All posts tagged: Lifestyle

Dinahican Beach, Infanta, Quezon Province

Why Infanta Is Worth Skipping Batangas For

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There’s a version of this coastline that already exists two hours south, in Batangas: the same gray-black volcanic sand, the same Sierra Madre light, but franchised — corporate resort chains, synchronized staff, a cover charge to sit near the water. Infanta hasn’t gotten there yet, and the reason isn’t policy or preservation. It’s friction. Specifically, it’s a road that’s genuinely difficult to navigate. That’s the real subject of this trip, more than any single beach or waterfall on it. Northern Quezon is shielded from the rest of Metro Manila’s long-weekend traffic by miles of unglamorous, winding mountain highway — the kind of road that filters out anyone unwilling to earn the destination. While the crowds split between the packed resorts of Batangas and the increasingly expensive surf camps further north, this stretch of coast stays quiet almost by accident. Or not by accident, exactly — by arbitrage. This was our first time in Infanta. The quiet anchor of the REINA cluster Infanta sits at the center of what locals call the REINA cluster — the …

Mr Philippines vs Mister World 2026

Two Pageants Are Crowning New Kings on the Same Night

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Editor’s Note (August 2, 2026): Since publication, Mr. Philippines 2026’s organization terminated its partnership agreement with the team behind the coronation as originally planned, effective July 31 — a split that surfaced publicly just hours before tonight’s scheduled event. Per the organization’s official statement, Mr. Philippines will now push through on a later date, at a larger venue; contestants still in the running are being featured one-by-one on the pageant’s official Instagram in the meantime. Mister World Philippines is unaffected and proceeds tonight, August 2, as scheduled at the Newport Performing Arts Theater — meaning the “same night” collision described below no longer applies. The rest of this piece is preserved as originally written and published July 28. Quick test: name the current Mr. Philippines. Trick question. On August 2, two entirely separate organizations will each crown a national men’s titleholder — one handing out three crowns, the other eight — in two different venues, on the exact same night. Neither one is the other’s undercard. Both are billing themselves as the main event. Somewhere …