Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. It is composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 sq km The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving them the name ''Chocolate Hills.''


The Chocolate Hills are a famous tourist attraction of Bohol. They are featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province. They are in the Philippine Tourism Authority's list of tourist destinations in the Philippines; they have been declared the country's third National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.


The domes vary in sizes from 30 to 50 metres (98 to 160 ft) high with the largest being 120 metres (390 ft) in height.

Chicharon

If you don't care about your diet? This is the best food for you. This food is prepared by deep frying the pork rind or fat. It sometimes eaten with vinegar or vinegar with chili. Aside from pork rind, chicken skin or pig intestines can also use to make chicharon. It is a delicacies of Bulacan Province on Luzon Island.

Sinulog Festival

Sinulog Festival is one of the most exciting and anticipated festivals here in the Philippines.

The Sinulog festival in Cebu is one of the biggest and most stunning events in Philippines having very abundant history. This is held every third Sunday of January to honor Santo Niño (Infant Jesus), who is the patron saint of Cebu. Fundamentally, it is a ritual dance recognizes the previous pagan of the Filipinos and their acceptance of being Christians.

This celebration highlights some of the most brilliant showcases of beautiful women. Most participants wear bright colored outfits dance following the trumpets, drums and native gongs beats. Often, the street is lined with pedestrians and merchants all aspiring to see the colorful street dancing. Tourists may also discover minimal versions of the feast in other areas of Cebu. An additional attraction one week prior to the Grandest Parade is the Sinulog sa Kabataan featuring the young generation of the province.

People can also visit some of the bazaars wherein they feature the top quality products of Cebu selling several types of souvenirs and delicacies as well.

At present, the cultural celebration had been revealed as a tourist attraction as well as rather a traditional local street dancing, the festival likewise intend to feature other participants from other regions of Philippines to compete. This Sinulog contest is typically held at the Cebu City Sports Complex, the location of many major celebrations in the province.

Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano is an active volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is situated between the towns of Talisay and San Nicolas in Batangas. It consists of an island in Lake Taal, which is itself within a caldera formed by an earlier, very powerful eruption. It is located about 50 km from Manila. A small island, Vulcan Point, in Taal Volcano also has the distinction of being home to the "largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island." It is also one of the most favorite tourist destinations and picturesque views in the Philippines.

Sinigang (Hot and Sour Soup)

Another popular Filipino dish is Sinigang. You can use different kind of meats and seafoods in cooking this dish like pork, prawn, milkfish and many more. 


Ingredients


1 Kilo Shrimp
12 pcs Tamarind (Sampaloc) or 1 pack Sinigang Mix
1 big Onion (diced)
3 big tomatoes (quartered)
2 pieces Radish (sliced)
1 bundle Sitaw (Strringbeans)
1 bundle Kangkong (cut into 2″ long)
3 pieces long green pepper
5 cups ricewash or water
Salt or Patis (fish sauce)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Boil Tamarind in rice wash or water to soften.

2. Pound and extract all juices and set aside.

3. In a casserole, boil rice wash or water, Tamarind juice, onions, tomatoes and Radish.

4. Lower fire, add in Shrimps, Kangkong, Sitaw and green long pepper.

5. Simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Season with salt or patis.

7. Serve hot

Filipino People

Filipinos is considered as one of the happiest, cheerful and hospitable people in the world. Filipinos are the most optimistic about their outlook on health even though they currently have one of the lowest levels of self-purchased medical insurance and company medical insurance. 


Filipinos are happy relatively happy about their careers and their families but are most optimistic about their health. Whatever problem or tragedy they encountered they always keep smiling and optimistic. Even though, Philippines is not very rich country, facing different problems but still Filipinos keep their heads up high and always happy.

Makati City

The major financial and business center in the Philippines. Makati City boast  the tallest building in the Philippines, PBCom Tower and some highrise buildings. Many embassies are located on the business district of Makati, the Ayala Avenue. Philippine Stock Exchange is also located in Makati.

Philippines Tarsier

Philippine Tarsier is the smallest primate in the world. It is critically endangered species here in the Philippines. They can turn their head into 180 degrees. The Philippine government made a conservation efforts to save the Philippines Tarsier to extinction. Several legislations have been passed to protect and conserve the Philippine Tarsier. DENR Administrative Order No. 38, Series of 1991 (DAO No. 38) included the Philippine Tarsier among the national protected wildlife species and proposed its listing under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). More over, the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group had given the species Conservation Priority Rating 4, which means that the species is highly vulnerable and threatened by habitat destruction and/or hunting. The Philippine Tarsier Foundation Inc. based in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines, is spearheading the campaign to preserve the Philippine Tarsier. Under a Memorandum of Agreement with the DENR signed on April 27, 1997, its mission is: to establish a forest reserve on the island of Bohol which shall serve as the sanctuary of the Philippine Tarsier; to protect and manage the tarsier sanctuary through the active participation of local communities; to establish and maintain a wildlife research laboratory for the study of the ecology and biology of the Philippine Tarsier; to establish and maintain visitor facilities for ecotourism and disseminate information material about the Philippine Tarsier with emphasis on the species' protection and conservation."


SO LETS SAVE THE PHILIPPINE TARSIER TO EXTINCTION BY SUPPORTING ALL THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS TO SAVE THIS ENDANGERED SPECIES.

Rafflesia "The World's Largest Flower and Having very bad smell"

Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species (including four incompletely characterized species as recognized by Willem Meijer in 1997), all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.


The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots.The name "corpse flower" applied to Rafflesia is confusing because this common name also refers to the Titan Arum(Amorphophallus titanum) of the family Araceae. Moreover, because Amorphophallus has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, it is sometimes mistakenly credited as having the world's largest flower. Both Rafflesia and Amorphophallus are flowering plants, but they are still distantly related. Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant, at least when one judges this by weight. Amorphophallus titanum has the largest unbranched inflorescence, while the Talipot palm(Corypha umbraculifera) forms the largest branched inflorescence, containing thousands of flowers; this plant is monocarpic, meaning that individuals die after flowering.


Philippine Species:


Since 2002 there has been tremendous amount of activity by Filipino scientists who have discovered and named several new species of Rafflesia. Before this time there were two species known: R. manillana and R. schadenbergiana, the latter of which was last seen in 1882 on Mt. Apo in Davao Province on Mindanao Island, but was thought to be extinct. The following gives a chronicle of these activities:

• 2002. A Rafflesia was found in the mountains of Antique Province that differed from any previously described. It was named Rafflesia speciosa by Barcelona and Fernando (Kew Bulletin, 57: 647-651, 2002).
• 2005. Another Rafflesia was discovered in the Philippines by Drs. Fernando and Ong on remote Mount Candalaga, Maragusan, Compostela Valley province in Mindanao. It was named Rafflesia mira by Fernando and Ong (2005. Asia Life Sciences 14: 263-270). Another group (Madulid et al. 2005 Acta Manilana 53: 1-6) published another name (R. magnifica) later, thus R. mira stands as the nomenclaturally valid name. R. mira (45–60 cm in diameter), is approximately the same size as R. speciosa (45–56 cm) of Antique Province, but definitely larger than Luzon’s R. manillana (14–20 cm in diameter).
• 2005. During his expedition to Mt. Igtuog and Mt. Sakpaw in the Central Panay mountain range in April 2005, Renee Galang discovered a previously undescribed Rafflesia. This was named R. lobata by Galang and Madulid (2006, Folia Malaysiana 7: 1-8).
• 2006. Danny Balete collected a previously undescribed species of Rafflesia in 1991 in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon. The collection was not recognized as a new species until further field work confirmed that this taxon was different than R. manillana. Several new populations have also been seen in the Camarines Sur Province (Mount Isarog and Mount Iriga)] in the vicinity of Buhi and Iriga City. This was named R. baletei by Barcelona, Cajano, and Hadsall (2006. Kew Bulletin 61: 231-237). The names R. irigaense or R. irigaenses are invalid and refers to the same taxon.
• 2007. In 1994 Pascal Lays rediscovered buds of R. schadenbergiana in South Cotabato. His paper reporting this result has only recently been published. In 2007, Dr. Julie Barcelona visited yet another population of this rare species in Bukidnon. An account of this discovery was published the following year (2008. Flora Malesiana Bulletin, 14: 162-165; see also Parasitic Plant Connection).
• 2007. Mount Banahaw in Luzon, a popular destination for mountaineering and religious groups seemed, until recently, an unlikely spot to find a new species of Rafflesia. But such was the case. Ironically, two papers have been published naming this Rafflesia as a new species. Apparently the first one was by Madulid et al. (2006, Philippine Scientist 43: 43–51 - but only available July 2007) and the second by Barcelona et al. (2007, Blumea 52: 345–350). At this point, it seemed that the correct name was R. banahawensis, not R. banahaw. But more investigation by Julie Barcelona showed that this species was first named by Blanco in his Flora de Filipinas (1845). Thus, the correct name for this species is Rafflesia philippensis Blanco.
• 2007. A description of the Rafflesia from Mount Makiling on Luzon was published as a new species, R. panchoana by D. A. Madulid and coauthors (2007, Acta Manilana 55: 43-47 - but available only in 2008). Comparison to other populations of R. manillana by Dr. Barcelona and coauthors lead them to conclude that this population isR. manillana.
• 2008. In the remote sitio Kinapawan in the coastal town of Lal-lo in Cagayan Valley, a Rafflesia was made known to Filipino botanists. Working with CAVAPPED, CI, and DENR staff, Julie Barcelona traveled to the site and collected the type of this Rafflesia. R. leonardi is similar to R. manillana (of Samar and Luzon) and R. lobata of Panay by the wide diaphragm aperture and flowers that grow on the roots and aerial portion of the vine. It is, however, different in its larger size (to 34 cm), central disk that is nearly smooth or with markedly reduced processes, and the absence of white blotches/windows inside the floral tube. It was determined that this was a new species and was named in honor of Leonardo Co who is an expert on the Cagayan flora (2008. Blumea 53: 223-228). It is the 5th Rafflesia found on Luzon and the 8th from the Philippines. Popular articles describing this discovery can be found in the following references.
• 2009. The ninth species of Rafflesia from the Philippines, R. aurantia, was described in Barcelona et al. (Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 61 (1): 17-27). This species superficially resembles R. tengku-adlinii of northern Borneo but differs in a number of features such as ramenta, disk processes and anther number. The population occurs in the Quirino Protected Landscape, Quirino Province, Luzon. An excellent summary of our current state of knowledge on Philippine Rafflesia can be found in Barcelona et al. (2009).
• 2010. The tenth species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines, R. banaoana, was discovered by Pastor Malabrigo, Jr. of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in the Balbalasang-Balbalan National Park in Kalinga, Luzon. The species is named in honor of the Banao, a tribe which performs traditional forest management and protection in the area where the new species was found. R. banaoana was found at an elevation of 1,361 meters above sea level, the highest for any species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines.

Mayon Volcano " The World's most Perfectly Formed Volcano

Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay, in the Bicol Region, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. One of the most famous natural wonders in the Philippines.

Renowned as the "perfect cone" because of its almost symmetrically conical shape, Mayon forms the northern boundary of Legazpi City. Local folklore refers to the volcano as Bulkang Magayon (Bikol: 'Beautiful Volcano'), after the legendary heroine Daragang Magayon (Bikol: 'Beautiful Lady').

Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano. The current cone was formed through pyroclastic and lava flows from past eruptions. Mayon is the most active of the active volcanoes in the Philippines, having erupted over 49 times in the past 400 years.

Like other volcanoes located around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, Mayon is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is located on the eastern side of Luzon, beside the Philippine Trench which is the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is driven under the Philippine Mobile Belt. Where a continental plate or belt of continental fragments meets an oceanic plate, the lighter continental material overrides the oceanic plate, forcing it down into the Earth's mantle. Magma may be forced through weaknesses in the continental crust caused by the collision of the tectonic plates. One such exit point is Mayon.

Mayon has undergone forty-nine eruptions in recorded history. The first recorded major eruption was in 1616. Its 48th and latest major eruption was a quiet effusion of lava on July 14, 2006, which was aggravated when a lahar caused by the rains of Typhoon Durian followed on November 30, 2006. A further summit eruption occurred on August 10, 2008. Starting in January 2011, the volcano is weakly erupting and may be building up to a larger hazardous eruption.

The most destructive eruption of Mayon occurred on February 1, 1814. Lava flowed but not as much compared to the 1766 eruption. Instead, the volcano was belching dark ash and eventually bombarding the town with tephra that buried the town of Cagsawa.

Manny Pacquiao

 Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is an eight-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win ten world titles, the first to win in eight weight divisions, and the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000's by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year", winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009.

Currently, Pacquiao is the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion and WBO Welterweight World Champion (Super Champion). He is also currently rated as the "number one" pound-for-pound best boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, Yahoo! Sports, Sporting Life and About.com. He is also the reigning Pound for Pound King.

Aside from boxing, Pacquiao has participated in acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He is the only active boxer to become a congressman in the Philippines.

Boxing Titles:

Major World Titles:

• WBC Flyweight World Champion (112 lbs)
• IBF Junior Featherweight World Champion (122 lbs)
• The Ring Featherweight World Champion (126 lbs)
• WBC Super Featherweight World Champion (130 lbs)
• The Ring Junior Lightweight World Champion (130 lbs)
• WBC Lightweight World Champion (135 lbs)
• The Ring Junior Welterweight World Champion (140 lbs)
• WBO Welterweight World Champion (147 lbs)
• WBC Super Welterweight World Champion (154 lbs)

Minor World Title:

• IBO Junior Welterweight World Champion (140 lbs)

Lineal Championship Titles:

• Lineal Flyweight World Champion (112 lbs)
• Lineal Featherweight World Champion (126 lbs)
• Lineal Super Featherweight World Champion (130 lbs)
• Lineal Light Welterweight World Champion (140 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• OPBF Flyweight Champion (112 lbs)
• WBC Super Bantamweight International Champion (122 lbs)
• WBC Super Featherweight International Champion (130 lbs)

Special Titles:

• WBC Emeritus Champion
• WBC Diamond Champion
• WBO Super Champion

Masskara Festival

The MassKara Festival is a week(3)-long festival held each year in Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental province in the Philippines every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city's Charter Anniversary. Masskara Festival is one of the most anticipated and colorful festivals in the Philippines.


The festival features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the streets to see colorfully-masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin musical beats in a display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina. Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, carnivals, drum and bugle corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts, agriculture-trade fairs, garden shows, and other special events organized ad-hoc every year.

Philippine Mango

Philippine(Carabao) Mango is said to be the sweetest mango in the world. Actually, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Carabao Mango is the sweetest mango in the world. Besides being truly sweet - the Philippine mango is definitely also the most delicious and most tasty and free of fibers so often found in other countries' mango fruits.  Sweet Elena is considered as the best carabao mango. It has an average fruit weight of 365-700 grams and sugar content of almost 19 percent Brix.
Aside from its size and juicy sweetness it has other superior commercial characteristics. Among them are the absence of fibrous materials in its flesh and thickness of its pulp.
Sweet Elena was adjudged the sweetest and the biggest mango in the Philippines for three consecutive years by the Bureau of Plant Industry.

El Nido, Palawan

El Nido, Palawan is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations here in the Philippines.

El Nido, being one of the most diverse ecosystem in the country, is protected for its unique flora and fauna, and pristine geologic formations. These include:

• limestone cliffs, the home of the swiftlets
• 50 white sand beaches
• 5 types of forest (the lowland evergreen rainforests found in the mainland and islands such as Miniloc, Lagen and Pangulasian; semi-deciduous forests; forests over limestone; beach forests; and, the mangrove forests found mostly around major rivers and creeks in the mainland)
• 3 major marine habitats
• 16 endemic and 10 threatened species of birds (including the Palawan Hornbill, the Palawan Shama, the Palawan tit, Palawan Scops Owl, and the Palawan Peacock Pheasant)
• 6 species of marine mammals endemic to Palawan (including dolphins and its native dugong)
• the Palawan Tree Shrew, the Palawan Stink Badger, the Palawan Spiny Rat, the Palawan Anteater, and the Northern Palawan Tree Squirrel
• 4 species of endagered marine turtles (hawksbill, olive ridley, leatherback and green sea turtles)
• 100 species of corals, 45 of which belongs to the genera of hard corals
• 813 species of fish

Adobo

Probably this is the most popular Filipino food. Even foreigners want to taste this delicious recipe. You can use different meats in cooking Adobo like Pork and Chicken, you can use also seafood like squid. It is marinated in a sauce of vinegar and garlic, browned in oil and simmered in the marinade. If you want the complete recipe just click this link http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/adobo.htm. Watch the video how to cook Adobo.

Flores de Mayo or Santacruzan

Queen of Filipino Festivals


Filipinos likes fiestas. They are celebrated all-year round. All over the country, especially in the summer months, May is the merriest and the most beautiful month of the year. It is the season of colorful festivals and Flores de Mayo or Santacruzan is one such festival. Stop and smell the roses. During the month of May, in the tropical islands of the Philippines, we don't have to stop -- the fragrance of flowers floats in the air. When the rains begin to pour after a long dry spell, flowers magically bloom overnight. And being predominantly Catholic, the Filipinos celebrate the beneficial rains by giving praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The townfolk gather the colorful flowers to decorate the Parish Church altars and aisles. They bundle the blooms in exotic arrangements for the many different festivities all together referred to as the "Flores De Mayo" (Flowers of May). Many towns celebrate Flores De Mayo with the community congregating in the afternoons to pray the rosary, offer flowers to the Virgin Mary, and share homemade delicacies and snacks. Children and adults wearing their Sunday best sing and dance to welcome the rains that will water the new crops.




Santacruzan is held annually in the warm month of May and is considered to be the "Queen of Filipino Festivals". Beautiful town belles are selected to participate in this colorful pageant parade. The stars are selected not for their looks alone, but for their embodiment of traditional feminine qualities. It is a week-long street pageant in almost every town; from the dirt road barrio to the metropolis honoring beautiful Philippine maidens and their handsome escorts under the hand-carried bamboo arc’s decorated by fragrant native flowers.


May is also the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. Filipinos turn each of the 31 days in May into a charming honor to the virginal virtues in Flores de Mayo, the flowers of May fiesta. Spiritual virtue searches to reach even the young. Every day in May, children, with cut flowers and baskets of petals in hand, march down the church center aisle. As the children march down the aisle they sprinkle the fragrant petals for Mama Mary. This custom is called alay sa Birhen. In Filipino, because it is an offering (alay) to the virgin (birhen), at the main altar, the youngsters sing hymns to Lady Immaculate, and leave their bouquet of flowers loose and dethroned.

Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [Official Video]

This song is for the people who don't feel like doing anything on their lives.

My Cafe

This is my Cafe

My Cityville

This is my City. I'm at level 71 now.

The Philippines, being one of two predominantly Christian nations in the whole of Asia (East Timor being the other), has Passion plays called Senakulo, named after the Upper room, or Cenacle. Companies and community groups perform the Senakulo during Holy Week. There are actual crucifixions being done by the cast members. Some people perform crucifictions outside of Passion plays to fulfill a panata (for a request or prayer granted), for example penitents in Barangay San Pedro Cutud, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. One of the more popular Passion plays is "Ang Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid" by the Municipality of Jordan in Guimaras Island.
This event attracting many tourists not just local tourists but also foreign tourists to witness this religious event.

Tubbataha Reef Natural Park

.http://tubbatahareef.org/

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. Rising from the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines, these magnificent atolls encompass an astonishing diversity of marine life.

The park is an underwater sanctuary where nature thrives. Tubbataha is the Philippines' first national marine park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place of global importance being preserved for future generations of humankind.

Tubbataha supports an unparalleled variety of marine creatures. Colorful reef fish crowd corals growing in the shallows while sharks and pelagics haunt the steep drop offs to the open sea.

A team of rangers are stationed on the reef year-round and, from March until June, divers visit Tubbataha to experience the wonders of this unique underwater world.

Vote Puerto Princesa Underground River Park for the new 7 wonders of nature

http://www.new7wonders.com/community/en/new7wonders/new7wonders_of_nature/voting