AURA - A Breath of Fresh Air in Iloilo's Nightlife

CLUB AURA on the right wing of The Avenue at the Smallville Business Complex opened its doors to Metro Iloilo’s party goers, chill-out seekers, and fun lovers on May 7. The stairway to the Club on the second level of Coffeebreak is like an invitation to journey into a higher plane of celebrating friendship, great food, and fine drinks or, in sum, the happy life.

The new club boasts of an intricately designed interior never before seen in local clubs. Partyphiles hit the dance floor on the reverberating sound of house and other music genres creatively played on the most modern, top of the line sound system in this part. The magnificent lighting system provides steady, albeit subdued, brightness by the bar and in the balcony, yet randomly and sporadically fills the cool place with streaks of light that seem to dance with the crowd.

The harmonious combination of lights makes party goers appreciate why the place is called AURA. In the field of parapsychology, an aura is “a field of subtle, luminous radiation (light) supposedly surrounding a person or object (like the halo or aureola of religious art).” Club Aura, in this sense, is a perfect rendezvous of people possessing different auras or energies or powers.

Etymologically, the word “aura” is from the Greek: αὔρα, aýra, which means a “breath of wind” or “breeze.” Club Aura is likely to live up to its name. Club Aura is and will be a breath of cool, fresh air in the nightlife of Ilonggos, their families, friends and guests.

(Thanks to Peter Jaena for the photos.)

Sunset in Boracay

Photos by Kyle Griffin Chua and Jonathan Ozbot.

Pleasant Tagaytay - Taal Tagaytay

Considered as the alternative Summer Capital of the Philippines is Tagaytay, a multi-awarded high-altitude city in Cavite, just 55 kilometers away from Manila. The relative cold temperature, averaging 22 degrees centigrade, provides travelers a pleasant experience, made even better by the sight of the enchanting Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. The cool breeze in the city has made it ideal for various sports, family or company picnics, conferences, and spiritual recollections and retreats. Because of the many congregations maintaining retreat houses in the city, some people have referred to Tagaytay as the "Vatican" of the Philippines.

Taal Tagaytay

Sand, Sail and Sunset in Boracay

There are many reasons why there has been a continuing exodus to the paradise that is Boracay in decades. Fine and white sand, world-class resort-hotels, spirited party places, a variety of water and shoreline sports, interesting people from different places, among others, have made Boracay a favorite rendezvous for families, friends and acquaintances. Of the many reasons people have in taking the next trip to Boracay, three sights worth the travel are the white sand, the colorful sails, and the beautiful sunset. - boracay beach,

Manggahan Festival in Guimaras : Beyond Sweetness

April is Manggahan Festival in the scenic island-province of Guimaras, 15 minutes away by motor boat from Iloilo City. The annual festival calls the world's attention to the most popular produce of the province - export-quality sweet mangoes. Beyond the sweet mangoes, the Manggahan Festival also showcases the best of the fiestas of the province's municipalities and barangays, most of these beautifully blending agro-fisheries productivity, tourism and ecology -good reasons why the peaceful island-province has reaped a number of citations for tourism development. Moreover, the Manggahan Festival is an annual reminder that tourists, foreign and domestic, need not go far to find the ideal place for relaxation and fun. Guimaras is just nearby, offering not only its sweet mangoes but also its fine beaches, inland resorts, nature camps, coves and caves, diving areas, shrines/monastery, heritage/historical sites, and its sweet, smiling people.

Baguio City : Cool In Many Ways

The summer capital of the Philippines, with temperature that can go down to 8^C, Baguio City is not only cool temperature-wise but also in many other aspects of happy living. People are cool along the Session Road, where Kidlat Tahimik's Vocas is located, as well as other must-drink in bars and must-eat-in restaurants like the Flying Gecko, Volante, Jack's, etc. One shouldn't miss the cool must-see sites like the Mines View Park, the Burnham Park, the City of Baguio Botanical Garden, The Mansion, the Philippine Military Academy, Camp John Hay, and many more.

Guimaras - The Philippines' Sweetest

The young island-province of Guimaras in Western Visayas is globally renowned for its sweet mangoes. Yet, sweet mangoes are not the province's only asset.

Guimaras is small yet majestic, standing tall between Iloilo and Bacolod cities. It boasts of ornate rock formations, diving sites, mountain biking routes, caves, rest houses, beach resorts, varied seafoods, retreat houses and pilgrimage centers, and many more.

To the weary residents of nearby Iloilo City, which is just 15 minutes away by boat from Guimaras, the island beckons, offering much needed rest and recreation from the hustle and bustle of urban living. In recent years, people from Iloilo embark on a leisurely trip to Guimaras on board speedboats and jet skis.