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Eight friendly questions about the essentials of the Philippines, from busy cities to sunny beaches. No expert knowledge needed: everyone can join in.
First-time visitor 0–3 · Beach explorer 4–6 · Filipino at heart 7–8
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Manila lies on a wide bay on the island of Luzon, and it is one of the most crowded cities in the world, with more than 40,000 people on every square kilometre. Its name comes from the word Maynilà, usually explained as 'the place where indigo plants grow' or 'where nilad plants grow'.
Photo: Bahnfrend, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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The Philippines is made up of more than 7,600 islands, scattered across the western Pacific Ocean. Only about 2,000 of them have people living on them, and more than 5,000 do not even have an official name yet.
Photo: seav, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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American teachers brought basketball to Philippine schools in the early 1900s, and today it is played everywhere, from schoolyards to big arenas. The Philippine Basketball Association, founded in 1975, was the first professional basketball league in Asia.
Photo: Magalhães, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The golden sun has eight rays for the eight provinces that first rose up against Spanish rule in 1896, and the three stars stand for the main island groups: Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The flag was formally unfurled when the Philippines declared its independence on 12 June 1898, a day still celebrated every year as Independence Day.
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The first jeepneys were made from army jeeps left behind by American troops after the Second World War, rebuilt to carry more passengers and decorated with bright paint and shiny chrome. Inside, passengers sit on two long benches facing each other.
Photo: Bahnfrend, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Filipinos call the whale shark butanding. It can grow longer than a bus, yet it is gentle and feeds mostly on tiny plankton, and the pattern of pale spots on its skin is different on every single one, like a fingerprint.
Photo: Abe Khao Lak, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Halo-halo is a tall glass of crushed ice and milk, filled with sweet beans, fruit, jelly and sometimes a scoop of ice cream, and you stir it all together before eating. It probably grew out of icy desserts sold by Japanese immigrants in Manila in the 1920s or 1930s.
Photo: Herbertkikoy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Christmas songs and decorations can appear as early as September, the first of the 'ber months', and the season can last until the middle of January. Homes and streets glow with parols, star-shaped lanterns, and the city of San Fernando in Pampanga even holds a Giant Lantern Festival.
Photo: Elmer Domingo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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