The Philippine regions are a beautiful archipelago of thousands of islands and the islands look like dots when viewed from the window of an airplane. Manila is the capital of the Philippines and the official language is Filipino which consists of many Tagalog words. Taglish (meaning a mixture of Tagalog and English) is commonly spoken because more English words are being used in the language.

Three of my friends and I plan to visit Davao City in the upcoming months. We have heard that what is now known as Davao was actually called by the name "daba-daba" by locals; but this has since been changed to the similar sounding name "Davao." In Davao City we wish to get a view of the mountain range which is very famous for its breathtaking view. The word for mountain in Tagalog is "bundok." Furthermore, we have been told that the city is beautiful and offers a spectacular array of places from which we can sight see. Likewise, we have heard that the beaches are quite nice and there are many places we can go diving.

Davao City is beautiful and in Tagalog the word "Maganda" means "beautiful." The word "maganda"can be used when speaking about a beautiful day, person or thing. You can wish someone a cheery "Magandang umago sa iyo" (which translates as "A beautiful morning to you!") or you might hear someone asking "Maganda ba siya?" (Is she beautiful?) When you wish to tell someone that the car runs beautifully, you say, "Maganda ang takboi ng kotse." When speaking in the plural form, you can say "lahat sila maganda" which means "they are all beautiful."

We look forward to eating ripe mangoes (mangga) for which the island we are going to is well known. We also plan to eat a lot of "isda" (fish) which is available in abundance. We shall walk (lakad) along the seashore (tabing) with the wind blowing through our hair and breathe fresh "air" (hangin). We will eat (kain) and drink (inom) and rest while in the city.

We have heard that Davao City has fewer storms and is not as hot as other parts in the region. We welcome this news and will no doubt keep an eye on the weather reports.

One of my friends has been in charge of planning our trip and has already started to find out the best rates for accommodation in the city. We plan to spend five whole days in Davao City and want to make the most of every minute. When to travel in and around the location and we plan to do so by renting a vehicle.

We leave in a couple of months and we cannot wait to get there. We look forward to having a wonderful vacation in the "magandang" (beautiful) city of Davao.

Read more about the word for beautiful in Tagalog and learn Tagalog words http://www.speakingtagalog.com/.