I stayed in Ormoc Villa Hotel in Ormoc City when I first came to the Philippines to meet Jonalyn and her family. The hotel employees were kind and courteous to us during our entire stay. It cost about 35-40 a night. I would enjoy asking the hotel room service how much I should tip them, and they would start to laugh embarrassingly and say “up to you.” Below is from the Ormoc Villa Hotel website.

We took many of our after wedding pictures in the beautiful court yard. Me and Jonalyn often miss the Villa Hotel, and will hopefully stay there again someday.

Before I came to the Philippines I talked to my dads friend ( who was born in the Philippines ) about all the dangers and concerns. He said there is real concern of getting dengue fever when im there, and that some people get malaria. He said it is so hot in the Philippines that air conditioners do absolutely nothing, and you will melt in your own sweat all day. He said people will try to pick your pockets so make sure to stay out of big crowds. He said, and I quote, “You will be on a bus traveling and you will see a guy selling fresh fruit, and you will be so hungry, but DON’T eat that banana or you will have diarrhea for a week!”

Now i am sure your reading this and thinking, “Philippines sounds awful”, or you think “It’s not true.” Well even after I heard all that I decided that it was worth it to me to “jump in” anyway. So I did and here is what I experienced – I never heard of any cases of malaria or dengue fever during my stay there. It is very hot during the day but the A/C works fine. No one during my entire stay, and I was there for over a year, tried to steal anything from me. Of course there is dangerous areas, and you should probably avoid huge crowds, because an American stands out like a sour thumb. What he said about eating on the bus is true, most likely you will get a bad stomach illness if you drink the water and eat fruits in the Philippines. I ate at Wendy’s in Manila and I was in the bathroom all day for over a week, ( bad advertisement for Wendy’s hehe ) but on the bright side the meal was delicious. Most of the Philippine people are very kind and humble. Jonalyn’s ( my wife ) family treated me like part of their own family. So besides all the endless trips to get all the papers ready, and the constant stress of thinking you forgot some papers and it will ruin the whole visa process, it was a pleasant trip. One last thing, the air in every city in the Philippines ( even the small ones ) smells like gasoline, because all the vehicles use diesel. My brother did say Baguio has fresh air, but I never made it there. Please ask me and questions you have.

Jarah-Evelyn Makalapua Mariano is an American fashion model. Mariano has appeared in MAC cosmetics ads, been featured in ads from Armani Exchange, Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Rock and Republic. Updated Every Monday!

Hello my name is Brian, and this is how I first met my beautiful wife. It all began on the morning of the 27th of August 2006 when I signed up for the filipinaheart dating service. That night at around 12am I was looking through the profiles of the women and to my disbelief I was messaged on filipinaheart’s messenger by a beautiful woman. I said, “What is your name? And then she told me here name. “What a beautiful name you have”, I said. She graciously said “thank you”. She then asked me some questions about myself, which I answered with honesty. She asked me if I had yahoo messenger ( which I did not have at the time ). After I got that, she sent me her ID. She then asked me if I am looking for a wife, because it said I was looking to get married in my yahoo profile. I said “I am very serious about getting married, but I need to find the right woman.” She then said “Maybe it is me.” She had met other men on the internet before, and she said they all play games, and she was hoping that I was different. I was able to see my girl for the first time that day on the webcam. I have heard that love at first sight transcends words. After learning about each other some more, we got off the internet both feeling we had met someone very special.

I will post much more of the story in future updates. Long story short, we have been married for a year and a half now, and It has been the best time of my life. If your thinking of taking a trip to the Philippines to meet your sweetheart please send me an email and ask me any questions you have, I would be glad to give you any help I can. Me and my wife got married on December 11th 2006, in Kananga, Leyte Philippines ( which is like 30mins from Ormoc City ). Be sure to share your questions and thoughts.

The City of Ormoc is a 1st class city in the province of Leyte, Philippines. The city’s name is derived from ogmok, an old Visayan term for lowland or depressed plain. It is the first non-provincial city of the Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 177,524 people. Ormoc is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte.

Ormoc City is an independent component city, not subject to regulation from the Provincial Government of Leyte. However, the city is part of the congressional district IV of Leyte together with Albuera, Kananga, Merida, and Isabel towns.

In November 1991, the Ormoc region was inundated by Tropical Storm Thelma (local name: Uring). Flash floods and landslides killed an estimated 6,000 people, mostly in Ormoc itself.

What started as her grandmother’s premonition became a reality for Riyo Mori on May 28th, 2007. At the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, the Japanese beauty was crowned Miss Universe 2007 at the age of 20. Updated Every Monday!