A great trip with even better travel companions
Door: Martin
22 Juni 2013 | Filipijnen, Manilla
Before even starting on what just has transpired over the last weeks let me begin with saying that the Philippines so far has been exquisite in my travel companions. One of the things I often say about my trips these days is that it gets harder and harder to be truly blown away by something I see. However the people I meet on my travels still do this regularly and I have once again been fortunate enough to been in the company of some fantastic people who I will never forget and will call friends for the rest of my life.
This being a travel blog, or at least it’s turning into one again, I should try to give you an idea of what has kept me busy lately. The last time I left you behind was the day before I went caving in Sagada, which was a blast. You enter a cave filled with coffins at the entrée and then continue onwards to descend deep into it along slippery slopes and some ropes along the way. On the way you reach some stunning areas that feel otherworldly or should I say underworldly? The catch about this trip is that you descend into one cave and ascend into another one and that is exactly why it’s called the cave connection.
I had wanted to book my tickets online to assure I wouldn’t spend too much time in Manila and travel straight on to Palawan to catch up with newly made friends. Traveling is all about adapting and that is what I had to do since my credit card is apparently out of order. A short stop in Manila to say hi to Tiffany and friends turned into a few days and a trip to Palawan turned into a trip to Mindoro. After a few great days in Manila I got onto the boat to Mindoro to yet again find myself having to change my plans. I was supposed to go diving there but the initial spot turned out to be hard to reach and elsewhere the diving wasn’t world class so I didn’t bother and due to unforeseen events I had to go back to Manila earlier.
Boracay was possibly outside of Manila the only place in Philippines I knew anything about and this was (again) planned for a different time but due to very persuasive friends of Tiffany (and she can take credit for it too), my plans changed. Boracay would be my next port of call, where Tiff and I would go to meet all the friends already in paradise. Many people had reassured me that Boracay was not to be missed for me so my expectations were high. Seldom do places live up to their reputations but Boracay did and I was very pleased about it, to say the least. White palm fringed sandy beach with plenty of entertaining stuff alongside it. People who say it’s too touristy are right but they should do their homework and keep themselves very far from it, so people who know how to have fun can have it there. After a long day of travelling, a run on the beach with a beautiful sunset was a very welcome return to running after too many weeks of not running and a perfect introduction to what Boracay had on offer.
The next days were spend with an amazing crowd who all found their way into my heart and made for an unforgettable week. We chilled on the beach, went on a sunset sailingtrip, pubcrawl and countless meals together, but most of all thoroughly enjoyed every minute spend in each others company. The hardest thing about travelling is also an inevitable part of it which is parting ways with those you don’t want to let go but such is the nature of travelling unfortunately. One by one people made their way back to Manila or whatever destination lay next on their itinerary. Tiffany and I too had to say our goodbyes and she had managed to get a lot closer than I had allowed anyone for a long time.
Jeepney’s, busses, tricycle motor powered or human powered, ferries, rowingboats, taxi’s all make for nice experiences but also for very slow transportation. Travelling in the Philippines takes time, a lot of time. Almost two days in transit were necessary for me to reach my next destination, a secluded beach in Negros called Sugar beach. Fate would have it that after two lonely days on the roads I would meet another phenomenal group of people. Sugar beach was a very tranquil place where we spent are days with lounging, a bit of snorkelling, a run and getting to know each other while sharing a drink or two.
A newly formed group of five of us would travel together to the next stop in Apo Island. Five kindred spirits soon formed a tight group and I was again surrounded by a great group of people. In Apo Island it’s all about snorkelling and diving with the marine turtles. Snorkelling proved to be sufficient because we saw dozens of those chilled animals just off shore and hang out with them for a while. The nights on Apo Island were all about having a great time with our friends and what seemed like a competition to consume as much alcohol as possible at breakneck speed. Just two nights were plenty to get enough of a feel of the pace to make the decision to move on to Dumaguete.
In Dumaguete we checked into Harolds guesthouse which was one of those hostels that just is right on the money. Friendly staff, great common areas, good value and decent dormrooms it had an immediate pleasant atmosphere. After taking care of some necessities of being back in a city again we headed for a happy hour, what would be the beginning of a long boozy night.
Here we also found a new familia member, who would accompany us on our reamaining travels through the Visayas. Our new group consists of a Spanish/American couple Antonio and Carmen and two Californian dudes Chris and Dante and Canadian Natalie, for some reason we just have a great time every time we are together. The next day we went to Duin for some beach time. There we tried to hire some kids to get us beers but after asking the kids if they wanted to make some money they ran for the hills funnily enough. The rest of the time in Dumaguete sort of revolved around the same, outrageous nights and tame days.
It was time to move on again to the next island of the trip. Siquijor was a somewhat bigger island but still easy to navigate on one day on scooters. During our drive we saw some beaches (where the locals were kind enough to entertain us in diverse ways rated all ages and rated R) and nice landscapes, waterfalls and some old churches. Even a flat tire couldn’t spoil a beautiful day on the road.
Bohol was calling for us and we answered, although not sure what to make of it in the first city it turned out to be a very pleasant island. After a scrumptious meal in the city we headed for the beach once again to explore some of what the Philippines have on offer under water. It was great to finally be diving again and the dive sites were quite nice. The beach we were at held us like a magnet and what originally was planned as a one-nighter turned into half a week.
When we escaped Alona beach’s grasp we rented bikes to go explore the rest of the island and found Bohol to be a green wonderland. An apparent must were the chocolate hills but the name was very misleading, we were fooled there was no chocolate to be found. However I did get to see some Tarsiers again and this time it didn’t involve a sweaty hike through the jungle but a perfectly convenient pathway and designated viewing areas where the little critters chilled underneath shelter.
Yet another imminent separation was going to happen in Cebu city but not before we sampled some of the city’s finest foods and got appropriately drunk together. Quickly leaving the city behind I headed to yet another of the 7107 islands. Malapascua is described as one of those places with world class diving and I was keen to find out if there was any truth in this statement. Many dive islands are just that, island that revolve solely around diving and don’t have much else on offer, but Malapascua was a perfectly good destination for anyone looking to relax on a gorgeous island. I came to this island for one reason and one reason alone, to dive with thresher sharks. No one had told me, however that this required getting up at 4 am to go to your dive shop to head out to the dive site (which was probably a good thing too otherwise I might have skipped it). On the way to the site you did get to see a picture perfect sunrise though which made up for it. The dive itself was a already rewarding within the first 3 minutes as a saw the first shark. We went to a short of viewing platform where we saw the sharks cruising by whilst they were being cleaned by their other finned neighbours. At one point I had three sharks in full view at the same time, a truly amazing experience.
Already being spoiled by this dive a went on two more dives, with one of them being unique in it’s own way. It was a night dive where we got to see the mating dance of the mandarin fish, another cool spectacle. As icing on the cake after maybe the best night dive yet (we spend 93 minutes below the surface), I climbed out of the water to gaze at an spectacular starlit sky, just magical.
Sufficient time was spend on islands and it was time to return back to Tiffany in Manila. Having met up with everyone there and exchanged stories of time spend apart we left Manila behind us yet again to travel to Subic bay. In Subic we had a great time with friends and family and enjoyed being away from bustling Manila. Despite really enjoying our time there we had to push on because more than a month later than planned we would board a plane and head for Palawan.
Some things are out of our control and the weather is such a thing. The rain season had started and on top of that a typhoon was passing over the Philippines. El Nido was a beautiful place but the first days we had to wait for the rain to clear to fully appreciate it’s beauty. It was truly stunning though when the weather did clear. A sailing trip in the surrounding area reminded of Halong bay but was beautiful in it’s own way. We bathed in secret lagoons, swam in bigger lagoons and snorkelled near secluded beaches and had a fantastic meal on said beach. Another day was spend on a great palm fringed beach with beautiful weather to match it. Altogether we had an amazing time together and with friends in El Nido.
A visit which was planned to last for little over 5 weeks turned into a stay of just under two months. With no real expectations the Philippines have really surprised me, barely anything I planned went according to plan but all the detours and alterations made it into a wonderful experience and one I will cherish for a long time together with the new friends I made which I’m sure will last a life time.
If you’re wondering about visiting the Philippines I would strongly advice you to go there and experience it for yourself, it’s like the county’s slogan says: It’s more fun in the Philippines.
for photos click on the hyperlink underneath
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151379176960264.1073741827.680375263&type=3
ps I am far too lazy to check this story for correct grammar and such, so bear with me if there's many of those here.
This being a travel blog, or at least it’s turning into one again, I should try to give you an idea of what has kept me busy lately. The last time I left you behind was the day before I went caving in Sagada, which was a blast. You enter a cave filled with coffins at the entrée and then continue onwards to descend deep into it along slippery slopes and some ropes along the way. On the way you reach some stunning areas that feel otherworldly or should I say underworldly? The catch about this trip is that you descend into one cave and ascend into another one and that is exactly why it’s called the cave connection.
I had wanted to book my tickets online to assure I wouldn’t spend too much time in Manila and travel straight on to Palawan to catch up with newly made friends. Traveling is all about adapting and that is what I had to do since my credit card is apparently out of order. A short stop in Manila to say hi to Tiffany and friends turned into a few days and a trip to Palawan turned into a trip to Mindoro. After a few great days in Manila I got onto the boat to Mindoro to yet again find myself having to change my plans. I was supposed to go diving there but the initial spot turned out to be hard to reach and elsewhere the diving wasn’t world class so I didn’t bother and due to unforeseen events I had to go back to Manila earlier.
Boracay was possibly outside of Manila the only place in Philippines I knew anything about and this was (again) planned for a different time but due to very persuasive friends of Tiffany (and she can take credit for it too), my plans changed. Boracay would be my next port of call, where Tiff and I would go to meet all the friends already in paradise. Many people had reassured me that Boracay was not to be missed for me so my expectations were high. Seldom do places live up to their reputations but Boracay did and I was very pleased about it, to say the least. White palm fringed sandy beach with plenty of entertaining stuff alongside it. People who say it’s too touristy are right but they should do their homework and keep themselves very far from it, so people who know how to have fun can have it there. After a long day of travelling, a run on the beach with a beautiful sunset was a very welcome return to running after too many weeks of not running and a perfect introduction to what Boracay had on offer.
The next days were spend with an amazing crowd who all found their way into my heart and made for an unforgettable week. We chilled on the beach, went on a sunset sailingtrip, pubcrawl and countless meals together, but most of all thoroughly enjoyed every minute spend in each others company. The hardest thing about travelling is also an inevitable part of it which is parting ways with those you don’t want to let go but such is the nature of travelling unfortunately. One by one people made their way back to Manila or whatever destination lay next on their itinerary. Tiffany and I too had to say our goodbyes and she had managed to get a lot closer than I had allowed anyone for a long time.
Jeepney’s, busses, tricycle motor powered or human powered, ferries, rowingboats, taxi’s all make for nice experiences but also for very slow transportation. Travelling in the Philippines takes time, a lot of time. Almost two days in transit were necessary for me to reach my next destination, a secluded beach in Negros called Sugar beach. Fate would have it that after two lonely days on the roads I would meet another phenomenal group of people. Sugar beach was a very tranquil place where we spent are days with lounging, a bit of snorkelling, a run and getting to know each other while sharing a drink or two.
A newly formed group of five of us would travel together to the next stop in Apo Island. Five kindred spirits soon formed a tight group and I was again surrounded by a great group of people. In Apo Island it’s all about snorkelling and diving with the marine turtles. Snorkelling proved to be sufficient because we saw dozens of those chilled animals just off shore and hang out with them for a while. The nights on Apo Island were all about having a great time with our friends and what seemed like a competition to consume as much alcohol as possible at breakneck speed. Just two nights were plenty to get enough of a feel of the pace to make the decision to move on to Dumaguete.
In Dumaguete we checked into Harolds guesthouse which was one of those hostels that just is right on the money. Friendly staff, great common areas, good value and decent dormrooms it had an immediate pleasant atmosphere. After taking care of some necessities of being back in a city again we headed for a happy hour, what would be the beginning of a long boozy night.
Here we also found a new familia member, who would accompany us on our reamaining travels through the Visayas. Our new group consists of a Spanish/American couple Antonio and Carmen and two Californian dudes Chris and Dante and Canadian Natalie, for some reason we just have a great time every time we are together. The next day we went to Duin for some beach time. There we tried to hire some kids to get us beers but after asking the kids if they wanted to make some money they ran for the hills funnily enough. The rest of the time in Dumaguete sort of revolved around the same, outrageous nights and tame days.
It was time to move on again to the next island of the trip. Siquijor was a somewhat bigger island but still easy to navigate on one day on scooters. During our drive we saw some beaches (where the locals were kind enough to entertain us in diverse ways rated all ages and rated R) and nice landscapes, waterfalls and some old churches. Even a flat tire couldn’t spoil a beautiful day on the road.
Bohol was calling for us and we answered, although not sure what to make of it in the first city it turned out to be a very pleasant island. After a scrumptious meal in the city we headed for the beach once again to explore some of what the Philippines have on offer under water. It was great to finally be diving again and the dive sites were quite nice. The beach we were at held us like a magnet and what originally was planned as a one-nighter turned into half a week.
When we escaped Alona beach’s grasp we rented bikes to go explore the rest of the island and found Bohol to be a green wonderland. An apparent must were the chocolate hills but the name was very misleading, we were fooled there was no chocolate to be found. However I did get to see some Tarsiers again and this time it didn’t involve a sweaty hike through the jungle but a perfectly convenient pathway and designated viewing areas where the little critters chilled underneath shelter.
Yet another imminent separation was going to happen in Cebu city but not before we sampled some of the city’s finest foods and got appropriately drunk together. Quickly leaving the city behind I headed to yet another of the 7107 islands. Malapascua is described as one of those places with world class diving and I was keen to find out if there was any truth in this statement. Many dive islands are just that, island that revolve solely around diving and don’t have much else on offer, but Malapascua was a perfectly good destination for anyone looking to relax on a gorgeous island. I came to this island for one reason and one reason alone, to dive with thresher sharks. No one had told me, however that this required getting up at 4 am to go to your dive shop to head out to the dive site (which was probably a good thing too otherwise I might have skipped it). On the way to the site you did get to see a picture perfect sunrise though which made up for it. The dive itself was a already rewarding within the first 3 minutes as a saw the first shark. We went to a short of viewing platform where we saw the sharks cruising by whilst they were being cleaned by their other finned neighbours. At one point I had three sharks in full view at the same time, a truly amazing experience.
Already being spoiled by this dive a went on two more dives, with one of them being unique in it’s own way. It was a night dive where we got to see the mating dance of the mandarin fish, another cool spectacle. As icing on the cake after maybe the best night dive yet (we spend 93 minutes below the surface), I climbed out of the water to gaze at an spectacular starlit sky, just magical.
Sufficient time was spend on islands and it was time to return back to Tiffany in Manila. Having met up with everyone there and exchanged stories of time spend apart we left Manila behind us yet again to travel to Subic bay. In Subic we had a great time with friends and family and enjoyed being away from bustling Manila. Despite really enjoying our time there we had to push on because more than a month later than planned we would board a plane and head for Palawan.
Some things are out of our control and the weather is such a thing. The rain season had started and on top of that a typhoon was passing over the Philippines. El Nido was a beautiful place but the first days we had to wait for the rain to clear to fully appreciate it’s beauty. It was truly stunning though when the weather did clear. A sailing trip in the surrounding area reminded of Halong bay but was beautiful in it’s own way. We bathed in secret lagoons, swam in bigger lagoons and snorkelled near secluded beaches and had a fantastic meal on said beach. Another day was spend on a great palm fringed beach with beautiful weather to match it. Altogether we had an amazing time together and with friends in El Nido.
A visit which was planned to last for little over 5 weeks turned into a stay of just under two months. With no real expectations the Philippines have really surprised me, barely anything I planned went according to plan but all the detours and alterations made it into a wonderful experience and one I will cherish for a long time together with the new friends I made which I’m sure will last a life time.
If you’re wondering about visiting the Philippines I would strongly advice you to go there and experience it for yourself, it’s like the county’s slogan says: It’s more fun in the Philippines.
for photos click on the hyperlink underneath
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151379176960264.1073741827.680375263&type=3
ps I am far too lazy to check this story for correct grammar and such, so bear with me if there's many of those here.
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
