can give.

The heat in Manila would hark back to every balikbayan that he is finally home and that means local food, home cooked and those sold in the streets, and local restaurants are now easily accessible.

In the road coming from the airport to whichever destination, you can be sure that there are people who are selling different kinds of food products -that is how Filipinos are, being very fond of food. Some of these vendors are selling cashew nuts and Philippine peanuts laid out in native containers, some are vending fish balls and squid balls in street corners; of course not to forget sago’t gulaman, and the staple summer snack – halo-halo are also being sold in other stalls.

By dusk, balut vendors will be roaming the streets with their famous one-word advertising spiel “balut” with the second syllable prolonged just to make sure that even those in their homes hear that balut and penoy are already available for the taking.

Nightlife in Manila

In Roxas Boulevard, Manila Bay is hustling and bustling with people. Some are having coffee in one of those small coffee shops, while some are seated in the benches waiting for the sun to set.

The whole stretch of Manila Bay is now a tourist destination both for domestic and international travelers. This place is visited not just for the restaurants that offer Filipino and other foreign cuisines but mainly because of the bay’s breathtaking sunset.

This is where the old and the new merges and blends -the brick laden pathways gives a taste of the Spanish influence infused in the Filipino culture while the mani, mais, yosi, diaryo, balut, itlog ng pugo, and mangga vendors is a reminder of Filipino mercantile nature and hard work.

Come night time, the bands in the hippest restos play upbeat music signaling the start of nightlife at the bay.

Just across the street is Malate -where most of the teenagers and yuppies unwind, spending time in the bars dancing the night away or drinking a few bottles of San Miguel beer, Tanduay rum or maybe cocktails for the ladies.

For those who are really interested in the Night Life scene in Manila -Timog, Eastwood, and The Fort are places to see.

In the morning, start the day right and take a walk at the bay, or in Luneta Park or maybe even in the academic oval in the University of the Philippines -one of the oldest universities in the country, located in Quezon City just thirty minutes away from Manila. Taking a walk in any of these places would surely be very relaxing.

Colourful jeepneys will pass you by while you are doing your walk. In the sitios and villages in the metro, tricycles are also available to take passengers for a ride; fare for a kilometer is only Php 12.00. These modes of transport, more popularly known as the jeep and the trike by the locals, could only be found in the Philippines, nowhere else.

The Filipino Shopping Experience

The malls open up for business at 10 am sharp. To cool down a little in the urban summer heat, most go for a day’s shopping or window shopping in the malls. Popular shopping malls in the metro include, Trinoma, Gateway, Greenbelt, The Podium, Rockwell, SM Megamall and SM City.

The Philippines is famous for its enormous shopping centers filled with shops that sell a range of products. High end shops are also available but for us Filipinos to enjoy our shopping experience, we have to get high quality products at reasonable rates.

Shopping in Divisoria may be tiring but this is part of the bargain. You can find anything and everything there; from clothes to shoes to jewelry to gadgets to plants, even fruits and vegetables. The ride is not such a long one but due to the heat, it is a little fatiguing but it will be all worth it because of the low low prices. If you are looking for cell phones, ipods, television sets, and house appliances go to 168, a mall located in Manila’s Chinatown.

A few blocks away, is Quiapo -where you can find Chinese herbal medicine and of course other bargains such as clothes, blankets, bags, watches, among other things. Just down the road is the Quiapo Church -famous for its Fiesta ng Nazareno hosted every first month of the year- where vendors of local Filipino products sit on benches and lay their goods on the pavement.

Greenhills in San Juan is also a good place to buy gadgets and software but for those who love jewelry this is the place to be. The prices are crazy so to speak, crazy in a good way because the rates are very low.

For those who go gaga about bags and shoes, you may want to travel by bus and go to Liliw in Laguna. Liliw sells locally made bags, shoes, and other items at cheap cheap prices you would want to buy all of the things you like.

For the more adventurous, you may want to try to go to Baguio City and get great bargains in ukay-ukay shops. If you speak Ilocano, you may even get greater discounts.

The Beaches and the Sun

Although swimming is still available in the outskirts of Metro Manila where resorts are located; swimming is not really swimming without the beach and the hot summer sun. Batangas is a good place to get a tan and sleep in a rented cottage made out of nipa and bamboo. Accommodations are cheap, only Php 500.00 a night per cottage in Nasugbo resorts. This place is very quiet even in the peak season, the sand is white and the water is blue, anyone who goes there for two days or so would surely enjoy the serenity of the place.

Boracay is also a place to see but if you are not fond of crowded places, you may go up north to the Ilocos Region and see the white beaches in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. It’s a 12 hour bus ride from Metro Manila but once you see the blue green water and the white sand, the stress from the bus ride would be well worth it. Before you reach Pagudpud, you’d have to pass-by a bridge built on the side of the Cordillera Mountains where the clouds actually hide the bridge itself. If you want to travel fast though, it’s just a 15 minute plane ride from Manila to Laoag City and a two hour bus ride from Laoag to Pagudpud. Once in Pagudpud or in Laoag, you may want to go to Batac or to the Paoay area and see the sand dunes -Ilocos Norte is the only place in the country that mimics weather in the desert.

For the surfers its either you go north again and visit La Union or go south to Siargao. Siargao is the surfing capital of the Philippines. The island also hosts an International Surfing Cup yearly. Surfers from allover the globe enjoy dancing with the waves in Siargao Island.

Some travelers say that the seven hour ride is backbreaking. If you are coming from the country’s capital you will have to go to the airport and board for a one and a half hour flight to Butuan City then another two hours for the bus ride to Surigao. The traveling does not stop there though because you have to take a 20-minute jeepney ride to Surigao’s pier so you could board a ferry to Siargao’s main port town called Dapa. Once you are in the island, there will be another jeepney ride to reach General Luna where Cloud 9, the country’s surfing paradise, is located.

Aside from the surfing, Siargao could also accommodate less dangerous activities such as kayaking, swimming, and island hopping. Siargao Island is truly a place to see.

For those who love diving and snorkeling, Mindoro and Palawan are good choices. In Mindoro, you will see very fascinating wildlife under the sea, the coral reefs; a great view on their own too. There are several beautiful dive spots which reaches down to Palawan Island where you can see sunken war vessels dating back from the Second World War.

The Mountains

If you want to cool down from the summer heat from all those island hopping and beaches, Baguio, the country’s coldest city is the place to go. You can go pick strawberries or bike around Burnham Park’s man-made lake. Horseback riding is also available in Baguio, you just have to go rent a horse at Mines View Park or in places near the area.

If you are tired of the urban jungle and really want to go up in the mountains, you can trek to Benguet, or to Cagayan where it is colder and the air relatively fresher.

In Benguet, hot springs are found in almost every municipality, an interesting fact that most travelers; even those from within the Philippines do not know about. Another interesting fact is the existence of mummies in the area, truly a discovery not only for the locals but for the Philippines as a country as well.

In the town of Kabayan, the people preserve their dead through mummification, a ritual that the tribal group has done for years as a way to pay respects to the dead. Some of these mummies could now be viewed at the Kabayan municipal hall.

For the more adventurous, climbing volcanoes is another exciting activity; climbing the active ones would be very dangerous though and is not advisable.

Most of the Philippine Islands are volcanic in origin; there are in fact, more than thirty within the country’s jurisdiction, thirty-seven volcanoes to be exact. Around 18 of which are active.

Taal volcano is one of the most visited volcanoes in the Philippines. What many do not know is that the lake surrounding the small volcano is just accumulated water in the crater of a bigger volcano which is Taal while Mount Mayon, the most active volcano in the country is just majestic and is indeed a place to see. If you want to climb Mount Mayon though, the best start would be at the height of 762 meters above sea level -there is a research station located in that area where you might want to drop-by. From there, the trail becomes harder to traverse but the climb would lead you to a forest.

Almost all of those who took up the challenge of climbing the volcano had a hard time reaching the summit especially the last 550 meters up. In fact, at the height of 1920 meters, the jagged terrain begins while at the last half of the 550 meters, your feet will be on loose volcanic cinder and land out of hardened lava.

Maybe going there just to see these volcanoes will be satisfiscing enough, and not to climb the active ones so as to ensure the traveler’s safety.

It would surely take more than one summer to see all the beautiful places here in the Philippines. In the month of May, most of the country’s towns celebrate their town fiestas to pay respect to their patron saints. Most of these summer fiesta are very colourful and you can even go house hopping and get a taste of the local cuisine, for free! Even people who have lived in the Philippines for very long would say that there is not enough time to see and experience what the Philippine Islands could bring.