Why not Philippines?

No authentic Thai massage, no Tom Yum Soup, no Skybar, no Bed Supper Club, no floating market and no Thai cooking lessons in Bangkok. Why?  It’s just like that! 🙁

But hey, why not Philippines right? I’ve been to different countries in Asia but I haven’t had a chance to see the beautiful places in the Philippines. I think it is the right time. I came up with four beautiful places in the Philippines that I would like to visit this coming September and October and these are:

1. Mt. Pinatubo

(One of the early explosive eruptions at Pinatubo after the April 1991 onset of ash eruptions, photo courtesy of wikipedia))

Mt. Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, at the intersection of the borders of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga.  A decade after its eruption in 1991, it became a tourist attraction.  One of my brothers went there once with his Korean friend.  They had a good time.

(Mount Pinatubo‘s caldera contains a lake of the same name, pictured here in 2008, photo courtesy of wikipedia)

(Here’s another photo courtesy of trippinas.multiply.com)

2. Chocolate Hills, Bohol

The Chocolate Hills are an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. According to the latest accurate survey done, there are 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.

The Chocolate Hills are a famous tourist attraction of Bohol.

(View of the Chocolate Hills from Sagbayan Pea)

The Philippine Tarsier

The Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), known locally as the Maumag in Cebuano/Visayan, is an endangered tarsier species endemic to the Philippines. It is found in the southeastern part of the archipelago, particularly in the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Its name is derived from its elongated “tarsus” or ankle bone.

3. Vigan, Ilocos Sur

The City of Vigan is a third class city in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur. The city is located on the western coast of the large island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea.

It is a World Heritage Site in that it is one of numerous Hispanic towns in the Philippines, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine building design, and construction with colonial European architecture.

This is the reason why I plan to go to Vigan, it’s the Hispanic structures of the buildings.

If you like what I talked about in this blog and would like to receive emails whenever I have new articles, why don’t you enter your email below? 🙂