The Filipino people are the citizens of the Republic of the Philippines. The term is also often used to refer to a person having Filipino ancestry. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines and about 11 million living outside the Philippines. All the people I met and talked to were very friendly and nice.

Diving sites in Philippines are one of the best in the world. Philippine waters are extremely rich with coral reefs and marine life. Although I have made only a few dives I have seen things I have never seen before. The most attractive new thing was a Whale Shark which is the largest living fish species on earth (the largest confirmed individual was 12.65 metres in length). Unfortunately the water was not clear so I was not able to take a good photo of the “monster”. Along this large fish I have seen a lot of miniature marine life like slugs and of course my all time favourite The Clownfish aka. Nemo.

… school of squids …

Being at the right place at the right time, capturing exactly the right moment and using the right exposure are one of the key elements of capturing great shots.

…just after sunrise … northern Luzon …

… after sunset in El Nido (Palawan) …

… after sunset in Sabang (Palawan) …

… beach at night in Sabang (Palawan) …

… beach at night in Sabang (Palawan) …

Asia is filled with rice fields, but nowhere are they as spectacular an art form as on Philippines. These giant stairways are best seen if you hike on them. It can be tricky sometimes to hold your balance. These fields extend for as far as the eye can see and they truly are one of the “Wonders of the World”. Philippines have 7107 islands, but I say that every village has at least 7107 rice terraces and I have probably seen all of them. So next time when you cook rice at home, remember from where it might have come.