Philippines
Photo credit: OldGreySeaWolf from morguefile.com
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas) is an archipelago in South-East Asia. The nation consists of 7,107 islands located between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea,right on the eastern edge of Asia. Combine all its beaches it forms one of the world’s longest coastlines and it takes about 2 to 3 decades to visit and experience every island. If you are a traveller here is one place which servers to all your travel insurance needs. Since Spanish colonial times, the country is considered to be Asia’s largest Catholic country. Over a hundred ethnic groups, a mixture of foreign influences and a fusion of culture and arts have enhanced the uniqueness of the Filipino identity and the wonder that is the Philippines.
History
Several thousand years ago, the first settlers in the Philippines crossed shallow seas and land bridges from the mainland Asia to arrive in this group of islands. These were the Negritos or Aetas. These people are related to Melanesians, Australian Aborigines and Papuans. Direct descendants of these people can still be found in the country. Several thousand years later, they were then followed by Austronesian settlers travelling the same route as the Negritos but this time over sea in their impressive Balangay boats. This word is where the basic form of political institution, the baranggay, came from. The Austronesians are thought to have come from Taiwan, and traveled south to the Philippines, and as far away as Hawaii, Easter island, New Zealand and Madagascar.The majority of Filipinos are pure Austronesian.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
Why Philippines
Getting Here and Travelling Around the Philippines
It’s actually very easy to get here and a lot less trouble than many believe. There are two major international hubs; Manila and Cebu (which receives numerous flights from the Asia region). Journey time can vary but you can reach Manila from Hong Kong within 2 hours, Bangkok 3.5 hours, Shanghai 3.5 hours, Kuala Lumpur 4 hours, Seoul 4 hours, Sydney 7 hours, Los Angeles 12 hours, Frankfurt 14.5 hours, London 15.5 hours, Moscow and Stockholm in 16.5 hours.
The Philippines are also an ideal stop over for people en-route to diving holidays in Truk and Palau.
Once you arrive there a whole range of internal travel options. Flights with domestic airlines are frequent, relatively inexpensive and usually have short journey times. Most flights take no more than one hour from airport to airport. Universities have made the international student health insurance mandatory for all the foreign students. Manila currently has 3 domestic airport terminals (allocated to different carriers) and all are relatively close to each other and to the international airport. Cebu domestic terminal is adjacent to the International terminal.
Trikes are motorbikes with a side car (similar to the Thai tuk-tuk) and are ubiquitous throughout the country. At some stage, especially when staying on one of the smaller islands, you will probably use a trike. Jeepneys are a Philippines icon, they are the brightly customised chrome long base jeeps that you will see everywhere. Originally adapted from the jeeps left by the departing US army at the end of WW2 they are now the primary source of transport for most urban based workers and for a large amount of those in the country too. Bancas is the name given to the smaller wooden boats with outriggers that you will observe all along the coast. Your dive boat is almost certainly going to be a banca of some sort.
Whatever your means of transport whilst in The Philippines, one thing is for sure, it’s going to be a lively experience. The great part about travel here is that you get to see a fascinating part of the world at no extra cost – so sit back and enjoy the ride.
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