| Page Views: 578 Last Visit to Philippines: December, 2007 I Used To Live Here | The Beautiful Islands of the Philippines by joiwatani - last update: Feb 7, 2009 |
The Philippine Archipelago | The Philippine t-shirt I bought awhile ago |
I was born and raised in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States in 1990. But, in 1989, I travelled for three months exploring the Philippine islands.
The Philippines is an archipelago of thousands of islands. Depending on low-tide or high tide, the islands have at least 7,100 islands.
There are three major islands in the Philippines. To easily remember them, I will tell you my sister's name: LUZVIMINDA. It stands for Luzon, Vizayas and Mindanao.
Since it is an archipelago, the Philippines is well-known for its beautiful beaches, long stretches of powdered white sand, beautiful corals, and blue waters. It is a haven for divers, swimmers, surfers, sun-tanners and just regular beach goers.
The Philippines had been colonized many times and it shows in the generations of flexibility and resourcefulness of its people. It also shows in the mixture of their race. Some Filipinos have the Spanish, American and Japanese blood as they colonized the Philippines for some historic times. Some have the Chinese blood, too. That's why the Filipinos are considered the most beautiful people in Asia! And, they have the sweetest smile! A testament to that is that country have produced two Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, etc. In 1969, Gloria Diaz was proclaimed the Miss Universe and second in 1973, Margarita Moran. And thousands of Filipinas are title-beauty holders.
There are many dialects spoken in the Philippines. It seems like every province have their own dialect. But, there is a main language spoken which is the Tagalog or Pilipino (language). Some islands speak Spanish as the country have been colonized by the Spaniards for over 500 years. And, some provinces, their dialects have remnants of Spanish in them. So, if you speak Spanish, you might probably understand some of the dialects like the Ilocano and Chabacano.
If you go to one island, their language is probably different from another island. The ways, traditions, culture, religion, way of dressing and their food are different, too.
The southern Philippines (Mindanao) is totally different from Northern Philippines (Ilocos region). This is also because of the disparity in the allocation of the government resources. Most of the funding goes to the Northern region as most of the elected government officials are from there and most of the presidents elected for the past fifty years came from the main island of Luzon.
When you visit the Philippines, you should have an open mind that each village in one island is different from another. |
| World's longest underground river found in Palawan |
|  | The Southern Philippines The most visited place in Southern Philippines are:
Cebu City
Dakak
Boracay Island
Aklan
Iloilo
Bohol
Masbate
Davao City
Cotabato City
Palawan |
| My pix at the Palawan Underground River, 1989 |
| | The Northern Philippines Sites I have explored in Luzon, Philippines are:
Metro Manila (Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Pasig, Pasay,etc)
Cavite
Pagsanjan Falls
The Hundred Islands
Mayon Volcano
Vigan
Candon City
Santiago, Ilocos Sur
Baguio City
Laoag City
Pagudpud
Paoay, Ilocos Sur
Sagada
Bontoc
Banawe Rice Terraces |
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| Pros: | "The friendliest people in the universe!" | | Cons: | "Some islands don't have the amenities for tourists." | | In A Nutshell: | "When you have a chance to come to the Philippines, make sure that you know someone there who can help and guide you!" |
joiwatani's Philippines Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 1 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | Tourist Traps
Tips: 1 | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs
Tips: 2 | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 joiwatani's Philippines Travelogues | | | |
|
 Comments for joiwatani about Philippines | | | | |
jumpingnorman Sun Apr 12, 2009 04:28 UTC
LOL --- this is a fun Philippine page --- I know you could add more tips but you're probably just too busy....Mabuhay, Norman :) | lynnehamman Mon Feb 2, 2009 06:25 UTC
Nice overview on Philippines- | georeiser Fri Dec 12, 2008 02:28 UTC
I LOVE The Philippines. The people, the beaches, the beer, the warm weather. |
|
|
email me
add as friend
