There is a saying by Saint Augustine of Hippo that goes, The world is a

book, and those who do not travel read only one page. This saying has ignited
our desire to anticipate all good things during our travelling experience to The
Philippines. During our travelling, to cut the long story short, besides making so
many irreplaceable memories and gaining knowledge, we had so much fun
visiting places, food hunting, up close and personal to the people and culture as
well as the budgeting of our whole travel experience.

When we first stepped our foot on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport,
or more infamously called NAIA, it was like our dream was coming true. Everyone
seems to instantly forget all the preparations, all the hassles and the work we
had left behind at home. We were greeted by our tour guide Mr. Gore and the
crew, who without fail manage to handle everyone, hands on wheels to all the
good places in Philippines. During our whole stay, we stayed in a three star hotel
called Paragon Hotel in Makati. Makati is another city besides Manila where we
first arrived. One of the places that we went to is the Ateneo de Manila University
in the city of Ateneo. We spent the whole afternoon with the main purpose of the
benchmarking trip which is, exploring their education system. Another place that
we travelled to is the Tagaytay Peoples Park, an incomplete mansion which also
known as Palace in the Sky, overlooking the Taal Volcanoe. Along the journey, we
stopped by Tierra de Maria, a 50 feet image of Virgin Mary before continuing our
journey. Tierra de Maria is one of the places you can drop by and pray. As we
arrived at the Tagaytay Peoples Park, we rode the most popular public
transportation which was the jeepney to see the scenic view of Taal Volcanoe. For
travellers, we suggest you to buy souvenirs here as they are not costly. Before we
went back to the hotel, we went to play at the amusement park known as the Sky
Ranch. Besides that, we visited the Manila Ocean Park. It is a world-class marine
theme park fulled with sea creatures. We also went to Rizal Park and Intramuros.
Rizal Park is the park where the great Philippines Martry Jose Rizal was executed
not long after the country went to independence while Intramuros is the oldest
district and historic core of Manila. Other than that, we managed to shop at
wonderful malls such as Robinson Mall, Greenhills, SM Mall, 88 Mall, and the
biggest Mall of Asia known as Mall of Asia. Before entering these malls, we went
through detailed security check.

Compare to Malaysia, Philippines has a greater number of citizens. Almost

all of the malls in Makati and Manila are crowded with people. We even have to
slip through the crowds in order to avoid knocking with them. Nevertheless,
Philippines citizens are very friendly and warm-welcoming towards foreigners. For
example, in Ateneo de Manila University, we were welcomed very delicately and
felt like home. We even felt that their hospitality is the best we have experienced
as everything was prepared so well. Even though we do not understand their
language, most of the citizens are able to understand English which have eased
the communication.

As for food, there is a great difference between Malaysia and Philippines in

the aspect of the food being sold in the market. This is mainly because there are
fewer people who practise Islamic religion in Philippines as compared to Malaysia.
During our benchmarking trip, the Muslims were having difficulty in finding food
as only a few of the food are packaged with the halal logo. Despite that, like the
saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way. We will never forget our
experience surviving through store scavenged food goodies like Filipinos local
instant noodles, and also canned food that we brought from home. As for the
non-Muslims, it is very easy to access food. One will never be malnourished if you
come to the Philippines. The food is amazing! I could not stop munching! or
Heaven, its just heaven. One will typically say these lines when it comes to
giving feedback on food. We also realised that Philippines citizens do not seem
like to eat too much spicy food. In the street food that we went to, they only
provided black vinegar added with onions and olive oil. It can be said that their
preferable flavours are sweet and sour food. Besides that, the mineral water
being sold in Philippines is very expensive. This is probably because it is hard for
them to access clean water.

Last but not least, finances had also been amongst the most challenging
calculation throughout the trip. Not only that, it has been playing its part well
way before the trip in terms of managing and dividing the budget or money
allocation for each things that has been planned. It was another challenge at a
different level during the trip and it depended on the individual on how to bring
about his or her money. Even though Philippines currency is lower than Malaysia,
there is not much difference in the price range the items sold. During the trip,
budgeting has helped lots of us to be more aware of the difference in money rate,
thus had make us more careful at spending it in the first place. We had budget on
necessary nourishment, sightseeing, and even errands. By the end of the trip, the
very idea of budgeting with careful arrangements of ka-ching has given us more
joyful and unforgettable experiences. We had been thinking of going back
whenever theres a chance and certainly because we will be able to manage our
budget more wisely as we have experienced spending money in Philippines. This
time, maybe well eat, visits, and shops many more.

In a nutshell, the Philippines had been such a wonderful and memorable

country that we had managed to visit. By the end of the trip, all the places,
culture, food as well as budgeting have been such a delightful and pleasant
experience. Making memories for this trip does not only bring a smile to an
individual, but towards others with hope that we could take what we have
encountered in this journey to spread more love and less hate.