The Philippines

Got the Philippines on your travel radar? Check out the advice, stories and tips I can offer after my December 2010 trip there, which saw me visit the city of Manila, the island of Boracay, the iconic Batad Rice Terraces in the northern part of the country and the province of Pampanga, home to the “Giant Lantern Festival.”

Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines

According to some anthropologists, the Banaue Rice Terraces are the oldest existing example of human agriculture, and date back more than 5,000 years.

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7 Reasons to Give Manila a Chance

If the adventures I described in my previous post about the Philippine capital didn’t convince you, consider these seven reasons you should spend at least a few days in Manila.

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Christmas Travel in the Philippines

The Philippines is an incredible place to spend Christmas — and not just because of the tropical warmth.

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The Philippines: Asia’s Grab Bag

Coupled with its complicated history, the Philippines’ wide range of ecological zones, cultures and tourism options make the country a representative cross-section of Southeast Asia as a whole.

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Does Boracay Live Up To The Hype?

Like so many of the developing world’s previously well-kept secrets, this sandcastle island of Boracay in the Philippines calls into question the extent to which a cool place stays cool once uncool people make a habit of going there.

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Introducing Corregidor Island, Philippines

About 28 miles from the Philippine capital at the mouth of Manila Bay sits Corregidor, a tadpole-shaped island that was the last Allied holdout in the Pacific during World War II–and yet strangely, has gone all-but-unmentioned in film and television productions commemorating the conflict.

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Batangas, Philippines: A Tale of Two Taals

If you mention the world “Ta’al” to a Filipino, the first image to pops into his mind will likely be that of an active volcano just south of Manila. The second — if there is one — is a town with the same name and charm.

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