Picture perfect... remembering few images in Europe

The glass dome of Louvre Museum (Paris)

St Peter's Square (Vatican)

Inside Louvre Museum (Paris)

Beside Van Hogh painting (Paris)

Travel guidebooks... getaway to different cultures, festivals and sporting events

PLANNING TO TRAVEL ELSEWHERE? These books are excellent guides to places and events for us to enjoy. Despite its thickness and weight (almost one kg for each book), these publications provide invaluable source of information for travelers and the like searching for future escapades or looking for another getaway to experience different cultures, festivals and sporting events.

About Philippines: Did you know that?

RAINS are now pounding the country for several days and as usual, more Filipinos will be affected by traffic due to flooded streets in the metropolis and neighboring provinces. Some of them are panicking for possible evacuation especially for those living along rivers and creeks.

One of the major causes of traffic and flooding in Metro Manila is over-increasing population in the urban centers which accounts for 13 percent of the Philippine population even it only shares 0.18 percent of the total land area of the country.

The population of the Philippines in 1896 was around 6.26 million but this figure excludes non-Christians. In 2010, the country population reached 92.34 million.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ... the 2010 census shows that the city of Manila has the highest population density of 66,087 per square km with the population of 1.65 million. Following the capital city is Mandaluyong and Pasay with the density of 35,344  and 28,062 persons per square km, respectively; while Pateros is the least populated area in the metropolis with 64,147 people and population density of 6,168.

Barangay 176 in Caloocan City is considered as the biggest village in the country.

DID YOU KNOW THAT... there are villages in the country with no people living or residents in the area? These villages include: Barangay Fuentes in Iloilo and Barangays Guinsaugon and Punta in Southern Leyte.

Quezon City is considered as the biggest city with the population of 2.76 million, while Kalayaan in Palawan is the smallest town with only 222 people living in the area.

Cavite is considered as the biggest province with the population of 3.09 million people and Batanes is the smallest province with 16,604 population.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...Region IV-A - Calabarzon is the most populated region with 12.6 M people, followed by Metro Manila with 11.86 million population and Region III - Central Luzon with 10.13 million people.

Note: Statistics were extracted from Philippine Daily Enquirer with an article entitled Talk of the Town published on 12 August 2012.

More facts about the Philippines!

DID YOU KNOW THAT...the Philippines is the most-searched destination in China and United Kingdom (UK). According to a travel search site, Skyscanner, online searches from the UK and China were the highest numbers recorded in 2012 about travelling to the Philippines. In particular, these searches showed that Manila, Cebu, Caticlan, Puerto Princesa, Kalibo and Davao were top most travel searched cities in the country. Aside from the UK and China, other major tourist arrivals in the Philippines were from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Malaysia.

San Juan (La Union): Philippines surfers' paradise

SURFING IS BECOMING a popular sport or sort of a hobby in the Philippines.Having more than 7,107 islands, the Philippines offers a lot of places where the waves break for surfing enthusiasts. There are several best surf spots in the country, mostly unexploited and giving surprises to surfers around the world.

One example is San Juan in La Union, located in western part of Luzon. San Juan is considered as a perfect location for surf beginners or even for those who wish to do it for the first time. This surfing spot has a lot of resorts and surf schools which provide minimal fees for surfing lessons and equipment rentals. It is very accessible via bus transport and it takes 5-6 hours from Manila.

The best months to experience good waves are between November to March and July to October. There are other alternatives surf spots in the Philippines for all year round especially for professional surfers such as in Baler (Quezon), Daet (Camarines Norte), Siargao (Surigao del Norte), Nasugbu (Batangas), Borongan (Eastern Samar) and many others.

Summer Trek in Mt Pulag (Benguet, Philippines)

Five degrees C at the camp base of Mt Pulag. One-and-a-half hours to reach the summit and  witness the sea of clouds on top of the mountains. Mt Pulag is the second highest mountain in the Philippines and also declared as a natural park.