How well do you know the Philippines?

Imagine if our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal would be your own chaffeur around the country driving in style with his own jeepney and you're one of the lucky ones being his passengers? Then, he asks, How well do you know our country? Where would you ask him to take you? Quite a difficult question to answer, isnt?

The fortitude of the Filipino people, with their innate cheerfulness and optimism in adversity, is quite remarkable. Filipinos are hard people to define: Oriental by virtue of geography and their Malayo-Polynesian roots, nut the temperament, outlook in life, and earthly Catholicism more suited to Central America than to races in Southeast Asia.

Filipinos are regarded as one of the most convivial and spontaneous people of Asia. Beneath the sudden, sometimes volatile swings from fatalistic and pensive moods to high spirits, is an underlying warmth, generosity and grace few visitors failed to notice.

The joie de vivre of the Filipino people, their passion for music and rythm, is most apparent during festivals and fiestas. It is hardly surprising that these attractive people and their impartial hospitality should attract not only the serious travelers but also the dedicated seeker of pleasure.

Sadly, even fellow Pinoys themselves are not really familiar with their own country. Most of us have gone abroad without really having the chance to explore their own beautiful islands. We have 7,107 islands to explore and so much more. As citizens, we often fail to see our own country's rich bounty in terms of scenic spots and picture-perfect islands. We need to know our history, geography and love our own; these will give us enough information where we had actually came from. It will be a shame for us if foreigners would be able to appreciate our country more while fellow Pinoys haven't.




There could hardly be a better time, in fact, to visit and explore the wonders of the Philippines. Most of the archipelago remains remarkably untouched by commercial tourism. With the exception of major cities and a handful of well publicized tourist destinations, untrammeled beaches, coral reefs, ancient rain forests, volcanic peaks, nature reserves, marine faura and little known ethnic beauty and eclectic culture--the country's Epicurean night life offers a heady blend of music club, casinos, discotheques and bars to suit most tastes.





With Soulful travels, I hope that my followers and readers, fellow bloggers in blogsphere, as well as foreigners soon discovers that the physical and ethnic diversity of the atoll, and the permutations on travel in the Philippines where an y number of itineraries for one destination are possible, are virtually inexhaustible.

For travelers whose curiosity is not easily quenched, there's always another island just over the horizon waiting to be explored and discovered. lastly, I'd like to believe that Soulful travel is my humble way of helping prosper the economy by means of promoting tourism and the importance of nationalism, patriotism and our historical heritage.