Island Hopping in El Nido

Located 238 kilometer north of Puerto Princesa at the tip of Palawan’s northwestern coast is where you will find the small village of El Nido and the stunning beauty of it’s surrounding marine reserve park. Due to it’s remote location the Bacuit Bay remained virtually unknown to the world until 1979 when a boat propeller accident at sea forced a group of divers to set anchor in the archipelago. What they discovered was a breathtaking scenery of endless islands and islets made of thick virgin forest surrounded by fine white sand beaches, crystal clear waters and magnificently sculpted limestone cliffs. El Nido’s archipelago played a key role in the decision of National Geographic Traveler magazine to rate Palawan as the best island destination of East and Southeast Asia in 2007. So don’t be put off by the 6-8 hour long journey (half of on bumpy roads) from Puerto Princesa as the price to pay for a bit of discomfort is undeniably well worth the reward.

Map of the Puerto Princesa to El Nido route

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El Nido town

El Nido town is a charming and quiet little Filipino village with very simple living that  thrives mainly from fishing and tourism. Located along the beach and facing the Bacuit bay it is surrounded by the region’s dramatic landscape of towering limestone cliffs covered in a blanket of green that mirror onto its emerald waters. Affairs as you would imagine are very relaxed here and the whole town is made up of a few quaint streets filled with a variety of surprisingly good little restaurants serving both local delicacies and international cuisine, laid back beach bars where you can sip a cold San Miguel after a long day spent island hopping, a karaoke bar (videoke as they call it in the Philippines) where you can join the locals for a tune or two, a few grocery stores and souvenir shops. Those looking for a bit of nightlife should head to the Balay Tubay joint as it features a live band every night playing a mix of Rock, Folk and Filipino music. A bit of dancing is also possible at El Nido’s only discotheque made up of an imaginatively redecorated 50 Sq. Meters house.  There are plenty of budget and mid-range accommodation options in town that will cater to just about everyone’s needs.

Pictures of El Nido town

The El Nido Marine Reserve of the Bacuit Bay

Though the town is quite pleasant in itself the real beauty of El Nido lies amidst it’s Bacuit Archipeleago. The most striking features of the Marine Reserve is the scenic landscape made up of 45 magnificently sculpted limestone islands of varying shapes and sizes. Each one of them with their own unique features of beautiful lagoons, thick green forests, coves, bays, white sand beaches, caves all scattered about the sparking crystal clear seas. Hiring a boat to take you island hopping and snorkeling  for a 6 hour day tour should cost you about 1500-2200 Philippines Pesos (Those on a budget can join a group for around 500-800 PHP). I highly recommend arranging to have your tour guides include (some have it bundled it in the prices while other ask extra) a cooler for cold beverages and lunch made up of fresh fish, beef or pork that they will BBQ and serve with rice and fruits on one of the beaches of your choice. A truly unforgettable experience to dine in the Bacuit bay. Since the bulk of the boat tours start at 8-9AM and follow one of the main four island hopping tours in a linear path a good tip  is to leave an hour late to avoid any crowds.

Pictures of El Nido Island Hopping

There are three types of transportation that will to get to El Nido as you can:

Travel by Land

1. Air-con Shuttle Van:  Take one of the air-con mini vans from Puerto Princessa’s new market bus station between 6 and 9 AM in the morning and 1 to 2PM in the afternoon.  Costs are 600 pesos (±$12) per person and the trip takes 6-8 hours. Possibility to make reservations (best for afternoon trips) via phone at: +63(0)9209815702 or +63(0)9172762875.
2. Local Bus: Take the local non-aircon daily bus that Leaves Puerto Princessa’s new market bus station everyday at around 8 AM for El Nido and costs P350 pesos (±$7) per person. BEWARE as these buses are packed to the brim with people (or livestock) standing inside or on top. Windows are nonexistent so expect to be covered in a dirt  by the time of your arrival. Trip Takes from 8 to 12 hours depending on weather and how many flat tires to change. Eulen Joy Bus phone: +63(0)9197162210 or Sweety Bus phone: +63(0)919711922.
3. Private Van for Hire: These can be arranged in Puerto Princesa on any given day but the prices are steep around P10,000 (±$200) and can fit around 8 people. Not too bad if you are travelling in a group. Trip Takes 5-8 hours depending on how many stops you want to make.

Travel by Boat

1. Sabang – Port  Barton – El Nido Banca route: These boats on run regularly during high season for around P1,500.00 to P2000/person (±$30-40) . Trip takes around 7 hours.
2. Manila to El Nido:  San Nicholas Shipping Lines (phone: +63(0)9182161764) and Atienza Shipping Lines (phone: +63(0)9274066036) make  trips 2-3 times a week for around P1,200.00 (±$25). Trip takes ±30 hours
   

Travel by Air

1. Manila- Elnido: daily flighs with ITI. One way is around is P8,000 (±$165)
2. Manila – Puerto Princesa: Daily flights with Cebu Pacific, Seair, Air Philippines or ZestAir.  One way from P1000-4000 (±$15-50)

View from on one of the islands of Pagdanan Bay

Port Barton is located midway between Puerto Princesa and El Nido on Palawan’s Northwest coast. This lovely little coastal beach town’s activities are mostly geared towards island hopping, swimming, diving and snorkeling around Pagdanan Bay while the mainland offers some walking or hiking trips to discover several of the nearby waterfalls. The atmosphere is very laidback in Port Barton so don’t expect any nightlife outside of your resorts bar. We did heard of a small local bar that turns into a disco and stays opened late once a week on Saturdays when there are enough people. Attempting to go there at around 11PM we found it closed.

Map of the Puerto Princesa to Port Barton route

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Pictures of the Port Barton

Resorts of Port Barton

The bulk of the resorts of Port Barton are located along the town’s long white sand beach. Prices go cheap in this part of Palawan where beach front accommodations prices vary from 400 to 700 Pesos($8-12). Another positive note good to mention is that you definitely won’t feel like you’ve ended up in a tourist ghetto here as we didn’t encounter as much as 10 other tourists the time we were there. Alternatively there is also the option to stay at the Coconut Island Garden Resort which is located in 45 minutes by boat in the Bay itself for a more secluded island getaway experience (from 600 to 1200 pesos).

Pictures of the Summer Homes Resort

Island Hopping in Port Barton

Located in Pagdanan Bay, Port Barton it is the ideal place for those who love to do Island hopping. All the boats for hire are available from the Fair Trade Mariners Association of Port Barton where prices vary depending of the number of passengers, length of the trip or chosen tour destinations. Among the many islands of the bay at least 15 contain fine white sand beaches. Most are virgin and inhabited and since Port Barton is a low key tourist destination so you’ll most likely have those islands all to yourself. The water is often of a splendid turquoise color and always crystal clear so you will be able to see through several meters below. Bring snorkel or scuba gear as the marine life is abundant and the corals seem to be untouched.

Pictures Island Hopping in Pagdanan Bay

Getting to Port Barton from Puerto Princesa and back:

To travel the 150 KM that separate Port Barton from Puerto Princesa you can:

1. Take the local Jeepney that Leaves Puerto Princessa’s new market bus station everyday at around 10 AM for Port Barton and costs 250 pesos (±$5) per person.
2. If you arrive later in the day and don’t want to stay overnight in Puerto Princesa another option is to take a one of the many Jeepneys that are leave for Sabang from 7 AM to 3 PM (150 pesos) at the new Public Bus Terminal. You can then get on one of the boats to do the trip from from Sabang to Port Barton (800 pesos). Boats only leave in the morning so this means you will have to spend the night in one of the beach resorts in Sabang.
3. Take one of the many vans for hire that do the trip up to Roxas once they get full (200-300 pesos)  from where you can take afternoon Jeepney that goes to Port Barton (250 pesos). Depending how late in the day you arrive you could get stuck in Roxas. If so I would recommend to stay in the Coco Loco Island Resort overnight.
   
4. Private shuttles taxis can also be arranged for around 3-4,000($90) and can accommodate up to 6 persons with their luggage.

Pictures of the Roxas to Port Barton Jeepney ride

The view from the beach on a moody afternoon at Coco Loco island

The Coco Loco island and resort was certainly one of the highlights of my last trip to the Philippines. The seven hectares spec of land that make up this microscopic sized island consists but of two things. Flat land abundant with Coconut trees which is completely surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches that lead into the inviting crystal blue to turquoise green seas. All this with clear view of the lofty mountains of mainland Palawan in the background. Whats makes Coco Loco particularly special is that there’s only 34 cottages which are spread out through the island so its in no way overcrowded and you still kind of have a sense as if you were on your own. The entire island can be walked around at a relaxed pace in about 30 to 40 minutes so you get that castaway “away from it all” feel to it, a true Heaven on earth experience. The pictures don’t give justice to the place mainly due to covered skies where the absence of sunlight doesn’t let the colors look as vibrant as they really were.

Coco Loco Island

We hadn’t really planned to do anything on such a short stay so we played it very relaxed and carefree by the beach. Our only activity was swimming and snorkeling and it’s definitively an excellent place for that. You could snorkel right off the beach into what would seem like an aquarium full of tropical fish. Never seen quite something like this so for sure no need to rent a boat to do some quality snorkeling here. If you plan to stay there a while activities can be arranged such as island hopping, fishing, windsurfing, beach volleyball, kayaking, scuba diving or beginners diving courses (PADI).

Getting There

After a 2½ hours Van hire journey from Puerto Princesa on a paved road through the amazing and very unique Palawan scenery we arrived in the small Municipality of Roxas. Once at the Roxas’ wharf we proceed onto a banca for the last portion of the trip, a 40 minutes boat ride East onto the sea set to reach the paradisaic island of Coco Loco.

Map of Roxas to Coco Loco island and resort

Coco Loco Accommodation

The accommodations of Coco Loco resort are all made of traditional Filipino native style bamboo cottages. This means they are very basic but clean. Each one comes inside with the standard: The bed and its mosquito net, an electric fan, table and chairs, a bathroom with a non heated salty water shower and a flush toilet. The electricity is provided by the resorts generator which runs 12 hours a day from 6PM to 6AM. There is also a dive shop that also sells some souvenir items and a bar restaurant where guests can play billiard, ping pong, darts or watch cable TV.

Price and Food

The price is around P2,000 (roughly $40/€30) per person, per day and includes three meals“a la carte’” and boat transfers. Definitely a good run for your money for what you actually get at this resort, especially compared to other private island resorts of El Nido. This place stands out and is definitely recommended.

A view of Malapascua’s northern part of the island near Langob

Malapascua with its small proportions of 2½ KM long by 1KM wide is a tiny but beautiful tropical island lost 8KM into the Visayan sea just off Cebu’s port of Maya. Often compared to what Boracay looked like 20 years ago the major advantage of Malapascua over Boracay is while it’s every bit as beautiful it hasn’t been overrun by development and tourists yet. More laid back and calm It’s a nice place to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of life where you won’t find here any of those western style big hotels, trendy restaurants or nightclubs. What Malapascua island offers are a few beach-style bars with a crowd mostly made out of divers on Bounty beach.

The people come here for diving, enjoying the beach and nature glad to take life without the frills, away from clubs and all night partying. Don’t expect to see any jeepneys, much paved roads at all, tricycles or televisions. Just friendly locals living at their pace. Sitting and talking with each other as the children play on the beach. Most are fishermen or live from tourism by renting bancas for island hopping, snorkeling or diving. A fairly new diving destination since the nineties Malapascua gained popularity for being one of the few spots in the world where divers can be just about certain to sight Thresher Sharks, Manta Rays and White Tip Reef Sharks.

My stay on Malapascua island only lasted two days but were memorable. On the last day I’ve taken about five hours to roam around and do the complete tour of the island on foot at my own pace which was well worth the long walk. It is where you will find the prettiest beaches (around the village of Langob and Guimbitayan) and get a taste of the real local Filipino native lifestyle. Due to the lack of ressources online showing pictures of the island in its entirety I shared pictures of my little tour where some commentaries can be read when images are viewed in full screen.

Map of the Island of Malapascua, Province of Cebu, Philippines

The banca ride from Maya to Malapascua

The crossing from the port of Maya on the tip of Cebu to Malapascua (under 50 pesos) takes 30 to 40 minutes by banca. Be sure to plan in advance and arrive not too late because it gets hard to find a boat past 5PM. Keep in mind that the ride from Cebu City to Maya will take ± 3½ to 4 hours by bus (under 100 pesos),  ± 2-3 hours by Van-Hire (under 150 pesos) or ± 2½ to 3 hours or by taking taxi depending on your bargaining skills and demand can range anywhere from 1000 to 2500 pesos.

Various Photos from Bounty Beach

The bulk of the accommodations and tourism takes place on and around Bounty beach. If you continue walking on the beach to the north a while you’ll go cross the two villages of Pansil and Indonacion. If you want to get away from the dive talk and tourists there are many resorts all around the island that will give you much more privacy in a more secluded area.

Photos going into Kabantangan

Leaving the end of Bounty beach to go inland following what would become a narrow path with ample vegetation leading me north of the island to the more remote village of Kabatangan.

Next stop Bakhaw

After Kabantangan just a few hundred meters later after a small hill you reach the village of Bakhaw

In and around the village of Bool

Just at the next beach cove a stone’s throw from Bakhaw is the next village of Bool

Bantigue Cove Beach Resort and Dive Shop

Just after Bool is probably the best resort to be located beach-wise if you are staying in Malapascua. A maximum of 10 couples can stay at the location assuring plenty of privacy with the best view.

Langob

Calm and and blue sea in perfect harmony with the blindingly white sands of this long stretch of sand. The opposite end of the island is definitely my favorite spot where no tourists are in sight.

Guimbitayan

At the other side of the strip of sand is where Guimbitayan lies where the beach is as pleasant

Guimbitayan

The walk up to the lighthouse tower which is Malapascua’s highest point on the Island

Walk back

Road from the lighthouse tower back to Malapascua’s biggest city Logon in the South

Walk back

Finally arriving in Logon, biggest city of Malapascua which is a few minutes from Bounty Beach

Named cristos about a dozen each year volunteer to be nailed to the cross by their hands and feet as a form of atonement and sacrifice (some for the 15th consecutive year) while about one thousand others called mamalaspas come to take part in self flagellation ritual. The Catholic church typically frowns upon such practices but cannot forbid them as many of those participating do it to thank God for a son or relative cured from a life threatening disease.

Arriving in San Fernando for the Good Friday celebrations 2008 dubbed as Maleldo ’08

Here a group of penitents stripped to the waist performing self flagellation

After a while of whipping themselves they start the 4 KM long procession to the cross

The sharpened bamboo whips are often tipped with sharp objects to facilitate the cut and bloodying of their backs.

More penitents passing in by a Sari-Sari store with a crowd waching

Get used to the idea that it will be impossible for you to keep your clothes free of blood since those blood soaked bamboo sticks are swinging left and right from the hundreds of mamalaspas participants.

There seems to be a never ending stream of processions passing by…

To give another aspect of the self flagellation ritual here is a short video of the procession we took that day.

Eventually the mamalaspas make it to the Holy Cross Crucifixion site

Paying their respects

Some people among the crowd preaching to Gospel

First volunteer to be crucified

The reenactment of the Vin Crucis includes Filipino Roman soldiers on horses

The start of the most realistic passion play where the participants are willing to be nailed to the cross.

Filipino Roman centurions arrive to prepare the cross for the penitent

The first Cristos approaches

While The media zoo watches…

He first is tied onto the cross

Then one approaches with a six inch nail in his hand

Once both hands are nailed the holy cross is raised from the ground

Then firmly fixated

Here is a close up of The hand nailed to the cross

After the hands of course comes the feet. Here The Roman soldier is looking for the right spot where to nail his feet to the cross while sustaining to the devotee as minimal damage as possible.

A hammer is used for this delicate “operation”

You can see here both feet are nailed to the cross (more clearly if you click to see in full sized mode)

Frontal view of the now fully crucified penitent completing his true test of his faith to God. The festival is now at its climax.. The same ritual awaits about a dozen more to come.

The way back was anything but easy with the thousands of people all trying to leaving a the same time. On this small little street we were cramped like sardines and the boiling heat didn’t do anything to help.

It became very quickly impossible to move at all forwards and since we had a few kilometers to walk to get back to the car we changed plans and decided to take a little break from the heat.

PLAN B: Finding ourselves a calm side street and a cold beer

Leif & me having a toast

Quickly some residents offered us some taste of true Filipino hospitality where a bench and food arrived.

Our guests kept arriving with more food and were eager to talk about our experience

We eventually made it out alive but the scorching sun had left its mark on us all

Finally back in the car processions were everywhere to be seen in Pampanga

A closer look at what what they are hauling

Back at the hotel looking myself in the mirror I noticed that four hours in the boiling Filipino summer heat and especially that scorching sun had indeed left me with a mark to bear for the next few days…

Alona beach, Panglao Island

Connected by a short bridge and located right at the southwest tip of Bohol is where you will find the small island of Panglao.

A very short distance from the port of Tagbilaran it is home to some lovely white sand beaches but Panglao is mostly renowned internationally for being a tropical paradise for divers.

This is the pleasant view I had eating a late breakfast at my resort and trying to figure out how I should spend what was left of my last day in Panglao

I then decided to have a stroll down the Alona beach to look for an idea

A small banca on the way

Here some more, they actually are everywhere along the beach

I eventually saw a few motorbikes for hire and a guide offered me to take a tour around the island so off I went on a scooter. Every possible form of transportation is for hire in the Philippines and you will find no shortage of offers to do pretty much anything you want.

My first stop was at a roman catholic church that we crossed on the way

No idea what this was but I took a picture as I was intrigued

Back on the road crossing one of those Filipino tricycle

The beaches of the northern part of Panglao island

Low tide at this time of day

Native kids playing along the beach

Back on the road again

The Hinagdanan underground Cave is a cool little spot if you want to take a break from the heat and take a dip in the lagoon filled with freshwater

local kids seem to love diving into the 9 foot deep waters

Very hard to take proper pictures with my little Canon Ixus camera but the Panglao cave is filled with stalactites and stalagmites

More tricycles for hire on the way

Next stop the Panglao mini-zoo

some of the varieties of birds it holds

But it’s not limited to birds there are of course other animals though the highlight if you happen to be lucky enough to arrive just at the right time is the boa that’s fed once a week a live piglet

This time direction: Bohol Bee Farm

Me with a few bees

School’s out

Our last stop was at my favorite beach the Dumaluan

Longer & wider than the Alona with less development is one of the reasons

Also you’ll see friendly local faces there. The Dumaluan beach resort rents huts there for 150 pesos per day and tents for 350 if you want to stay overnight so you’ll feel like you actually are in the Philippines and not on some beach in Spain surrounded by Caucasians. That was the main downside I found of staying at Alona Beach.

This is where I was suggested to go but I strongly recommend to book in advance since it was full when I wanted to do reservations there

The vast majority of resorts are located on the southwest coat along the 1 km long Alona beach. This portion of the island is more geared towards divers though and if you rather have a larger & longer beach in a more quiet area I would recommend the northern resorts on Dumaluan Beach, Bolod beach, Momo beach or Duljo beach. A few others on the Eastern portion are available where you can find the San Isodro beach, Bikini beach, and Libaong beach. Nowhere near as busy it’s a great spot to relax and get away from it all.

Back on Alona beach a few hours later trying to pick what I want to eat from the seafood displayed. Certainly fresh as some of it was still moving

Living seashell

Again the evening finishing late at around 5AM with the company of some tourists and expats

My last Cebu Pacific flight going back to Manila

Tagbilaran view from the air

The island of Bohol here on the Loboc river cruise

Bohol the tenth biggest island of the Philippines (out of ± 7107) is situated just south of Cebu city has a wide array of possible attractions. The thing I loved about it is that you can start (and end) your days laid back on a fabulous white sand beach enjoying a Piña Colada while feeling you’ve actually done some mileage and accomplished something during the daytime. There is a lot exploring to do on the ever changing scenery of this captivating island.

We had an early start and departed from the Cebu city harbor at 6:00 AM with the fast ferry that reached the town of Tagbilaran in Bohol in just around 2 hours. This is by far for the price the best solution if you don’t want to lose half a day or more just reaching your destination. The small island of Panglao where all the best beach resorts are is just a 20-30 minute ride from Tagbilaran. Now to get there the easiest way is to hire a car (you will be submerged with offers as soon as you walk off the pier) that will get you there for 200-300 pesos. It’s also a good idea to bargain for a driver for the day from the harbor since the prices will be cheaper than if you hire one via the hotel resorts of Panglao by 30-50%. Don’t be in a hurry the prices will go down from the initial 1500 to 700-800 in no time…

Now since a picture is worth a thousand words lets have a look at the Bohol portion of the trip shall we?

One of many Super Cat ferries at the Cebu harbor

Approaching the Bay of Tagbilaran

Inside Tagbilaran city (not my picture but I really loved the colorful tricycles featured in it)

Scenery of the island of Bohol

Driving in direction of Panglao island where we will be staying

8:30 AM finally arrived at the Lost Horizon resort

Now facing the other side..Not all that bad is it?

Catching a glimpse of one side of Alona beach

Ok, after a little walk around the beach time for breakfast then back on the road we go

First stop: The Loboc river floating restaurant cruise

A really great experience for 250 pesos per person you get the all-you-can eat buffet with a small band playing on board while the boat slowly passes by the dense vegetation and mountains surrounding the river. You should also be charmed by the small pittoresque nipa (palm tree) huts here and there along the way and especially the local kids swinging from the palm trees and diving into the water a mere few meters away from the boat. Just before the U-turn at the end of the river you’ll get a live performance of a mix of adults playing the yukalaylee and kids singing among other songs the “welcome, to my native land” with a slight touch of Cebuano accent.

A view of the buffet and the band in the back getting ready to play some music

Van-Van pouring herself some soup

View of the boat from my seat

Hey it seems I am in good company! Feels good to be out of Cebu city at last during Vanessa’s day off work

Crossing another boat on its way back

And two more it seems there are quite a few of these running around

Bathers on the way… Notice the contrast in colors of the river

I would guess this is due to the rainy season & its rainfalls that bring mud into the water

Local kids going for a dive from the palm trees as the rain starts to fall. The good thing with tropical weather is this never really last long. By the time we get on the way back it will be all but a distant memory…

Going a bit more upstream

Here we stop for a halt to hear some locals playing music

And back we go

Now the next stop one of the countries most popular destinations : The Chocolate Hills

These quite unique 1260 or so 40 meters high hills are believed to have been formed by Limestone & coral deposit that were sculpted by thousands of years of erosion. They actually are pretty green at this time of year and not chocolate as their named would make you believe. This only occurs during the end of the dry season when the vegetation on the hills is roasted brown.

Rice field

The local inhabitants version of the origins of these hills is a bit more romantic since the legend goes that they were calcified tears of a Giant who was heartbroken by the death his Mortal lover. Here are more pictures of the Chocolate Hills in from all sides taken from on top of the view point:

Me at the hanging bridge over the Sipatan river (with as I noticed later by zooming in two Filipinos nicely posing in the back)

The Tarsier: Often referred as the worlds smallest monkeys at around 10 cm tall they are in fact more closely related to lemurs with their weird looking over sized eyes

Here is a cute little tarsier couple

Me with two of my new gremlin looking friends

The two of them alone

Each one of these little tarsier creatures eye is in fact bigger than its brain

Not too lively during the day as they are active at night only

Blood compact site depicting the scene where Spaniard Colon Legazpi & tribal chief Sikatuna officially ceased hostilities with the symbolic gesture of making ‘one blood’ by mixing both their bloods with wine and drinking to their new peace agreement.

Cebu city also nicknamed ‘Queen of the South’ is the second largest city of the Philippines.

It has few attractions compared to it’s big sister Manila and most of the ones it has have to do with Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival here and consequently the birth of Catholicism in the Philippines, the Santo Nino Cathedral, the Carbon market (the biggest and liveliest) & Colon Street which is the oldest street of the country and more or less the town’s center.

It’s also of course more laid back and calmer but that wasn’t for me a bad thing for me as I could feel the previous week of drinking was slowly taking its toll and it was time for a break.

I arrived at the Mactan airport of Cebu after dark with a few suggestions of places to stay when in Cebu city. The sight of a tourism & accommodations desk while waiting for my luggage changed my initial plan of just taking a cab to one of those hotels. This turned out to be a good decision since both the Northwinds hotel and the Business park hotel I was suggested were fully booked. I was surprised of this as we’re still in the monsoon (or wet) season which is the lowest for tourism.

I eventually found with the help of the staff something suitable in the city near Fuente Osmena Circle but a bit more expensive that I had expected so a good advice book in advance.

Executive room I had to move in on the last night (everything else full)  in Hotel Asia for cost the of more or less €40

Schoolgirls waiting for public transportation to go home on Osmena Boul.

Osmena Boulevard street scene

Me in front of Santo Nino Cathedral

Vanessa who I met on day one in Cebu here touring me around her city

This is the spot where Ferdinand Magellan planted his cross in 1521 . Historic attraction as this is the only Catholic country of Asia.

Candle lighting for prayers next to Santo Nino

Small streets around carbon market

Cebu is where one can find the most colorful jeepneys of all the Philippines.

inside view from a jeepney

looking outside

Ninos Church next to cross of Magellan at dusk

Larsian: The biggest local eatery lined up with an impressive amount of number of barbecue stands

Having a seat enjoying some of that great fresh BBQ!

Busy day and night it offers pretty much every possible choice of BBQ meat: Chicken, Pork, Fish, Squid, etc..

View of part of Cebu from ‘Top hills’ spot at night

Tired but happy having a late meal. Tomorrow finally starts the trip to Bohol…

The biggest eatery of Cebu city

Situated around 350 km down south from Manila in the Visayas, Boracay is a fabulous beach destination to discover. Sized only at 7 km long by 2 wide it’s a relatively small tropical island that has lots to offer. Just to see it’s 4km long famous white beach is well worth the trip it but the island by itself has around 30 beaches and coves for you to chose and discover. Some are easy of access by foot while others require a bit of swimming to be reached. Alternatively renting out a banca will take you around all of them and beyond. Virtually unknown 25 years ago it has fast grown into one of the Philippines most prized destination. Boracay comes from the the word ‘borac’ which is cotton in English referring to the texture and color of it’s sand.

The previous nights sleep was short (about 2½ hours) and as we left our hotel in Manila at around 5 am I was still in a dreamy state wondering if on my arrival if the water would be as pristine & if the sand really had that white powder feel like it looked on the pictures I had seen.

The quick one hour flight from Manila to Kalibo with Cebu Pacific Air went well and we were entertained by the crew and their famous on board guessing games. As usual the plane was about 30 minutes late but who would really notice anyways since we’re on Filipino time…

Juts before boarding the flight still pretty much sleepy as can be

From there you’re in for another 90 minutes car or bus ride to the ferry terminal that’s on the northern tip of the main island. It’s actually not that bad since it gave me my first glimpse of Filipino provincial life which is very different from the one of the Capital. You can if you are in a hurry fly directly from Manila to Caticlan flight with Asian Spirit or SeAIR and skip the 90 minutes transfer on smaller 20-30 seated aircrafts. The Caticlan runway is as short as it gets and only these kids of aircrafts would be able to land and depart from.

Now comes the final part of our journey the 20 minutes Banca ride to Boracay which was quite a fun experience to board one of those vessels onto the sea:

Leaving the Banca ferry terminal

As a few other Bancas approach

View of the main island from the sea

View from inside the banca

Land at last ! Here we are approaching Boracay

First glimpse of Boracay is quite impressive

And now after checking in at our hotel time to actually go and take a first hand look (and snap a few pictures) of the famous White Beach.

Final verdict ?

I was totally overwhelmed by its beauty! It’s the kind of place that you would only imagine possible to be true in Martini advertisements… But its booming, Leif who had been there just three years previously could hardly recognize a lot of the places. Every square foot of beach front left seem to have been almost bought and developed. A walk along the palm trees will reveal restaurants serving food from corner of the globe: German, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Caribbean, Scandinavian, etc. you name it! The old native style bamboo huts are almost all gone and what’s left is a modern strip of hotels with everything from small bars to all out night raves and discos.

Ah yes this isn’t the worst place to be stranded is it?

more or less in front of our hotel

The other side with me unable to open my eyes due to the blazing sun

More of white beach at station 2 & 3

And now for a bumpy tricycle ride up to the top of the island on Mount Luho which is the highest point of Boracay which is around 100 meters high. The round trip should take you just under an hour.

From where you can an excellent good view of the island and its surrounding

I am finally able to open my eyes a bit at last here

Now for a look all around the different sides of Mount Luho

Monkeys on mount Luho

Pickpockets!

Cute looking little monkeys aren’t they ?

Even one peso coins gets them going

Divers returning on White Beach

Now for a White beach station 2 & 1 picture flood…

A feel of walking around the island

White Beach at station one

The extreme northern tip of white beach

Diniwib beach

Balinghai Beach

Pictures of the sunset at Boracay

Picture from one of Leif’s friend home, a native woman that was one of the first to come in Boracay here 2o+ some years ago living with Bill, an American that left to visit Asia in 1972 and never made it back home.

You can rent one of their rooms here for the year at $2500. The Zone is wi-fi as most staying here make money from the internet working at home.

and after sunset the hostilities start & our first night of two nights out…

My mistake here telling the Canadian owner/bartender that his drinks were a bit light since a bottle of local Tanduay Rhum is 40 pesos in a sari-sari store (PS: 1$ CAD = 45 pesos today).
We Both woke up still drunk hopefully an Australian couple we had met the day before had a hangover cure the next day for us.

Another beautiful day at the beach doing just about nothing…

There are many activities possible though that range from: scuba diving, horse riding, kayaking, island hopping, renting motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and much more, etc.

And here our last night together already well in full gear…

Leif had of course to take over the bar and prepare his own special drinks to our new half Filipino but swiss raised friend that had a little time off while his girlfriend was sleeping.

Ready when you are

Ok light it up !

1-2-3.. GO!

Job DONE! Now the hardest part inhaling the alcohol fumes

And our last stop at an unnamed bar.

PS: notice the nice girls in the back

These are the Very very obvious trannies you can only see coming out late at night … Others are very hard to differentiate.

Be very careful what you bring back with you. The previous day two Arabs we talked to late at night(one from Dubai & the other from Saudi Arabia) seemed to clueless they were picking up ladyboys. I am sure they were in for quite some surprise…

That was quite the inside joke of the night.

Leif’s forces slowly dying out. Can’t blame him, its after all his last day of his 3rd week in the Philippines.

Trannie Alert!

Last picture took of Leif before he leaves to bed. His flight is earlier than me & he must be awake by 5 AM to be among the first to chose his seats online for the plane to Norway. Gladly I stayed on a bit

A quick stolen picture of my last day in Boracay having brunch with the lovely presence of Anne Sy (quite a pretty Filipino/Chinese I met the evening before). Leif’s presence has been at last upgraded !

Life is very harsh for some… Raised solely by her grandma and struggling to survive she came 2 months previously to Boracay where the tourism jobs are booming. Still not much to eek out a living for a single mother but they never like to be taken in pity. They accept what fate brings them.. I could imagine a few worst places to be obliged to live while being poor anyways

She said hello last week online so I had to do her justice & add her into my pictures with a more proper one of her.

A few hours later I was on my way for Cebu city. This time I left from from the small airport of Caticlan with Asian Spirit airlines. The flight was one hour late this time & aboard a tiny aircraft. I was a bit uneasy since instead of the usual English emergency exit writing inside this model was all in Russian. Made me think I was boarding some old USSR Aeroflot aircraft. The speakers also made very a weird sound.

A few last pictures of various boats in Boracay

It sure is different than anything else that I’ve experienced before but if you’re like me and only seen North America & Western Europe it’s quite understandable that you’ll be in for a surprise. At around 16 million inhabitant in the day time and countless undocumented residents Manila is the biggest city of South-East Asia and actually ranks 19 one the list of the world’s most populous metropolitan areas. So it’s not a small place to start off in Asia but the first thing that yo notice you as you get out is the boiling heat! Especially when arriving from a very chilly October Paris morning the day before as I embarked onto this journey…

Then the airport itself. Arrivals are sealed off from any visitors by the police. You actually have to cross the street from it to where the greeting sections is to meet family or friends which is split by last names alphabetic order. After that came my first taste of the local police “customs”. My flight was 30 minutes early and none was there to pick me up as planned. To make things worst my cell phone didn’t work in the Philippines and after waiting waiting a while a cop noticed me and asked me if I needed help. He was kind enough to have one of them keep my luggage while he took me to a sari-sari and help me buy and get my a new local SIM card activated & working on my cell. How nice of him I though taking all that time to help me get things done but of course after that he was quite adamant about wanting a tip. Estimations put the figure of their income as 10% of their official salary & 90% of bribes and other extras. This is the one of the few downsides of the Philippines but hey don’t get me wrong in their vast majority it is hard to find people as hospitable and nice as the Filipinos. Besides two or three of these sorts of encounters with the police and a few cab drivers that refuse to put on meters there’s been nothing but kindness.

Also be prepared with the idea of seeing guns everywhere as armed security guards are in front of virtually any restaurant, shop, bar, bank, gas station, etc. Further more you will be frisked & your bags checked whenever entering a mall.

So don’t worry if a pistol-grip shotguns armed security guard opens you the door of a Mc Donald’s, at least you’ll know your safe from the threat of the Hamburgler coming to rob the joint!

Anyways to get back to my arrival story… Two hundred pesos lighter I was able to reach Leif on his cell who was stuck in a more than usual heavy traffic and had been for on his way for about 2 hours already. They soon arrived and offered me my 1st San Miguel for the long trip back to our hotel that would take another 2+ hours.

We eventually took a break and went for some food in the middle of that as we weren’t getting anywhere and the heat and pollution was slowly wearing us down.

The other thing to get used to in Manila is the way of driving where red lights are considered as suggestions and lanes there for mere decoration. I was surprised to see my Norwegian friend take the wheel sometimes and master quite well the whole driving concept of the Philippines.

Finally arriving at the Camelot hotel of Quezon City (one of the sixteen cities that compose the Municipality of Manila) and well greeted by the staff. My 10% rebate for being a friend of ‘Sir Leif’ was effective immediately. The good thing about the Camelot is it’s Dungeon bar downstairs that has some excellent live music. Making it a great place to start your evening or otherwise just have a calm night without having to go very far.

And now for a few snapshots of inside my room

The price is around 1300 Philippines Pesos per day (30$ or 20€)

Quick view outside the room’s window

A little view of the city of Makati taken from the Conway’s bar outside terrace

Another picture this time facing the other side of Makati the rich financial & commercial hub of Manila

Shangri-La hotel and its bar with all u can drink beer/cocktail/wine for 500 pesos (7euros) from 5 to 9pm (very pricey by Filipino standards)

Not a bad looking is it the Shangri-La Hotel Makati (prices for rooms start at about 12 times what I paid at my hotel)

After a first night in the center of Manila we headed for a more relaxed evening in the Marikina valley which is on the outskirts of Manila

A little fresh air and a bucket of 6 San Miguel light what can you ask more for 200 or so pesos ($4.60 or 3.20€)

Not always easy to follow those Viking drinking habits for a week ( 6 days on, 1 off). Leif-Gunnar’s trademark expression: “Vince, this is no f****** vacation colony” slowly but surely took all its meaning as the days went on…

Don’t these two make a nice couple! An ecstatic Leif showing his is true blue love for San Mig Light!

and now me getting explained the basics in Filipino food

Back in our hotel with Leif’s friend who plays in a band downstairs our hotel at the dungeon bar that has some awesome music.
I was extremely surprised with the quality of the bands that played in Manila. Actually of all the Philippines.. Awesome rock cover bands.Reminds me the good old 80′s ( I know I’m getting old ) where is was all about live music and not some lame boom-boom/DJ music like its mostly all over now.

The famous Jeepneys of the Manila ! The local public transportation buses. A modified longer version of the world war II American military jeep with lots of flashy colors added. Each has its own specific name on the front and the routes they take is written on the sides. So just hail one as it passes by to hop on the 12 pesos fare shouldn’t ruin too much your budget.

Another cheap alternative (15-20 pesos) to the Jeepney is the Filipino tricycle which is simply is a motorcycle with a sidecar.

rear view

Here’s a look closer look at what a tricycle looks like from the inside & out

The staff from the hotel bar who invited us for an afternoon BBQ at their home that went on into the evening… I got to say its hard to find people as hospitable and nice as the Filipinos. That evening was one of the best…

lovely little shrine right next to our hosts home

Four cases of San Miguel later the discussion went on strong about Stewart’s experience about his ongoing year and a half off world trip around the world

Here comes the Balot!

Balot eating techniques explained by a professional (read my previous post if you have no clue of whats going on)

Pictures of trendy greenbelt of Makati. Nice to see with all the nice bars, restaurants, etc. but too much like US/European of a place.

Here are some of the restaurants of greenbelt: Sentro

Ebun…

& Portico

PS: a suspected car bomb exploded the day of my arrival to Cebu next to it in the Glorietta mall parking. 8 dead few hundred wounded.

Bubba Gump shrimp co. Another themed bar ( Filipinos love them) from the Forest Gump movie

The hobbit house is a Lord of the ring themed bar on Mabini Street. What makes this bar special is that all the staff & even the owner that runs the joint are midgets which makes its theme of a fantasy hobbit tavern even more real… A must see. Added to that there’s also live acts playing there daily that range from folk music to stand up comedy depending on the evening.

Here is a friend Sheila who was nice enough to come along with us twice. Oh what a pretty sight she was….

Guard at intramuros the oldest part of Manila with fortress and buildings dating from the Spanish era

here is the San Augustin church in intramuros

and during the daytime

The entrance to Intramuros

The Manila Cathedral

Goodbye Manila for now… Time to embark on our journey to the tropical Island of Boracay!