Viewing: More Fun In The Philippines

MangoJuiced: Read it and weave

I’ve been searching for something graphic, bright and fun to perk up our mostly neutral living room. Turns out all I had to do was look homeward for that much-needed pop of color and burst of pattern. Incidentally, it seems the Department of Tourism shared the same train of thought.
Yup, I’m talking about banig. 

This homegrown classic—matting woven together from strips of dried palm leaves—was a wistful note on my wish list of home accents this year. A quick trip to SM Kultura satisfied my craving for weaving. Side note: you know you’ve been living abroad for a long time when you realize that you’ve become the target market of stores like SM Kultura.

Find out how I rediscovered banig, and check out some of my banig buys in this week’s post on MangoJuiced!

MangoJuiced is a webzine for anything and everything that interests women—from fashion and family, to pop culture and beauty, to travel and lifestyle. Follow MangoJuiced on  and … and don’t forget to check back in for a new post from me every week!

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Posted on January 13, 2012
Category: House & Spouse, Manila Girl at Heart · Labels: , , , ,

10 things that are more fun in the Philippines

Inspired by the recently launched Department of Tourism campaign, I looked through two years worth of photos (without the help of Google, all of them are mine) to come up with my own list of things that are more fun in the Philippines. I’ve put up only 10 here but the possibilities are endless.

Can I just say, this was so much fun to do? Can the Negative Nellies out there please give it a try? It’s better for your heart and your wrinkles, I promise. Although may find it difficult if you are devoid of humor—a rather rare and life-threatening condition for a Filipino.

But wait, there’s more!


Oh, and here’s the one I included in my previous post. This makes it 11, but at least I have the complete set in one post. 
Twilight, Salad, Getting Buzzed: taken at the Bohol Bee Farm, Bohol. 
Morning Coffee, Exfoliating, Seeing Red: taken on Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol. 
Of course, the tarsier (Treehugging) was also shot in Bohol.
Sunblock: White Beach, Boracay Island, Aklan. 
Breaking Dawn: Bantayan, Cebu. 
Finding Nemo: snorkeling at the Virgin Island Marine Sanctuary in Bantayan, Cebu. 
Christmas: Filinvest Marikina.
The images are yours to use and circulate. Please remember to credit me or my blog when doing so. Go forth and spread the love—and have fun! #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines
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Posted on January 8, 2012
Category: Manila Girl at Heart · Labels: , , , , , ,

It’s more fun in the Philippines

Vacation’s over, and I’m back in Amsterdam!
Marlon welcomed me home with so much love—a handwritten sign at the airport, a sparkling home filled with flowers, and a piping hot lentil soup. As we were catching up over dinner, he asked me if I had seen the new campaign launched by the Department of Tourism last Friday (while I was on the plane). “You have to see it,” he said, excited. “It’s so good. I want a t-shirt!” After seeing the new tagline, I had to agree with him—and with the concept behind the campaign. 
Why do I love it? First, the idea behind it is simple and true. It is more fun in the Philippines. It’s why I went home for three weeks instead of staying here to travel around during my first Christmas in Europe. It has that ring of truth that gives good concepts a chance to actually make it out there.

“What differentiates the Philippines from every [other place] in the world… is the Filipino. [It's] his special gift for transforming what is already a beautiful place into an unforgettable special place,” Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez said. “You take two identical islands, put Filipinos in one, it’s going to be more fun there.”

I completely agree. That other island will also be more chaotic, true, but it will definitely be more fun. We may not be able to do some things well (like, oh… enforcing bus lanes har har har) but we do know how to have a good time—in both the best and the worst of circumstances. 

Second, I like the concept of sharing the work of tourism with millions of Filipinos all over the world via social media. It’s never been done.  with a paltry 253,000 views? It doesn’t count in a world where can get the attention of 127 million people. So I think this first attempt to play by 21st century rules is an important, and valiant one. 

[Jimenez] described the new international slogan as “so deceptively simple” that traditional advertising and marketing people may find the new tag line “a little strange because it is a thought almost drawn from social media…. In a very real sense, it is a very modern 21st century kind of campaign. But it’s something Filipinos immediately can get behind, because it’s true.”

The naysayers who think PhP 5.6 million, or approximately US$ 126,900, is a lot of money for an international media campaign (the advertising agency doesn’t just come up with a slogan, people!) have no idea what they’re talking about—they need to see the rate cards for placements on TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising, and do the math. 
The social media effect is a multiplier that does the work our government can’t afford to do. So a concept that makes it easy—and yes, fun—for Filipinos to “take hold of it and make it their own”, that sparks our own creativity and humor, is genius. I’m a writer, but I know when something needs more than just writing (or “slogan making” in barangay and high school parlance). So I can also see that more than just writing is what is at work here.
It’s a campaign not simply to be impressed by, but to get behind. And that’s been missing from previous campaigns, even WOW Philippines, which has become the yardstick by which we Filipinos measure our tourism campaigns. As the Professional Heckler says: just like Anna Dizon, WOW Philippines is WOW Philippines… but what could I, personally, have done with it? 
Not much. I always root for foreign friends to visit the Philippines, and I put effort into it. I’ve been known to send friends emails detailing fares, itineraries, hotel, restaurant and even wedding planning suggestions. But never has something like WOW Philippines figured in any of that. What was I supposed to do, sign my emails with “WOW Philippines”?
But this… well, this is different. It made me immediately think of things that, to me, are more fun in the Philippines. It made me think of jokes to crack and images to use. It made me finally install Photoshop, which I’ve been telling myself I would do for the last four months. And it made me simply get behind it.
It was easy, and it was fun. In fact it was so easy and fun that I made 10 more of these with my own original photos. But that’s for another post!
All images courtesy of Chuvaness, except the last, which is mine. For more on the campaign, click here. Also, insightful reads on the campaign here, here and . Finally, a helpful how-to for your very own “More Fun In The Philippines” meme here.
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Posted on January 8, 2012
Category: Manila Girl at Heart · Labels: , ,