Places: Binondo - the oldest Chinatown in the world

(photo by blogger edgar alan zeta yap, www.eazytraveler.com)

Did you know? 

The Binondo district in Manila is primarily populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. Established in 1594, It is the oldest Chinatown in the world.

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Places: Agusan del Sur Province of Mindanao, Philippines - The world's largest crocodile in captivity, Lolong, passed away

(file photo from taopo.org)

Sad News: The world's largest crocodile in captivity, Lolong, passed away as confirmed by Mayor Elorde of Bunawan. #RIPLolong

Lolong, a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), in Agusan del Sur Province of Mindanao, Philippines measured 6.17 m (20.24 ft).

Cause of death is still unknown. Autopsy is ongoing.

RT @charievilla: Good pm from Abs cbn Butuan- Fyi po....mayor of bunawan informed us,patay na ang buwayang si lolong ngayong gabi lang...

RT @atomaraullo: Lolong the crocodile was declared dead at 8pm by Dr. Alexander Collantes, park vet of Davao crocodile park

ABS-CBN News Update: Crocodile 'Lolong' is dead.
Click the link http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/02/10/13/crocodile-lolong-dead

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Lifestyle: Welcoming the year of the Water Snake ( Chinese New Year 2013)

Thinkstock Photo

It’s that time of year again—of lion dances, red envelopes with money, bushes with little oranges, and red lanterns decorating homes and restaurants. It’s the Lunar or Chinese New Year!

It’s an exciting time because it’s believed to be the start of a change in fortune for everyone. People are curious about what kind of year is promised to different astrological signs and what you can do to augment the good or counter the bad. There are also rituals to ensure good luck that not only those of Chinese heritage follow. What is the lure of these superstitions and why are most people drawn to them whether it is their holiday or not?

The Rituals

Michael and Lisa (not their real names) both follow Chinese tradition because they have been raised to do so. Every year, here are some of the rituals they follow:

1. Bathing in boiled pomelo leaves on the eve of the New Year and jumping into new pajamas, underwear, and slippers
2. Displaying five kinds of fruit on your dining table: pineapples, apples, oranges, pomelo, and dragon fruit
3. Displaying lettuce heads for family unity, carrots, Chinese celery with roots, yam candies, tikoy, and watermelon seeds
4. Purchasing prosperity baskets
5. Attending the New Year ceremony in temples
6. Having a feng shui master fix your home and perform cleansing rituals
7. Wearing red on Chinese New Year itself

Erin (not her real name), who is not of Chinese heritage, also follows a few rituals. “My friends and I take a trip to Chinatown to enjoy each other’s company and the food, then we troop to a feng shui expert. She tells us what charms to buy and how we would fare for the year. I also go to the temple and light incense sticks and bow during the eve of the New Year.” 

 

Thinkstock Photo 

Why Do Them?

Michael and Lisa both admit that the rituals can get tedious and expensive, but they still follow them every year. “Everything symbolizes something,” explains Michael. “Wearing new clothes symbolizes the new things to come, the fruits symbolize a bountiful harvest or a prosperous year ahead, and so on.”

Michael adds that they need to feel they have prepared for the year. “When you follow all these, you have peace of mind and you look forward to a better year because you know that you did your best to augment your luck,” agrees Lisa.

For Erin, it isn’t about tradition. “I cannot say if the luck or blessings come directly from following these practices, but it doesn't hurt to do them and I think it's fun,” she says. “I don't take it too seriously.”

Psychologist Kathleena dela Rosa explains the draw of superstitions in general: “People, as a rule, want to have as much control over their environment as they can—although there are certain personalities that need this more than others. Superstition is a way to do that or at least a way to try and control one’s world. It follows that by following superstitions, one’s level of stress may be lessened because you feel like you have gained some sort of control, even if it’s just in your head—or even if it’s really just the promise of control.”

The Drawbacks

As Michael and Lisa mentioned, it can be quite expensive and time consuming to follow all the rituals. However, since it is part of their heritage, they pay respect to their culture by keeping their traditions alive.

Erin admits that if she totally relied on the beliefs, she could see that becoming a problem. When you use rituals to handle your stress, dela Rosa says, “it is handled superficially and one is really just tricked into a sense of security. So instead of people getting used to or relying on better ways to handle stress, they handle it this way, which if you think of it, is not really handling anything or solving any control issues at all.” 

 
A snake lantern is seen among other Chinese New Year decorations at Yuyuan Garden in downtown Shanghai February … 

The Bottom Line

Dela Rosa explains why superstitious tradition continues to live on: “Those who grew up believing Chinese superstitions or any superstitions for that matter, just by the fact that they grew up with them, find a need to follow them or they feel unsettled. Following becomes the path of least resistance or stress.”

As long as you know that the control really lies in your hands, following Chinese New Year rituals and beliefs can work for you. Michael adds, “It’s really about upholding our tradition. In the end, I still believe prayers to God work best.”

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY!

Article courtesy of Yahoo News!

Lifestyle: Over 4 million tourists 'had fun' in Philippines in 2012

The mere mention of Davao beaches conjures images of the Island Garden City of Samal, a postcard-perfect city of Davao Del Norte is comprised of 46 modest villages (Photo by Gael Hilotin)

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - A grand total of 4,272,811 tourists visited the Philippines in 2012, the first time the foreign visitor mark breached four million.

Despite the all-time high, however, the number still fell short of the Department of Tourism's target of 4.6 million tourist arrivals for the year.

"Some shortfalls were felt due to economic and political pressures (in the) traditional markets such as the United States, Europe and China," said the DOT in a statement.

Missed target

Although the target was missed, the DOT said the figure was a 9.07-per cent increase over the 3,917,454 visitors in 2011.

"Crossing the four-million mark is a feat in itself and puts us well on track to achieve our ultimate goal of 10 million visitor arrivals by 2016," said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez in a statement.

"Despite a few bumps on the road, all key source markets still registered positive growth for the year," he added.

Related story: Tourists who stay in the Philippines on the rise

Jimenez though admitted it was going to become increasingly challenging to meet future targets.

"But we know that Filipinos are the biggest believers of our slogan, 'It's more fun in the Philippines.' We remain confident and will continue to build on the positive energies in order to cross the five-million milestone in 2013," he said.

Exploring market

Jimenez said the DOT's thrust this year is market development, which entails expanding the potential market for new users and new uses.

Related story: More fun to be Pinoy, immigration data show

"We will look into segments that we have not thoroughly explored. We will explore more creative executions geared toward sustaining the fun we have started. We hope to have stronger representation and be part of the future of tourism in Asia," he said.

South Korea remains our biggest source of tourists, with 1,031,155 visitors coming from that nation alone last year, the DOT said.

They were followed by visitors from the United States at 625,626 and Japan with 412,474 tourists. Overseas Filipinos numbered 215,943 arrivals, or 5.05 per cent of the total tourist traffic, exhibiting a steady growth rate of 4.24 per cent.

COPYRIGHT: ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Lifestyle:10 Of The World's Most Dangerous Airlines

Photo and Article c/o Yahoo News Phl

Flying was less deadly in 2012 than in any year since 1945, but that does not mean all airlines are equally safe.

The Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC), which collects information about aviation accidents and safety, has published its annual Airline Safety Ranking.

The ratings take into account the number and deadliness of hull loss accidents and serious incidents in the last 30 years of operation in relation to passenger miles flown. The ratings also take into account international safety benchmarks such as the IOSA Audit and the USOAP country factor, along with a time factor which increases the effect of recent accidents.

The results do not account for the cause of hull losses or whether the airline is at fault, so they are an imperfect measure of safety.

Of 60 ranked airlines, here are the ten with the worst safety records, including the number of hull losses and passenger deaths in these accidents since 1983:

#10 SkyWest Airlines: 3 hull losses; 22 dead

#9 South African Airways: 1 hull loss; 159 dead

#8 Thai Airways International: 5 hull losses; 309 dead

#7 Turkish Airlines: 6 hull losses, 188 dead

#6 Saudia: 4 hull losses; 310 dead

#5 Korean Air: 9 hull losses; 687 dead

#4 GOL Transportes Aéreos: 1 hull loss; 154 dead

#3 Air India: 3 hull losses; 329 dead

#2 TAM Airlines: 6 hull losses; 336 dead

#1 China Airlines: 8 hull losses; 755 dead

Lifestyle: Les Miserables - A Movie Review

Les Miserables an adaptation from Victor Hugo’s eponymous book, a classic tale of humanity, love and loss set against the backdrop of a political uprising in France, the French Revolution. It is directed by Tom Hooper.

Les Miserable is a story of a reformed man, Jean Valjean (Jackman) and a duty bound policeman, Javert (Crowe). Valjean, imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf to save his sister’s son, jumps parole.

Valjean is astonished and moved by the Christ-like charity of the Bishop (Colm Wilkinson), who takes him in, and forgives him for attempting to steal silverware of the Church, making him a present of it and protecting him from arrest. Valjean realize the gesture of the Bishop which changed him to become a better man.

After seven years, Valjean becomes a mayor and a factory owner. Then he bumps into police officer, Javert, who recognises him as the prisoner. And with the belief, “Once a thief, always a thief”, Javert trails him.

Fantine (Anne Hathaway) on the other hand works as a poor employee of his factory and her daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), who falls in love with revolutionary firebrand Marius (Eddie Redmayne) just as Paris erupts in a bloody revolution. Valjean must unite the lovers before making his final reckoning with Javert.

What makes Les Miserables memorable? Is the melodramatic musical fare thatt is visually packed with emotion; filled with grief, romance, humility and humour. The film charms its audience with passion, sincerity and an overwhelming force of the characters.  The physical strength of this movie is impressive: an awe-inspiring and colossal effort, just like Valjean’s as he lifts the flagpole at the beginning of the film.

Crowe offers the most open, human performance as a cruel, unbending law-officer and royalist spy. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter are great as the dodgy innkeepers M and Mme Thenardier, respectively. Other moments are less up to the mark. Hathaway’s fervent rendition of “I dreamed a dream”, in extreme close-up, has been much admired, but her performance and appearance is a bit Marie Antoinette-ish. Her poverty-stricken character is supposed to have pitifully sold her teeth to a street dentist. .

The cinematography and production value are very good. Especially with Jackman hiking over mountaintops, and heaving a ship into a vast drydock alongside hundreds of other slaves, but apart from this, much of the film’s final act is confined to one cramped studio set which represents downtown Paris.The action should be momentous, considering that a revolution is brewing, but instead it seems paltry, and altogether more like a stage show than a film. 

Over all it is hugely enjoyable, powerfully emotional musical with superb songs, stunning set design and a series of brilliant performances from a note-perfect cast. It is also spectacular to look at and often poignantly beautiful to listen to, this won't disappoint the millions who have sighed at the stage play.

C'est magnifique.:)

My rate 4 out of 5 stars.

Places: Philippines Ranks 2nd In Top 10 Travel Destinations

Philippines Ranks 2nd In Top 10 Travel Destinations

MB:

Some parts of the world may still be oblivious of the Philippines as a hot beach-holiday destination but American travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller predicts that the country's heavenly islands and white sand beaches are among the newest destinations to watch for in 2013.

On the magazine's online site (www.cntraveller.com), the Philippines ranked second in its "Top 10 hot destinations that will be big news for travelers in 2013." Brazil topped the list. The Netherlands' city of Amsterdam was ranked third; Africa, fourth; Galapagos Islands, fifth; Kashmir, sixth; Mayan Riviera, seventh; New Zealand, eighth; Panama, ninth; and Oman, 10th.

Condé Nast's Laura Fowler wrote in her article that "the Philippines may still not be the most obvious beach destination but it soon will be." The writer also compared the country's more than 7,000 islands to the islands of Maldives: "Sorry, Maldives... We love you, but we've got a new flame."

Especially mentioned in the piece as must-see places are Bicol, where travelers can swim with the huge but gentle whale sharks; Siargo, a stunning little known island perfect for deep-sea fishing; Palawan, "palm-fringed white-powder beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters, natural lagoons for wild swimming all of it protected by UNESCO."

According to the article, the Philippines is becoming "particularly popular among serious divers, who come for the incredible underwater life, unspoilt coral gardens with rainbow-bright fish, green sea turtles and dugongs."

This year, the country's countless world-class beaches may well be on the radar for wide-eyed travelers looking for the next best tropical paradise.

Source: GMA Network FB