As one travels from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the city centre eight kms away, tall skyscrapers and expansive shopping malls juggle for space alongside heritage churches and war monuments
It is not often that one is presented with a choice of 7,107 islands to go island hopping. And this archipelago in the South China Sea offers much more: tropical rainforests, white sand beaches, the world’s longest navigable underground river, Spanish villas and Catholic churches. Mabuhay (welcome) to the Philippines! As this country gears up to host the 35th edition of ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), we take a look at the tourism offerings of this destination.
A tourist’s first impression of the Philippines is a unique amalgam of the modern and the historical. As one travels from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the city centre eight kms away, tall skyscrapers and expansive shopping malls juggle for space alongside heritage churches and war monuments. One also sees modern cars whizzing past colourful contraptions called Jeepneys, a legacy from the Americans who ruled the island country for 48 years after the Spaniards left.
Embarking on a journey of discovery of the Philippines, you may feel a little like the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan who discovered the archipelago in 1521 and named it ‘Las Islas Felipinas’, after King Philips II of Spain. One can easily identify the many Spanish influences in the island country – from the architecture and the culture to the faith (the Philippines is unique in Asia, because it is the only country where 90 per cent of the population are Christian, thanks to Magellan who converted most of the original Indo Malay inhabitants to Christianity). destination philippines
Heart and soul
The capital of the Philippines -its heart and soul – is Manila. The city derives its modern name from ‘Maynilad’, which in Tagalog means ‘there is nilad’, which is in reference to the flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay and used to produce soap for regional trade. Metro Manila sets the archipelago’s rhythm and is a pulsating hub that blends the quaint with the modern, the mundane with the extraordinary. In the heart of the city is Intramuros. Built by the Spaniards in the 16th century, it served as the centre of political, military and religious power of the Spaniards during the time that the Philippines was a colony of Spain. Its name, taken from the Latin intra muros, literally means ‘within the walls,’ and also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats.
Chocolate Hills
Inside Intramuros, there are several Roman Catholic churches, like the Manila Cathedral with its detailed stone carvings and stained glass mosaics, the San Augustin Church (a favourite for weddings which are huge and well-planned affairs in the Philippines) and Fort Santiago, the site of torture chambers and dungeons.
Tarsier monkey
Geologists think that the specific shape of the hills is caused by the influences of the weather during millions of years. The breaking down of the upper layers of the limestone formations, followed by the erosion processes, resulted in these remnants in the shape of cones. In the rainy season the Chocolate Hills are green. In the dry season of each year, the vegetation on the hills gives the landscape a brown coloured view, a reason to call them “Chocolate Hills”. Bohol is also home to the smallest primate on earth, the Tarsier. The average size of this little creature is between 90 to 160 mm (3.5 to 6.25 inches). The weight is between 70 to 165 grams. It’s sad that, because of a relatively fast deforestation of the tropical rainforests on the Philippine islands, the number of tarsiers has showed a dramatic reduction. Which is why Bohol has set up a foundation to protect the endangered tarsier.
Boracay
Our last stop is Boracay Island, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, which boasts of a four-kilometre stretch of white sand beach, considered to be one of the top ten beaches in the world. Some even call it the Miami Beach of the Philippines! For those interested in scuba diving, there are approximately 20 dive centres along the White Sands beach. Along the beach you will be approached frequently by masseurs offering to give you a massage at very affordable charges which they will do on the spot or on a towel laid out on the beach. (You will even find these masseurs in the lounges at the local airports; passengers can get a massage while waiting for their flights! Incredibly, in some of the airports we found blind masseurs who do the job).
