Photographs, Cooking and Ranting

Please visit me at my Foodnography Blog. I will be posting more entries very soon.

Lizard

We call this house lizard a ‘butiki’, ‘talot-to`’, ‘tiki’ and etc., it’s pretty harmless little creature and lives with insects and bugs that trapped inside the house. I do not like them very much because they can pee and poop on you if you’re not very careful “yuck”. I remember one night when I went to bed and forgot to put up my mosquito net this creature landed in my face when I started to fall asleep. I screamed like a baby and jumped like crazy. It scares the heck of me! No butiki for me please.


Photo Credit: bet609's flickr photostream

Jeepney

Most people I knew back home called this vehicle the King of the Road! It is number one public transportations in the Philippines. You could probably go anywhere because you can find them everywhere. I like to look at them because their bold, colorful and simple beautiful. I don’t know how much the fare now but I urge you to ride one when you visit Philippines.


Photo Credit: Jeepney from beda7882.com

Ice Cream

Magnolia ice-cream is probably one of my favorite ice creams back in the Philippines and Selecta (no photo) is my second choice. I love the halo-halo with macapuno and ube flavors, these ice creams are simple yummy and a perfect dessert to have anytime of the day (at least for me).

Mamang Sorbetero but we often call this flavor of the road. If you don’t have much and no time to drive down to the grocery stores then settle with this guy because he can satisfy your ice cream craving in a flash. You can find them anywhere and anytime of the day pushing and ringing their bell. The last flavor of the road I had was almost 3 years ago and the cheapest cone was like PHP5.00. You should try this one whenever you visit the country.

Photo Credits:
Magnolia icecream from clickthecity

Mamang Sorbetero from bacongco.com

Philippines National Symbols

Philippines National Flag

According to official sources:

White triangle stands for equality and fraternity
Blue field for peace, truth and justice
Red field for patriotism and valor.
The eight primary rays of the sun represent the first eight provinces (Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac) that sought independence from Spain and were placed under martial law by the Spaniards at the start of the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
The three stars represent the three major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

--------------------------------------------

National Anthem

Lupang Hinirang ( Beloved Country)
Lyrics by Jose Palma, 1899
Music Julián Felipe, 1898

-------------------------------------------------

Gem

Philippines South Sea Pearl

--------------------------------------------------

National Dance

Cariñosa has always been the national dance of the Philippines, whereas the Tinikling is just a worldwide favorite.

----------------------------------------------------

National Animal

Carabao

is a domesticated subspecies of the water buffalo. Carabaos are typically associated with farmers, being the farm animal of choice for pulling the plow and the cart used to haul farm produce to the market.

------------------------------------------------

National Bird

Philippines Eagle

is one of the tallest, rarest, largest and most powerful birds in the world. It is also known as "Haribon" or "Haring Ibon," meaning "Bird King." Its local name is banog.

--------------------------------------------

National Fish

MilkFish

is an important food fish in Southeast Asia and is the sole living species in the family Chanidae.



----------------------------------------------


National Flower

Arabian Jasmine (Sampaguita)

It is widely grown throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant for its strongly scented flowers.The flowers are gathered and strung into leis, corsages and crowns or its oils distilled and sold in stores, streets, and outside churches. The garlands may be used to welcome guests, or as an offering or adornment in religious altars.

------------------------------------------------


National Tree

Narra

It is a large deciduous tree growing to 30–40 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are 12–22 cm long, pinnate, with 5–11 leaflets. The flowers are produced in panicles 6–13 cm long containing a few to numerous flowers; flowering is from February to May in the Philippines, Borneo and the Malay peninsula. They are fragrant and have yellow or orange-yellow petals. The fruit is a semiorbicular pod 2–3 cm diameter, surrounded by a flat 4–6 cm diameter membranaceous wing which aids dispersal.

--------------------------------------------------

National Leaf

Fan Tree (Anahaw)

----------------------------------------------------

National Fruit

Mango

mango is one of the most popularly exploited fruits for food,juice, flavor, fragrance and color.

------------------------------------------------------------

National Sport

Sipa (Kick)

is the Philippines national and traditional native sport which predates Spanish rule. The game is related to the Sepak Takraw. Similar games include Footbat net, Footvolley,Bossaball, and Jianzi .

------------------------------------------------------

National House

Nipa Hut (Bahay Kubo)

is considered as the national house of the Philippines. It is, as the name implies, a hut, raised a few feet above the ground and constructed out of bamboo tied together, with a thatched roof using dried grass.

----------------------------------------------------

National Costumes

Barong Tagalog

is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked (similar to a coat/dress shirt), over an undershirt. It is a common wedding and formal attire for Filipino men as well as women.

Baro't Saya

is the national dress of the Philippines and is worn by women. The name is the contraction of the Tagalog words baro at saya, meaning "blouse and skirt".

--------------------------------------------------

National Hero

José Rizal

(Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda)

was a Filipino, polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.

PHOTO CREDITS:

pearl from gemstv/tinikling from photonshoot/Carabao from Ira Kelvin Karen/Eagle from philippine-adventures/milkfish from philembassy.se/sampaguita flower from Chantol. wordpress/narra tree from lizamlee.com/anahaw from coconut studio.com/mango from sinjinhouse/sipa takraw from en.wikipedia.org/Bahay Kubo from Philippines Central/barong tagalog from barongatsaya.com/barot saya from yoof san photostreams/Jose Rizal from Zamoanga.com/

Philippines

Cagayan De Oro City is my birth place

The Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeast Asia and Manila as its capital city. Its archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, sharing maritime borders with other Asian countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and more. According to the National Statistics Office projected population for 2008 was 90.4 Million.

Its economy is the 46th largest in the world with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product of over US$154,073 billion (wikipedia). Ferdinand Magellan landed the island on March 16, 1521, but prior to that, the Philippines was already settled by Austronesian people. It became colonized by Spaniard in the 16th century and an American territory at the beginning of the 20th century.

Independence Day was won from Spain in 1896. A Commonwealth style government was established in 1935 and gained its independence from the United States on July 4, 1946. Martial was declared in 1972. People Power Revolution of 1986.

Roman Catholic is the predominant religion and we have several dialects. The islands are divided into three groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The climate is hot and humid. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the present President.

So much to say about the Philippines and if you would like for more information, please visit Wikipedia for a complete info.

Welcome

I was born in the Philippines in the island of Mindanao in the city of Cagayan De Oro . This blog is dedicated to my beloved mother Philippines the Pearl of the East. I will be here and will try my very best to share Philippines to its finest. My country has so much to offers and everyone is invited to visit and experience the real essence of the Philippines.

Enjoy, relax, and let’s discover Philippines together.