When you basically ask yourself some journalistic questions as a starting point, you’ll find the answers in varied ways that will boil down to your own flexibility and tolerance. The Philippines may have as many as 7,107 islands (…and, did somebody say 7,108 islands during low tide?), but only approximately 1000 are inhabited. If my joker friend should be believed, there’s one island that you’ll find only snakes and another only turtles. He lives in Naval (Visayan Islands) where there are numerous tiny islands. That’s a place you could buy your own island. Without a doubt my friend exaggerates; how much grain-of-salt you have to splash into his stories is your call.
Where are you planning to stay? If you start from my apartment, a day in the life of a king could be possible. Though I can’t promise a queen unless you are one; that would be a queen without a king, just the maids at your service. We’re not close to the beach, but we can take you to Subic in Olongapo where what used to be the U.S. military base is now a tourist area. Or if you want a day by the pool side, we can go as far as Laguna or Tagaytay…maybe simply sightseeing within a 3-hour drive radius. Another option is Boracay Beach as your kingdom for a day. If you are a frugal backpacker, who can eat what the locals eat (or survive on noodles and the kind) and sleep where the locals sleep, then you could last a month finding beauty and peace in places where raw nature abounds. Do you really need that running water in that thing they call faucet? What do you mean hot? Just don’t ask anymore questions! There’s always that middle ground somewhere only you can ascertain.
In March 2005, an unbelievable reunion came to fruition.
All 9 siblings (start from right counterclockwise full circle to the youngest) were there alive and kicking…only our father was not physically present but I knew then he was looking down on us chuckling, like I could hear it with him sitting next to me. What can I say…I was his first baby!
My uncle, Mother’s only brother, stays with our family. One of my favorite pictures is a wonderful contrast to the picture of my nephew below.
With Ral growing up in the same house, he brings joy to Tiyoy’s (Uncle).
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Let’s move on to the next questions. When are you going to travel? How long are you staying, and how are you moving from place to place? Who will be traveling with you? What are you planning to do during your stay in the area of choice? Hopefully we’ll be able to address these questions at some point in time; otherwise, you’re on your way to launch your own adventure. Good luck and I hope you’ll find your own place of pleasure anywhere in the Philippines.
Personally Yours, Philippines 
hi, interesting to read abt philippines from filipino’s point of view. maybe you can chk my blog abt a Malaysian’s first impressions of the Phillipines and let me know where I might possibly have gone wrong!!!
rgds,
L. Yong: I visited your blog and was trying to read it as an impartial Filipino. I’m wondering what makes you say “and let me know where I might possibly have gone wrong!!! ”
Do you want me to address a few things in my blog here, or would you want me to email you my point-of-view? I have just really started blogging because of my place–Fairview Apts. I have to figure out a lot of technicalities in blogging and my blog is still a work-in-progress. Each entry is a learning process and a test of patience.
You are so right in some of your observations, one reason why it’s difficult to find a renter that fits my specifications. I’m getting to my retirement age and I don’t want any smoking (I could smell this one) and drinking (hard to monitor in the units, unless they come out drunk and bother others) in my building, and for these alone, many prospective tenants would not come back. Another is the price range. In your blog, you said that below PhP1000/day, you won’t get ‘a decent place (my assumption)’. Not many young Filipino couples could afford my place unless they share with another family. I have a maximum of 4 occupants. The ones who could afford may be older and may not want to climb 3 flights of stairs. I’m stuck for now, so I decided to furnish 2 of the 2nd flr apts
–a one bedroom unit with own kitchen etc., condo style. The fan-only unit will be that amount and I’ve just bought my furnishings. This is just a trial run and your blog has helped me see what a foreigner sees out there.
As for the Koreans in the Philippines, we also have an explosion of students population. Even in Negros (Visayan islands), I heard my sister saying that a friend was tutoring Koreans in their homes. I googled this last year and I’ve seen about 11 schools at least around Manila and Quezon City that started between 2006 and 2007. Why? If I decide to retire soon and I don’t like the direction the apartment is going, this is an avenue I’m keeping open, a private group tutoring right within their living space to be combined with sight-seeing. My husband and I are both in the education field here in the U.S. and I just don’t want to start anything from a distance.
I have a Malaysian friend here married to a Mexican, and she’s fluent in Spanish now. She has all her family in Malaysia and with the strong economy there, I will continue to be her ‘only family’ here.
I will continue to visit your blog to have your perspective. I’m planning to have a simplified Philippine website as an off-shoot of this blog sometime when I’m not overwhelmed anymore by the technical aspect of creating one. If you see the blog I mentioned above, the pictures relaxes me when my mind is tired and reading information becomes a chore. Thanks for dropping by and leaving me a note.
Hi Cecilia! Thanks for commenting on my blog. It’s nice to discover your site and I enjoyed reading it as well and it’s great to find out there is another one who share the same plans I have. I just subscribed to your RSS feeds.
Regards, Mixxy
Hi Mixxy…At 3:00 am, your comment is the saving grace of my Good Friday penance. After finishing from your blog, I curiously googled my name just like a kid expecting for the easter bunny. I was so happy finding my blog–then I even went back to show all similar ones. That’s when I discovered my whole blog article was at flyhotel.com
I guess I have another topic to blog, and for anyone reading that might get curious I’ll start now. If you google –craig’s list-a flcker of hope– it will take you right away to my legit one, and the next one below it with– craig’s list-a flcker of hope|flyhotel–was I thought, hmm… somebody is advertising my place. I was pleasantly surprised until I realized it took me to–http://travel.propeller.com where the word PROPELLER was aptly used. I’ll expand on this on another blog.
Getting mad at this point, I directly typed–http://www.flyhotel.net–lo and behold my entire blog except 2 is among the many that I have certain doubts. That’s why it took me this long to print them just in case they would move the site, or I don’t know what brilliant ideas they could possibly have/do. I wouldn’t have minded if they used my ad…but the entire blog? Including the pictures of my family…with no respect for the Holy Week. Unconscienable misdeed! Now I understand why others loathe this kind of human being.
Thanks for your visit Mixxy!
oh zylla ! That is what you call Blog scrapers! I just recently found out about them too although I am not surprised that these exist. I know there are plugins and tricks to stop them. Setting them up is the next thing I will do. Recently, I setup a new photoblog and immediately there was a scraper of my first article!! Can you imagine that! I know that because wordpress alerts me when someone links on my site. It happens that they automatically add the whole article but for some reason include a link back to my site but the thing is it is without my permission and without giving credit to me. You know I reported this site to google and they seemed to heard it because the site is no longer indexed by google now. We can discuss this further if you like. For more info google for keywords blog scraper or splogs.
Yes there is justice still.. the site I reported is not even in google’s database now. I think I am not the first one to complain about that site. But anyways after you report them try checking if google removed them by entering this on google search:
site:www.flyhotel.net
Mixxy, it’s sweet revenge. I checked his site- http://www.flyhotel.net just now, 5:30pm. He must have ‘scraped’ it within an hour of my own posting here since it was showing 4:21 pm at his site.
It pains me for the world to see my misspelling errors, but hey…the entire post is supposed to be a learning tool. Ha ha ha! I guess I have to post something again. Hmmm, I might even leave it as it is until he himself discovers his blunder.
It’s ironic how technology is getting smarter and smarter beyond any human’s pace, yet it’s still the human brain that makes the ultimate decision. I should post more so as not to disappoint him. (For now, sunwar11, as he claims to be when shamelessly posting my article at that ‘propeller’ site, will be ‘him’ to me rather than her or it.)
I’d love to discuss this plugin with you, but right now I’m consumed with writing something about him to prove that he will stupidly scrape and post it just the same. Thanks…you’re one of my guardian angels working overtime on this Black Saturday.