Category: Travel

Singapore: Visit to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

Ferdz0 Comments
Singapore's Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

I have visited a number of temples already. While some are really grand, they have already aged through time. If their rustic conditions still make them look astonishing. What more if you could see a temple in all its golden age glory. In Singapore, whose major population is Chinese, it’s no surprise to see a temple such as the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple rise up at the heart of Chinatown. The temple is considered as a living cultural monument inspired by the golden age of Buddhism in China during the Tang Dynasty.

Continue Reading

Ifugao: Batad Rice Terraces still a Wonder after the years

Ferdz0 Comments
The Batad Rice Terraces

If there is one thing in the Philippines I could say I am proud of, that would be the Rice Terraces in the Ifugao Mountains. This marvel of an architectural and cultural landscape was built by our ancestors more than 2000 years ago. Other countries have terraces as well but none can compare to the height, steepness and intricacy. Even the steps of these terraces when combined end-to-end can encircle half the globe. Truly a deserving site to be included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Lists.

Continue Reading

Batangas: Our Lady of Caysasay and Sacred Well of Sta Lucia

Ferdz0 Comments
The Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay

Aside from the Taal Basilica found at the heart of Taal Town, there is another church worth a visit nearby barrio Labac (also known as Caysasay). From Villavicencio House, we followed the ancient steps called Hagdan-hagdanan built by Father Celestino Mayordomo that led us to a smaller but charming butter-colored walls of Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine. Petite but full of character, the church was was built on the foundation of miracle by the image of Our Lady of Caysasay.

Continue Reading

Transit: Manila to Banaue & Batad

Ferdz0 Comments
A fully loaded Jeep in Banaue

Let me say this first, that this trip to Batad is already my 4th time and that says something. It’s one of those places that I don’t regret going back to. It’s both good and bad on my part. The good is, I get to see how the place have changed since the first time I went there and second is seeing how bad things may have changed since then. It’s my fourth time there but it’s going to be the first time I’ll be writing about here in length along with Banaue.

Continue Reading

Singapore: Biking at Pulau Ubin

Ferdz0 Comments
Biking at Pulau Ubin Singapore

I noticed there are many people who have an active lifestyle in Singapore. Every night I didn’t fail to spot one or more joggers in the street. A few bikers and some people I met regularly go to the gym after their work. But once in a while it can be a drag in the city. The concrete streets and buildings can never replace the rugged outdoors. I do know some friends of mine yearning for something different would head out of the city and go to Pulau Ubin, an Island getaway from urban Singapore and a famous hub for outdoor activities.

Continue Reading

Ironwulf Travel Chronicles 2009

Ferdz0 Comments
Batanes in Reverie Ironwulf Yearender

I will really miss 2009. I can consider it as one of the most fruitful years of travel. There was a time a year before that I thought I would never be able to travel that much in 2009. It was in 2008 when the economic condition forced me to go into a freelancing stint. I never knew if I would succeed in 2009 being a freelance photographer and writer. But here we are, looking back, despite the many things that happened in our country like the economic crash, calamities and other uncertainties there are still a lot to be thankful for 2009.

Continue Reading

Batangas: The Gift that is the Villavicencio House of Taal

Ferdz0 Comments
Villavicencio House Mesa de Altar

Gift is such as special word. And in this holiday season, gift giving even becomes a more popular practice. From small items, to shiny gadgets or expensive clothes, people have different ways to express their gratitude or love by giving gifts. And for a man during the Spanish times like Eulalio Villavicencio, it is giving a house was the perfect gift for his bride Gliceria Marella for their wedding. Built in 1871, the symbol of their love surely stood the test of times.

Continue Reading