One of the New SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD?!?! I'm down with that! Let's go! Found in the…read morePhilippines, on the island of Palawan, it's one of the many beautiful sites to see in this country. First thing you MUST to do is secure an ENTRY permit to ensure your 1.5hr winding road journey doesn't end up as just shopping for souvenirs. Rather than use a group tour, we went through Joracs Transport Service (owners: Jonel & Evelyn Racuya... Maraming salamat po for AWESOME service!) with a nominal service fee per permit, on top of the cost of permit per person. Joracs took care of this a few weeks BEFORE our arrival. AND, by using Joracs for our visit, our group of 7 could adjust to what the pace of day was, without the pressure of being in a big group. This worked to our advantage, because jet lag made our California boys struggle to stay awake past 5pm local time. So, off we went, 7:30am departure time from the hotel that day. Beautiful countryside journey got us there in 1 1/2 - 2 hours from Puerto Princesa City. First, once you exit the bus doors you are bombarded by local merchant sellers. We actually purchased water proof phone & cargo bags from them at a good price for peace of mind during the boat rides. Hats too, because of concerns of bat guano in the cave. Our guide Jonel left to get our passes at the time. We then waited around for the boat ride to the Cave site, which was roughly an hour in open shaded waiting areas. IT IS STILL HUMID in the cooler months of November, so lots of sweating while waiting. There are local merchants serving fresh fruits & smoothies USING PURIFIED WATER, so delicious & refreshing way of killing time without worry of "nag tataé (tah-tah-éh)" from the other end ;) Our number is called & off we go. Only life jackets are provided. Max people per boat is 8 plus captain & mate. It's about 15 minutes to get to the cave location. Engine is loud, trip is windy. We exit by walking off the boat onto the beach so prepared to get wet. Look for Macaque monkeys and bayawak lizards, they are around! Audio tours provided, then short walk to launch bay, where construction hats with a small front brim are given before boarding cave boats (seats 10 including guide). It is AWESOME inside! Leisure pace inside with skillful boat maneuvering by our guide. Light is provided by the guide's headgear which is ample enough to view & take pictures & video of this natural wonder. Bat are NUMEROUS & you hear lots of "water" drops so not sure what's falling on us lol! A lil tip... Don't look up with your mouth open. ;) All smiles by everyone as we leave the cave boat! We did tip our transport driver, captain, mate, and cave guide. REALLY COOL excursion! REALLY EASY RECOMMENDATION! ENJOY KAYO! :)

We took a bus trip from El Nido to the Underground River. The trip there was a little scary because…read morewe had to switch buses in a small area where there was only a bus stop. We weren't sure that we were in the right place. Once we got on the correct bus, we felt better. The bus ride was bumpy with a lot of turns. My son even got car sick. The town where you get the boats to the Underground River was packed with people. We had to wait in line for quite a while to get tickets. The tour included a lunch which was served in an outdoor tent like area. I even saw a rat! It wasn't very good food. The boat ride to the Underground River we really rough that day. Luckily it wasn't a very long ride. The actual tour of the Underground River was fabulous! My pictures speak for themselves.

THIS is the most awesome statue of Andres Bonifacio in existence. Not the one in Monumento (A…read moretravesty, really), and not the one in front of the National Post Office. THIS. I am totally in love with the raw energy, the fierceness, the drama of this monument. Not content to showcase Bonifacio standing, they show him charging into action, ready to fight, ready to sacrifice his life for the country as he actually did (Though not at the hands of the enemy, but this is not the time for that discussion). If you angle your shot at just the right spot, you can actually depict Bonifacio attacking Manila City Hall. It's an incredible shot that may or may not be representative of whatever.

The City of Manila and Manilenos love Andres Bonifacio, placing him on a pedestal practically at…read morepar with National Hero Jose P. Rizal. This is with good reason. Bonifacio was founder of the movement known as the Katipunan, which waged a revolution against Spain in the 1890s. It is one of Philippine history's greatest tragedies that Bonifacio became a victim of the very revolution he started, being assassinated by the men of Emilio Aguinaldo after the revolutionary forces split into two factions. Today, the nationalist and Leftist movements consider Bonifacio a national hero. He is their symbol as well as rallying point in their modern day war against oppression. Bonifacio Day is celebrated as a national holiday and the most important shrine to the revolutionary from Tondo is the Kartilya ng Katipunan shrine in Liwasang Bonifacio. No less than National Artist Ed Castrillo created this metal and wood sculpture. The plaza in front is often used for different events, from political rallies to city fairs. Above it all stands the mighty Bonifacio, wielding his bolo and rallying his men to fight the better equipped Spaniards.

Looking at the artifacts left behind by Gregoria de Jesus, the "Lakhambini" or First Lady of the…read moreKatipunan, as well as the paintings here, I am swept into a world of fierce love and courage, and the extraordinary strength of this woman. I already knew then that Gregoria de Jesus, or Oryang, as she is more fondly called, is one of the most courageous women in Philippine history. But a glimpse of her life in this old house where she once lived made my respect for her soar and made her all the real to me. It was here that I learned of some of her bad-ass moves, like how she and other women smartly fooled Spaniards while Katipuneros were having meetings. She knew how to shoot, but she also tended to the wounded. She even has some teachings of her own posted at Bahay Nakpil-Bautista ("Sampung Aral ni Oryang"), some of them bad-ass too. I also got a warm feeling reading about her love story - how she was both unabashedly her own person and at the same time wife to Andres Bonifacio. When he died, Julio Nakpil, a general and the musical composer of Katipunan, took care of her protection and fell in love with her. The two married, and thus, Oryang lived in the beautiful stone and wood house of Bahay Nakpil.

The Bahay Bautista Nakpil is a former residence of the illustrious Nakpil family who have turned…read moreit into a museum-cum-workshop. The place has kept the old world charm of late 19th century Manila. Of special interest to art collectors are the wood carved santos created by master craftsmen and artisans at the site itself. The wooden carvings are not cheap. A bust or a head of a saint goes for P2,000 and is the most affordable of the sculpted works. The larger pieces go for anywhere from a low of P25,000 to a high of P100,000. It goes without saying that churches all over the country are among the favored clients of the sculptors, who unfortunately will never be known to the owners. Skilled as they are, they will never be known as artists like Castrillo or Orlina. This is a shame, but that's how the business side of art works. Still, the life-sized wooden santos are a joy to behold, and to own for those who can afford them.

I don't know whether to give this building one star or five stars. In the years that I worked in a…read morebuilding in Intramuros, I would often look at the El Hogar Building across the Pasig River. What a sight it must have been in its heyday. Today, you can only imagine what it must have looked like before whoever owns it allowed it to deteriorate to its present state. This is another historic landmark that begs to be restored, not torn down and replaced with some fancy condominium, as what has happened with other old buildings in the Binondo district of Manila. It's a sad reflection on us as a people that there is insufficient appreciation of the architecture around us. I am hoping against hope that somehow, this old structure will be restored. Its premiere location alone makes it a must see. There's no reason why it can't be restored by the present owners, then rented out to any of the country's top 1,000 corporations, any one of which should be proud to be based at such a site. I'll give it five stars and keep my fingers crossed.

I noticed that a lot of the monuments here in Metro Manila tend to be placed in the weirdest of…read moreplaces. Some of them are located in places where people are unlikely to pass by. They might be visible, but that would make it difficult for people to walk up to them and see what they're like. Anyway, Gabriela Silang's monument is one of those monuments that has a sort of awkward position. It's located along the corners of Ayala and Makati Ave. It's a bit hard to get up close and personal with the lady who serves as the symbol of the country's feminist movement, but it's worth it. The only real issue that I have with this particular monument is poor maintenance. Anyone who musters the effort to get up close and personal with Gabriela will be a little bit dissapointed since the plate at the base of her monument giving info. about her has started to fade, and little to no attention has been given to it.

The rallying point of the famed "Gabriela" party (also named after the hero for which the monument…read moretakes its image), Gabriela Silang, wife of Diego Silang, and the more famous of the two for their rebellion against the Spanish is often toted as one of the female heroes of Philippine history, and the symbol of feminists everywhere (aside from, you know, Cory Aquino, the first female president in Asia, who was a Filipina). While scholars may argue about the historical accuracy of her depiction in the monument, which shows her on horseback, leading a charge with a large bolo in hand as she rallies forth into battle (and some historians would insist that she never wielded a blade nor rode a horse), her monument in the corner of the Ayala Triangle Park overlooks the areas near the grand shopping centers of Makati and an intersection where very memorable events in recent history have caused hordes of women (and men) to come together near this statue to oppose questionable actions against women in the Philippines. While the Philippines arguably enjoys more rights for its female population than other conservative Asian countries, such as in the case of how Filipinas can hold high positions in businesses and government without much incident, while in more "developed" countries like Japan, a woman, regardless of rank in the company, will always be the one charged with serving tea, the Philippines also has much to do in the way of improving the state for all women, impoverished or not. And this monument, historical accuracy or not, still serves as the place where we all come to remember the importance of women in our lives.

I used to run a lot, and then life happened, and now I'm a bum. Luckily, I live near UP and I could…read morewalk there, which can serve as my warm up before I do a round or two around Sunken Garden. PROS: It's not a garden at all, but it is a sunken field. UP legend says it sinks a few inches every year because of the mosh pit and rocking and jumping that occurs during the UP Fair; Traffic's one way so it makes it safer for pedestrians crossing the road. Also, there's a bike lane and jogging path which people who attempt to get fit like me (and those who are legitimately fit already. WEYW.) can frequently use; Start at the Oblation in front of Quezon Hall as your inspiration to look better naked as you begin your run. Then, you see the breathtaking acacia trees lining Sunken and it does look like a leafy tunnel. CONS: Pets and skateboards are not allowed, according to the signs. But I still see the occasional pooches which I am always tempted to pet; I'M SORRY I COUNTERFLOW WHEN I RUN! Yes, I even make eye contact with those coming past me. It's just that if I run in the same direction as the cars and jeeps like everyone, the smoke from the vehicles hit me smack on the face. By the time you reach Vinzons where all the jeepneys are, it gets hard to breathe so I'd rather run against the tide of people and vehicles. If you happen to see me, and you have to run around me as I pummel towards you, I apologize in advance. TL;DR: I can exercise without having to pay anything! Also a good place with relatively clean air for general tambay and walks.

You can take the probinsyana dog out of the province, but you can't take the province out of the…read moreprobinsyana dog. Born and raised in the boondocks of Misamis Oriental, I had to take my poor Storm to the big city so she can see a proper vet. She was literally fresh off the boat and was missing the green, green grass of home terribly so we decided to take her to UP Sunken Garden. After a gruelling two-hour cab ride where Storm was literally shaking in fear (so many metal beasts!), we finally got to UP, where there were free-range grass and tall trees for miles around. I could see my little doggy tear up at the sight of all the green, and she wasted no time running around and taking it all in (translation: she started peeing all over the place, claiming the entire garden as her territory). It took a lot of coaxing and passionate promises of regular trips to her new kingdom to get her into a cab and back to the concrete jungle of Makati, but at least she had her day of fun. Here's to more days of fun in her doggy future.

I have to admit, I was very surprised by what I saw when I came here. Initially I figured it would…read morebe completely historical with stone fortifications, but instead there's an actual city with restaurants and homes. Must be pretty cool living within history, there's also an amazing view from top of the walls.

Intramuros has endured wars, calamities and foreign invaders and yet this 64-hectare stone city…read morestill stands as strong as it first did 400 hundred years ago. How could it live through such a beating? Clearly, there was so much more to these massive stone walls than its impeccable engineering. Everybody has a lot to say about this citadel, its squatters and scammers but it's the only window to our past and even if we try to look away, we will always come home to it. It's the heart our city, the last breathing structure that has escaped the commercialization of Manila. And while all of us will go on, the undead will remain on its streets guarding the last memory of the Philippine's colonial past.

The Guadalupe Bridge, at its most utilitarian definition, serves to connect Makati to Mandaluyong…read moreas part of the main artery that is EDSA. However, it, like a lot of things in this city, has taken a life of its own a la Neverwhere. I will attempt to describe some of these aspects. As a bridge: even at its most basic, intended use, Guadalupe Bridge is either a hellish road during rush hour for commuters, or the most direct means of crossing from point A to point B in your Manila journey, if it isn't the rush hour. For the pedestrian traffic, this is a good way to experience the exotic smells of the Pasig River at different times of day and weather conditions. As a talking point: Guadalupe Bridge has proven to be an effective catalyst for a lot of conversations. It lends itself well as anything ranging from a landmark for people not so used to the area, to a barometer for social conditions and concerns, as evidenced by what adorns it. Sometimes, it's the ads that are in prominent review that cause the hullabaloo, especially when the ads are of barely-clothed hunks, or men shown as lovingly holding hands. Sometimes it's the pasted-on flyers calling for organized action on the streets. As an art piece: they say art is the reflection of the human psyche, and this bridge reflects that in spades. Graffiti, stickers, ads, and even public information signs all contribute to give you a peek into the minds of the ultimately transitory people along the bridge. As a means of occult restrain: this bridge, I suspect, serves to shackle the vengeful personification of the Pasig River. This last part may or may not be true.

There is the shell of a building along historic Aduana street within the Walled City of Intramuros…read morein the capital city of that is begging to be restored. The building was where Customs used to be located in pre-war Manila, but was all but totally destroyed during the war, For some odd reason, it has practically become a tourist site, as well as a favorite of professional and amateur photographers. Only the outer walls and steel bars remain of what looks to be a magnificent looking structure when it was intact. It is not clear who has jurisdiction over the site. It may well be the Intramuros Administration or the National Historical Institute. It could even be the City of Manila itself. Whoever is in charge of this landmark is missing a great opportunity to restore a historically significant structure. But even in its totally destroyed state, it remains sadly beautiful.