MABUHAY! WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES!

 Hi there!

I am Markie and I am a Certified Public Accountant. I really love to travel across the islands of my country which is Philippines. Also, I am really fond of travelling overseas.

So my article now is about my home country, the Philippines, and I would like to share to you how beautiful my country is. Despite the global pandemic that's happening since 2020 up to now, we are hoping that all gates and country borders will re-open so we can explore the beauty of each country, including Philippines.

Coron, Palawan (source: Rough Guides Philippines)

HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES

So I would like to give you a brief background how Philippines became Philippines. 

The Philippines was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, a Portugese explorer sailing for Spain, he named the islands after King Philip II of Spain, that's why Philippines is our country's name. The Philippines was originally called Las Islas Filipinas (translated as the Philippine Islands). By the 1830's Spanish culture had penetrated into Filipino culture, so if you will visit our country, you can see a lot of Spanish traces here like our language, dialect, old structures and houses, customs, and genes running in our blood. But it is not limited to only Spain as the Philippines already traded merchandises to Chinese in the northwestern part of the country, Malaysians and Indonesians in the southwestern part of the country, Japanese, Koreans, and even Americans during their occupation here in the Philippines.

The country now has an estimated total population of 111 million people as of August 2021 and continuous to rise. Business districts were strategically located in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao but there are some business districts booming to other parts of the country like Clark Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and many others.

Philippine Business District

DESCRIBING THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is defined by its emerald rice fields, teeming megacities, graffiti-splashed jeepneys, smouldering volcanoes, bug-eyed tarsiers, fuzzy water buffalo and smiling, and happy-go-lucky people. So here's other description of Philippines according to other nationalities. (source: The Lonely Planet)

An Island-Hopping Paradise

With more than 7100 tropical islands to choose from, the Philippines is a beach bum's delight. There's an island to suit every taste, from marooned slicks of sand in the middle of the ocean, to volcanic fantasy-scapes concealing hidden lagoons, to sprawling mega-islands such as Luzon and Mindanao. Sun worshippers and divers should head straight to the Visayas, where island-hopping opportunities abound and the perfect beach takes many forms. More adventurous travelers can pitch a tent on a deserted stretch of coastline in Palawan and play solo Survivor for a few days.

El Nido, Palawan   (source: Journey Era)

The Great Outdoors

The Philippines is justifiably famous for its beaches, but sporty types need not feel left out. While surfers are just catching on to the tasty (if fickle) waves that form on both coasts, divers have long been enamoured of the country’s underwater charms. 

Boracay island, Aklan  (source: Agoda)

Northern Palawan is perfect for sea kayakers, and Boracay and Pagudpud (North Luzon) are world-class kiteboarding destinations. 

Kawasan Falls, Cebu  (source: Klook)

Back on terra firma, trekking can be done just about anywhere, while mountain-bike and canyoneering tours are gaining popularity. And the Philippines is also, unofficially, the zipline capital of the world.

Bike Zipline

A Land Apart

The Philippines is a land apart from mainland Southeast Asia – not only geographically but also spiritually and culturally. The country’s overwhelming Catholicism, the result of 350 years of Spanish rule, is its most obvious enigma. 

Paoay church, Ilocos Norte  (source: Zen rooms)

Vestiges of the Spanish era include exuberant town fiestas (festivals) and centuries-old stone churches. Malls, fast-food chains and widespread spoken English betray the influence of Spain’s colonial successor, the Americans. Yet, despite these outside influences, the country remains its own unique entity. 

Dinagyang festival, Iloilo City  (source: Explore Iloilo)

The people are, simply, Filipinos – and proud of it. Welcoming, warm and relentlessly upbeat, it is they who captivate and ultimately ensnare visitors.

Best Life in the Tropics

We've all had it happen: your trip to paradise is ruined by torrential monsoon rain. Rather than let the weather defeat them, in the Philippines travelers can embrace meteorological uncertainty and use it as an excuse to go with the flow. This is a place to dispense with advance bookings and, when the going gets rough (or wet), migrate to fairer climes. 

Mt. Pulag National Park, Benguet (source: Tramping Philippines)

Domestic travel is cheap and fun, and is best done spontaneously. Do your homework too – Palawan and the western seaboard are pretty darned wet from July to September, so go east during this time (unless there's a typhoon brewing).

SAVORING THE FILIPINO CUISINE

Filipino cuisine has been recently tagged as the ‘next big thing’ to look out for in the culinary world. With the country’s variety of influences throughout its rich history, its traditional cooking techniques, and the Filipinos’ knack for combining flavours and making the most of any and all ingredients at their disposal, what results is unpretentious, no-frills food that’s simply delicious. (source: The Culture Trip)

Here are the list of must try Filipino foods:

Adobo

The Filipino dish that everybody knows — the all-around adobo. Adobo came from the Spanish word "Adobar" which means a marinated meat. The tradition of marinating meat by using soy sauce came from the Chinese who taught Filipino how to preserve food.

It is made by stewing meat (usually chicken, pork, or a combination of both) in soy sauce and vinegar, adding peppercorns and bay leaves for that special flavour. Leftovers tip: pull the meat from the bone and fry ’til crispy for some tasty adobo flakes. 💗

Through the years, adobo has a lot of variations or versions, the following are popular recipe of adobos:

• Adobong manok (chicken adobo)
• Adobong baboy (pork adobo)
• Adobong tagalog (chicken & pork adobo)
• Adobong atay ng manok (chicken liver adobo) - I love this one specially if there's a chicken heart and gizzard 😍
• Adobong sitaw (string beans adobo)
• Adobong kangkong (swamp cabbage adobo)
• Adobong gabi (taro abodo)
• Adobong puti (adobo without soy sauce)
• Adobo sa langkawas (adobo with galangal)
• Adobo sa calamansi (adobo with calamansi instead of vinegar)
• Adobo sa gata (adobo with coconut milk)
• Pininyahang adobo (adobo with pineapple)
• Pork humba (pork adobo with banana blossoms)
• Adobong isda (fish adobo) - some Pinoys call it paksiw instead of adobo. Paksiw only has a vinegar right?

Sinigang

Sinigang (also known as Tamarind soup) is a classic Pinoy soup. A delicious sour broth usually made tangy by a tamarind (sometimes kamias), it’s filled with different vegetables and a meat of choice.

Popular variants include:

• Sinigang na baboy (pork)
• Sinigang na hipon (shrimp)
• Sinigang na bangus (milk fish)
• Sinigang na maya-maya (red snapper fish)
• Sinigang sa gabi (with taro)
• Sinigang sa miso (with miso)

To know more about other Filipino cuisines, please check my other blog articles.

FILIPINO HOSPITALITY

Hospitality - a trademark of Filipinos. This is the most common terminology that describes how Filipinos welcome foreigners or tourists who visit the country. For Filipinos, it is a pleasure and the country's honor to accept foreigners as visitors and build genuine relationships and friendship with them.

Filipino children welcoming a foreigner (source: Filipino Guide)

This trait of the Filipinos towards their visitors is undeniably exceptional.  Whenever a visitor stays in a Filipino home, there will be a feast or a grand celebration as it is somehow a tradition for us to prepare bountiful Filipino cuisine for guests to have a taste of our culture through food.  In addition, a cheerful family would typically be ready to accommodate and spend time with the visitors.  To add to that, Filipino families are often more than willing to share not only their meals but their entire home as well.  As a matter of fact, Filipinos would usually greet their visitors with the phrase “Feel at home!” to ensure that they are at ease during their stay. For Filipinos, it is a pleasure and the country’s honor to accept foreigners as visitors and build genuine relationships and friendship with them.