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Cool Things You Need to Know (and Experience Now) About the Philippines – Part 2

As promised, there will part 2 of this post. For those of you who haven’t yet read part 1, here is the link.

http://www.projectpilipinas.com/2017/07/cool-things-you-need-to-know-about.html

Now to continue with, here’s another batch of cool things the Philippines have for you. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, this post is something worth to bookmark and shared about. Let’s continue.


Jeepneys and Tricycles
You’ve probably seen those crazy guys sitting on the top load of a running jeepney somewhere in the mountainous areas here in the Philippines. Well, it’s their happiness to experience that adventure once on their lifetime. But it’s cool, isn’t it?

Jeeps or jeepneys are everywhere in the country and it is in fact the cheapest means of transport here. If you’ve been into Manila or any city in the country, there is no way you cannot see these colorful and overly-decorated vehicles. Needless to mention the features, but the face-to-face 10-12-seater benches, the eye-catchy decals and rows after rows of halogen lights, and the loud engines under the stainless hood are what makes jeep unique compared to any other types of vehicle out there.


Here’s a little bit of trivia about jeep. Sarao was the first ever jeepney brand in the Philippines. It’s unique design, those horses over the hood and angel wings on the sides. It would be lovely to see one. Over the decades, innovations in design make jeepney more appealing, more powerful, and even bigger and faster.

And by the way, there’s another version of the jeep. We call it the owner-type-jeep. It is shorter but like the father, it is colorful and overly-decorated. And guess what. I happen to own one. Here’s the post about my red owner-type-jeep adventures.



And of course, the tricycle is another cool vehicle to ride on. It’s the small or should I say 3-wheel version of the jeep. In a sense, tricycle simply portrays the creative minds of Filipino drivers.


Why is it cool? For one, jeep and tricycle is a lot cheaper to own compared to sedans and AUVs. For two, these kinds of vehicles promote group rides and therefore help (at least) minimize heavy traffic. For three, you need to give it a ride for you’ll see weird and funny things inside these jeepneys and tricycles you will not see on others. To give you some ideas, you can read something like these somewhere inside the jeep or tricycle: “Basta jeepney driver, sweet lover”, “Barya lang po sa umaga”, and “Bayad muna bago baba”. How cool is that!


Graffiti and Paintings
Next to vandalism (which is not cool; you can read my post about Baguio City and the vandalism going on there), drawings or paintings on walls is what you will more likely see around the country these days.


While graffiti has been there for years, Filipinos way of painting is still a bit different compared to other countries. How so? There is a story on every painting.

As an example, look at these wall painting portraying the camaraderie of Filipinos on their communities.


So it noticeable that this is a graffiti-in-the-making job and people are on their feet doing such an amazing artwork. In a sense, we can call this a “bayanihan” movement. Bayanihan is the time when Filipinos group together to accomplish certain activities that when done by a single or a few people only can last up to several days instead of just one day. Such good deed mostly happens during calamities like typhoons and earthquakes. But it is common to see bayanihan as well in provinces particularly on rice fields during planting and harvest months.

Want to know where this artistic mind of today’s Filipino painters came from? This is really something cool to know about.

Filipinos are actually good painters. Famous painters like Juan Luna (Spolarium), Damian Domingo (La Sagrada Familia), Felix Hidalgo (Flora de Filipinas), and Fernando Amorsolo (Rice Planting) have brought Philippines great recognitions in the international stage for painting. These days, you can find brilliant paintworks of many great painters in various museums across the country. And they are worth the visit, trust me. That is where everything started. Now, here are some of the cool paintings I happened to capture from various places I’ve been into – painted by Filipinos.




Filipino Cuisines
If you want to take a cool bite of the best Filipino cuisines, go nowhere but on restaurants outside Manila. Let me explain why. Philippines have these small but one-of-a-kind food places called “karinderya” and they serve many of the authentic Filipino cuisines, not the big restaurants in the cities.


Well, did you know that our current president Rodrigo Duterte is a “suki” or regular customer of a karinderya in his hometown in Davao. How cool is that?

Okay. Why not get your paper and pen now and list down these famous cuisines that define the Filipino’s very own brand of taste. We have the adobo, lechon, sisig, crispy pata, chicken inasal, bulalo, kare-kare, dinuguan, laing, bagnet, longaniza, bicol express, ginataang tulingan, pakbet, kinilaw, and kaldereta. For dessert, we have the halo-halo, buko pie, ice cream, puto bumbong, leche flan, and ube halaya. Well, there’s actually over a hundred recipes the Filipinos have in town that we’re really proud of. These are just a few of the best cuisines.



I bet you’re starting to get hungry right now.

Did you know that almost every province here in the Philippines has its own unique recipe? Notice the Bicol express, yes, that’s from the province of Bicol. Bagnet is from the Ilocos province. Inasal is from Bacolod, a city in Negros province. Bulalo is from Batangas.

Here’s another cool trivia for you. Halo-halo is one of the most popular dessert in the word and it originates nowhere but in the Philippines! So true! It has been featured on several food shows. If you haven’t seen or tasted one, then stare on these photos of halo-halo and the next time you go out for a food trip, don’t forget to order one big halo-halo.



Ooops, I almost forgot. Halo-halo is mostly served during summer days. If you happen to order one during rainy or cold days, then you’re lucky enough.


Souvenirs
Perhaps one of the coolest things to have if it’s about traveling in the Philippines is this “pasalubong” or souvenir. With Filipinos excellent craftmanship, you can buy souvenirs of different kinds that will keep on reminding you how beautiful the country is you’ve been into. When me and my wife went to Baguio City, I took photos of various souvenir items on sale there. Have a look.



Aren’t they cool to collect?

Travel anywhere in the Philippines and surely, there is some little stuffs to buy as a remembrance. Philippine tourism probably became this good over the past years because of the local’s hospitality and kindness. And those traits are very visible on the products or souvenirs they sell. When travelers share the souvenir with their family and friends, everybody wants to go to the Philippines. Some says that these products were made out of Filipinos’ “tender loving care”. And that’s the coolest thing about that.

Here are more photos of souvenirs you can buy only in the Philippines.




Want More?

There are more cool things about the Philippines that I want to share. But let me end this post for now and leave you asking for more. Don’t worry, as soon as I hear from you a request to extend this post to part 3, I will. Hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this post and how I wish you learn something as well about the Philippines, my beloved country.

Alright, I won’t leave you just like that. Here are some cool panoramic shots of beautiful places in the country. Watch them out on my past and future posts.





Do you like to visit the Philippines?
This blog site is the best place to start. You will find here lots of interesting articles about the Filipinos and their lovely country the Philippines. Please share this post to your friends and families who's planning to visit the country someday. It is worth the visit Pilipinas, as well as worth the read - ProjectPilipinas.com.



Related Posts

My Red Owner-Type-Jeep Driving Adventures in Cavite, Philippines
"I Love Baguio City" - My Travel Story in the Summer Capital of the Philippines
Cool Things You Need to Know About the Philippines - Part 1



About the Author
Noriel Panganiban is the founder of ProjectPilipinas.com and Knowriel.com. He's passionate about blogging, education, helping others, business, and planting. He's living the minimalist lifestyle for he believes that you can make more with less. You can get to know more Noriel thru Knowriel.com - a knowledge and information guide for business and career. He's encouraging you to pursue the ambition you have by keep on learning things and living a good life.


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