The Philippines Quintet

The first of the five published was Trek-Philippines It began as a showcase to highlight a region of the world which was not generally on the beaten path for most tourists.

It first appeared with little fanfare in February 2007 as a small collection of modules and over time has grown to be a comprehensive display of all that is best about these wonderful and enchanting islands.

Thousands of visitors have been recorded on the site to date. It is soon to celebrate its second anniversary.

For many months it was the no.1 travel lens on Squidoo, and for almost a year was in the top 100 ranked lenses overall. Such is the quality of lenses on Squidoo, particularly in the "Travel" section, this lens was unable to hold its lofty ranking, although it now appears to have settled down in the top 200, but as it is well established this does not seem to have affected its high profile on the search engines.

Over time it has been courted by travel agents; flight agents; bloggers; tourist authorities; specialist scuba diving organisations and tour operators seeking a tie-up or affiliate linkage. Elements of the text has been plagiarised and modified by travel sites in South America, the USA, Africa and Asia.

They do say that imitation is the best form of flattery!

Wow! Philippines! History! is a labour of love and has been a work of utmost care and self education.

Whilst principally designed to give an overview of the early colonisation of the Philippines, such was the demand, it developed into something much more. The aim was to put this period in an accessible and bite size format.

Research on the internet was never very user-friendly and many sites had a tendency to complicate the subject. Indeed most tried to be too academic, and whilst utilising and quoting qualified sources, they tended to distract from the big picture.

The need was to produce a compact but entertaining reference, and at the same time present it in a clear and easily understood format. Its impact has been quite overwhelming.

There is no greater compliment than praise and this has come from many places. Direct emails, as well as feedback on the lens are very positive. It regularly receives queries from students, but it has also been highlighted by history professionals in centres of education as far a field as Baltimore and Manila. In addition, the text, and parts of it, has been published in several different mediums.

Jose Rizal was first produced as no amount of information on the Philippines could ignore the contribution and impact of the national hero

The wealth of information on the web about Rizal is overpowering, but again, it tends to be major works without a central point of reference, and this lens is in effect a conduit to the subject.

The lens allows the visitor to gain a simple grasp of the man, but at the same time dig deep into his soul.

It appears to have become a most valuable source. More importantly it has highlighted Jose Rizal prominently thanks to the Squidoo platform, and the majority of readers remark how proud they are about him, adding how pleased they are that such a lens exists.

"Jose Rizal" is currently a most successful lens, and in time may develop as a fully fledged compact biography.

The Ghost of Fort Santiago was created by a true incident in Intramuros, Manila during November 2007.

Feedback has come in many forms, but people enjoy the "First Person" experience, and the author was surprised at its success. The lens allowed the subject to give a history of Fort Santiago, but at the same time add a supernatural element.

Fort Santiago is severely neglected. Successive attempts to raise its profile tend to fail, and yet it is still a magnet for educational tours and the casual visitor.

Having visited the place several times the author gets very frustrated at the gross inability by the authorities to really harness this fantastic place, but perhaps that is also part of its charm.

Where else can you experience the dark, dank, dismal sufferings of dungeons in their original form? In any other country they would be have been turned into a theme park long ago.

The Dub City Cafe is a lens which highlights something different from the norm.

The location is central. Karaoke is banned. "Girly bar" style entertainment is forbidden.

"Dub City" in San Pablo City, Laguna, is a place for a sociable drink, great food without formality, and music of various eclectic tastes.

Stand at the bar and chat to the locals, or sit in the restaurant and listen to the music. It has an ambience unique in typical Filipino entertainment.

If you're ever passing - this is where you'll probably find your host!

So completes the Quintet....your feedback is welcome....