Enzo's Travel Journals

Continuing my Holy Week 2025 travel series is the culmination of the most sacred week in Christianity: Easter Sunday , or Easter in short. This is the day when we Christians rejoice: celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ , the central feast of Christianity. For this year, I traveled a hundred kilometers south of the capital Metro Manila to  Ibaan , a small town in the province of  Batangas , for our annual Holy Week.  The  Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. James the Greater , a Spanish colonial-era church founded in 1832, is the main focus of this blog. Note:  This is a continuation of my  2025 Lenten and Holy Week Pilgrimage  from April 13 to 20, 2025 . This is the last of four parts; see these links for  Part 1 ,  Part 2 , and  Part 3 .

Perhaps Good Friday  is the most solemn and somber day of the year for Christians. On this day, we commemorate the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ . In the Philippines, we have our own tradition of  Senákulo , dramatizing the events of the Passion using traditional scripts. Siete Palabras  is a three-hour service reflecting on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. Finally, the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion  starts at 3:00 p.m. In the evening some parishes conduct a procession, which culminates in the Rite of Burial. The Burial Procession on the evening of Good Friday For this year, I traveled a hundred kilometers south of the capital Metro Manila to  Ibaan , a small town in the province of  Batangas , for our annual Holy Week.  The  Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. James the Greater , a Spanish colonial-era church founded in 1832, is the main focus of this blog. Note: This is a continuation of my 2025 Lenten and Holy Week Pilgrimage  fro...

Visita Iglesia  has been part of my family's tradition since 2012. Every year, during Lent and Holy Week, several pilgrims visit seven churches and recite the fourteen Stations of the Cross (two per church visited). Traditionally done following the Mass of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Maundy Thursday, it can be done on any day during Holy Week. In this blog, I'll take you to 3 churches in the province of Laguna , as well as 4 churches in Batangas . We did this Lenten pilgrimage on Holy Wednesday, April 16, 2025. This features some churches that may be familiar to you, but some might be relatively new or unknown to many. Note:  This is a continuation of my  2025 Lenten and Holy Week Pilgrimage  from April 13 to 20, 2025 . This is the last of four parts; see these links for  Part 1 ,  Part 3 , and  Part 4 .

At the beginning of Holy Week is  Palm Sunday , in which the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is commemorated. Holy Week is one of the most important and significant events of the Church, along with Easter, which is being commemorated at the end of this sacred and solemn week. During this day, churchgoers buy palm fronds from vendors, which are blessed by priests at various parishes. The Philippines is home to a large population professing the Catholic faith. Holy Week forms part of our centuries-long devotion to the Catholic Church, with many traditions near and far. Around 78 percent of the 100-million populace are Catholics. This 2025, I visited the Manila Cathedral  in Intramuros to attend the first of four Masses that would be celebrated at the "Mother Church of the Philippines". Note:  This is part of my  2025 Lenten and Holy Week Pilgrimage  from April 13 to 20, 2025 . This is the first of four parts; see these links for   Part 2 , Part...

When you're looking for a magical and enchanting evening after shopping at SM Mall of Asia, you have a perfect choice. The Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (PIPC)  has been held there since 2010, except in 2019 (moved to SM City Clark in Pampanga) and from 2020 to 2023 (due to COVID-19 pandemic). It has been my favorite annual fireworks show ever since I first watched it in 2016. For the first time since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after missing out the 2019 edition in Pampanga due to its distant location from Metro Manila, I watched it this 2025, my first since 2018. Editor's note: This was updated on March 16, 2025 , to reflect the results of the competition. Overview of the competition The PIPC was initially launched in December 2005 as the  World Pyro Olympics . It was held at an esplanade boardwalk behind the then-unfinished SM Mall of Asia. After the competition's last run in 2008, it was relaunched to its current name in February 2010. T...

A Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! The Philippines has a lot of festivals that will leave you mesmerized right at the edge of your seats. These events boost a destination's local economy and attracts millions of tourists each year. But did you know that I, myself, got to experience one back in 2023? A cool breeze in a mountainous region some hundred kilometers north of the capital Manila sets the stage for a famous festival: the Panagbenga Festival . It is held annually in February in Baguio , a famous mountaintop city in the Cordilleras popularly known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines". The contingent of Lucban Elementary School showcases their creativity during the 2023 Panagbenga Festival Grand Street Parade on February 25, 2023. This blog focuses on my experience during its main highlights: the grand parades held in the fourth weekend of February. A separate blog about Baguio, which is distinct from this blog which focuses solely on the festival itself,...

Wrapping up the five-blog-series of my Singapore year-end trip features a last-minute shopping spree in Chinatown in search of souvenirs, followed by the New Year's Eve Countdown at Marina Bay Sands, all held on the last day of 2024. Is this the best way to end the year? Find out by reading below. Notes: This blog is the last (Day 4) of five parts of our  2024 Singapore Year-End Trip , spanning from Days 1 to 4. See these links for  our flights ,  Day 1 , Day 2 , and  Day 3 . Exchange rates between currencies are: 1 Philippine peso = 0.017 USD and 0.023 SGD. I apologize for the late posting  of this blog due to academic constraints and other circumstances.

On December 30, 2024 , we visited Universal Studios Singapore as part of our third of five days in Singapore. The theme park is the first and only Universal-themed Park in Southeast Asia, having opened in 2011. This is actually my fourth time visiting this park following our first three visits in 2013, 2015, and 2019. Notes: This blog is the fourth (Day 3) of five parts of our  2024 Singapore Year-End Trip , spanning from Days 1 to 4. See these links for our flights ,  Day 1 ,  Day 2 , and  Day 4 . Neither Universal Studios Singapore nor Resorts World Sentosa endorsed or promoted this b log. Exchange rates between currencies are: 1 Philippine peso = 0.017 USD and 0.023 SGD. To better be guided, visit the official park map here .

Continuing our year-end "escapade" in Singapore was a visit to Bras Basah, followed by Little India, before being trapped at Singapore Botanic Gardens for three hours due to a heavy rainfall. We then ended the day with a Christmas Wonderland visit at Gardens by the Bay. Despite the rainfall, we successfully concluded the day with more attractions and new treats. Marina Bay Sands at night, as viewed from Gardens by the Bay. Notes: This blog is the third (Day 2) of five parts of our  2024 Singapore Year-End Trip , spanning from Days 1 to 4. See these links for  our flights ,  Day 1 ,  Day 3 , and  Day 4 . Exchange rates between currencies are: 1 Philippine peso = 0.017 USD and 0.023 SGD.

It started as a sunny late morning from our Cebu Pacific flight on December 28, 2024 . As my mother and I walked down the elegant corridor of Changi Airport's Terminal 4, we were preparing for something extraordinary: an overseas Christmas vacation, which I embarked for the very first time after spending the yuletide holidays every year in my home country, the Philippines. This is actually my sixth time  visiting Singapore, having been visited there for the past five times every two years from 2013 to 2019, and in 2022. But, for the first time ever, I'm sharing with you my experience. Notes: This blog is the second (Day 1) of five parts of our  2024 Singapore Year-End Trip , spanning from Days 1 to 4. See these links for our flights ,  Day 2 ,  Day 3 , and  Day 4 . Exchange rates between currencies are: 1 Philippine peso = 0.017 USD and 0.023 SGD.