A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
The last time I visited Japan, I made it a point to visit the Sapporo Beer Museum in Hokkaido, which I previously thought was the only beer museum in Japan. During a recent family trip, I found out that there’s another smaller museum dedicated to one of Japan’s oldest beer Yebisu, which is easily accessible by train from any point in Tokyo. There’s no admission fee to visit and you can easily just walk in without making reservations, making this a good stop for beer-lovers.
Did you know that there’s a hidden museum in Intramuros where you can go liquor tasting? You can sample local craft spirits like the Ilocano basi (sugarcane wine), mango rum, premium
Destileria Limtuaco, the oldest and largest distillery in the Philippines founded in 1852, opened their liquor-themed museum in Intramuros to the public in 2018.
Continue reading “Museum Guide: Destileria Limtuaco Liquor Museum in Manila”It’s Holy Week once again, and no doubt many Filipinos will be visiting seven (or 14) churches to pray the Stations of the Cross and reflect. Visita Iglesia or church visits are customarily done during Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, though it’s commonly practiced during any day of the Holy Week.
Over the years, I’ve visited a lot of churches, chapels, and sites of religious significance in different provinces around the Philippines. Though I’m not really an expert on heritage sites, I thought it would be timely to come up with a list of some of the most beautiful and unique churches I’ve been to around the country.
For this list, I included a selection of 14 churches (and a couple of church ruins) from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that I personally found really beautiful along with some trivia about what makes them worth visiting any time of the year.
Continue reading “Visita Iglesia: Beautiful Churches around the Philippines”The first thing that popped in my head when I got an invitation to visit Sapporo was beer. Sapporo Brewery is known as the oldest brewery in Japan, named after the capital and largest city of the country’s northernmost island. Though bottled variants of the Black Label variety are now available around the world, nothing beats drinking fresh draft beer right in the town where it originated, right?
Culion Island in Palawan is not your typical mainstream tourist destination. Locals say that most people have either never heard of Culion, or know it only for once being the world’s largest leper colony. In fact, the island was isolated for over a century. The Culion leper colony was established in 1906, and patients from different parts of the Philippines and hospital staff were brought to Culion. But in 2006, the island was declared leprosy-free by the World Health Organization.
For international travelers, Auckland, the largest city on North Island is the main entry and exit point to New Zealand. Traveling from Manila, Auckland was our first and last stop during our family trip / backpacking tour in 2016. This diverse and multicultural city is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. It’s just one of the amazing places in the sovereign island country of New Zealand located in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, which I consider one of the best places I have ever visited in the world
It’s hard to believe that what is now a beautiful park used to be one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Despite having been demolished 20 years ago, the Kowloon Walled City continues to captivate people today. While at first glance, it may look just like a pleasant garden in the middle of the busy city of Hong Kong, it felt surreal and disconcerting to visit a place with so much history behind it. This was the most fascinating place I visited during my recent trip to Hong Kong.
Taiwan is best known for its hi-tech attractions, traditional Chinese temples, hot springs resorts and mountainous terrain. Its capital Taipei is a fusion of culture and technology, with historical attractions, landmarks and vibrant night markets, all easily accessible with highly efficient public transport systems.
Last month, I got to visit Taipei for the first time. Art was on a work assignment to cover Computex, one of the largest computer and technology trade shows in the world held annually in Taipei. He extended his work trip for a few days and I joined him by booking an AirAsia flight through Traveloka to take advantage of the Visa-free entry for Filipinos. My mother and nephew decided to join for a summer family vacation.
Continue reading “10 Things to Do in Taipei, Taiwan”Most tourists are probably familiar with the Mediterranean-style Thunderbird Resorts & Casino in Poro Point, La Union. But did you know that there’s another resort under the same management just an hour away from Metro Manila?
The province of Bataan is best known for its historical and cultural attractions. The Battle of Bataan is famous for being one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces during World War II. The Bataan Death March, where the infamous march started, was also named after the province.
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