Places : Palawan is World's Best Island of 2013

Palawan is the best!
www.travelandleisure.com has named Palawan of the Philippines the world's best island of 2013, dislodging 2012 world's best island : Boracay at the top spot. But Boracay supporters shouldn't feel bad about it. Boracay still managed to get the runner-up honor. Anyway, the top two best islands  in the world are both located in the Philippines. It's an upset win by Palawan, beating best island "hall of famers"and perennial winners : Bali, Maui and Santorini.

Below is the list of the top ten world's best islands of 2013.

    TOP 10  WORLD'S BEST ISLANDS

     RANK NAME-COUNTRY                         

• 1 Palawan, Philippines
• 2 Boracay, Philippines
• 3 Maui, Hawaii  
• 4 Santorini, Greece  
• 5 Prince Edward Island, Canada
• 6 Bali, Indonesia 
• 7 Kauai, Hawaii  
• 8 Sicily, Italy
• 9 Koh Samui, Thailand
• 10 Galápagos, Ecuador 

Coron Island,  Palawan

El Nido Miniloc Resorts

News Source :
http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2013/islands
Map Source :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Picture Source :
http://www.elnidoresorts.com/elnido/images/photo-gallery/

Interesting Places : Palawan Oil and Gas Fields

The Philippines is one country that is blessed with abundant and diverse natural resources. Among these are minerals, oil and gas deposits. But does the country have oil and gas producing fields? If so, where are they located?

The gas and oil producing oil fields are all located in the province of Palawan and its surrounding waters. Other locations in the country are being explored for potential oil and gas production. Please see the maps below to know their locations.

Click maps to enlarge

Palawan Oil and Gas Fields

El Nido Oil Fields

Malampaya Gas Pipeline Going to Batangas and Manila

Related Links  and Map Source:
http://malampaya.com/
http://www.nido.com.au/
http://www.poweroilandgas.com/2011/10/philippine-oil-and-gas-industry.html

Environment : A Glowing Blue Sea

Finally, I found a scientific explanation to what I had seen years ago when I went to Busuanga Island in Palawan, and with a picture at that. I saw it in a National Geographic article (see article below). It's bioluminescent plankton!  I don't know if others have seen this phenomenon : the sea glowing with a blue-white light at night. I haven't seen it in any other places. I hope others will have the chance to see it  because it is really an amazing sight.

The sea glowing with blue-white light

Related article :
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/pictures/120319-glowing-waves-ocean-blue-bioluminescent-plankton-science/?source=link_fb20120319news-glowingwaves#/glowing-waves-bioluminescent-ocean-life-explained-scintillans_50152_600x450.jpg

Picture Source :  National Geographic

Person : Picture-Perfect Palawan Moment Wins NatGeo 2011 Prize for Pinoy Photographer

Click Picture to enlarge

Picture-perfect Palawan. Out of around 20,000 entries from 130 countries, Filipino travel photographer George Tapan's beautifully composed shot of Onok Island in Balabac, Palawan, won the Places category of the NatGeo Photo Contest 2011.

On the National Geographic website, competition judge Tim Laman said, "Tapan showed a perfect sense of timing and composition in the way he captured the two small human subjects in this beautiful scene, and that really made the shot."

Another judge, Amy Toensing, commented,  "(the) very moody, beautifully composed image, called 'Into the Green Zone', compellingly shows a sense of place via the dark clouds, rainbows, the spot of pink amid a palette of blues and greens, and the woman's flowing hair.”

Magazine photographer and judge Peter Essick was also captivated by the detail of the woman's hair. "It only fills a fraction of the picture's real estate, but by capturing the movement at the apex, the photographer has documented a sense of style and flair."

Source :

Interesting Places : The Spratly Islands

Click map to enlarge 

Spratly Islands is a group of islands near Palawan being claimed by the following countries : China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines. The group of islands in the middle of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is  a very rich fishing ground and is believed to contain big gas and oil deposits. As a matter of fact, one of the oil wells in Palawan lies near the area, which gives credence to this  speculation. Some of the countries are claiming the whole archipelago while some are claiming only parts or some islands. I did some research which part  or islands of Spratly is being claimed by the claimant countries and here is what I found : 

Click map to enlarge

Here is one interesting story related to the Philippine claim of  the Spratly Islands:
In 1947, Tomas Cloma, a Filipino adventurer and a fishing magnate, discovered a group of several uninhabited and unoccupiedislands/islets in the vastness of the Luzon Sea also called the South China Sea.On May 11, 1956, together with 40 men, Tomas Cloma and his brother Filemon took formal possession of the islands, lying some 380 miles west of the southern end of Palawan and named it “Free Territory of Freedomland." Four days later on May 15, 1956, Cloma issued and posted copies of his “Notice to the Whole World” on each of the islands as a decisive manifestation of unwavering claim over the territory.

Then on May 31, 1956, Tomas Cloma declared the establishment of the Free Territory of Freedomland, ten days after he sent his second representation to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

On July 6, 1956, Cloma declared to the whole world his claim and the establishment of a separate government for the "Free Territory of Freedomland" with its capital on Flat Island (Patag Island). His declaration was met with violent and unfriendly reactions from several neighboring countries especially the Republic of China (ROC; on Taiwan since 1949) when on September 24, 1956 it effectively garrisoned the nearby island of Itu Aba and intercepted Cloma’s men and vessels found within its immediate waters. Unable to surmount the difficulties and pressure, he ceded his claim to the Philippines for one peso.

Source : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Related news on Spratly Islands click here :
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippine-president-bares-enormous-gas-deposits-disputed-spratlys-055004608.html

Related Links  :
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spratly-Islands-Kapuluan-ng-Kalayaan-HUWAG-PABAYAAN-ng-PAMAHALAAN/188056911251362