Return to the Hundred Islands (Alaminos City, Pangasinan)

Posted on 1 April, 2010 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

View of Islands from View Deck The last time I’ve been to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos City, Pangasinan was way back March of 2005, Holy Week with son Jandy Continue Reading →

Governor’s Island (Hundred Islands, Alaminos City, Pangasinan)

Posted on 25 March, 2005 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

From Martha Island, our boatmen brought us over to Governor’s Island for a brief stopover, One of 3 developed islands in this mini-archipelago (the others are Quezon Island and Children’s Island), Continue Reading →

Martha Island (Hundred Islands, Alaminos City, Pangasinan)

Posted on 25 March, 2005 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The sun was already low in the sky when we packed our tent and belongings and again boarded our boat to take us to nearby Martha Island. We thought we Continue Reading →

Romulo Island (Hundred Islands, Alaminos City, Pangasinan)

Posted on 24 March, 2005 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Come morning, we checked out at Texas Inn and proceeded to Brgy. Lucap, the gateway to the Hundred Islands National Park. The port was already packed with local and foreign tourists, Continue Reading →

On the Road to Alaminos City

Posted on 24 March, 2005 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Come Holy Week, I decided to bring Jandy to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos City as well as Bolinao, both in Pangasinan, a first for both of us. For companions, Continue Reading →

Holy Week in Pangasinan

Posted on 31 March, 2010 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

El Puerto Marina Beach Resort & Spa Come Holy Week, I got an invitation from El Puerto Marina Beach Resort and Spa owners Roland and Flordeliza Versoza to stay at their Continue Reading →

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is also a copy editor for two publishing houses; travel writer; blogger; architectural historian; author; concert. movie and musical reviewer (for www.pep.ph); and a motivational speaker.

As a free-lance travel writer, he has, in the past, contributed articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day and Bluprint. He currently writes for Artplus Magazine and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.