Today, finishing up my travel tickets back home to New Zealand, and with just a couple of weeks more here in the Philippines, I started checking on my photos taken during my stay here. Looking at them, tracing down and ticking all the places I’ve been to, I realized that I’ve been everywhere in the country!!! Carefully scanning the photos, I came up with the question “What’s the best part of it?”

I have my personal, unbiased answer to that. And I’m pretty sure a lot of you will raise both hands to agree with me. But just before I reveal to you my answer, let me show to you some photos of me in places I have visited in the country – Philippines!

And you might as well figure out the answer all along while viewing them!

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (known as Dadiangás, and abbreviated G.S.C. or GenSan.; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa General Santos) is the southernmost port city of the Philippines.

PUERTO AZUL, Ternate, CAVITE. Surrounding the wonderful resort is an amazing forests with flowers, hills, blue sea, and fine sand beaches. The resort is situated in a 3,300-hectare untouched nature.

ENCHANTED KINGDOM is a theme park in the Philippines. It is located in SANTA ROSA CITY, LAGUNA, about 29 kilometers (18 mi) from Manila. It has a land area of 17 hectares (41 acres). The park is managed and operated by Enchanted Kingdom Inc.
Enchanted Kingdom is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA)

TAAL VOLCANO, TAGAYTAY is a complex volcano located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.[1] Historical eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Lake Taal. The lake partially fills Taal Caldera, which was formed by powerful prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 to 5,380 BP.[2] Viewed from Tagaytay Ridge, Taal Volcano and Lake presents one of the most picturesque and attractive views in the Philippines.[3] It is located about 50 km (31 mi) south of the capital of the country, the city of Manila.

Regina Resort, OZAMIS CITY

DAKAK BEACH RESORT, DAPITAN CITY is most known for its strikingly shaped bay and powdery white sand, and as a diving Mecca in Mindanao

CROWN REGENCY HOTEL, CEBU CITY
the Skywalk Experience!

IMPERIAL PALACE, CEBU CITY

FORT SANTIAGO, MANILA (Spanish: Fuerza de Santiago Tagalog: Moog ng Santiago) is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros (“within the walls”).

SAN CARLOS CITY, Negros Occidental

VALENCIA CITY with the Sons and Daughters Chorale Arts Society batch 2006

The AYALA MUSEUM, nestled in Greenbelt Park in the heart of MAKATI CITY

ZAMBOANGA CITY. For almost three centuries, the Spaniards held the City of Zamboanga with Fort Pilar as the center of settlement. The presence of the Spaniards amidst many Filipino ethnic groups resulted in the development of a unique dialect – chavacano – a mixture of Spanish and the native dialects which is still the predominant medium of communication in the city today.

TANGUB CITY: The Christmas Symbols Capital of the Philippines
It is located at the Southern curve of D-shape Misamis Occidental Province, part of Mindanao. It is bounded by Mt. Malindang on the north, Ozamiz City on the east, Paguil Bay on the south and Municipality of Bonifacio on the west.

SPLASH ISLAND is the biggest waterpark in the Philippines. It is located in BINAN, LAGUNA and it boasts of many attractions that families will surely love and enjoy.

CANYON COVE RESORT, the stunning beach resort in NASUGBO, BATANGAS, Philippines, fulfills the wishes and waves off the worries of every traveler. With 208 plush and value-filled rooms, expansive resort facilities, and a location along white-sand beaches, Canyon Cove’s island-hopping activities and other water sports become mere add-ons to fully explore the beautiful locale.

PARADISE ISLAND RESORT, Caliclic, Island Garden City of SAMAL, DAVAO

These are just a few out of the many photos I have and places I’ve been to. I can post all the way down and you can last a day viewing them all, but it’s not the way to see the best part of my travels, of the Philippines.

My travel experiences in the Philippines have taught me, “personally”, to understand that in every trip, the place and it’s beauty will offer the same ambiance and aura to all. Everyone gets that. But what manipulates the experience and makes it a memorable one are actually the people you’ve spent the trip with, the friends you encounter along the way, those little moments you’ve spent with love-ones that made the photos priceless, the laughter shared with family on a short visit, the fun meeting up with people you once shared your tears with, and those short talks that actually tighten more the bonds of friendship and love for family. Because later on I noticed in my travels, the place do not drive my itchy feet to get on another journey, it’s the people in those places that moved me more to go and visit. It took me more than 10, not even 15 trips to get all of these. But it is also true that one doesn’t have to travel to understand all these. There are a lot of beautiful and great places to be in the Philippines. And we can always go back to that place and it will be the same, but we can never take the same people and mimic the same enjoyable experience as before. The people I love and the experience i shared with them in my trips made the best part of the Philippines!

One thing more that I noticed is, when I checked on those photos, I do not really intend to check on the beauty of the places, it’s all encrypted in every fiber of me. Hahaha But what makes me smile, or sometimes teary-eyed is seeing the people I took the photo with. Brings back so much happy memories. I’m not sure if it is just me, or it is also true to you.

Just like this one here…..

Photo Credit: John Noe Surmillon

never fails to make me SMILE — the BEST!