Photo Diary: Ifugao Rice Terraces ( Banaue and Batad )

I didn't completely realize Ifugao Rice Terraces ( Philippine Banaue & Batad Rice Terraces) could not only be seen and heard both on school books and TV show Well, I was there with a friend spending our long weekends amidst of the long hour trip and unfavorable weather. 

To savor more, posting some of the pics for eye feasting and salivating your travel instinct to see the place itself before it'll completely gone and be a story to hear about.

P.S. Banaue Rice Terraces is commonly thought of the 8th Wonder of the World, while Batad Rice Terraces is the UNESCO World Heritage site.

A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES

If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax; I'd limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after the other, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do over again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over again, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dance; I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.

-=Attributed to Nadine Stair=-

I found these pics at Flickr.com a pictures of the common situation in my country Philippines.The pics reminds me of the usual and routinable life in the Philippines but laid back and so simple.
There's no really place like home, and home is where your heart is. The above phrases were also taken from smiles4angels account as I was viewing his collection of pics.I Just simply love it and relate the message.
The pics that you just see above are just among the slices of life in the Philippines...miss home.

SIQUIJOR- A MUST SEE DESTINATION

Summer is a perfect season for a backpacking adventure, visiting different places in the country is an ideal travel tip to escape the hustle & bustle of the city. if it's summer here in the Philippines, truly the heat is scorching, that something to expect. Since it's summer here, the sun is calling out once again, signaling us with a warm of dark tans, calming sunsets, warm wind that touches your cheeks. As a provincial starve vacationer, Siquijor is one of the top 5's I recommended since I was born there & spent some of my early innocent days. It's the home province of my mother which an uncharted territory in the central Visayas. Because of its urban legend "sorcery", the more exciting your travel fancy that surely thrilled your heart. Siquijor is the smallest island among the 3 biggies in Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Negros) but the most peaceful, laid-back, and inexpensive. At the same time, Siquijor invokes a sense of adventure and exploration. One thing that you can't do in the city is stargazing, the sky is so clear that you can visibly see millions of stars at night. Fireflies lighted the trees are the usual enchanting background that you can pictorially see some. You can honestly demand your privacy there if you want to which is very hard to get nowadays. Siquijor is a place with no traffic, no pollution, far from the nuisance of the metropolitan, fresh air, and no beggars to say the least. Progress there has been so slow, there's no mall, movie houses and no fast-food chain but there's a lot of stores and restaurants around (the)towns. Blogger friends such as Ferdz and Oggie are amongst the Manilenyo backpackers who just visited and uncovered the mystery of the island. Their cameras will tell you how tempting Siquijor is for an escapade of the cosmopolitans intrigue and an urgency stressful works in the city. Pictures below are the snapshots of shreds of evidence of the hush and the serene setting of Siquijor. I don't want to go on more elaborately, bragging about the island but hoping the pictures below would do the talking more. Thanks to Ferdz and Oggie for these breathtaking shots they took about the island of Fire. (pictures courtesy of www.oggieblog.blogspot.com) (pictures courtesy of www.ironwulf.net)

SIQUIJOR FEATURED IN SEAIR IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE

When we hear the word Siquijor;black magic,witch craft,monster,etc and other evil forms would suddenly come up to our minds.You'll suddenly feel goosebumps when you hear telltales about the island.They don't know that it is one of the Philippine prides,which the island promotes among one of the finest beaches in the country.
I was born in this island,but I spent much of my teeny boopers in Olongapo city,yet,I still considered the island as home.
The island was featured not only on local TV programs but even on blogs and on an airline magazine.Once again,the island was featured in the In-Flight Magazine owned by Seairline.

Siquijor is one of the Philippines gorgeous islands. It is located in the Central Visayas Region close to the islands of Bohol, Cebu and Negros. The island is the third smallest province in the country both in terms of population and land area.
Siquijor is mostly made up of limestone materials and fringed with mangrove trees, fine and white sand beaches, and coral reefs. The highest point of the island is Mt. Bandilaan, which rises at approximately 557 meters above sea level.
Dubbed as the next Boracay, the island is known for its scenic beauty and archaic churches. It is a haven for nature lovers and adventurers because of its numerous caves, springs and rivers. The coral reefs sorrounding the island are attractions to diving enthusiasts from all over.

RP'S RICHEST MEN

Henry Ward Beecher
It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
While watching the local news on TV...GMA Channel-7 featured RP's richest men....they are eventually poor as in poor during their times,but their eagerness to reach the acme of life inspired them of what they are like now.
According to Forbes Asia....the listings of the Philippines richest men has continued to earn more and rose high amidst of the crisis in the country and globally.
Below are the riches of the richests of all:
A shopping mall mogul has become the Philippines richest man after amassing 1.4 billion dollars in past year, while his peers were hit by the global financial crisis, it was announced Thursday.
The fortune that Henry Sy made was the "biggest gain in absolute terms" of the country's wealthiest 40 families, who saw their collective wealth plunge 18 percent amid the world credit turmoil, Forbes magazine said in a statement.
In its annual list of the Philippines' richest people, Forbes said the country's stock exchange had dived 35 percent in the past year, making 25 out of 40 tycoons -- including those in banking and real estate -- were poorer.
Forbes said the Sy family was now worth 3.1 billion dollars, vaulting from second place to first.
The low-profile 83-year-old and his family control SM Investments, which owns stakes in a dozen companies including the nation's second largest bank.
Sy started off selling shoes to American GIs in the Philippines in 1958. From one store known as Shoemart, he built a multi-billion dollar empire.
Today he is Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with 30 mega malls throughout the Philippines.
Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family slipped from first to third as their wealth suffered a massive drop of 800 million dollars, to 1.2 billion dollars, Forbes said.
The stock of their conglomerate Ayala Corp. is down 46 percent since last year in part because of the economic slowdown and declining profits in banking and electronics manufacturing units, it said.
Moving up to second position is Lucio Tan and family, with a net worth of 1.5 billion dollars, although this is still down by 100 million dollars from last year.
Tan controls Philippine airlines as well as the country's largest cigarette firm, one of its largest brewers, mining operations and Hong Kong property.
Also hit hard is property tycoon Andrew Gotianun of Filinvest Land, who fell 10 places to 17th after losing 625 million dollars to give him a net worth of 235 million dollars.
Senate President Manuel Villar, the largest shareholder in high-end homebuilder Vista Land, also saw his wealth tumble 55 percent to 425 million dollars to put him in 11th, down from fifth last year.
Another property kingpin, Andrew Tan, saw his net worth plunge 400 million dollars to 700 million dollars.
The 57-year old made much of his wealth as an office developer for the outsourcing industry and is now betting on gaming and tourism.
Of the 40 richest Filipinos this year, 11 tycoons eked out gains but almost all of those increases were because of reporting on new assets or shareholdings or the combination of relatives' stakes, including Sy.
The Philippines had three billionaires this year compared with four last year as Andrew Tan lost this elite status.
Lourdes Montinola seemed to buck the trend as shares of her Far Eastern University increased 38 million dollars to vault her to number 31 with a net worth of 68 million dollars.
There was only one newcomer, Alfredo Ramos of Atlas Consolidated Mining, who debuted at number 23 with a net worth 126 million dollars.
A net worth of 30 million dollars is required to make the Philippines rich list, unchanged from last year. Fourteen tycoons had net worth of less than 100 million dollars and four of last year's members failed to make the cut.
(source:yahoo.com.ph)

PAGSANJAN FALLS SECOND ADVENTURE

Water runs deep and strong in the Pagsanjan River. It is benevolent at times but can rage in fury when the rains come to prod a white-water mass racing downstream.Many adventures have been born in this river. To thrill and beguile.

PAGSANJAN FALLS LEGEND
Actually, the real name of the majestic waterfalls is "Magdapio Falls" located at the next town, Cavinti. However, the falls has been popularly known as "Pagsanjan Falls" because the trip to the waterfalls, reffered to as "shooting the rapids", starts in Pagsanjan, passes through part of Lumban, then Cavinti.
On the way to the magnificent waterfalls, one may feel the relaxing atmosphere and beauty brought by the experience of harmony with nature. While entering the tropical gorge, one will see wild orchids, ferns, vines, spiders, dragonflies, lizards on the rocks, chattering monkeys and the beautiful sun rays passing through the trees, touching peaceful water and high above are the multi-colored birds flirting in te bushes.
In recent years Pagsanjan has become the premier tourist spot of the Philippines. More than 500 tourists from all parts of the world daily visit the town, from Monday through Sunday. These tourists are ferried to the enchanting Pagsanjan falls in native bancas paddled by expert boatmen. They all experience a thrilling memory of adventure, seldom surpassed in their lifetime. As Dr. Marguerite J. Fisher, American lady professor and globe-trotter, said: "I just love Pagsanjan, with its picturesque waterfalls and rapids. I've been there thrice and I've shot the rapids a number of times."


My first visit at Pagsanjan falls was truly a dream come true...I never expect that I would have gotten the chance to see it personally..since I only heard it and see it in magazine and being discussed at school.
Now, it's has been my second visit and I was with my korean students....indeed Pagsanjan falls is a world class to visit.
I am practically proud that we have Pagsanjan falls which is known abroad and draws a lot of foreign tourists.After an hour of paddling upstream,the difficulty of the boatmen to drag the boat up on the rocks across the rapid waters with us three passengers on board, the roaring echoes of the falling waters,which the water cascades down to a high cliff rock was clearly and makes our excitement to go on over fastly.A little farther was the breathtaking falls that made my students an awe the pride of the Philippines.
I posted some pics in here with the hope you can appreciate,though it's not that clear.
All the pics here were just taken from my iPhone camera.....anyhow it looks good too.

PROUDLY PINOY

As one song goes, " Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year".It's the perfect time to bond with our family and friends, but celebrating it far from your family causing it to be a lonely and cold Christmas.
To be outdated with the news makes you disjointed the occurred events locally and globally.This is the disadvantage of having no TV and radio.I just found out earlier or so that JOllibee offered newspaper freely to every breakfast time with side orders apart from the Jolly Value Meal.
I got 3 bundles of Phil.Star collections from my frequent breakfast at Jollibee and planning of constituting a habit.My early tutorials at 7 in the morning induced my propensity to eat at Jollibee at 6 before I proceeded to my class.
Reading newspaper gives you a lot of ideas what to write and that's where I got this picture of what I'm going to post now.
Funfare column of Ricky Lo had featured a young Pinay singer Charice Pempengco who made wows to the Koreans with her belting voice in a korean tv show.I searched her name at Youtube immediately as she was truly performed well that filled the korean judges with bewilderment and sudden great wonder.

(Charice on her winning form at a Korean TV show)
a.("Check Youtube to see Charice performed at a certain Korean TV Show")
b.Click here to see Charice featured at Ellen DeGeneres Show
The young gal hails from Laguna and started to sing at early age of 4 which joined several singing contest.She got discovered by a researcher of Ellen DeGeneres and invited Charice to be her guest.
Philippine Star,Funfare (column of Ricky Lo) dated December 26,another Pinoy had made it international humbly started as a lead singer of a local band ZOO, has been chosen as lead vocalist of the 80's US band Journey.
Yes, you read it from here that the person Arnel Pineda caught the JOurney's attention via the Youtube singing Journey hits.

(here Arnel in the middle with the Journey members)
Journey was among my fave bands in the 80's with their famous hits; Ever Since the World Began; Faithfully; Open Arms; to name a few.
To my disbelief, I searched Arnel's name at Youtube which was I myself had astonished to believe how he gave justice and holds the songs with his voice by heart.Arnel was personally invited by Journey to audition for the band in San Francisco, but Arnel Pineda got the attention of the band because of the exact spot of notes that made Steve Perry famous.
The band which is said to have not fully recovered from the resignation of its vocalist Steve Perry in 1987, but returned for a short reunion in 1996, and then another vocalist who replaced Steve,Jeff Scott left the band only last June.
Auditioning for JOurney's openly unfold to full width not only in tv but online.Die hard fans of the band, aren't happy with the decision.Some have had unrefined comments offensively with a taste of straight racism evenly putting down Arnel.
"Journey is supposed to be an all American band & move to outsourcing the job cheaper Asian labor"
(source:Journeyforums.com)
Despite of that unsophisticated criticism, Charice and Arnel makes me feel very proud.Good comments from other countries that have had seen the performance of our proud Pinoys on the popular video sharing YouTube, boast the morale of every Filipinos that we truly a world class performers.
Check Youtube how Arnel proved his worth to be the vocalist of Journey....

PUERTO AZUL BLASTS

We took our Korean students to Puerto Azul as their special trip since they longed to see the fine beaches in the Philippines.
Sad to say,I wasn't satisfied of the trip which my expectations was a world class one.Puerto Azul was considered to be one of the best destinations for beach bummers...yet,it's not what you expected to see.
I was searching for the Puerto (rich)Azul (blue)around,yet, I couldnt find them...it's just the lushful greenery preserved forest.


Just to prove that I've been there.....This is the entrance way to the lobby area.The building were quite old and baroque...


Up on the way to the reception area...Seeing those hanging well decorated and designed shells gives the lobby more attractive and cozy.


The receiving area which is so wide and spacious...look impressived isn't it.The spiral design of the sailing was so breathtaking.


I stood and awe with that hanging pasted shells as chandeuliers(dont know the spelling)....I don't know exactly if it has bulb on it....but it's truly amazing.


The not so beautiful beach of Puerto Azul.....can you find the Puerto and the Azul there? Well,we tried to appreciate the beach..knowing that only the club members were aloud to visit the resort.


Sultanate style Resto........nobody eats there except us..ehehehee.But the foods were so expensive that almost drained your pocket.


My first jetski ride ever.....this was the most ecstatic part in Puerto Azul amidst of the disappointing beach.Down on to my crotch was Jack,goofin around in gayness as I was about to speed up for my jetski ride.


Golf course area...Teacher J-Anne and teacher Amor...exotic teachers with nice voices...really.Only the club members of Puerto Azul were aloud to play golf and take a splunge in the beach.


With our Students.....well,they were enjoying though.....We closed our mouth not to give negative comments about the beach.


Puerto Azul by 5 in the afternoon.....quite soothing and relaxing..Many from our korean students appreciate the sunset and took their time watching the sun went down.


Larry our student...looking towards the melancholic sunset....that's one of the most attracting site in Puerto Azul during afternoon....good for dating and rejuvenating for the weary soul.

Yours truly..recharging for awhile...see the beach? it's not that simply impressive but you'll enjoy the sunset and the jetski ride..believe me.