Escaping the FIFA World Cup 2022 - My Philippines venture.

During the winter of 2022 when football fever was abound and had proliferated every facet of life in the host nation, the Ministry of Education in Qatar announced that all schools would be closed during the FIFA 2022 World Cup. As a school principal in Doha, I concluded I will probably never have such a long winter break in my career again, so rather than dive into the festivities, I grabbed my camera and jumped on a plane to Vietnam via the Philippines. Whilst the Philippines wasn't initially part of the plan, it was just supposed to be a stop over, I am glad that I made the detour to this destination which left me in awe of it's charm.

This write up of my recent travels (the first I hasten to add) serves a few purposes:

• To highlight the switch in camera systems from a Canon shooter (past decade) to Sony.

• To illicit your feedback and see if one can still produce decent photos whilst travelling with "lighter" full-frame photography gear.

• To provide Muslims with some insight into travelling to the Far East.

• To provide a brief summary of my experience.

Over the years I've enjoyed taking landscape photos with my trusted Canon 6D, 17-40 f4 and 70-200 f2.8 lenses, however their combined weight of just over 4kg started to weigh down on me (pun intended) especially when travelling abroad in this new age of travelling light with one piece of luggage. So, the quest began to search for an alternative, lighter system that wouldn't make me think twice about packing it. After extensive research (browsing the net with a serious expression) I set foot into unchartered territory by going mirrorless and joined the Sony Brigade, purchasing a Sony A7C, the worlds smallest and lightest full frame camera. (https://newatlas.com/photography/sony-alpha-7c-smallest-lightest-full-frame/) I added the 28-60 f4-5.6 kit lens also touted by Sony as the worlds lightest and most compact zoom lens which many reviewers had praised for it's sharpness and was now delighted that the combined weight was approximately 600 grams!! However, I remained skeptical, my Canon gear had yielded some pretty impressive results over the years and I was very comfortable with the system. In conclusion though, I'm now sold on Sony and don't intend to go back, I will let you, be the judge of the photos.

Trip to the Philippines.

The Philippines with over 7000 Islands is the worlds second largest archipelago and has such natural beauty that one can only marvel or say "Subhan-Allah" (Glory be to God). In planning my itinerary I wanted to get more green landscape photos as opposed to beach/seascape and this was the basis for planning my trip. Additionally, it maybe useful to note for those considering a trip, currently, Manilla is the main hub for flying from for domestic flights, pre-pandemic you could fly from one region to another but as of November 2022 (this may change soon) you have to return to Manilla from each destination every time, because of this I had to trim my itinerary a little. You can also drive and catch ferries to different Islands but that would have meant far too much of my time would have been spent on travelling and I was not willing to compromise that. In the end I decided to visit:

The Cordillera Mountain Range - In Particular the Ifugao Province. An iconic and ancient landscape said to be the greatest engineering masterpiece of the indigenous people, the Igorots. The Rice Terraces of this province are considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the World and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Towering to great heights at approximately 5,000 feet above sea level, the terraces were carved mainly by hand using stone and mud walls that follow the natural contours of the mountain. This grand feat was necessary because it was hard for the Igorots to find flat and fertile land to plant crops in. Accordingly, with the presence of the terraces, it was then possible for them to cultivate rice by harvesting water from the mountaintop forests. I had the pleasure of being escorted by a great guy named Denwil who was very patient with all my requests to stop for photos and has lived in Saudi Arabia so was familiar with my needs as a Muslim. If any of you decide to visit Banaue, I highly recommend Denwil's services and his homestay in Banaue.

Palawan Island - El Nido - The town of El Nido is nestled between the blue ocean and stunning limestone cliffs. I decided on this Island as I knew I would need a break from the hiking in the Mountain Province and I was excited about seeing the limestone karst formations in the Bacuit Bay located off the South China Sea. El Nido is peacefully chaotic. There were so many amazing sights to behold and four days was just about enough. I was fortunate to find a mosque in El Nido and there are many Muslims residing there that if you tire of all the fresh, tantalizing seafood, you will have several halal options too! If you only do one activity in El Nido, I recommend an island hopping trip or even better hire your own private boat so you are not restricted by the movements or demands of a group. I hired the services of a Master Skipper; Brian, who took me out before Sunrise, something I would not have been able to do had I booked an "official tour".

Manila - Originally I didn't intend to stay in Manila but since I had to trim my itinerary I ended up spending four days in the Capital and I'm glad I did. Manila caused me to conclude that at heart I'm a city boy, I have finally accepted this, you can't grow up in London and not be, I've been in denial. I loved the vibe of Manila and being a coffee aficionado who really enjoys exploring the coffee scene in cities Manila did not disappoint! My favourite area by far is Makati and in particular Salcedo where 3rd wave coffee shops are in abundance. The contrast between the different areas, the traffic, the traffic oh the traffic, the diversity of food and the vibrancy, richness, colour and fun that comes with Manila being the most densely populated city per square kilometer in the world were all aspects that made me appreciate this metropolis. There is a thriving Muslim community which exists there with plenty of access to halal food. It's also a shoppers haven, how can you not love it?

I would like to return to the Philippines one day as I felt I only skimmed the surface of what there is to see and explore there. I highly recommend a visit whether you travel solo as a couple or a family. There is something for everyone to enjoy here.

If you've enjoyed reading this please drop a comment as I'm undecided if I should do a similar write up for Vietnam. Also, if you have any questions, queries or comments in general I'd love to hear from you.

Finally, I would really appreciate it if you visit my latest collection of photos from the Philippines, by clicking the image below: