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Philippines
 The 7000 islands that comprise the Philippines are the forgotten islands of South-East Asia. Off the main overland route and with a recent history of martial law and endemic corruption, the country has struggled to attract tourists in the numbers many of its southeast Asian neighbours have.
Since the demise of the authoritarian Marcos regime 15 years ago the Philippines has fared better; however, the last few years have sent the country's fortunes tumbling once again.
In 2000 a Brussels-based research centre declared the Philippines the most disaster-prone country on earth. It named typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, garbage landslides and military action against Muslim insurgents as just some of the problems both locals and tourists have had to deal with.
Political woes continue to set the country back. Most recently, former president Estrada was arraigned in July 2001 on the capital offence of economic plunder. Meanwhile, new president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is struggling to revitalise the country and establish her political credentials.
Despite these difficulties, most of the Philippines is laid back, stable and relatively safe. The country likes to promote itself as the place where 'Asia wears a smile' and the locals are, by and large, an exceptionally friendly and helpful bunch. On top of this, transport is cheap, the food is good, accommodation is plentiful and (for the monolinguistic) English is widely spoken.  |
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