Philippine Travels

Every summer, the ominous display of a dorsal fin sends crowds scurrying for the shore—and newspaper headlines exploding with warnings. Find out why that’s the wrong way to act. The shark's reputation as a killer was sealed in the public imagination with the 1975 release of Jaws, a movie with imagery so powerful that the book's author, Peter Benchley, devoted the rest of his life to dismantling the character he had helped create. The shark in the book and subsequent film was a brutal, instinctive killer with a dozen rows of jagged teeth and a taste for human flesh. The bloodthirsty great white has become an archetype so pervasive that even a news story reporting on a harmless two-foot sand shark can't resist recalling the Jaws mythos. The reality of shark attacks, however, is that they are few and far between. Out of hundreds of shark species, only great white, tiger, and bull sharks have been involved in unprovoked attacks. Since 2003, sharks have killed only four people a...

Badoc Island Surfing. Is it worth it? Where is Badoc Island? Your will find Badoc Island in the province of Ilocos Norte. Badoc town is the southern most town in the province and is about 40 kms south of Laoag City. The town of Badoc lies wedged between the Killago mountain range to the east and the South China Sea to the west. Badoc Island and the Ilocos Norte province is on the north western coastline of the main island of Luzon. The actual island is not particularly large and sits roughly a kilometre off the town of Badoc. How do I get to Bardoc Island? There are effectively two (2) ways of getting to Bardoc Island from Manila. You can either fly or you can travel by road, which option you choose will more than likely depend on the amount of tie you have at your disposal. Flying is by far the most convenient. The flight from Manila to Laoag City, which is the capital of Ilocos Norte province, will take you about one hour. From Laoag City to Badoc, arrange prior to leavi...

Philippines is known world wide to have many beautiful white sand beaches, magnificent dive sites, cultural and historical heritage and many natural attractions that could attract tourist. But the Department of Tourism (DoT) also discovered that the country is also a haven of surfing sites. Philippines have a coastline that is twice as long as the United States, with wonderful beaches that are powered by a living and breathing ocean, the country has a very big potential to become as an international surfing destination. the Department of Tourism (DoT) is exploring the places that has big potential for surfing spots. Most Popular Surfing Spots are: 1.) Badoc Island, Ilocos Norte Province North west coast of Luzon Where is Badoc Island? Your will find Badoc Island in the province of Ilocos Norte. Badoc town is the southern most town in the province and is about 40 kms south of Laoag City. The town of Badoc lies wedged between the Killago mountain range to the east and the South China Sea...

Philippines is well known because of its awesome beaches. Here is a list of some of the best beaches where you can go with when your going to have a vacation there. I can assure you that you'll not gonna waste your time & money in visiting this places because I know that this places is what your finding for. Surfing, Diving & other water sports are also available at many of these spots.For those who want to have a vacation in Philippines here is a list of "the best beach you to go for". 1. Boracay – has always been the favorite place of beach goers to go in the Philippines. This is because of the great white sand and cool waters, Boracay is the place for people looking to party. It is even considered as one of the finest beaches in the world. Boracay is located in the North West part of the Visayas area called Panay. 2. Honda Bay – this are islands that surround the capital of the South Western province of Palawan. Among these islands, the tourist can go island ho...

What are typhoons? And what about cyclones? The answer is that they are generally the same storm system, but the difference lies in where they originate. Hurricanes are storm systems which originate in the Atlantic or East Pacific Oceans and make landfall all too regularly on the United States. Cyclones, on the other hand, are found in the South Pacific west of 160 degrees east longitude. The term "cyclone" is sometimes a catch-all in the meteorological world for all three storm systems; adding to the average person's confusion. Typhoons are the same type of storm, but are found in the Western Pacific and thus plague Asian countries such as Philippines, Japan, China, and Taiwan. Typhoons are generally more powerful storms than their western counterparts, however, because storm systems that originate closer to the equator can build up the highest winds. This is due to a combination of factors which include air currents, ocean currents, and water temperature. Hurricanes, cy...

Region 8 has 6 new eco-tourism entrepreneurs; "Turismo Mismo" meets DOT GREET grantees Tacloban City (March 5) -- In the very near future, Region 8 will have six new young entrepreneurs in the eco-tourism sector. This, as the Turismo Mismo team from the Department of Tourism and GREET Secretariat, the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation were in Region 8 on February 25, 2009 in order to meet with and assess the capabilities of the first six grantees of the Grassroots Entrepreneurship for Eco-Tourism (GREET) program, prior to grant release. Department of Tourism Region 8 Director Karina Rosa Tiopes informed that in answer to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on the Filipinos, the Department of Tourism will soon release in trances about P730,000.00 to the first six beneficiaries of the Grassroots Entrepreneurship in Tourism (GREET) in Region 8. Director ...

April 19, 2009, Its a little old news.. but worth keeping an eye on.. Barely two months after the resumption of commercial operations, the expanded San Fernando Airport in Poro Point, La Union marks its first milestone by opening air link with the Cheongju International Airport in South Korea. Direct flights between the two airports are set to commence on May 8, with an initial passenger traffic volume of 20,000 Korean tourists, mostly students, their parents, and other family members wanting to visit La Union, Baguio City, and Benguet. Top executives of Poro Point Management Corp. (PPMC), a subsidiary of the government-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), made the announcement upon arrival from their recent visit to Chungcheongbuk-do province in South Korea. The delegation, headed by PPMC executive vice president and chief operating officer Anthony C. Manguiat, came back last April 2 from a “highly fruitful” visit to South Korea. The BCDA, which spearheaded the expan...

Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational - Billabong Extends Sponsorship Of Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational The new, three-year deal ensures Billabong naming rights sponsorship of the Philippine's premier surfing event until 2012. 'Cloud 9' - a powerful, hollow right-hander has produced a smorgasbord of flawless, barrelling waves for the event since its inception in 2007, with a plethora of surf stars from around the globe sampling its delights. In a major coup, the exclusive invitational event will offer a world-class field of 48 invited surfers a chance to compete for an upgraded US $30,000 prize pool from 2010. Adding to their commitment, Billabong has also thrown their support behind the Philippine’s National Surfing Titles, which are held the week leading into the prestigious Cloud 9 event. Billabong SE Asia Marketing Manager Peter Thew says they’re excited to be raising the profile of the prestigious tournament, whilst promoting surfing in the Philippines. "The Cloud 9 Invi...

Being a mere male and battered by the need to be politically correct I thought that a good old fashion picture of what the Brazilian surfers have to put up with on the beach, might be enough to bring a smile to the face of anyone popping by for a quick read.. Credit: Jade on the beach at Praia Mole, Floripa (SC) : Jade Dechiara / Reef Vision

Hash Trash T2H3 Run #402 "The usual spills and thrills of a Hash run in Tianjin China!" Hares: Shy Dog, Gilles, Nose Job, Zhao Ke Yes, you heard that right! Four Hares! Count'um! In TTH3 tradition, the troops gathered at the Wei Ha in TEDA for Run #402. Shy Dog informed us as we got on the bus, "It's only a short, 10-minute ride from here to the Hash starting point." The bus (which also apparently doubles as an art gallery from portraits of famous Communist leaders) pulled out and beers were passed out in true Hash style. The ten-minute drive soon became 20 minutes. Hmmmmm. The bus driver doubles back and takes some kind of illogical serpentine route. "I swear we went past that restaurant at least three times," could be heard from the back of the bus. Seems that the route chosen by our revered Hares could not be navigated due to a low overhead clearance problem. About 45 minutes later we arrived and piled out of the bus for a much-needed piss bre...

One of the absolute must-knows or must-haves for any traveller is an accurate information about the weather. You wouldn’t want to plan a beach outing without knowing what the weather is going to be like on your target date do you? For Pinoys, the first thing that comes to mind when talking about weather forecasts is PAGASA or the Philippine Atmosperic, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. PAGASA is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and services primarily for the protection of life and property and in support of economic, productivity and sustainable development – Wikipedia Accessing the Philippines weather forecast is easy enough. You just go to PAGASA’s website at http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/ and you can easily get REAL TIME WEATHER, FLOOD FORECAST, CLIMATOLOGY, etc., etc.. What you won’t get howeve...

The nine-time world champ breaks his silence on ESPN’s plans, the ASP and his critics “When you have the influence to make change, it's irresponsible not to do the right thing with that, and the surfers have that ability as a group.” – Kelly Slater By Tim Baker There’s little doubt that Kelly Slater has been stung by widespread criticisms of his perceived involvement in a proposed new pro surfing tour. Allegations that he was “cashing in” at the end of his career, dividing the sport, and even undermining the world title campaign of Joel Parkinson have been hurled at him since news of the proposed “ESPN Tour” broke during the Jeffreys Bay event. While Kelly has sought to distance himself from the new tour, claiming he knows little more about it than any other surfer, his manager Terry Hardy is deeply involved. And after meetings with ESPN in California during the US Open, Kelly is in a position to comment in more detail on the tour, the motivation behind it, and his response to his...

A REBEL group threatens to hijack international surfing to create a multimillion-dollar sport. NINE-TIME world surfing champion American Kelly Slater is backing a rebel pro-surfing tour that will start as early as next year, with or without the support of the sport's existing sponsors and administrators. The breakaway world surfing competition has the potential to affect broadcast rights, sponsorships, advertising and significantly boost the earnings of the world's best surfers. MICK FANNING: Rebel organiser 'very confident' Organisers of the rebel tour - Slater's manager Terry Hardy and former American boxing promoter Matt Tinley - have an in-principle agreement with US pay television sports network ESPN to broadcast it and claim to have enough financial backing to get the tour running without the imprimatur of the surf industry or peak surfing body, the Association of Surfing Professionals. "In a year there is a possibility that there will be two world champi...

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As usual with most projects they have a habit of growing and as one to advise people on looking forward I am myself taking this step, before it all becomes too hard. I was looking for a wider template to fit all the gadgets and wonderful little tools you can add in to a blog now, so just had to work out a template which is going to grow with me as I play with blogging more and more over the coming months. So bare with me as I tinker and play over the coming week to get this back in to shape..