Preparing for Your Visit to the Philippines: 3 Things to Know

The Philippines has beautiful beaches, tall green mountains, and everything in-between, but before you actually get there, there are certain things which you should prepare for in advance. In spite of being stunningly beautiful at times, the culture of the Filipinos is drastically different from what you might be used to. To add to that, so are the weather, the people, and the local cuisine. To make the best of your time there, read the points mentioned here and prepare accordingly before heading over to the country.

Get Vaccinated

This is the first and foremost thing which you should take care of before travelling to any tropical country, which includes the Philippines. A visit to the foreign travel vaccination clinic is a must, where you will need to have some vaccinations to prevent any of the following diseases from catching a hold of you.

• Malaria
• Yellow Fever
• Measles and Mumps
• Rubella
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Small Pox
• Cholera
• Polio
• Rabies
• Japanese Encephalitis
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis
• Typhoid

Before you start to panic, rest assured that this is only an extensive list of shots and you will not be given every single one of them! Also, just a few vaccinations from a reputed institution like London Travel Clinic are capable of delivering all the protection that you may ever need against foreign microbes. The staff will guide and educate you about health precautions that you will need to take in the country as well.

Learn to be Polite

The people in the Philippines are known all over to be among the world’s most hospitable people and they are exceptionally friendly. While this in itself should not be a problem, it can become one if you don’t expect a complete stranger to call out to you and say things like “come to my house and eat” in the local tongue! A surprised foreigner will most definitely feel a bit alarmed and may ignore the person or even lash out if they insist, and that’s big no-no here. Most of them do not do so for money but because it is customary for them to be friendly. If and when you must refuse, always do so courteously and with a smile.

Learn to be Patient

While in the Philippines, expect the routine to be disruptive. What this means is that the ferry which was supposed to take you from Manila to Panay or Mindoro will most likely be late. In fact, buses and ferries can even be cancelled without any prior notifications as well. While these unexpected disruptions may annoy you, there’s not much that you will be able to do about them, so skip the annoyance and immediately move on to a different plan. The good thing about the country is that you will always find one thing or the other to do, irrespective of where you are in the country.

The Island of Palawan has been internationally acclaimed as the most beautiful island in the entire world and that’s just one island among the 7,000+ islands which make up this nation. There’s so much to see and explore that it’s impossible for you to be bored on this trip. Just remember these three things before heading over there and you will have an experience of a lifetime.

This article was written by one of our contributing writers.

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