If it's iconic architecture that you're looking for in the Philippines, the National Arts Center…read more(NAC) Theater or Tanghalang Maria Makiling is definitely is among them. Designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, this structure, said to be inspired by the Pyramids in Egypt, has been a widely-recognized symbol of the Philippine High School for the Arts, but it's technically not the school's domain anymore. Managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (and may be booked through their offices), the NAC Theater is a huge open-air performance venue. It is equipped with state of the art sound and lighting requirements for music, theater, or dance performances; and can accommodate an audience of up to 1,000 guests. Our high school recitals, graduation ceremonies, sportsfests, and other special occasions were held here.

I first found out about the School of Design and Arts' Museum of Contemporary Art and Design when I…read moregot lost while looking for the bathroom. I opened the wrong door and - voila! - there's a naked dude pretending to be a statue (not naked naked, he had a sort of a tea cozy on his equipment because this was still a Catholic school), among other exhibitions. I learned that day that the College of Saint Benilde had its own museum, and that the exhibits were mostly occupied by the students of the School of Design and Arts, as well as the occassional famous person. I thought it was really cool, and I ended up getting a selfie with the naked dude statue because why the hell not.

MCAD is a really beautiful space for art. I'm not sure the students at Benilde, La Salle, and St…read more Scho know how lucky they are to be in such close proximity to a gallery that, though still pretty young, manages to hold beautiful, interesting exhibits of artists from all over. The last show I've seen was the one-man exhibit of Paul Pfeiffer, entitled Vitruvian Figure, and there has not been a better use of MCAD's hugeness in a while. Recreations of the Philippine arena, a moving image of a sunrise/sunset, and a dark theater screening of a spoken word choir performance echoing the video installations outside really drove the point home of how greatly the museum space elevates the art housed within it. What's great too is that they involve the CSB student body by giving some the opportunity to be mediators and engage visitors by speaking about the works and answering questions about them. It's a pretty cool thing, as it allows people to have a more personal exchange with the works there. I'm glad they've gotten their own entrance along one of the side roads now. Though I fear for the open shelving they have as their bag deposit, it does open the museum a little more to the public. MCAD brims with so much possibility and I look forward to my next visit.

A trip down childhood memory lane is the perfect offering of Yexel Toy Museum. For the yuppies and…read morethose young-at-heart. Located inside a subdivision, the museum is quite confusing to find, but don't hesitate to ask a tricyle driver (yes, whenever I am in a small street and needs directions, I always ask a tricycle driver. They never failed me!) and they gave the directions already. Parking is not readily available so, be corteous enough to fellow motorists to park your car properly. Also, ask the house owner if you could park in front of their house. Proper decorum is a must, dear friends. Upon entering the house turned into a toy museum, you'd be envied on how the owner of the toy museum actually took care of their toys. Of course not everything in the toy museum was really the toys they played, but you would feel that sense of "I should have cared for my toys" guilt feel. Roaming around the building, you'd be amazed by the sheer number of toys the museum houses. The best part for me was seeing Optimus Prime and the overall drama of the place is that you feel you are in hanger of Optimus Prime. Yexel Toy Museum is still undergoing expansion but if you cant wait to see Baymax, Ranma 1/2, Batman, and other cartoon characters, then head to this place. It surely will make your weekend or weekday trip memorable.

Better known as the brother of late internet sensation, Jam Sebastian (God bless his soul), yet…read moreanother internet sensation turned toy savant, Yexel, has opened this toy haven for you geeks and geeks-to-be. What to see? Well everything that your geeky heart would desire?! From the various heroes and villains of the Marvel and DC universe, to Star Wars, to Middle Earth up to even the contemporary classics such as Game of Thrones, you'd surely get the goosebumps here, the geeky kind that is. One word of advice? Keep your kids and your geeky significant others on a short, tight leash. Need I to explain further?

I returned to the Philippines after sometime bringing both my adult daughters visiting the…read morePhilippines for the first time. My lovely family decided to bring us to Las Casas de Acuzar. The journey to this place is abt a 3hr drive from Manila. We had advance reservations made and when we arrived we were greeted very warmly with amazing hospitality from the staff. The surroundings is beautiful and breathtaking. The property itself is massive. I love how it is rich in history, culture and architectures that has been preserved through the years and very well maintained. They have put so much thought and planning to this place and it is impressive. We enjoyed our tour, stay and dinning to the fullest! I cannot even explain how wonderful our experience here enough. Please see my attached photos. I highly recommend for everyone to visit. You won't regret it!

Tourist spot in Luzon located in Bataan Philippines. A place…read morewhere you can find a lot of ancestral house around the Philippines bought by the owner named Mr Acuzar and put them all in one place some were as it was and some were renovated. Inside transpo are jeepneys,horses,carjuaje,boats,,atv,tramvia etc by night when sun is out a lot of expectators walk around to see the grandeour of the place. Entrance is about $75Cnd per head on week ends and a bit cheaper for week days for a day tour that includes your meal for lunch,the meal is just okay dont expect a lot.The fee also includes unlimited used of all the transpo.overnight and more stay is different rates. 4 or 5 selected houses are included in the tour,group tour with tourist guide with knowledge of history and all those house better than an encyclopedia. Surrounded by ocean,manmade lake and near mountains this place is indeed breath taking. Day tour and overnight stay is available those old houses some of them were converted to a hotel. Most ground floor of most houses are air conditioned and you never run out of things to do,billiard etc body masaage is available as well. Washroom were all immaculately clean. There's souvenir shops,bar etc . Designated smoking area as well,pet friendly except some spots.Catholic church can be found inside the premises. Highly recommended to all Filipinos and tourist this is a pride to showcase history,culture and everthing about the Philippines/ A one stop history class to all: Kidos and mabuhay

I'm lucky to have been able to call the Cultural Center of the Philippines my second home. Dancing…read morewith Ballet Philippines required me to be at the CCP every day and so I got to experience a lot of the events in the hub of the performing arts in Manila. From art exhibits to stage plays, full-length ballets to musicals, film festivals to the Aliwan festival, CCP plays host to several large scale events within the year, and there's always something happening on its grounds. In the first quarter of the year, you'll have most overseas productions come to the Main Theater and the closing gala of most of the resident CCP companies like the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Tanghalang Pilipino, and Ballet Philippines, to name a few. The best time to go is in February when Arts Month is in full swing, because the complex will be at its busiest, especially during Pasinaya - the CCP Open House weekend where all the resident performing companies put on mini-showcases in various locations around the complex. Food stalls are found all around the streets of the complex like one big fiesta. Best of all is its pay-what-you-can entrance fee! The summer season also brings along summer workshops, so if you've ever wanted to try acting, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, or writing a play, you can enroll in one of the many workshops that the companies at the CCP have to offer. This will also be when the major companies hold auditions and begin preparations for their next seasons. (They've got a bulletin board by the Artist's Entrance that holds all the audition announcements.) More festivals like Cinemalaya (an independent film fest) and Virgin Labfest (theater), and competitions like the National Music Competition for Young Artists are held in the latter quarters, as well as the onset of the regular performing season at the CCP. Even during its most quiet days, the CCP always has something to offer. During my free time in between rehearsals, I would walk around and always find something new to discover, whether it's in the galleries on the upper floors, or the archives of Philippine theater in the CCP library, the beautiful architecture inside, or seeing rehearsals of the various performing companies. It's where the best of the best in the performing arts come to create, and it's also one of the foremost places that makes Manila what it is.

Every time I set foot on the grounds of CCP, I always feel like I am in the brink of nirvana. The…read moredim lighting, the carpeted staircase, the spacious lobby near the main theater, the chandeliers - all these things that I see as I climb one floor to the next lend a sense of awe and prestige to this cultural Parthenon. And, I haven't started talking about the exhibits and performances yet! When there are events going on, the halls transform into a vibrant place, reminding me of how, in the Phantom of the Opera, the dust suddenly flew away from the theater and revealed the structure's old grandeur. Even the small box-like theater, the Tanghalang Huseng Batute, becomes alive and magical with every performance during the Virgin Labfest season. And, all floors becomes packed with students, film enthusiasts and various other people when Cinemalaya runs its carefully-chosen independent films. But even when there are no festivals or much-publicized events going on, the artistic atmosphere does not leave CCP. Exhibits are a staple. I suggest you feed your eyes with a view of the beautiful, critical artworks in Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo and Bulwagang Juan Luna. Or, you can also feed your ears by visiting the paid for exhibit in the 4th floor entitled "Diwa: Buhay, Ritwal at Sining". It displays Asian musical instruments, some of which you are permitted to play (note: ask the guard which you can touch and which you cannot.) Also, not to forget, CCP has a library which houses audio and videorecordings of some performances and several books about art. I did some of my thesis research here. The library did not charge me a fee and all the staff were very accommodating.

If you want to see something that'll change your life, catch a show by the Quezon City Performing…read moreArts. You have dance performances and music as well, but here's the clincher - these kids are street children. QCPA gets them off the street and grants them a scholarship that puts them in the theater or in the dance studio. Funded by the Quezon City government in hopes they'll pursue careers in the arts, most of these kids come from families that can't afford to send them to school, buy a house, or even feed them regularly. They could have been drug dealers, slaves to physical or sexual abuse, or worse, but this foundation transforms their lives and instead teaches them to play the guitar, to sing, and to pirouette. Through the QCPA Development Foundation, the scholars have led better lives. They have had the chance to travel, study, and earn money to support themselves and their families. Dancing, singing, making music, and creating art becomes their way out of all their hardships. To see them perform onstage and smiling, knowing the past they have, is beautiful. It really shows what a difference art can make to save this country.

One of my best friends grew up in Angono, Rizal, and she has always told me about this…read morearchaeological site that was discovered several years back in the nearby Binangonan town, which shares Angono's border. During one of their town fiestas, she took me up there to see it. Only roughly an hour away from Manila (and several minutes away from Antipolo) is the Binangonan Petroglyph site, which is a protected historical and cultural site. Apparently, the national authority for arts and culture have been testing the veracity and the authenticity of the site, but the marker from the National Museum must suggest that there has to be a certain level of credibility to the discovery Just a few minutes away from Angono's town proper, one would have to take a very steep mountain road to get to the developed uphill town near Thunderbird Resort and Casinos. Though the trail to the site itself is well-established, it is still recommended to wear your good hiking shoes because the dirt could be a little loose and rocky, especially during hot weather. There is a vast quarry that has a manmade, roughly hewn tunnel cutting through it which connects the highway to the other face of the mountain, where the Petroglyhs are located. With a minimal entrance fee, you will be able to see the Petroglyphs (stone drawings) which were apparently done by our cavemen ancestors hundreds of years ago, possibly even during the Neolithic age (broken vessels, remains and other artifacts were found in the site as well).The petroglyphs are known as the oldest form of folk art in the country. The said stone drawings featured tribal motifs for animals, humans and other natural objects, and they are etched to the faces of the rocks that jut out of the mountain. Some of the areas have been vandalized by people before the National Museum stepped in and built a barrier, restricting close access to the rocks. It is said that the cavemen who etched the designs onto the rocks are the ancestors of the people of Angono, who later on spurred an artistic Renaissance in the town, smaking it the Art Capital of the Philippines. Thankfully, preservation efforts have been done to keep the petroglyphs from being damaged by human activity and the elements. The site is also being petitioned to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

What do you think would be the oldest artwork in the Philippines? Definitely not the oil paintings…read moreon canvas or stone sculptures, but paintings too, or rather etchings on rocks, of our indigenous ancestors, long before civilization as we we know it was created. The Binangonan-Angono Petroglyphs are rock drawings of what looks like human and animal figures. There are about 127 still-visible drawings on a huge rock shelter on the hills bordering Angono and Binangonan. To get there, my travel companions and I rode up a hill before coming to an entrance of what seems like a cave. The guards told us to pass by the tunnel to get to the petroglyphs on the other side. We just walked straight and when we emerged out of the tunnel, we saw a structure that seemed like a house but which actually holds replicas of artifacts like stones and plates of baybayin, the ancient Filipino writing system. And then we went up a stone then wooded walkway to get to the rock shelter with the cave drawings. They do look like the real thing, though I read in some accounts that it is not yet proven without a doubt that the artworks are indeed authentic. But in any case, they indeed look beautiful and ancient, with some etchings deeper and more visible than others.

Beautiful to experience the old Philippines looking at antique furnitures and photos. A must see…read morefor new generation. No entrance fee. Grab the opportunity and visit the museum

Very nice museum worth the visit Lots of things to see…read moreplaces in the museum Had to come back the next day to finish viewing the museum

The Geronimo B. de los Reyes, Jr. Museum Foundation (GBR Museum) has one of the most extensive…read morecollections of old photographs of the Philippines. The collection starts with pictures from the early 1800s up to present day historical photos. It also has an aviation museum.

Called to inquire about the venue rental. Sales agent not so entertaining. Would appreciate it if…read morethis agent would be more courteous.

I had the pleasure of going to Green Sun when several of the artists I handled were booked to…read moreperform at an event there. It has quite an interesting layout, with the middle area elevated. After supervising their sound check, I had the pleasure of going around the adjacent area where several "open stalls" where several independent local fashion designers and labels showcased their creations. There's also a cafeteria-style set-up, which could seat a huge number of people and would be perfect for themed events with such specific requirements. When the event proper began, the walls were transformed to screens. The area could probably hold about 500 people standing, which could really be perfect for special shows, or other sorts of events. There is a small patio in the back of the venue, which can be used as holding area or as smoking area as it also has a few tables and seat under canopies.