Philippine Travel Notes

This topic started with this article There are four towns in the Philippines named San Luis. First, the town of San Luis in Pampanga is a historic one. It has a big ancient church and all its 17 barangays are named after saints! The boss of the HUKBALAHAP movement purportedly is from this town and in the early times (actually until now) this is the domain of the Elizalde businesses! Far to the east still in this region is another town of San Luis in the province of Aurora and one of its biggest actually. There are springs, falls, beaches and a beautiful bay. This is the resort town that welcomes you on your way to Baler. Our 3rd San Luis is a town in the province of Batangas and is also a resort town with diving facilities though not very popular on the list of people from the metropolis. Then there is the landlocked town of San Luis far down south in the province of Agusan Del Sur (Region 13 – Caraga). Hop in there for genuine tribal rituals during the planting and harvest seasons. Ra...

This topic started with this article Going to Casiguran? Many a Filipino would be familiar with that name as it is most often a point of reference when talking about typhoons. Radio and TV reports would usually say “the storm is XXX kilometers east-northeast of Casiguran”. And they all mean the town of Casiguran in the province of Aurora. Surely, many of us also know that it is in the same area/province as Baler, another surfing paradise. But of course, like any town in the eastern seaboard of the country, sunrise is fantastic at Casiguran. Now don’t get confused, farther down almost to the southern tip of Luzon on the eastern part of Sorsogon province (Region 5 – Bicol) is a town also named Casiguran. Eastern part yes, but no it does not face the pacific. It’s actually in the Sorsogon Bay area. Like most of the Sorsogon towns, this Casiguran is also a sleepy farming community.

This is the EVERYTHING Region of the Philippines! Region 3 also mostly indicated as REGION III or Central Luzon has everything for everyone, from kids to serious businessmen. This region is one of the best for outdoor fanatics to history and culture enthusiasts! It has everything from rural seaside towns to exclusive members-only resorts and everything from the illegal gambling operations to glittering modern casinos hahaha! To be able to completely roam and absorb everything that this region has to offer, a month or two may not even be enough! Composed of 7 provinces (12 cities and 118 municipalities), Central Luzon is one of only two regions in the country that spans it shore-to-shore from east to west. I even call this vast place as the region from A to Z! That is A = Aurora (the eastern-most province, kissing sunrise and the Pacific Ocean) and Z = Zambales (the western-most province, hugging sunset and the West Philippine Sea (formerly the South China Sea). This area of the co...