More than just consistently being one of the best and beautiful islands in the world (taking the top spot again in Condé Nast Traveler’s polls this year), Boracay is also arguably a foodie’s haven, with restaurants and cafes following the coastline of the famed White Beach, and also finding their way on the island’s main…
Comfy, spacious, and tastefully designed dorm rooms and private rooms at affordable backpacker prices, a wide and beautiful pool, parties every night, and more at Mad Monkey Hostel in Boracay.
The unusual scorching July Boracay heat was suddenly tempered as we walked along Mandala Spa’s leafy entrance. It was like entering a respite from the island’s traffic jams and rush of tourists. Several steps forward, it was still all greenery and I felt a soothing coolness on my skin. As we turned the corner, up ahead was the open-air reception area and the welcoming smiles of…
I woke up at 6 am to the beat of drums from different directions. Here at the Ati-atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan, merrymaking starts early and ends late. An hour and a half later, the parade of competing tribes began. First off were the groups for the Balik-Ati (Return to the Ati) category. This competition…
The week after MassKara Festival was my second time to be hosted by Go Hotels, and its Bacolod branch did not disappoint. Just like Go Hotels Tacloban, Go Hotels Bacolod is bursting with vibrant yellows and greens. I especially like its simple but striking architecture. Bright and colorful, simple design I was pleased to see…
Masks so vibrant, colorful and intricate they almost look alive. Dancers carrying the weight of these masks – some as heavy as four or five kilos – on their faces under the heat of the midday sun as they ran, skipped, whirled, and even bobbed up and down. To me, these are what makes Bacolod’s…
They were more than life-sized statues; they were larger than life. Former US General Douglas MacArthur, his landing party, and then President Sergio Osmeña and General Carlos Romulo, towered close to the combined height of two people at Red Beach, Palo, Leyte. Shining proud and golden under the sunlight, they are forever frozen in the…
(Updated August 2016) Kalanggaman does not only have one, but two, pristine white sandbars! Just around an hour of boat ride from the mainland of Leyte, this island is worth going to.
Amid the city’s mall and commercial establishments, I had walked into a Zen garden. At the center of the hall, white, blue-gray and flaming orange pebbles swirled in mandala-like patterns. From each mandala rose bright green shrubs and bushes or twisting driftwood, accentuated by rocks of varying shapes. And, while the skies were gloomy and…
While the skies were a gloomy gray monochrome last Saturday, the stadium and grounds of Leyte Sports Development Center at Tacloban City, Leyte, were in a festive mood. Though the morning street dance was regrettably canceled because of the continuous downpour, the afternoon performances of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival contingents adorned the stage with vibrant, dancing…
