By all accounts, 2007 was a banner year for Philippine tourism, with the number of foreign arrivals topping the three million mark (the previous record for yearly visitors was 1.9 million). According to Department of Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, 2008 promises to deliver even better numbers, with his department focusing on the "opening of new hotel projects and properties."

One of the most ambitious of these new projects will be the Regent Manila Bay by hotelier Carlson, bringing 5-star opulence to the Philippines.

The Regent Manila Bay will be part of a unique hotel-within-a-hotel development, offering luxury accommodations within the Radisson Hotel Manila Bay. The hotels will share a common structure but will have

Look at a country like the Philippines, made up of some 7,000 islands, and you'll instantly see the need for a budget airline. That's where Cebu Pacific comes in, a low cost carrier based in Manila and currently operating a couple of dozen routes, both within the Philippines and internationally around Asia.

Cebu works like a true budget airline with super-cheap prices to draw in the customers: at the moment you can fly from Cebu to Butuan (both in the Philippines) for 1 Philippine Peso--that's just over two cents. Other prices for domestic flights range from $2 to $16, plus some taxes and fees of course.

International destinations serviced by Cebu include Thailand, China, Indonesia and Malaysia, and a new route to Taipei in Taiwan is due to start in December this year.

Cebu Pacific is pretty ambitious for a budget airline, since they're even looking into getting all-economy A380s to serve budget-priced routes to the US. Who knows, maybe they'll install those mythical standing room only "seats"?

Related Stories:
· Cebu Pacific [Official Site]
· Philippines Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Low Cost Carriers coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: mattroyal]

In bar openings this month ... the new Martinis bar has opened at the Mandarin Oriental Manila in the Philippines. Situated in the Makati area, along with plenty of other nightlife, Martinis seems to be aiming for a pretty upper-class crowd; the General Manager said:

We designed Martinis as a premier bar and meeting place, where customers can listen to light jazz, relax, and enjoy a license to chill

Interior design follows a more or less art deco style and the baby grand piano in the middle is intended to up the sophistication factor. There are plenty of cocktails and of course, in honor of the name, a big variety of martinis--a few interesting sounding ones on

This image of Manila comes from a Forbes special on the most densely populated, congested cities on earth. With a total population of 10 million in the metropolitan area, Manila may not be the largest city on earth, but its city center squeezes a staggering 41,000 people into each square kilometer. In comparison, Mumbai, which has become virtually synonymous with urban density, has just under 30,000 people per km squared by Forbes’ reckoning, and doesn’t make the list of the most congested cities. They are, in descending order: Cairo, Lagos, Macau, Seoul, Dhaka, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Santo Domingo. Attempt driving in any of them at your own risk.

Talking Heads superfans in or heading to the Philippines have only a weekend left to wait for their new favorite photography exhibit ever. David Byrne, the Heads' frontman and one of RISD's most famous dropouts, went and got himself a show in Manila. Byrne's exhibit, titled "Photographs for Manila Envelope," will run from Monday, December 4 until December 9 at the Cemento Gallery.

When Byrne traveled to Manila to shoot (the show is made up of photographs he took there), he played it low-key, getting around on his own bicycle and avoiding the fancy-schmancy hotels in Makati. He took a decidedly low-key approach to displaying his works too, and gave them to the Manila Envelope (a local magazine) for free.

[Photo: bluhousworker]

Related Stories:
· Manila Envelope [Official Site]

Manila is firmly planted in a tropical zone. Which means two things: a) it's hot as fuck and b) there's plenty of bananas for banana splits. Though the favored summer treat in the Phillipines is the halo-halo, a mix of beans, plantains, rice, ice, and coconut milk, they don't slouch in the ice cream dpeartment either. Recognizing that sooner or later someone's gotta do it, Metroblogger Peter thoughfully compiled the best ice cream shops in Manila. Note that these all have multiple locations, there are more than three places to get ice cream in Manila.

Iceberg
Iceberg is one of the oldest ice cream parlors in Manila. With splits, shakes, halo-halo's and a whole concoction of other treats, you'll never tire of the place. Treat yourself to a Boracay split (shown above) or grab the barkada [ed. barkada means group of friends] and have a King Kong sundae which is good enough for about 5 people

Floyd's
One of the best ice creams around here is FIC (Fruit in Ice Cream) and it's used by everyone from Jack's Loft to Ice Monster and of course, Floyd's. Floyd has this rather unique Ice cream treat called Cold Rock where they fold in your choice of sweets and toppings into your ice cream. The granite where your ice cream is folded is actually kept cold and this keeps the treat from melting.

Cold Rock
This one is not actually a native Manileno but an Aussie. Try the Choc Mint or Rum & Raisin for something interesting.
Best Ice Cream Parlors in Manila [Metblogs]
Iceberg [ClickTheCity]
Floyd's [ClickTheCity]
Cold Rock [ClickTheCity]

[Photo: Manila Metblogs]

Previously: Ice Creams Gone Wild, Bed Club Manila, Asia's Most Evil Concoction (Sans Cobra Blood), Sing Warns Not To Bump Head on Sign, Hobbit House Bar, Sex Tourism in GQ