I’ve said it a million bajillion times but I fucking hate winter. Sure it’s fun for a week or so with the pretty snow and making snowmen and stuff but to have it for months it’s just depressing. Lots of people like to take holidays to warmer, happier climates during winter and i’m no different.

A lot of Swedes choose to go to Thailand during this time (which is why it’s hard for me to go home over xmas because flights go through Thailand to New Zealand) but lots of people seem to forget about the other gems that Asia and the pacific have to offer. Now not because i’m ½ Filippino, but I think the Philippines is a really fantastic place to vacation. Like Thailand, there are spectacular beaches and scenery, (and unlike Thailand) often untouched by the (can sometimes be) tacky tourism industry. I like to go to places and not feel that i’m basically in the same place but just a different climate.

I haven’t been back there since I was like 11 or 12 but i’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, especially since seeing pictures of my parents recent trip there. It’s not just my friends and family there that I miss, it’s the whole package! The warm weather, the relaxing atmosphere, the shopping and the delicious food!! No really, the food… is just WOW. The pineapples, papaya, jackfruit and mangos are the best I have ever tasted anywhere (and I really mean that, I love mangos and am always trying to eat them but so many are crap and fiberous compared to the ones in the Philippines).

I was born on the island called Cebu and here are a few pictures (with links) of the place where I was born:

Mmm fresh avocados growing in the garden

If these pictures have at all enticed you to want to take a lovely holiday in the Philippines or maybe even move there, just click on the pictures for a link to a fantastic place to rent (these pictures were taken at that place except the beach which is about 10km away)