Philippines

After a couple days in Manila, it was off to Boracay, it is rainy season in the Philippines, but the weather looked like it was going to be good for a while there, so we decided to take a gamble, and head to the island of Boracay.

The flight there was quite interesting, in a little 19 seater Czech built propeller plane. It was a tad rough at times, and flying in a non pressurized airplane is a bit strange, we flew just at 9500 ft, and could really notice the lack of oxygen in the cabin, as everyone was yawning. The runway to the Caticlan airport, is very short, in fact a couple airplanes have fallen off the runway, causing the government to put a ban on larger aircraft to the airport. We had to get weighed before boarding the flight, and not everyones luggage made it on that flight, it had to come on a another flight, fortunately ours made the flight, since we hadn't picked where we were staying yet, so they couldn't deliver it.

Then it was a short boat ride to Boracay, where we took a tricycle motorbike to the beach area, then the fun began, we started trekking up the beach to look for a place, this was not a great idea, as we were getting mobbed by people trying to take us to places, and to get the best rate we wanted to deal with the resort directly, not with some guy that would want a commission for bringing us there. So since Tan is the more picky of the two of us, I said I would just sit on the beach and wait for her to check out some places. I became quite the amusement for many of the people selling the rooms, as they couldn't believe how many places Tan was looking at. We wanted something nice and cheap, which on Boracay is not so easy to find. However after 1.5 hours of Tan searching, she came across a nice new place called Boracay Pito Beach Huts. It was so new that we had to wait for a while as they put the finishing touches on the room. It's always nice to stay in a new place, nice and clean!

We had some great weather the first day as we explored the beach, it's a long beach with great sand, and amazingly clear water, it was a tad windy which made the sea a little rough, apparently normally it is still and flat. We spent the first couple days just lounging on the beach, trying the various restaurants, beer is cheap, and food is decently priced, perhaps a little expensive for S.E. Asia, but this is a very touristy beach resort area. It was actually nice to be there in the off season, there were still people there, but it wasn't crazy busy, and we had lots of space to ourselves on the beach. However nightlife perhaps was a bit lacking, but we still had a couple of fun nights out.

Took a snorkeling boat trip around a few islands, the other side of Boracay where the water is still not choppy, it was amazing how crystal clear the water was, snorkeling was great. Tan wanted to do some SCUBA diving, but it has been a while for her, so she would have to do some refresher courses, and I of course would need to start from scratch, they had a 2 hour explore diving package, but that was quite expensive for what you get. But I still really want to get my SCUBA certification, and I know Tan really wants to go diving again. Hopefully we can do it sometime soon.

The next days the weather took a turn for the worse, with some high wind, and rain, kind of annoying, but at least it didn't rain all the time, and we still were able to swim in the ocean, as the water is warm enough still.

Filipino's really seem to love Buffet's there were many of them on the beach, the first night we tried one in a nice hotel, it was decent enough, but we ate too much, and said no more Buffet! However a few days later we tried one again, when we couldn't decide where to eat! No more buffets. We had a couple nice seafood dinners as well, nothing fancy, but fresh and tasty, had lobster one night, kind of expensive, about 40USD for a small grilled lobster. We also decided that lobster didn't excite us, and we should stop ordering them on our vacations.. We will have to see if we remember not to order it next time!

There was heavy rain and wind for part of this morning, which made us concerned about if we would be able to fly back to Manila today, but fortunately there was a break in the weather, and we were able to get to the boat, and the airport, and got to fly in a slightly larger more modern 32 seat propeller plane, the ride was quite bumpy, I am glad it was a short flight, a little less than an hour. Otherwise I think I would have needed to use the 'paper bag'.

I am writing this from Manila airport, as I wait for my flight back to Singapore. Tan took an earlier flight with Singapore Airlines, as her work paid for the tickets, to save money I took a budget airline Cebu Pacific, so I have to wait, at least it is in there new Terminal, the old terminals are nightmares, this one isn't great either, no wifi, but at least it's clean and there are some restaurants here, and more importantly somewhere to sit. There are 3 international terminals, 1 domestic terminal, while they are all in the same general area, there is no easy way to get between them. We arrived in the Domestic Terminal, Tan flies out of Terminal 1, and I Terminal 3, so we were able to find a taxi driver that would do the trip, and it took about 20 minutes to complete the journey, at least taxi's are cheap here, if you can find one that will use the meter. The fare came to 100 Pesos, under $3, so I tipped him the small bills I had left an extra 70 Pesos, still a cheap ride. The authorized airport taxi's wanted to charge 300 Pesos for such a trip!

I will have one day back in Singapore, which I am sure will be filled with laundry duties, and packing, then I am off the the airport bright and early to begin the travel home. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Posted by Jason Willock

Well I had to leave Singapore as my Visa expired, and Tan had to go to Philippines for work, so I decided to meet here there.
My first time in Manila, I was not overly impressed with the city, it was too big, crowded, and dirty.
I had one night on my own before joining Tan, so I decided to try the Makati area, it's the heart of the city, where the business section is, and where there is also some nightlife. I stayed in a new hostel Our Melting Pot it had been a while since I had been in a hostel, and this one was great, it was brand new, I was one of there first guests, the owners were very friendly, and it had a great location. While the air in Manila is still polluted, and it is not the cleanest of cities, there is a certain charm to it, and I quite enjoyed it. There were all sorts of restaurants and bars on the same street as the hostel, which was just a loft apartment converted into a hostel. Short walk to shopping malls, restaurants, and nightlife. There is a seedy area in Makati as well, which was interesting to see, it's just a bar street with bar girls, and unlike Thailand, where the majority of the visitors are European, most here where American. Although there are also tons of Korean bars as well. I didn't stay out very late, as I was tired from the long day of travel, and exploring the city, so I didn't get to see the street in full action, but I am sure it was colorful!

I had a great dinner at a Biker Bar / Restaurant that had a huge BBQ outside, and I think the owners were Canadian, as there were some Canadian Flags around and about. It was called The Handlebar I recommend it!

Manila is so much less expensive than Singapore, and service is great, although I am starting to get sick of being called Sir every time I enter a store, restaurant, Hello Sir, Thank You Sir, Your Welcome Sir, Come in Sir. Etc Etc.. It's nice, but it gets a little much at times..

I then joined Tan at her hotel, in another part of Manila, it truly is a huge city, this part of Manila is mostly business related, there is a big mall near by, but that is about it, but it's ok, I have been planning the rest of our time here in Philippines, as Tan will take a much needed break from work, and we will go on a vacation. Problem is, it is rainy season here in Philippines, and most other areas in S.E. asia, however after studying many weather maps, and checking flights, we have decided to give Boracay a try, it is a little touristy, and over priced for Philippines, but is always ranked one of the top 10 beaches of the world, so we will check it out, and pray to the sun gods, for nice weather. Hopefully I will have many lovely photos to post soon!

I am also looking forward to being back in Canada in only 9 days!

Posted by Jason Willock

Well after 4 nights in Manila, I must say it is one of the most polluted cities I have been to, right up there with Cairo, and since the population is only 2 million, that is not a really good thing. I think it has to do with all the 2 stroke motorbikes, and the World War 2 jeeps they use.. Smog is intense, even the palm trees near the ocean are droopy from the smog! But I didn't explore the whole city, it is a massive city, and I stayed mostly in one area. This area you could see the difference between the rich who shop in the massive shopping malls, and the poorer people who peddle there goods on the streets. But I must say everyone is still very friendly!

I think I would like to give Manila another chance, and perhaps stay in a different area, and see how my feelings are then.. But now I am heading off to Singapore to meet up with Tan. I will stay there for Chinese New Years. It is the year of the Rat! My Year! Should be interesting to experience! Hopefully I will be able to make it back to Philippines and see more of it, especially the beaches, which I hear from Lani & Drawsen are quite amazing!

It will be good to meet up with Tan, I don't think I fully charged up my batteries during the month at home, I am feeling a little tired of travelling, I guess perhaps it is to be expected after 9 months on the road! I think I may go back to Holland with Tan, and stay there for a while, perhaps get a little job, or I have a few ideas I would like to perhaps work at..

Posted by Jason Willock

I left Cebu island the other day, after parting ways with Lani & Drawsen, who are near the end of there Asian adventure.. I made my way to the next island over, called Leyte island to a city called Ormoc, not sure why exactly I chose there, my guide book said it was a nice island, and somewhat off the tourist map, so I thought it would be neat.



I took a 2 hour ferry, which was actually quite pleasant, a very fast smooth boat, during the ride I got talking with a family of mom and two daughters, they were very interested in why I was coming to Ormoc, and why I was traveling alone. So after a pleasant talk about, the journey was coming to and end, they offered to show me to a cheap hotel that was walking distance from the pier, so I went and checked in there, and then they asked if I would like to see there village, it was a 20 minute jeepney ride, so I said sure why not, always nice to see the local way of life.. Got to there house, it was a very basic two story stone structure, where about 14 of them lived, it was truly an eye opener, this was a pretty poor area, one daughter just finished university and had her teaching degree, and was looking for work, she was to be the bread winner for the family, the others were not working, and looking for jobs.  They were so interested in my travels, and were very hospititable, offering me food and coconut wine, even though they had so little. It was humbling. I instead offered to take some of the family that could get away from looking after the kids to dinner, so 4 of them joined me for dinner in the town of Ormoc, at a little place near my hotel, where one of there cousins was the waiter.. We had a pretty nice meal of seafood and chicken with rice, the entire bill came to just under $20, so inexpensive for 5 to dine!  I was still feeling pretty beat after my last night with Drawsen & Lani, so I said good bye and went to sleep.. I awoke in the middle of the night with a cold, not sure if it was brought on by the lack of sleep, the air conditioning , or the pollution, or maybe a combination of the three, so I took the next day pretty easy, it was so hot, and really there was nothing to see in the city, the main hi-light is apparently golf courses, there were tons of Korean’s in the hotel who all would go golfing everyday... Other than that I only saw a couple of white people during my time there.



Next day I set off to the city of Tacloban, it has the only airport on the island, and this is where I would fly to Manila from. I took a shared mini van, it’s cost was $3 for the 2hour 120km ride. I am amazed how cheap transportation is here, gas is $1 a liter, so it’s not cheap! The roads weren’t bad, but crowded and twisted through the island, got a great view of the island, so green, and lots of small villages of wooden shacks.  Finally made it Tacloban, and took a tricycle (a motor bike with a side car) to the hotel, I asked the driver how much, and he said whatever I wanted to give was fine, I knew 10 or 20 pesos (25 or 50cents) would have been plenty, but I gave him a 50 peso note, just over a $1, he thanked me graciously and checked in to my hotel, still feeling a bit under the weather, so I wanted to have a nap, unfortunately there were several roosters living in the parking lot next to me, which made it difficult to sleep, but I managed.. I then checked out the city, it was nothing like I had envisioned, I thought it would be more modern like Cebu, since it had an airport, but it was quite basic, with small shops, and the odd restaurant scattered around the town. Walking the streets I was eyed by nearly everyone, and many people would say “Hi Joe” and some would ask where I was from.. I have been here nearly 2 days now, and have only seen one other white person, this is truly not a tourist city, but it was quite neat to explore, just it was too hot, and the pollution from all the motorbikes was pretty bad, and I again slept a good portion of the day.  I did get to see all the sites I think though, including a house Imelda Marcos had ordered built, and never lived in, it is now basically a monument to her excess, with luxuries from all over the world, it is a shame the government here has been corrupt and not helping build the economy of the country, it has so much potential I think, and such a proud hard working people to help build there country, perhaps over time it will become a richer country.



I am looking forward to seeing Manila, perhaps it will change my perspective on the country a little. I do truly enjoy it here though, the people are so friendly! I will be cutting my journey to the Philippines much shorter than had anticipated, as I will be flying to Singapore to meet up with Tan on the 31st, but more on that later..

Posted by Jason Willock

Pit Senyor! That is the saying they use here in Cebu during the Sinulog festival. Which I must say was quite enjoyable. It reminded me of Carnival in Brazil, just a little tamer, and a lot less foreign tourists! But costumes, parade, and the overall festive vibe in the city was very similar.

I must say my first few days in Philippines have been quite enjoyable, the people are very very friendly, always wanting to strike up a conversation with you, they find it very odd that I am travelling alone, and that I am not married yet.. They call white people 'Joe' from G.I. Joe in World War 2, it still sticks, around, as does the use of old Jeeps as forms of public transport, called Jeepney's a very cheap way to travel around the city.. On a whole I must say Philippines is one of the least expensive places I have been to.. Accommodation is a little on the pricey side, but food, and drink is so cheap, a meal in a food court in a mall can be had for $2-$3.

The weather here has been a little on the wet side, although yesterday for the parade was nice and sunny in the morning, and I managed to get a bit sunburnt on my face.. I now know why everyone was trying to sell me a straw hat! It is also enjoyable being in an asian country where pretty much everyone speaks English. They love the American culture here, and NBA Basketball is immensely popular!

Met up with Lani & Drawsen, as well, again nice to be with familiar faces.. I am going to leave on Wednesday for another little island to a city called Ormoc, where I may try to do a mountain trek, depending on how intense it is. I am looking forward to the rest of my travels here in the islands!

I will post some pictures when I get some better internet, it's pretty slow where I am staying, and I have to pay by the hour.

Posted by Jason Willock