Holy Land

2006 was a memorable year for me because this was when I travelled to the Holy Land - Israel.

Dome of the Rock and the Jerusalem ancient walls

Jerusalem today

Notes from the Author. Modern day Israel may look different now, or the places look different from the way we have pictured them in our minds when we we read these places in the Bible as kids. A lot of the biblical sites have been transformed to beautiful churches to preserve the place and the relics (as over the years, people visiting these places have attempted to collect rocks, soil, and other artefacts either to sell or keep as souvenirs), so places like Golgotta where Jesus was nailed on the cross looks nothing I imagined.

If you are planning of going on a holy land pilgrimage, it is much better to be in a tour-guided group as you would be travelling many miles to go to places where Jesus has been to. (And imagine while you travel on wheels, at the time of Jesus, he and his disciples travelled on foot or on a donkey.)

The historical sites in Israel are endless, but here are to name a few:

Some Biblical Spots You Don't Want to Miss (and some passages from the Bible relating to these places)

The Jordan river is where John the Baptist baptized people. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a void came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:9-11)

Synagogue, Capernaum, the fishing village where Simon Peter and Andrew lived. These ruins used to be the synagogue where Jesus preached. In Temple courts, he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables." (John 2:13-15)

Wailing Wall or Western Wall.  The Jews come here to pray, as well as Christians. On the wall crevices, you will find inserted prayers on paper placed by people who visited the area. After praying, one has to leave the wall stepping backwards while still facing the wall. To turn your back on the wall is a sign of disrespect to  King - Solomon. The Wailing wall is part of the Temple walls built by David and rebuilt by Solomon about 3000 years ago. The mountain, Mt. Moriah where the temple is located is believed to be the focal point of creation, and where the ark of the covenant was set upon. The present day Western Wall is the remnant of the western temple mount retaining walls.

Garden of Olives, Gethsemane . This is where Jesus prayed and wept before his arrest. Olive trees were believed to live for a long time or to never die, so it is possible that they have existed from Jesus' time. If only trees can talk. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, " Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John with him and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them, "Stay here and keep watch." (Mark 14:32-42)

Sea of Galilee (present day Lake Kinnereth). The sea of Galilee is actually a lake and it is significant on many accounts. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost." they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." (Matthew 14:25-27)

Bethesda Ruins (Bethsaida). The square shaped structure built from rocks is the pool. This is the place where Jesus performed one of his miracles.  The Bethesda Pool or better known as Bethsaida is where most of the handicapped go to get healed.  It was said that angels would stir the pool, and the first to get it in receives healing. Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked." (John 5:1-9)

A scenic picturesque of the Dead Sea The Dead Sea The Dead Sea may not have been mentioned as much in the Bible but it is relevant because of the Dead Sea scrolls which were discovered in a cave by an Arab shepherd. The Dead Sea scrolls contained writings by the "Essenes", a Jewish sect which lived a monastic life in the west side of the dead sea. Today, you will find tourists swimming and basking in the dead sea. People would sell the mud and salts from the Dead Sea because they say it has healing properties and is good for the skin. But the water is very salty, and could sting your eyes.

Bethlehem. Beautiful paintings re-enacting the nativity at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:8-14)

My Australian Adventure

Notes from the Author. Australia is a big country, and I only managed to see a few places, considering the size of the country. I stayed in Parramatta, which is the innerwest of Sydney. If you are coming down to Sydney for a tour, there are lots of places to go to. But definitely, you shouldn't miss going to the city where most of the touristy places are. And while you are in Sydney, take the time to visit the local zoo. I'm fond of animals, so it's always fun for me to go to the wildlife reserves or the zoo. The Blue Mountains in Katoomba is also a nice place to visit, which is just about an hour away from the city by train. If you get the chance to visit other parts of Australia like the GoldCoast in Queensland, they have nice sandy beaches, and you'll see lots of surfers down there. Surfing happens to be a common past time anywhere. There are also many theme parks like the Warner Bros Movie World and SeaWorld. I didn't get the chance to see Melbourne, Western Australia, and Tasmania, which hopefully, I'll get to visit someday.

PLACES of interest: Blue Mountains, Katoomba | Surfers' Paradise, Goldcoast | Featherdale Zoo, Sydney | Harbour Bridge, Sydney | Sydney Opera House | Circular Quay, Sydney | The Rocks, Sydney | Darling Harbour, Sydney | Seaworld, Goldcoast | Warner Bros. Movie World, Goldcoast | Parramatta River | Manly | St. Catherine's Cathedral

Baguio

Notes from the Author. My last trip in Baguio was in 2002, during the Panagbenga Festival in February. What I remember that time was it started to rain really hard, but as they say, “the show must go on”. So inspite of heavy rains, the parade performers and the band kept on.

The Panagbenga Flower Festival. Visited in 2002, Feb 22. Main float embellished by all kinds of flowers

Street Performers in their fancy pink flower hats

Flower Float from one of the Sponsors

Inspite of rains, there was a huge crowd during the Flower Fest. I could hardly see the parade because Session Road was packed with lots of people.

Band playing different contemporary OPM hits. At that time, they were playing tunes to the likes of “Spaghetting Pababa…”

Baguio City The Baguio Mountain View

Baguio is famous for it’s Pine trees, which is not very common in a tropical country.

I forgot the name of this park. Sorry!

The Tree House

Camp John Hay

Want to visit Baguio? Read more …

100 Churches

I had a goal of visiting a 100 Catholic churches all over the world. To be able to visit a 100 different churches signifies how well travelled you are.

In no particular order, my count starts here…

Batanes Churches

All these churches are in Batanes, unfortunately I’ve forgotten some of their names, but these Churches are found in Sabtang and Basco. Most of them have a similar architectural design, and are quite old.

Church 001. San Carlos Borromeo Church

Church 002. Forgot the name.

Church 003. San Vicente Ferrer Church, built in 1844, Sabtang.

Church 004. San Jose de Ivana Church, built in 1814, Basco.

Vietnam

Church 005. Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City. This church is where I took my masses every Sunday when I stayed in Vietnam . At that time (2003), they were renovating the facade of the church. It’s one of Vietnam’s city attractions.

Bicol

Church 006. Our Lady of Penafrancia Basilica. Naga City, Bicol

Church 007. Baclayon Church, Tagbilaran. 2006

Manila

Church 008. San Agustin Church, the oldest standing Catholic Baroque Church in the Philippines, completed in 1607.

Church 009. The Manila Cathedral. The Manila Cathedral is a popular wedding church in Intramuros, Manila, but it has a very interesting history. The original cathedral churches built on this same spot were either destroyed by a typhoon, an earthquake or a bombing at the time of war. The most recent construction of the Manila Cathedral was in 1954 to 1958. This is the 5th construction since it was destroyed several times in history.

Tagaytay

Church 010. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. A relatively new parish built in Tagaytay. 2005

Church 011. The Pink Sisters Chapel and Convent. The Pink Sisters, the nuns in pink habits are prayer intercessors. Visitors would come to this chapel to pray and drop their prayer petitions, so the Pink Sisters can intercede for them. Tagaytay 2008

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Bohol

Chocolate Hills in October. The hills turn brown in the dry season. There are about 1,776 dome-shaped hills in these area, which are almost uniformed in size and shape. No other country has anything like it. 2003

Philippine Tarsier. One of the smallest primates - not larger than an adult’s hand. It is a protected species, living in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol, and Mindanao in the Philippines.

Loboc River. The Loboc River is one of Bohol’s tourist attractions. There are cruises available or hop on a floating restaurant that takes you to the end, where you will see the Busay Falls. 2003

Beach front, Panglao Island, where most of the resorts are located. 2003

Island with no name. One of the virgin islands of Bohol. Notice a very narrow bridgeway connecting to the main island? This is actually the shoreline. The beachfront is actually the part submerged in shallow water. It goes under water during high tide, leaving only a small narrow bridgeway to the main island.

Bacilasag Island. 2003

Sandugo in Bool, Tagbilaran. Statues depicting the Blood Compact in 1565, where Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol sealed their friendship by drawing 2 or 3 drops of blood on a wine cup and drank the wine mixed with the blood. Sculptures created by national artist Napoleon Abueva.

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Interior of the Baclayon Church, said to be one of the oldest churches which existed during the Spanish period. Tagbilaran 2003.

Facade of the Baclayon Church, built by some 200 native forced laborers from coral stones, cut into square blocks, and piled on to each other. They used the white of a million eggs to cement them together. Completed in 1727, with an addition of a large bell in 1835.

Notes from the Author. Bohol also boasts of its diverse marine life, which is why it is also known as one of the top diving spots in the Philippines. Aside from scuba diving, Bohol is also famous for activities like dolphin watching, bird spotting and island hopping. I had the chance to see dolphins, but had a difficult time taking shots at them. But it’s definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

Read more…

Metro Manila

Metro Manila. A snapshot from the plane. 2004

Makati Skyline. Metro Manila. 2007

View of the Pasig River. 2007

Cityscape. Makati view from Fort Bonifacio. Just right in front of the buildings is the Manila Golf Club, the most exclusive golf country club in the Philippines. 2008

Notes from the Author. I showed all these photos of Metro Manila, as I think other countries still perceive the Philippines as a rural country where most people still live in the 'bundocs'. I blame it on the tv networks who are still showing old documentaries of the Philippines where people live in nipa huts. True, we still have a lot of underdeveloped places, like anywhere else. But Manila is a modern city with buildings and modern infrastructures. We have one of the largest malls in Asia, which makes the Philippines as one of the potential shopping havens in South East Asia. Here in Metro Manila, you have almost everything you need. Read more...