The Philippines

It's only October, but summer scenes like these guys taking a swim beneath the waterfall already seem so far away, like summer was a hundred years ago.... But I love the fall too :) Emanuel is the one to blame for this card, featuring the beautiful waterfall called Pagsanjan Falls, the most famous and popular waterfall of the Philippines. It's located only an hour or two drive from the southern cities of Metro Manila. 

The Philippines

I was passing by our local market in Rovinj this morning and it's such a sad scene - only a couple of old ladies selling vegetables from their backyards, with almost no customers. It was pretty sunny and warm today, so we can't blame the bad weather. During the summer, on the other hand, when the town is full of tourist and the market finally livens up a little bit, the prices of products increase two or three times! I know they've got to have some profit, but...

Anyway, I hope the situation is better at Urdaneta Central Market in Pangasinan, Philippines. This card, showing grain dealer and the product he offers, also comes from Lannie. She used the traditional games of Philippines stamps again, but new games this time. Such an interesting theme for a stamp issue! Thanks a lot, Lannie!

The Philippines

I have chosen two market cards for today's update, it's Food and Drinks month, after all :D First one is a colourful postcards from the Philippines, showing all the different fruits that you can find on the stands along the roadside in Tagaytay. The round, hairy red fruit is called rambutan. Interesting, the name rambutan is derived from the Malay/Indonesian word rambutan, meaning "hairy". Lannie writes that it's one of her favourite fruits. 

The stamps attached, issued in 2009, show some traditional games from the Philippines. Thank you very very much, Lannie!

The Philippines

Hello, fellow collectors! It's finally Friday, so I decided to show you some postcards. For the beginning I chose this map card of the Philippines that reached me few weeks ago.

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands with a total land area, including inland bodies of water, of approximately 300,000 square kilometers. Its 36,289 kilometers of coastline makes it the country with the 5th longest coastline in the world. The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. As of March 2010, these were divided into 17 regions, 80 provinces, 138 cities, 1,496 municipalities, and 42,025 barangays. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name of one of the three primary island groups in the country centred on the island. Thanks to Willa!

Tappia Waterfalls, the Philippines

For the first post in new 2013 I have chosen a waterfall card, one of many that I received in 2012. This one comes from the Philippines, showing Tappia Waterfall near Batad, Ifugao Province. According to the 2000 census, Batad had a population of 17,009 people in 3,254 households. There is also the language typical for that area - Ifuago or Batad language. Ifugao or Batad is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Ifugao Province, closely related to Bontok and Kankanai It is a dialect cluster, and its four main varieties are sometimes considered separate languages. Thank you, Ritz!

The Philippines

And for the last today's post I have chosen a view over Paoay Church on the Philippines. Paoay Church is the Roman Catholic parish church of the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Completed in 1710, the church is famous for its distinct architecture highlighted by the enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building. I have to point out how much I like this kind of arhitecture! In 1993, the church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one best examples of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

Paoay church is prime example of Earthquake Baroque architecture, which is the Philippine interpretation of the European Baroque adapted to the seismic condition of the country. Destructive earthquakes are common and have destroyed earlier churches all throughout the country. Aside from Baroque, the church facade also exudes Javanese architecture reminiscent of Borobudur of Java.

An interesting fact more...the town of Paoay was originally called "Bombay" as the earliest inhabitants believed to have come from India. The earliest historical record of the area dates back to 1593, becoming an Augustinian independent parish in 1686. Building of the present church was started in 1694 by Augustinian friar Father Antonio Estavillo, and it was completed in 1710.

The Philippines

What a funny delivery I had yesterday in my mailbox! I received two copies of the postcard above, sent to me written and stamped, but from two different Postcrossers! One came as a surprise from Joyce, and the other one as a part of direct swap with Willa. They even have similar handwritings :P

                                            
                                            

The postcards show Miag-ao Church (officially known as Santo Tomas de Villanueva), a prime example of Philippine rococo style. Church resembling fortress back to 1787 and is included in the UNESCO's world heritage list. Thanks, Willa & Joyce!

The Philippines

These 2,000 years old Banaue Rice Terraces were carved into the mountains by Ifugao's indigenous people. The terraces start from the base of the Cordillera mountains and reach up to a thousand feet high. If stretched from end to end, would encircle half of the globe. It is tagged as one of the wonders of the modern and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Thank you, Joyce!