I rarely take a trip outside Manila when I go home to the Philippines. I go there not to go around – but to be in one place: with my family and friends.

However, I can’t help but be amazed the moment I step on Philippine soil, not by the sight of places but of people who greet me at the airport, restaurants and stores. There’s just a genuine, almost innocent way of dealing that Filipinos manifest in social settings.

I have never known another race as much as I’ve known my own. But in the past five years, I have been exposed to people who did not grow up on tocino, Batibot or Makati. And in many conversations I have with them, they can only say great things about the Filipinos they know. Granted, stories are said and heard about Boracay, Palawan, Bohol and Siargao. But the more resounding chatter covers the amazing qualities they found in Filipinos they met on ships, at home, at work or through friends. Certainly, the tourist spots of the Philippines are the Filipinos. And they’re here, there and everywhere.

There are some who feel at home in Beethoven’s quiet town of Bonn; Others found a place in New Zealand; Some classmates are in Dubai, while others found their purpose in Manhattan. However hard it is to imagine that many Filipinos have learned the words and ways of other countries, other people have certainly learned good words and ways from us. Living by example, we teach others to be patient, be humble, love the family, make sacrifices, be loyal, say prayers, work hard, smile, count our blessings….

Trying to win a million dollars, and travel the world at the same time, participants of the Amazing Race season 5 went to the Philippines last year, and swam to 3 islands in a quest to identify the Philippine flag. They had 7, 103 more islands to see. But while the tourism thrust for visitors is definitely important, I think that what is essential, is that we, as a people, keep the qualities of a great tourist spot in ourselves. As long as there is something about us individually, that is beautiful, genuine, warm, and different, we, the Filipino, are one of the few wonders of the world. We are the Philippines’ walking, talking tourist spots, and are our country’s greatest assets. And as long as we don’t deteriorate, or shut down, like many usual tourist spots, people around the world will continue loving Filipinos and the home that nurtured us – the Philippines.

And so, we don’t have to race to the far reaches of the world to find the tourist spots of the Philippines. Filipinos are an amazing race to see and experience. And they’ve spread out around the world in not just seven wonders, but in eighty six million spots.