- Boracay - the party beach (white sand)
- Pagudpud - the Hawaii of the North, for those who like the quiet (white sand)
- Mactan Island - where the night life is alive and kicking
- Panglao - great for divers
- Camiguin - great honeymoon spot
- Dakak - beauty, serenity, and another honeymoon destination (beach resort)
- Honda Bay - for those who loves island hopping and diving
- El Nido - another premier honeymoon destination, where the peace is paradise
- Pearl Farm - secluded, quiet, panoramic (beach resort)
- Siargao - created especially for surfers
Welcome to the Philippines!
If you're thinking about having fun, you might want to check out our 7,107 islands. The top 10 beaches are scattered from tip to tip:
38/365: On The Road, Legazpi City
Legazpi City, the land of the Mayon Volcano! Finally, I got to see the famous perfect cone...only, the whole time we were there the tip of the volcano was covered with clouds! Drat!
Again, we were the advance party for the boss—which was more fun, if you asked me. Though there were lots of work to do, we had more time to sight see.
Me, getting to shoot pictures and seeing places and eating my meals at leisure (not the eat-and-run affairs when you're traveling with the boss) is the only reward I want from these working trips.
Again, we were the advance party for the boss—which was more fun, if you asked me. Though there were lots of work to do, we had more time to sight see.
Me, getting to shoot pictures and seeing places and eating my meals at leisure (not the eat-and-run affairs when you're traveling with the boss) is the only reward I want from these working trips.
37/365: On The Road, Baguio City
Baguio City is just a few hours from Nueva Vizcaya, my native province. To tell you frankly though, I didn't get to visit Baguio until I was in college...and then only briefly.
When I got to this government post, it seemed that all we did was travel to Baguio every now and then for some reason or another.
Baguio City is the country's summer capital. Filipinos always find an excuse to troop to this mountain retreat during the hottest parts of the year. It's about 1,610 meters above sea level so it's always cool year round. The highest temperature during summer hovers around 70°F. So far, the record hottest it's ever registered is 86°F back in 1988 during the El Nino drought. You can say Baguio City is the premier vacation destination in the Philippines.
These jaunts though are often for work and we rarely have time to visit...which is sad really because there are lots of fantastic destinations in Baguio. Plus, there's the ukay ukay—second hand stores where you can get an Armani trench in good condition for less than a hundred pesos (about $2.50 in today's conversion). I kid you not!
The object of this visit was to consolidate the governors of Northern Luzon and get them behind the President's whatever. The objective's obscure to me now but since our office was always troubleshooting one problem after another, I'm fairly certain this trip had that goal, heh.
When I got to this government post, it seemed that all we did was travel to Baguio every now and then for some reason or another.
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| Meeting the boss at Baguio City's feeder airport |
These jaunts though are often for work and we rarely have time to visit...which is sad really because there are lots of fantastic destinations in Baguio. Plus, there's the ukay ukay—second hand stores where you can get an Armani trench in good condition for less than a hundred pesos (about $2.50 in today's conversion). I kid you not!
The object of this visit was to consolidate the governors of Northern Luzon and get them behind the President's whatever. The objective's obscure to me now but since our office was always troubleshooting one problem after another, I'm fairly certain this trip had that goal, heh.
36/365: On The Road with Foreign Dignitaries
What made my work tripley exciting—no, a hundred times exciting—was preparing for the official visits of foreign dignitaries. Ministers, cabinet secretaries, directors, and even on two occasions, presidents. I've even had a chance of leading the arrangements for the visit of then Defence Minister and now Malaysian Prime Minister Dato S'ri Najib Razak!
The work's not unlike that of an orchestral conductor's. I had to be on top of several things at the same time. Of course, a team's always organized to prepare for one of these top level visits but being the boss' liaison with the rest of the team, one has to know everything that's going on if one is to keep her head attached to her body for most of the day, heh. And that meant making decisions, trouble shooting and pinch hitting.
This dignitary that's about to come down from the plane was in Manila for a hush hush visit. These days, the Arab spring has swept his country, too, and now he's in detention. But back when his father was part of Manila's peace strategy with the MILF rebels, our Christmas then was one hectic, frenetic affair.
I remember having a difficult time with the protocols for this kind of visit. Lots of meetings with the foreign affairs and armed forces team. And yeah, backdoor arrangements for a visit between him and a certain individual under house arrest, heh.
Exciting times, definitely. Exhausting work, too!
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| Welcome mat for a visiting dignitary. |
The work's not unlike that of an orchestral conductor's. I had to be on top of several things at the same time. Of course, a team's always organized to prepare for one of these top level visits but being the boss' liaison with the rest of the team, one has to know everything that's going on if one is to keep her head attached to her body for most of the day, heh. And that meant making decisions, trouble shooting and pinch hitting.
This dignitary that's about to come down from the plane was in Manila for a hush hush visit. These days, the Arab spring has swept his country, too, and now he's in detention. But back when his father was part of Manila's peace strategy with the MILF rebels, our Christmas then was one hectic, frenetic affair.
I remember having a difficult time with the protocols for this kind of visit. Lots of meetings with the foreign affairs and armed forces team. And yeah, backdoor arrangements for a visit between him and a certain individual under house arrest, heh.
Exciting times, definitely. Exhausting work, too!
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