Philippines Archives - I Wander

The UNESCO World Heritage Towns of Southeast Asia

Bino — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:41:04 +0000

As a destination that’s well known for its diversity, the essence of a trip to Southeast Asia for most would probably include a rundown of the well-known ancient ruins, beaches and secluded islands, through natural landscapes and tropical rainforests and generally having a good time in the region’s megacities. A not so prominent (and less...

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Ilocos Adventure Pt3: Stepping Back in Time in Vigan

Bino — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:54:58 +0000

If there ever was a much awaited leg in my trip, this had to be it. For the longest time, I had wanted to visit Vigan – the Philippines’ own UNESCO World Heritage town. Vigan was a name that had captured my imagination. Like a town jumping out from the pages of a history book,...

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Ilocos Adventure Pt2: From Laoag to Pagudpud

Bino — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:37:56 +0000

The second leg of my Ilocos trip took me from Laoag up to the the northernmost tip of the island of Luzon, stopping by the many interesting places in between. I had a different mindset about this leg. There is a strange and indescribable curiosity that one gets when going to a land’s end, as...

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Ilocos Adventure Pt1: Laoag & Surrounds

Bino — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:41:07 +0000

One of the places I’d always wanted to visit in the Philippines was the Ilocos Region. Impressive churches, colonial towns, the legacy of what is undoubtedly the country’s most “famous” president and the hometown of many national heroes; it has what is probably the most concentrated number of heritage architecture in the country. Over the...

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Daytripping Taal Heritage Town in Batangas

Bino — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:41:38 +0000

During the Christmas holidays, I took advantage of the relatively traffic-free streets to venture on a 2-hour or so drive out to Taal, Batangas after hearing a lot of positive feedback about this relatively unknown place. The word “Taal” by itself is quite well-known mainly because of its namesake volcano but it is also the...

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Eleven Places to See in Southeast Asia

Bino — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:00:20 +0000

It took me over a year to post Part 2 of my Southeast Asian roundup, my little ode to this dynamic and diverse region which I call home. One year on and I still find myself traveling around Southeast Asia though now it’s mostly for work, transit or for back and forth trips between Manila...

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Paradise on Earth: Malcapuya and Banana Islands

Bino — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:24:53 +0000

Its diving reputation often takes precedence but Coron has quite a few idyllic outlying islands that are worth exploring for some tropical r&r. In between our excursions in the main town and Coron Island, we devoted an entire day to venture into a few beaches farther afield. These are Malcapuya and Banana Islands, Coron’s version...

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Coron, Palawan: Otherworldly Land & Seascapes

Bino — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:00:34 +0000

Up until I first visited Palawan some two years ago, I was not exactly that fond of visiting beach destinations. ‘A beach here can be like a beach anywhere’ or ‘swimming can be done in the pool’ were the first two things that usually came to mind. But all it took to change this was...

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