Conquer Asia

In the November issue of National Geographic,  the Philippines was included in the 25 best new travel destinations in the world for 2010.  Other countries include Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Costa Rica, Iceland, Ireland, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Peru, Slovakia and Sri Lanka (alphabetical order).

According to the prestigious magazine, one of the key reasons why Philippines was included was due to its “ancient cultures, structures and biodiversity”.   The Philippines is harboring as many islands as the Caribbean. 

The Philippines is quite popular specially among SCUBA divers.  The country boast of having the center of marine biodiversity.   I was able to dive in the waters of Anilao in Batangas and truly,  nothing else is like it.  If you’ve seen the movie “Finding Nemo”,  that’s how it looked.   Lots of colors, full of life.

Last month,  National Geographic also included the Ifugao Rice Terraces (Banawe Rice Terraces) as on of the “50 Places of a Lifetime: Great Destinations in the world”.   A truly magnificent place.    I would probably visit this in the next coming years.