(part 2 of “A beach-bum’s playground”) Day 3 The following day, we are venturing less far-afield. The Coron Island tour is really the classic itinerary for the non-scuba diving visitor to the Calamians, and takes in the Siete Pecados nature reserve, Kayangan Lake, lunch on a Coron Island beach, the skeleton wreck and the Twin [...]
I heard about this event from three different friends and it took me several days to realize that they were all talking about the same thing. But there turned out to be quite a buzz around the Nuit Blanche/ Art All Night festival and during the build up, we were able to round up quite [...]
I don’t think I’ll be offending anyone if I say that Manila can seem overwhelming and even uninviting to the visitor at first sight. However, it does boast several renowned walking tours to help the visitor scratch beneath the surface. For my first full day in her hometown, Liane has booked us on two back-to-back [...]
A little over an hour’s drive South of Manila, nestled in the crater of the Taal volcano, is a stunning, clear volcanic lake. Liane and I set out by car to head for the village of Talisay that is perched on Lake Taal’s shores. We drive through flat pastures that are fast being developed with [...]
The window of the 24th floor flat where Liane’s family is based looks out over the neighborhood of Crame one of Manila’s many slums. From above it has the appearance of a huge rectangular plot between the high-rises, that is so crammed with low buildings that few of the narrow streets and alleyways are even [...]
I don’t think I’ll be offending anyone if I say that Manila can seem overwhelming and even uninviting to the visitor at first sight. However, it does boast several renowned walking tours to help the visitor scratch beneath the surface. For my first full day in her hometown, Liane has booked us on two back-to-back [...]
continue reading
I heard about this event from three different friends and it took me several days to realize that they were all talking about the same thing. But there turned out to be quite a buzz around the Nuit Blanche/ Art All Night festival and during the build up, we were able to round up quite [...]
continue reading
(part 2 of “A beach-bum’s playground”) Day 3 The following day, we are venturing less far-afield. The Coron Island tour is really the classic itinerary for the non-scuba diving visitor to the Calamians, and takes in the Siete Pecados nature reserve, Kayangan Lake, lunch on a Coron Island beach, the skeleton wreck and the Twin [...]
continue reading
It’s New Year’s Eve 2011, and I am standing on the roof of a 35-storey apartment block looking out over the skyline of Manila. The whole capital is about to go absolutely berserk for fireworks and I have a front-row seat. The festivities really get started at sundown when the first sporadic rockets begin to [...]
continue reading
A beach-bum’s playground – Four days in the Calamian islands Part 2
Nuit Blanche – an all-night arts mash-up that lifts the veil on the Shaw district
Scratching beneath the surface – Two tours of old Manila
An island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island – Talisay and Lake Taal
Walking in Crame – one of Manila’s least bad slums
I heard about this event from three different friends and it took me several days to realize that they were all talking about the same thing. But there turned out to be quite a buzz around the Nuit Blanche/ Art All Night festival and during the build up, we were able to round up quite [...]
I don’t think I’ll be offending anyone if I say that Manila can seem overwhelming and even uninviting to the visitor at first sight. However, it does boast several renowned walking tours to help the visitor scratch beneath the surface. For my first full day in her hometown, Liane has booked us on two back-to-back [...]
A little over an hour’s drive South of Manila, nestled in the crater of the Taal volcano, is a stunning, clear volcanic lake. Liane and I set out by car to head for the village of Talisay that is perched on Lake Taal’s shores. We drive through flat pastures that are fast being developed with [...]
The window of the 24th floor flat where Liane’s family is based looks out over the neighborhood of Crame one of Manila’s many slums. From above it has the appearance of a huge rectangular plot between the high-rises, that is so crammed with low buildings that few of the narrow streets and alleyways are even [...]
It’s New Year’s Eve 2011, and I am standing on the roof of a 35-storey apartment block looking out over the skyline of Manila. The whole capital is about to go absolutely berserk for fireworks and I have a front-row seat. The festivities really get started at sundown when the first sporadic rockets begin to [...]
It’s lunchtime on a Friday when we arrive at the Quiapo Church, entering from the South side on the busy, fume-choked Quezon Boulevard. Fridays are when the Novena Masses are held and the church is at its busiest. We come across two lines of people. The first is a perpetual, spontaneous procession of devotees solemnly [...]
When I tell people that I’ve never been to New York their reaction is similar to when I admit that I’ve never seen The Godfather: one of visceral horror and incomprehension. I can almost see myself falling in their estimations right in front of my very eyes. Somehow these two things seem obligatory for a [...]
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