Category: Destinations

In search of greener ricefields, many Ifugao farmers have migrated to nearby provinces, leaving large portions of the famous Ifugao Rice Terraces untilled and eroding, former Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said over the weekend.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has unveiled the redevelopment plan for the resort island of Boracay, which will give existing developers a ten-year transition period to comply with the new plan and investors to build more hotels and resorts over 123 hectares of new areas. Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said a part of the plan is a possible PhP1.2 billion investment by Manila Water to improve water services and sewerage system on the island. The target is to provide water services to the whole island by 2011 and sewerage system by 2012. The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) is also investing PhP200 million to build new ports and a three-kilometer circumferential road in Barangay Balabag to decongest the existing road, which will be made a one-way lane. Durano said the comprehensive land use plan, prepared by architectural consultancy firm CEST Inc., will enable Boracay to accommodate as many as 2.2 million visitors by 2018, or three times the 700,000 visitors projected this year.

Intramuros

Traces of the Spanish influence still loom in Intramuros. A tour of this landmark will provide the visitors a deeper understanding of Manila's rich heritage. Intramuros protects within its walls a number of national treasures like the Fort Santiago (once a prison for revolutionary Filipinos, now a peaceful park-cum-museum), San Agustin Church (the oldest structure in the country with its Baroque interiors and trompe l'oeil murals), Manila Cathedral (a magnificent architectural feat with its intricate stone carvings, stained glass mosaics, and rosette windows), Casa Manila (a former colonial house and now a museum of national relics), and San Juan de Letran school.
 

Imagine an egg, which weighs one and a half kilo and hatches into a chick as large as a full-grown hen. Imagine its long-necked mother, taller and heavier than most men, with powerful legs running as fast as a car. Imagine 600 of these creatures huddling as a herd in a farm nestled on the mountain. Fascinated yet scared, visitors of the farm are relieved to know that ostriches don't fly.

Raised as livestock animals weighing over 100 kilos each, around 600 ostriches – descendants of several pairs brought from Australia and the United States – found a home in the 10-hectare Philippine Ostrich and Crocodile Farms, Inc., an upland ranch owned by the Filipino-Chinese Limketkai family in Barangay Malanang. In the nearby Cagayan de Oro City, the Limketkai family owns one of the oldest and most familiar shopping malls.

The playful giant birds, unafraid of shorter humans, stretch their necks above the seven-foot barbed-wired fence to mingle with fascinated tourists. While they delight tourists simply by showing their huge form and round unsuspecting eyes, they are kept in the farm, primarily not for tourism, but to supply low-fat meat to fine diners in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Swiss Global Connect USA began the first phase of its multi-billion-peso project in Zambales province. The company has committed to invest US$50 billion for infrastructure projects, property development, tourism, mining and an agricultural research centre in the area, according to Zambales Governor Amor Deloso.  Swiss Global will implement the project under the government’s build, operate and transfer and build, operate and own programmes. 

Cagayan de Oro City will put up a cable car system as a tourist attraction.  Mayor Vicente Emano said the planned cable car system will start in the upstream area of the Cagayan de Oro River to allow viewers a good view of the rapids.  The ride will end at the back of the City Hall which is also along the river.

As the capital city of Ilocos Sur province, Vigan is a beautiful Hispanic city most known for its cobblestone street called Calle Crisologo.  Spanish houses dating back to the 18th century still stand on the site, which is frequented by both foreign and domestic tourists. Of course, there are other streets in Vigan that are also lined with old houses bearing the influence of European architecture.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has listed Vigan as a world heritage site for maintaining its buildings the way they were built centuries ago.  The old houses in Vigan share the same features as those of Hispanic houses built in other towns in the Philippines with strong middle and upper class during the Spanish regime.  Intramuros in Manila, of course, was the center of Spanish government in the Philippines at that time.

Parks and Zoos in the Philippines

From the CCP complex, one can proceed to Nayong Pilipino. This 32-acre theme park is also just a 10-minute drive from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The park features scaled-down replicas of the country's top tourist destinations such as Mayon Volcano, the Banaue Rice Terraces and the Chocolate Hills.