The Republic of the Philippines, or simply “the Philippines,” is greatly known for the 7,107 islands that belong and make up the archipelago of this country. Are there really 7,107 islands that make up the Philippines? Yes; if you’ve ever been there, you’ll know. Being a Filipino myself I can say that the Philippines is nothing compared to good ol’ America, and not in the bad way.

During my most recent visit to the Philippines, I’ve been to the small island of Boracay, the capital city of Manila and Concepcion, Tarlac. Out of those three location, I’d have to say that Boracay is truly the most beautiful. With the hotel right next to the beach and a bunch of fun activities to do such as zip lining and helmet diving, Boracay is a great place for foreign tourists to sit back, relax, and enjoy life. If you can live without WiFi for a few days, then props to you because you’ll have a lot of fun if you try the activities. Manila is a nice city, if you want to visit the Filipino version of Manhattan, New York. Last is Tarlac, which I feel that there isn’t really much to say about. It’s a small province that was one of the first eight to rise against Spain in the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

Some of the problems I had with the more urban part of the Philippines, especially Manila, was that there were terrible drivers, absolutely no one wore their seat belts and there were points where traffic lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes; all because the driving laws are different than if you were in America. For the living conditions, though any non-Filipino probably wouldn’t have a problem considering they’d stay at a hotel, I’m not a big fan of the bathrooms. Imagine walking into the bathroom with socks and the ground is just wet because the shower is right next to the toilet and there aren’t any rims to separate the water from outside of the shower. Yeah. Other than that, I had a fun time in the Philippines.