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NYX MARTINEZ rediscovers paradise in Palawan. DAY ONE: “If you love me, stop paddling!” I couldn’t see John behind me, but I knew he was working steady and fast. Ahead was the Coron Island crown-shaped rock-our destination. But directly between us and the island was a huge passenger ferry, and we were headed straight for …

The University of the East, one of the country’s leading academic institutions, marked its yearlong 65th foundation anniversary last September. The commemoration’s theme is “Jose Rizal, Nasa Puso ng UE,” which echoes the 150th birth anniversary of the Filipinos’ national hero. It is also a celebration of the values, ideals and actions of Gat Rizal …

M.G. REYES gives us a crash course on how to see the value in wooden artworks. An artifact has to be a hundred years old to qualify as an “antique.” That is what the law says-Republic Act 10066 to be exact. RA 10066, also known as The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 expands the …

MARTIN LAZARO suggests an alternative mountain getaway to the Philippines’ Sagada Mountain Province. It seems as if time stands still in Barlig, a remote town in northern Philippines surrounded by lush mountains and forests. If you’re looking to take an off-the-beaten-path trip up north, this rugged destination is for you. The town hardly gets any …

In this 1.6-billion-acre region, a jewel shines brighter among the rest. ELIZABETH COOK surveys the Philippine waters and finds out why it is called the “center of the center” of marine biodiversity. For many years, scientists have recognized that the Coral Triangle, which includes the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, has the richest variety of marine …

PHILIP TUBEZA spends a weekend in the Philippines’ greenest city to find a winged horse, the longest zipline in Asia, and hundreds of fireflies. “I hope those snakes don’t wake up,” I said to myself as the boatman sang his ditty about protecting the environment. We were cruising down a murky river when we saw …

As a travel writer for 11 years, CHRISTINE S. DAYRIT finds her most death-defying yet astonishing trip in the capital of Tibet. Lhasa, soaring at 14,000 feet above sea level, is not for the faint-hearted. As the capital of Tibet, the air here is so thin; the oxygen supply being only 60 percent of what …

Running from China to Tibet, JOHN LANDER, shares what it’s like journeying on the highest train in the world. Are those real nomads on horseback out there waving at the train, or just actors in a movie? New trains have been giving new meaning to riding the rails. One of which is the China-Tibet Train, …

What is the measure of a childhood dream’s fulfillment? For VAL ROQUE, his measure is six days of land journey from Beijing to Moscow. We just stared at each other for the first few hours of the train’s departure from Ulan Bator. When the rolling hills of northern Mongolia receded as the Trans-Mongolian train approached …

JUSTIN FISCHER finds himself lost in time in Kashgar, China’s outpost in the legendary Silk Road. There aren’t many places in the world where you feel like you’re in two places at once, but that’s the best way to describe Kashgar. Politically and geographically it’s Chinese, but the feel of the place is anything but. …