Santa Cruz Island, Zamboanga City's pink sand beach!

Yes that's right, pink sand! The prospect of visiting Zamboanga City's pink sand beach – Great Santa Cruz Island – was more than enough reason to hope that the rains that had been pouring down on the city would stop even for a brief moment. Zamboanga Hermosa, the city's fiesta, and rain come hand in hand. But they say when the image of the Nuestra Señora del Pilar is brought out for her procession, the skies clear up. I was hoping the skies would clear up for our trip too!

Capul Church, Watchtowers of La Union, Gota de Leche and Lopez Ancestral House declared by National Museum

I'm updating the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP) with four declarations from the National Museum this year. I was told there may be additional declarations for 2014. But in the meantime, eight properties have been added to the list.

Newly-declared National Cultural Treasures (Category I) include the Saint Ignatius de Loyola Parish Church in Capul, Northern Samar and the Watchtowers of La Union: Bacnotan, Balaoan, Luna, San Fernando and San Juan.

Two Important Cultural Properties (Category II) were also declared namely the Gota de Leche of Manila, and the Lopez Ancestral House in Balayan, Batangas.

Ranch tourism in Masbate: Be a ranchero for a day! Holy cow!

The first time I visited Masbate some years back, I wanted to visit its famed ranches. We've all heard of the Rodeo Masbateño and how the province is home to many cattle ranches. I was told however that most of them were closed to the public. So I was pleasantly surprised during a recent visit that the ranches are slowly opening up to visitors. In fact, I visited one!

Masbate is now promoting ranch tourism as owners welcome visitors to their ranches. And they're definitely proud of their cattle! We visited the Sese Brahmans Ranch in Mandaon, which is a sprawling property set amidst rolling hills.

What's to see in Melbourne, Australia and its neighborhoods?

Flying into Melbourne, I didn't know what to expect. I had no idea that Melbourne has been consistently named the world’s most liveable city, for the fourth year in a row this year. Also this year, it was named the world’s friendliest city.

View of Hobart and the Government House from the Tasman Bridge

One of the images of Hobart that stuck in my mind was that of the city at the foot of Mount Wellington as we crossed the Tasman Bridge coming in from the Hobart International Airport. So I planned to walk over to the bridge during my last day, even though I had just an hour or two to spare.