Geographie

The Philippines are an island country in southeast asia. Lying in the tropical Indo-Pacific they are located southeast of China and north of Indonesia.
The capital, Manila, has more than 12 million inhabitants and is located on the biggest Island, Luzon, in the north of the country.
Most of the islands are of volcanic origin but today most of the volcanoes are inactive.

Climate

The Philippines have tropicals climate all year long with 27 °C (80° Fahrenheit) or warmer. There are rain- and day seasons but they differ from island to island. The northern parts of the Philippines (Luzon, Mondoro, Samar, Leyte) is hit by typhoons regularly from May till November. The southern part (where we are located) is already too far south for typoons.

Currency

The official currency is the Philippine Peso (PHP).
1 Peso = 100 Centavos
1 Euro is about 60-70 Pesos, 1 US-Dollar is about 40-50 Pesos.
Currency converter

Language

The official languages are English and Filipino (which is heavily based on Tagalog).
Every region and island has it's own languages and dialects but English and Filipino are widely spoken and understood.

Religion

The biggest part of the Philippines is christian.
Only in southern parts of Mindanao and in the Sulu-Archipel muslim minorities and majorities can be found.

Safety

Like most countries in the region the Philippines are considered to be quite safe.
Only in the muslim parts in the far south of Mindanao the army is fighting against muslim extremists from time to time.

Good advices

Negros is a volcanic island in the southwest of the archipelago "Visayas" in the Philippines.
The island consists of two provinces: "Negros Oriental" in the southeast with capital Dumaguete and "Negros Occidental" in the northwest with capital "Bacolod".
The main part of the population is living near the coast, in the interior of the island you can find mountains, native rainforest and sugar cain fields in the north.
It's possible to make trips to waterfalls, lakes and caves in the rainforest.