Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Skywatch#1 Hongkong & Macau

This is my first time to participate in Skywatch Friday. I have been bloghopping and found out about this meme and thought it would be fun to participate.

We decided to do a daytrip in Macau during our Hongkong trip last January. There were overcast skies and some slight drizzle when we arrived in Macau. But of course, that did not stop us from going around the place. I took this picture while we were on board our rental tourist van. The buildings across the bridge are the casinos that abound Macau.


Another overcast skies at the Victoria Harbour but there were still a lot of people, mostly tourists, walking around and taking pictures.


More skywatch entries here.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Monday, September 28, 2009

My World#41 Philippine Churches Part II: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, San Rafael, Bulacan

This church really had me gawking with its interior colors. I just love it! I have seen churches of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in some places before and most of them used neutral colors like brown and gray.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,San Rafael,Pampanga,Philippine churches




This is my entry for:

Go here for more My World entries.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Cebu Pacific Air's Seat Sale

Low Fares for all domestic destinations at P888. Sale Period: September 26-30, 20009. Travel Period: November 1 to December 31, 2009.

International One-Way:
P1,399 Manila to Kota Kinabalu or Taipei
P2,199 Manila to Bangkok, Hongkong, Macau or Singapore
Clark to Hongkong, Macau or Singapore
P2,899 Manila to Guangzhou or Ho Chi Minh
P3,399 Manila to Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur
P3,899 Manila or Cebu to Incheon
Cebu to Busan
P4,399 Manila to Shanghai
Cebu to Singapore
P5,499 Manila to Osaka

Fares are exclusive of government fees and taxes.

For more details, go http://www.cebupacificair.com

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Philippine Churches Part I: Barasoain Church Interior Pictures

Part of the Station of the Cross inside Barasoain Church. Item below the small cross is a candle holder.

Barasoain Church's pews, one of its confessional cubicle and its curtained windows.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Friday, September 25, 2009

Philippine Churches Part I: Inside Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan

Here are some pictures taken inside the historical Barasoain Church:

Doorway of Barasoain Church with a mezzanine wing usually used by the church choir

Altar of Barasoain Church

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Sunday, September 20, 2009

My World#40 Philippine Churches Part I: Barasoain Church, Bulacan, Luzon

To start off my Philippine Churches series, I am going to feature the church that has the most significant part in the Philippine history.

This is the Barasoain Church or Our Lady of Mt. Carmen Parish of Malolos, Bulacan, Luzon. The church is considered as the most important church in the Philippine history. Well-known for its architectural design and interiors, it was the site of three major events in the Philippine History:

The First Philippine Congress Convention, September 15, 1898
The Drafting of the Malolos Constitution, September 29, 1898 to January 21, 1899
The Inauguration of the First Philippine Republic, January 23, 1899

The church was proclaimed a National Shrine last August 1, 1973 by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos. More pictures in my subsequent posts.



This is my entry for:

Go here for more My World entries.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Philippine Churches Series

I realized that each time I travel around the Philippines, I always end up visiting the Catholic churches in the area. It all started during our Ilocos trip some years ago wherein we visited a lot of old, old churches for the Holy Week. Totally amazed with the architectural designs and the age of the churches we visited, I continued the practice along with my friends through the years. So far, it has been an enjoyable and informative process for me.

Philippines is the only country in Asia that has a predominantly Christian populace with Catholicism as the leading religion. Christianity became widespread for more than 300 years that started in 1500s. During those times, churches were built by the Spanish priests to serve not only as places of worship but also used as the seat of the government. However, building of churches were not as widespread in southern part of the Philippines particularly in Mindanao considering that a large part of the said island were predominantly occupied by Muslims and other indigenous tribes that resisted strongly the widespread of the Christian religion during those times. This is why in the current period, most churches in Mindanao were built only during the recent century compared to the ones in the northern part of the Philippines.

Last month, somebody asked what is the significance of visiting these churches each time we travel around the country. For me, churches especially the very old ones that I have seen in Luzon and Visayas show not only the architectural designs of the period it was built, the interior adornments that are often magnificent and grandiose even if the surrounding area are visibly poor, the obvious and enduring faith of the people around the area and last but not the least, the Philippine churches almost always contribute to the history of the place. Additionally, I really prefer going to the church of the place where I visited to give my thanks for the safe journey.

In this light, I am beginning a series of posts that will feature the churches that I have visited around the Philippines. Later, I might also include the churches I have visited overseas. In the meantime, come with me and discover this part of the Philippine heritage.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Monday, September 14, 2009

My World#39 Bamboo Arcs of Luzon

These arcs are usually seen as street decorations along with the buntings and banners in fiestas and other events in the northern parts of the Philippines. I initially thought that it was made of wood or plant leaves or stems as were commonly used in other parts of the Phillipines.


However, at closer look they were made of bamboo stalks. The designs were intricate and finely detailed. It was always amazing to see. This craftmanship is slowly dying as arcs are now made easily with readily made materials like wood, cement, steel and paper. I can only hope that this can be passed on to the next generations.

The photos were taken at the grounds of the Provincial Government of Bulacan, Luzon, Philippines.



This is my entry for:

Go here for more My World entries.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Hundred Islands Hotels

There are several hotels and lodging houses in Brgy. Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan. Barangay Lucap is the jump-off point to the Hundred Islands and is about 6-7 kilometers from Alaminos downtown. It is usually accessible through tricycle. For convenience, we decided to get a hotel in Barangay Lucap. On our first day, we stayed in Maxine By the Sea Hotel but decided to rent a house on the second day as recommended by our boatman/tricycle driver, Gerry.

Here are some of the hotels in Barangay Lucap:



SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan

These are some of the pictures I took while I was on vacation in Hundred Islands National Park, Alaminos, Pangasinan. Enjoy!



SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Sunday, September 6, 2009

My World#38 Sculpture In Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan

This is the sculpture of a diver planting artificial corals in Hundred Islands National Park, Alaminos, Pangasinan. The sculpture stands at Barangay Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan, the jump-off point going to the national park.

Fishing was the main means of livelihood in the area but the indiscriminate use of cyanide and bombs took a toll on the corals of the national park. Subsequently, fish and other marine life dwindled affecting the lives of the people in the area. The government in partnership with the local people, private organizations and individuals undertook the rehabilitation of the Hundred Islands' marine life.

This sculpture recognizes the efforts of everybody who were involved in the project and also, it is a reminder that marine life should be taken care of properly for sustainability. Nowadays, continuing efforts are still undergoing. Local people are now more involved in promoting the national park's beauty through tourism which also helps in augmenting their income.


This is my entry for:

More Hundred Islands picture here.

Go here for more My World entries.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My World#37 Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan

The Hundred Islands National Park is located about 257 kilometers northwest from Manila, Philippines. Scattered all over Lingayen Gulf, these 124 islands were estimated to be 2 million years old.

When we got there last week, the water was so calm and the islands looked so beautiful especially during the early morning when the morning mist was still covering the islands. They looked so mystical as seen from our hotel. We did some island hopping and soaked in the water most in the afternoon. There were three developed islands: Governor, Quezon and Children. We did most of our swimming at the Lopez and Scout islands were we had the islands for ourselves..BLISS!

More story about this trip here.




This is my entry for:

More Hundred Islands picture here.

Go here for more My World entries.

SHARE AND ENJOY THIS POST: Digg ThisAdd To Del.icio.us Add To Furl Add To Reddit Fav This With Technorati Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Newsvine Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Bloglines Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This
Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin
Blog Directory for the Philippines
Blog Directory & Search engineblog search directory

  © Blogger template 'Perfection' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP