heritage

Boac, Marinduque: A Heritage Walking Tour of the Provincial Capital

Posted on June 29, 2023

Marinduque, the island province just south of the Luzon mainland, is best known for its lively Lenten events and traditions like the Moriones, where townsfolk dress up as masked Roman centurions. It is also regarded as the butterfly capital of the country. It’s my favorite Holy Week destination in the Philippines, and I’ve spent the Roman Catholic holiday there twice before. As a matter of fact, Marinduque was the first province I visited when I started backpacking 15 years ago,Read More→

Fort San Antonio Abad: The Hidden Spanish Fort of Manila

Posted on April 20, 2023

Fort Santiago, the Spanish-era fortress of Intramuros, is one of the top destinations in the city of Manila. No tour of the Philippine capital is complete without exploring this famous landmark and heritage site. But did you know that Fort Santiago isn’t the only colonial-period fortress in the city? Another one stands in the district of Malate, outside the walls of Intramuros, albeit hidden away within the central bank complex. Fort San Antonio Abad, also known as Fort Malate orRead More→

A Heritage Walking Tour of Silay City Heritage Zone

Posted on October 31, 2022

The gateway to Negros Occidental by plane, Silay City is one of the best-preserved heritage towns in the Philippines. More than 30 ancestral homes, built between the late 19th century and early 20th century, have been officially recognized as Heritage Houses by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) within the Silay City Heritage Zone. These opulent mansions of various architectural styles were erected by wealthy landowning families who reaped from the economic boom of the cane sugar industryRead More→

Melaka, Malaysia: Indian Peranakan Heritage of Kampung Chetti (Chitty Village) [SP]

Posted on January 15, 2014

Most travelers to Melaka or Penang may be familiar with the predominant Baba Nyonya or Peranakan culture of the Straits Chinese who flourished in the trading settlements. However, the heritage city is also home to other creole cultures, which evolved from the intermarriage of foreign traders with the native people some 500 years ago.Besides the Kristangs or Eurasian Malays of the Portuguese Settlement, there are the Chetti (also spelled Chitty) people, who are descendants of Indians traders from Tamil Nadu,Read More→

Melaka, Malaysia: Kristang Heritage of the Portuguese Settlement [SP]

Posted on January 9, 2014

The Portuguese Heritage Museum at the Portuguese Settlement showcases Kristang history and traditions The Portuguese Settlement – sometimes called Mini Lisbon – is a Kristang community in Ujong Pasir, five kilometers from the city of Melaka, Malaysia. The Kristang creole people arose in Melaka between the 16th and 17th centuries when the city was a port and base of Portuguese colonial rule. Portuguese men married native Malay women. The Kristang stock was later enriched by intermarriages with Dutch, British, Chinese andRead More→

Perak, Malaysia: Heritage Tour of Ipoh [SP]

Posted on December 3, 2013

Ipoh – a city where heritage meets the hills. View from Perak Tong Cave Temple. The capital of the state of Perak, Ipoh – just two and half hours by bus north of Kuala Lumpur – started out as a small town at the highest navigable point of the Kinta River in the 1820s. It later grew in prominence at the turn of the 20th century when more British tin-mining companies were set up near the city, surpassing the popularRead More→