The Great Sta. Cruz Island: Zamboanga City's beautiful secret

PINK BEACH. The Great Sta. Cruz Island is one of the pink beaches in the world.

The color pink symbolizes delicateness, sweetness, and tenderness. In gemstones, morganite symbolizes serenity, relaxation, and contentment. In Zamboanga City, there's a place where this color brings so much more than the symbolism that people give. An island where tenderness is written in the sand and relaxation meets the beauty of the summer sky. It is a secret that has been revealed to a few but ready to show its softness to many and to bestow its charm to everyone--for a whole new world to see.

Photoworld Asia: Envisioning the world and future through photographs

Photoworld Asia 2019 kicks off its week-long event with photo exhibit at Glorietta Ayala Malls in Makati on January 31, 2019. Photo credits to Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation.

Diversity, culture, and beauty in all its forms--in a long panoramic shot.

Wouldn't that be worthy of a closer look?

These seconds of closer looks eventually may turn into days of amusement and delight as the greatest places and stories come to life in a span of a week. During this time, a panorama has been brought to life as the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation enthusiastically presents Photoworld Asia.

Through the eyes of an art enthusiast in the National Art Gallery Manila

The National Museum of the Philippines.

I was charmed with visual art as a kid. With my enormous gratitude to art growing up, I got myself into doing art as well. It helped me express what I was truly feeling inside, and it served as one of my forms of therapy after an exhausting week. However, after high school, I moved on from visual art and turned my head towards creative writing--first poetry, and now travel writing. Because the inner child in me is still enthusiastic about visual art, I visited art museums in Manila in order to go back to what I once loved to do.

With the hope of a clean Manila Bay

Manila Bay Sunset. Disclaimer: This is not the part of Manila Bay that is newly cleaned. Photo courtesy to Marboy Sayno.

On the 23rd of January this year, I visited the side of Manila Bay that faced westward as time hit six in the evening. Locally known as "The Baywalk", it stretches from the US Embassy to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Despite the foul smell that the breeze brings, it is a popular go-to site for students, couples, or lonely hearts. The source of this reeking scent is from a decade's carelessness. The waste that dances with the waves as the water crash-es on the rocky face carry with it various microbes that could have detrimental effects on human health. For that part of Manila Bay, it is highly recommended that you do not go skinny dipping or swimming.

12 Agri-tourism sites to visit in CALABARZON

Harvesting crisp, green, organic lettuce at Costales Nature Farms.

When I travel to a province, it's typical for me to get more excited visiting an agri-tourism site--for I have a huge fascination with both agriculture and tourism--than to see crowded tourist attractions. My love for agriculture is unfathomable because I truly believe that the future of the Philippines is in this sector--it is the backbone of the economy. Tourism, on the other hand, is the heart of the country that continuously gives pride, honor, and glory.

Between Gaia, 'A Planet for Goldilocks' at the National Planetarium Manila

The Gaia is a wondrous reality.

Gaia, as beautiful as it is vast, hosts a plethora of heavenly bodies and cosmic phenomena. Ranging from the serene pale moon that watches over us during the night to the distant cataclysmic last breath of a dying star, Gaia, we can certainly say, holds an aesthetic that begs for appreciation. That's why back in the blistering heat of summer, I convinced myself to visit the National Planetarium in Manila.

Maxx Hotel Makati: A sweet escape within reach

Nature-inspired room of Maxx Hotel Makati. Photo by Mariano Sayno.

Mar was waiting for me in his car for quite some minutes. After I arrived and got his car, we crawled along the monstrous traffic of Manila, passing through several stoplights. Slow down. Stop. Go. Slow down. Stop. Go. This went on for a while as we drove our way to Intramuros to meet a friend for project collaboration.