Monthly Archives: November 2010 - Page 2

The Seven Wonders of the Philippines

Rice Terraces in fog
Rice Terraces in fog

Rice Terraces of Banaue
The Rice Terraces of Banaue are perhaps the most well know attraction in the Philippines, and no list of the Seven Wonders of the Philippines would be complete without them.. Located in central Luzon, they have been carved by local Ifugao people over the last 3,000 thousand years. When you visit, you can see terraces still being built today. The locals often describe the terraces as the largest man made structure created without forced labor. If each terrace were laid end to end, they would stretch almost 14,000 miles. They were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 and placed on the endangered list in 2001.

asdPhoto by Lexxmax

Tubbataha Reef
Located in the middle of the Sulu Sea, Tubbataha Reef is one of the largest and best preserved reef systems in the world. Actually composed to two atolls, Tubbataha is far removed from any human settlement, it is a 92 mile boat trip from the city of Puerto Princessa. The marine park covers over 968 km² and is home to over 300 coral species and 400 fish species, rivaling the diversity of the Great Barrier Reef. The few pieces of atoll which are above water are also home to a large number of seabirds. It was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 1993.

Chocolate Hills: Chocolate Hills: Image by meteparozzi

Chocolate Hills
The Chocolate Hills are located on the Island of Bohol. They are over 1,200 hills, covering over 50 km² and get their name because the grass which covers the hills turns brown during the dry season. The hills are almost all conical in shape and made of limestone. Many people have believed that they were human creations. Geologists are not entirely sure how they were created. Theories include erosion of limestone, volcanic uplift, and accretion of limestone around basalt fragments from a volcanic eruption. The government of the Philippines has declared it one of their flagship tourist destinations. The Chocolate Hills are so central to the people of Bohol, they appear on the flag of the province

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captionTaal Volcano: Image by Johs Bousel

Taal Volcano
Taal volcano has a unique distinction in the world. It contains the largest island, inside of a lake, which is on an island, which is inside a lake, which is on an island. (got that?) Taal is a very active volcano which has killed over 5,000 people in recorded history. It has been named one of 16 decade volcanoes in the world worthy of special study. Inside the Taal caldera is Lake Tall, which is a 25km across. The lake is know for its high sulfur content and is also home to many endemic species of freshwater fish. Taal is only 50km from the city of Manila.

Mayon Volcano:Mayon Volcano: Image by Kool.Angot

Mayon Volcano
Mayon volcano is perhaps the most perfectly shaped conic volcano in the world. It has been called by some the “Filipino Mount Fuji”. Located in south east Luzon, it is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It has erupted close to 50 times since the year 1600, with the most recent eruption occurring in 2006. 77 people were killed in an eruption in 1993 and 75,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes during an eruption in 1984. It rises 2462 m over Legazpi City in the province of Albany.

Underground RiverUnderground River of Puerto Princessa

Boracay
Boracay is a small island approximately 200 miles south of Manila and is very close to the major island of Panay. Its white sand beaches and direct flights from all over Asia, have made it one of the Philippines most popular tourist destinations. White Beach is the longest beach on Boracay and extends 4 km on west side of the islands.

Honorable Mention

El Nido
Located on the northern tip of the island of Palawan, El Nido is known for its distinctive limestone islands and inlets. El Nido consistently scores high in surveys of top eco-tourist destinations in the world. Forbes magazine rated the wreck dives off the island of Coron as some one of the top 10 dive sites in the world. Archeological evidence of human habitation dating back 22,000 years has also been found in El Nido.

Batanes
The Province of Batanes is the northern most, and smallest province in the Philippines. It is located almost halfway between is island of Luzon and Taiwan. The culture of the Ivatan people is unique in the Philippines. Crime in Batanes is almost unknown as many police officials have complained of nothing to do with zero crimes reported and no one in the jails.

Mall of Asia
It may be surprising to some, but one of the largest malls in the world is in Manila. The SM Mall of Asia is third largest mall in the world in terms of gross leaseable area, surpassed only by two malls in China (neither of which is anywhere near capacity). The Mall of Asia consists of four separate buildings connected by open air walkways. It is 50% larger than the Mall of America and 10% larger than the West Edmonton Mall. It addition to the standard mall fare, it also is host to an Olympic sized ice skating rink.

Eating Our Way Through Valencia

Stalking Gary

As I stared at the sixth course of our third five-star dinner in Spain, I realized: this was a long, long way from my past life as a schoolteacher!

Lillie eating dessert in BendiormLillie eating dessert in Bendiorm

My name is Lillie, and for six years I was a high school English teacher in the Boston Public Schools, saving money and scheming future adventures. In August of 2009, I finally flew out of Boston to embrace the world! Since then I have had nine glorious months voyaging through Asia, West Africa, and finally Europe.

From the very day I started my own travel blog in July, I knew full well that the world’s number one travel blogger is Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere. When I learned a few weeks ago that Gary would be in Spain the same time I was, I sent an email asking if I could meet up with him. When Gary agreed, I hopped aboard a nine-hour train from Andalusia to Valencia to meet him in person.

“So basically you’re a stalker,” replied a woman when I told her this story.

“Um,” I stuttered, “I mean, not really, but… fine, sort of.”

Labels aside, sending Gary that email and boarding that long train ride to meet him were two of the best decisions I have made on this trip. Instead of just chatting with me for five minutes over a cafe con leche, Gary generously invited me actually join him for a week of pure amazingness in Spain!

We Commence Eating

The first night I met Gary, we had reservations already made for us in what is rumored to be one of the best restaurants in Valencia, Seu Xerea. Imagine how I felt, after weeks of cheap falafel wraps and stale ham on bread, to sit down at a white-tableclothed setting and set my tongue upon the first course: a strawberry-infused gazpacho soup. YUM! Course after course continued to come out: petite and heavenly morsels of vegetables, fluffy bread, fish, meat, and then chocolate, each paired with top-notch wines.

Gary cannot eat wheat, so the chef created bread out of spelt flour. “This is the first piece of bread I have eaten in a year,” sighed Gary contently as he munched away. At the end of the meal, the head chef himself came out to sit with us and have a leisurely chat. How special I felt! And in all honesty this man was one of the nicest and most interesting fellows in town. You know why else he’s awesome? Before he became a five-star chef, he used to be a schoolteacher! When I returned to my scrubby ten-bed hostel room to sleep, I was glowing with euphoria.

Paella aka Spanish RiceSeafood Paella at la Pepica

The next morning, our friends in the Valencia Ministry of Tourism arranged for Gary and me to have lunch near the America’s Cup venue, at a famous beachfront paella spot, la Pepica. I misinterpreted the scale of my map and ended up walking (then running) about eight miles and arriving to the table twenty minutes late and oozing with sweat. Always classy, that’s me! Gary graciously forgave my tardiness and odor.

Over our seafood paella, fried calamari, fresh salad, and tiny little muscles (“Seafood popcorn!” we said), I was finally able to ask Gary the millions of blogger questions I had been longing to understand. The clouds in my novice blogger head began to clear. After lunch, Gary invited me to watch the creation of his weekly podcast, This Week in Travel…. and even had me be a guest to let me talk about my site!

Spain = Tapas

That evening, we met up for traditional tapas with the Valencia Ministry of Tourism folks and all the main presenters at the tourism conference being held the next day, in Casa Montana, one of the oldest taverns in Spain. To my right sat one of New York’s top PR agents, Meredith Pillon, who is running the Valencia tourism campaign, and to my left was Blanca, the Deputy Director of New York’s Tourism Office of Spain. In front of us extended plate after plate of the freshest tapas in, perhaps, all of Spain. “I never knew tapas could be like this!” I cooed as I placed another slice of micro-thin beef into my mouth. It was an unforgettable meal.

Salad course at the Arrop RestaurantSala