Category: Festival

Lakbay Museo: Explore the Philippines without leaving Manila

From festivals to food, the Philippines is amazingly vibrant and colorful. Lakbay Museo aims to give visitors a chance to travel around Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and experience the best that the Philippines has to offer in under two hours right in Manila. We recently got a sneak peek of the museum inside S Maison at Conrad Manila right beside Mall of Asia (MOA), before its official opening on July 12.

Featuring hourly cultural dances and shows, free samples of native delicacies and even lambanog and fruit wine tasting (for adults), this is kind of like Nayong Pilipino for the Instagram generation.

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Travel Guide: Masbate City

Masbate City, the capital of the province of the same name, is known as “The Rodeo Capital of the Philippines.” Mention Masbate and images of cowboys, rolling hills and the laid-back haciendero type ranch life come to mind. Largely agricultural, main activities here revolve around industries such as large farming, livestock and poultry raising.

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Art in the City: Murals in BGC

Street art or public art is a big part of urban culture. Unlike art you find in museums, this kind of media staged in the streets, walkways and buildings make art more accessible to the public.

Certain places around the world like George Town in Penang and Sao Paolo in Brazil are known for their vibrant street art, which is a big tourism draw in itself. Just check out this list of the best cities in the World for Street Art. In the Philippines, one of the best places to see big scale public art is Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig. 

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5 Amazing Festivals to Visit When You Travel to Thailand

NOTE: This is a guest post

Thinking of heading to Thailand in the near future? There’s so much to get involved with in the Asian nation, but one of the most exciting prospects comes in the form of the many different types of festivals you’ll find hosted throughout the course of the year. Today, let’s take a look at five amazing festivals you simply have to visit on your travels of Thailand.

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A Fiesta in Sabtang Island, Batanes

Sabtang Island is one of three inhabited islands of Batanes, the northernmost province in the Philippines. It is here where you can see traditional stone houses that Batanes is known for. It is also here where you can find the finest weavers of Batanes known for making the vakul, a traditional headdress worn by farmers in the fields to protect them from the sun and rain. While women traditionally wear the vakul, men wear vests known as kanayi and talugong, a traditional wide-brimmed farmer’s hat.

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JAPAN: Old Town & Autumn Takayama Festival

If the UNESCO World Heritage site Shirakawa-go is the starting village or hero’s hometown in a classic video role-playing game, Takayama is the peaceful yet bustling trading town you go to when you want to upgrade your gear and buy all the rare items.

autumn in takayama japan ootd lakhambini shoes doorway

Takayama is a city in the mountainous region of the Gifu Prefecture, about 2 hours away from Nagoya, Japan. It is home to a beautifully preserved Old Town with buildings and whole streets of houses that date back to the Edo Period (1600-1868), when the city still thrived as a wealthy town of merchants.
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5 Weird Pinoy Fiestas

Most festivals in the Philippines take inspiration from a distinct product or industry of the town. This product usually dictates the theme for the activities, decor and street-dancing costumes, which seem to be a staple of every Pinoy fiesta. In the official Tourism AVP, it’s pointed out that, “we have rice fiestas, flower fiestas, giant fiestas, mask fiestas. We have one every day of the year. And everyone’s invited.” And because the country is blessed with so many products and industries, this has resulted in some rather out-of-the-ordinary fiestas as well. Here are five of the weirder inspirations for Pinoy festivals I’ve come across.

BAGOONG (SHRIMP PASTE)
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Colors of Capiz

Our trip to Capiz coincided with the the Sinadya sa Halaran 2012 festival, which literally means “Joy in Sharing and Thanksgiving.” Held every December, this festival is a merging of the Roxas City Fiesta “Sinadya” and the Provincial celebration of “Halaran.” It is a commemoration of the feast of the patroness of Roxas City (the Immaculate Concepcion).

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Regatta de Zamboanga & La Hermosa Festival

Zamboanga City’s La Hermosa Festival which was held last October 7-12 was one of the most colorful festivals I’ve witnessed in the country. From the hundreds of vintas with their rainbow sails racing on the sea in the annual Regatta de Zamboanga, to the festive flurry of activities, it was like a gigantic box of crayons just spilled over the whole city. Beyond the elaborate floats and vibrant costumes of the street dancers, it was great to see the community spirit as locals took part in the different festivities. Here are a few snapshots from the event.

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