Pearl_of_the_Orient_Seas

The Republic of the Philippines (formerly called Philippine Islands) is an archipelago of 7,107 islands bounded on the East by the Pacific Ocean, the West by the China Sea, north by Taiwan, the South by the Celebes Sea, the Philippine Sea, and Indonesia.

And that's as far as I will go, this not being a hub on geography.

I am right now halfway around the world from it, and I decided to hub about it because this morning I woke up after a very vivid dream of what my cousins and I used to do when "I wore a younger man's clothes" (borrowed from The Piano Man, by Billy Joel, my favorite atheist with the most God-given talents, he's just not acknowledging it).

We used to wake up early dawn summertimes, cook our bowls of steamed white upland rice, gather our bahalinas (coconut wine reddened with dye, buried in the ground for weeks for a stronger taste), and go to a spot in my maternal home province of Northern Samar in one of those 7,107 islands , where the sea met the river and the tides carried with them lots of prawns, big shrimps with diameters as big as a weight lifter's wrist, well, some of them, at least, and we'd spear them out of the water and into the sand and had them grilled and broiled and in our bellies half an hour later while the sun started to come up, washed down with the coconut wine.

Then noontime my cousin, who, I kid you not, could hold his breath for more than five minutes (unless he surreptitiously surfaces  behind rocks and boulders to get more air, I don't know) would dive into the river and come up with a fresh water lobster or two for lunch and more coconut wine and smokes and jokes that sometimes get out of hand we end up untangling brawling brothers or cousins or friends and go home with shiners and busted noses.

God, how I missed that.

The months of May and June are fiesta months.

Especially in the island of Bohol, a place dear to my heart for many reasons, two of my sons were born there (and are still there) where the fiesta season is kicked off May 1 at the capital city, Tagbilaran, and every day in some village or town or municipality, and I mean EVERYday, the feast day of another patron saint is celebrated.

The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, probably right now around 80% of the population is Roman Catholic, and while religion is not endorsed by the government (at least not on paper) you will find grottos and altars to this or that Roman Catholic saint in most schools and government offices, and it's not that they're going against their own supposedly non-endorsement of religion, that's just the way it is in that country.

So you have the fiestas.

If you plan on vacationing in Southeast Asia (and there are a lot of lovely spots there) I recommend the Philippines for good clean fun (you can also find dirty fun, if that's your preference, but you're on your own. You get no help from me).

I'd recommend getting there around January, when the weather is not so hot, the air not so humid, and the folks are still a little laid back from the just past Christmas season, and depending on what you're looking for and why you're there (you know, vacation plus study, vacation plus business, or just pure, plain, simple, inexpensive vacation) get to where you wanna go.

I'd recommend (drum roll and 21 guns please).......B O H O L !!!

For a starting point, at least.

There are a number of inexpensive lodgings you will find there (hey, search the net. I'm not plugging them in for free). By and large the Bol-anons (that's what the people there call themselves) are honest and truthful, and cheerful, and will not scalp (ouch) you out of your hard-earned greenbacks. They will actually take you where you want to go, shortest route and not roundabout.

Coming up !

Things to do in Bohol when you're not dead !