The Philippines

A beautiful trip, definitely want to see more…

An amazing journey to the Philippines

It’s a civilised time to leave Mancheser airport and Singapore Airlines efficiently leaves on time. We’re pleasantly surprised by the seat pitch and room at the back of the plane. Service was good but there’s no getting away from the fact it’s a 13 hour flight, so even the latest films, two meals, drinks and snacks galore, you’re gonna get bored! We arrive in tact at Singapore and there’s not alot of time to our next connection but ever efficient Singapore helps us change terminals in super quick time and we catch our next flight with time to spare. It’s just 3 and a half hours to Manila but we are now exhausted, arriving a full day and a half later to this mad Asian City.

Mad Manila

We’ve organised a pick up from Manila. We know we’ve paid over the odds but its just comforting to know that after a long long flight we don’t have to worry. We’re quickly introduced to the manic traffic in Manila. There doesn’t appear to be any rules on the road, it’s a free for all, but the driver seems to know what he is doing. We’re so tired when we get to the hotel, right in the centre of Malate district, we go to sleep for a few hours despite wanting to explore. There’s no specific agenda for the rest of the day what’s left of it, but we head over to China Town, hoping for good food. It takes a while in the busy traffic and it’s nearly dark when we get there. China Town looks like it’s closing up which seems odd and we walk along dark streets feeling a little vulnerable with two teenage daughters and getting alot of attention. Although we dont feel threatened as such, it’s not pleasant and we’re still too tired and disorientated so we give in and go to one of the many American influences in the city into a well known fast food chain for tea , not really what we wanted but it was easy and head back to the hotel.

Martin rises really early as his body clock hasn’t adjusted and goes out wandering into the streets at dawn. The city is waking up and there’s alot of activity with street sellers setting up stalls but the pavements are full of families and people sleeping still, which is quite shocking, as this is obviously their home for the night. When he gets back we’re all up and ready for breakfast to make up some time and get a morning’s sightseeing in our short time in Manila before our flight to El Nido. We’re happy to walk and experience the street life, full of people and street sellers selling fruit, and the roads full of tricycles and colourful jeepneys, haphazardly going to their many destinations. We’re still shocked at the few families still on the pavements, packing up their belongings from their night’s sleep. We walk towards the hardbour and we’re soon hot and sweaty in the 30 degrees heat and it’s only early. We jump in a taxi to take us to Rizal Park which is no cooler but very pleasant. We take cover in the Natural History Museum, an interesting looking building and end up on the top floor looking at the flora and fauna and animals we might encounter on our visit to the islands later in our trip. We start walking back towards the hotel and start looking for a Jeepney but none seem to be going in our direction so jump in a motorcycle car. It’s a bit of a squeeze and Martin has to sit behind the driver. It doesn’t feel safe but thankfully it’s not far to go, can’t say it was comfortable and you couldn’t see an awful lot (maybe that was a good thing). It’s been a very short introduction to Manila that promised so much given more time and someone to help you cut through the noise and traffic.

Flying to El Nido

Manila domestic airport is one of the busiest we’ve seen, not very big but every seat is taken with people sitting on every space on the floor. All flights are delayed, including ours, and I get the distinct impression, this is very normal! We wished we’d brought food as the queues at the few food outlets are long so we end up boarding without lunch. Air Swift is a small 72 person flight, the only carrier currently flying to El Nido. It’s a new plane, clean and professional and takes just over an hour. There are spectacular views over the sea and islands as we come into El Nido and a wonderful landing as if you are coming into the sea before just at the last minute landing on the short sandy runway, fantastic.

We retrieve our suitcases and queue for the motorised tricycles, we need two of them for the four of us and our luggage. It’s a bumpy ride and our tricycle comes across a troupe of monkeys on the road, Sophie and I shriek in delight. The tricycles get us into town and then we are picked up by two more tricycles from our hotel and it’s an even bumpier ride to Calan Beach. We close our eyes when the trikes turn off the main road down a tiny narrow alleyway (not sure how it fit to be honest) that comes out right on the beach, then along a really narrow path for a good 10 minutes before we reach the Calan Beach Resort. Resort sounds grand, but it’s a small hotel with a view to die for. We feel blessed being put in the two wooden chalets closet to the beach, in fact, the main wooden varanda looks right onto the beach and the stunning Cadloa Island sitting right in front of us, part of the Bacuit Archipelago that visitors come to see. We’re welcomed with a beer which is well received after our hot, dusty drive. Rooms are basic but clean with a worringly electric shower powered by an open plug! Only in South East Asia! After freshning up we’re keen to explore the town and decide to walk into town for food. El Nido town itself has a backpacker vibe to it and we find a Thai place right on the beach with cold beers and good food.

Beautiful boat tours

We’re up really early, early enough to see the sun rise and the changing colours across the low tide and boats already starting to go out, probably the early fishermen. Breakfast has a stunning view on the veranda and its simple fruit, eggs and toast combinations. We gather our own snorkels but choose flippers from the hotel’s selection and wait for our guide. There are many boats leaving from the town but we’d booked with the hotel as the boat leaves right outside and all the trips do the same thing and cost the same, you choose from Tours A, B, C and D, the government has regulated the places the tours can visit in an attempt to retain the beauty and sustainability of this beautiful place and coastguards keep an eye that this is being adhered to. Tours A and C are the most popular. We’re booked on Tour C today. We’re hoping ours is a small group, and it is, there’s just another four on our boat. We wade to the boat which is far out in the low tide, getting shorts wet in the process and wishing we’d opted for the swimming shoes (definitely wear these instead of flip flops).

El Nido

The limestone islets and rock formations in the blue waters are pretty stunning and remind me of Thailand’s islands and in parts, of Halong Bay in Vietnam. We sail past Helicopter Island and stop off for snorkelling near one of the limestone ridges. It’s deep water and we can see coral and fish of all types. Next we stop at Secret beach which is not very secret as every boat stops there! Even so you have to swim through a small rocky entrance and discover a hidden little cove of pristine white sand and clear turquoise waters as warm as bath water. After another stop for snorkelling and another hidden beach we stop at Tapiutah Island for lunch. The guides cook up fish, pork and rice on the boat and serve with a selection of fruits and salad on the beach. Locals appear from nowhere on kayaks selling beers and cokes from cool boxes. I’m impressed that despite the many boats and all serving lunch, the beaches are left pristine afterwards as the boats take all their litter with them. A final swim and then its an enjoyable boat trip back to shore sitting on the front of the boat, a gorgeous memorable day. Not wishing to risk the electric showers in our rooms we shower outside and then head into El Nido on the hotel’s free tricycles for dinner, and find of all things a Greek restaurant and it’s quite good!

Today is a day of relaxation by the pool and watching the ever changing views from our seafront verandah, just amazing. We have lunch in town and then come back for swimming in the hotel’s small swimming pool. Martin unfortunately slips when getting out of the pool and badly strains a muscle. He’s laid up with ice and has to get a take out for tea. Me and the girls go into town and try the popular pizza restaurant the hotel recommends and it doesn’t disappoint. There seems to be every type of food imaginable in the Philippines but not alot of Philipino food! How strange.

21st birthday in El Nido

It’s Sophie’s 21st birthday today! Martin is still hobbling and in alot of pain so unfortunately is going to miss the day’s boat trip, Tour A, which I’d pre-booked in the UK. It’s a busier boat today as Tour A is the most popular tour by far. We remember to pick up swimming shoes this time and straight away it’s much easier walking through the shallows to the boat. If your tour doesn’t provide them, it’s worth picking some up. We stop soon for snorkelling and our guide is great, taking us to the best places to see fish. He takes hold of our go pro and dives deep to take videos of the fish and colourful coral. Next they take us to a secret lagoon where you literally have to swim through a hole in the rock face to see a small lagoon with tall walls creating a magical scene, very beautiful. Highlight of the day though is the Big Lagoon. They only let so many people in it at a time to protect the environment so boats have time slots and to enter you have to go in kayaks. It is the most beautiful spot, the water is so blue and clear and the green limestone peaks surrounding it make it something like out of a Walt Disney set. After all the swimming and kayaking we’re ready for lunch and the guides once again prepare fresh fish, chicken, seafood, salads and fruit on Shimizu Island and we grab drinks from one of the boat sellers that appear. Final stop of the day is a beautiful spot at 7 Commando Beach where we also do more snorkelling and where Laura and our guide spot a turtle swimming. A fantastic end to a fantastic day. We’d only booked these two boat tours but in hindsight maybe we should have done Tours B and D too, they’re so good! We take birthday photos at sunset on the beach and then we manage to get Martin into town on a motorised trike to the pizza restaurant for Sophie’s birthday tea, then it’s presents and cake. What a 21st!

Big Lagoon, El Nido

Sunset and cocktails at La Cabanas

Today we were meant to be going to Nacpan Beach but Martin is still struggling so we decide to chill by the pool, after all we’re in an amazing spot anyway. Later we get the motorised trikes into town. Ours struggles to get up from the beach up the hill so we have to get out, then it tips up. Martin instinctively goes to help and ends up falling again on his bad leg, injuring his knee further! We manage to get him back in the trike and head over to La Cabanas Beach to watch the sunset. This place is becoming a modern complex and it’s hugely busy with people sat on the beach and in the bars sipping cocktails. Despite the crowds, the sunset is particularly impressive so worth going. We get trikes back into town for tea.

On the road to the jungle

Sadly it’s time to leave El Nido, it’s been spectacular and defintiely needs to be on your list when visiting the Philippines, it’s simply beautiful. We’ve arranged a private van transfer to our next place, the Atremaru Jungle Lodge, near Sabang. There are plenty of shared vans for 500 PhP each but we need the space for Martin’s bad leg. We’d shopped around and got one for 5000 PhP. It’s a windy but beautiful trip down to Sabang and with more time it would have been good to stop at other places such as Port Baton which look equally as beautiful. Atremaru is set right in the jungle and our lodge is huge. Built into its environment the high roofs negate the need for air conditioning, although the fans are definitley needed. The wide open air living space has views over the forest and sea beyond and we see and hear the birds and wildlife. Me and the girls set off to explore the jungle and the track down to the beach. There are steps initially which soon disappear into a rough path and we’re rewarded half way down spotting monkeys in the trees waching and following us. We lose the path at one point but pick it up again in a tiny hamlet where the chickens and cows roam in the rough ground. Eventually, sweating madly in the heat, we find the beach. It’s not a white sandy beach, but beautiful none the less. We don’t stay long however as we’ve not brought water and we realise we’ve got a long steep climb back up to the hotel. A cold beer is most definitely needed back at the top, as is a jump in the large swimming pool! We’re staying 3 nights at Atremaru and we knew we’d have to eat at the lodge as we’re sort of in the middle of nowhere. It’s quiet but the restaurant is ok and we’re happy to leave for bed early.

Sabang

Sabang

We get a taxi into the nearby town of Sabang. Sabang is a surprise, a small beach town but again beautiful white sandy beaches backed with green jungles. Sabang is mainly busy with people going on the popular Puerta Princessa Underground River Tour, something we’ll do tomorrow. Today we’re happy to explore Sabang. We join a small boat tour just out of town taking us through the Mangroves. It’s a really interesting hour in lovely surroundings and again we spot monekys and snakes this time as well as fish. Back at Atremaru we relax and swim. Sabang’s a really interesting place and well worth a visit.

Puerta Princessa Underground River Tour

Today we’re booked on the Puerta Princessa Underground River Tour, now a Unesco Heritage Site. We’re taken to Sabang where we get boats to take us to the other side of the mountain. Landing on the beach it’s a short walk to the entrance of the caves. It’s very well organised which is a good job as there’s alot of people. Each boat has a guide who then takes you to get helmets, life jackets  and your audio kit. We then get in smaller boats which are paddled by men day in and day out. The entrance of the cave is exquisite, again the limestone cliffs evident dramatically falling into the turquoise waters. The caves are big and the river is long but the audio is interesting and full of facts about the cave and the bats, birds and animals that live in it. The tour lasts about 45 minutes which gives you a taste of the size of the whole cave, it’s very impressive. Out of the caves and on dry land, monkeys have come down to see people and a monitor liziard, probably all hoping to get something to eat. Back on the boats again to Sabang we’re then taken for a buffet lunch and the option to go zip lining. But first it’s rock climbing to the top of the limestone hill and a zip line back down again. A bit of a tame one to be fair if you’ve done ziplines before! Back at Atremaru for swimming and tea.

Puerta Princessa Underground Caves

Flying to Cebu

We’re moving on again today, sadly leaving the wonderful island of Palawan, and a full day of travelling ahead. We’ve booked a taxi to take us to Puerta Princessa airport which is about an hour and 15 minutes away for our flight with Cebu Pacific to Cebu. There are buses but again we need the space for Martin to stretch his leg. We’re a bit late leaving but otherwise the flight is good and we arrive at lunch time in Cebu and it’s sooooo busy. We’ve got no transport arranged so we queue up at the taxi rank but we need a decent sized car for our 3.5 hour journey to Moalboal. It’s Easter Sunday today and it’s so busy on the streets, there are literally people everywhere. Families are out celebrating so the roads are extra busy and there are parades and celebrations in every town. The last hour gets a bit hairy as our driver starts to lose patience with the traffic and all the trikes on the roads he’s having to overtake. We finally arrive safely, tired and dustry. Picked this little hotel especially for the family, it’s called the Parrot Resort and they keep exotic birds including African greys and Macaws so it’s a big hit. But it’s also a lovely little oasis, really modern rooms, a lovely little pool and bar area and a self serve breakfast, probably the best breakfast we’ve had yet – nice! It’s a bit of a 15 minute walk into the main town area which isn’t really Moalboal at all, that’s on the main road but everyone calls it Moalboal. It’s a strange little place, there’s no beach as such in the town you have to go out a way to find the nice beaches but the town is right on the seafront. It’s very backpackerish again, but interesting none the less. Good diving here if you are interested.

Parrot Resort,

The next day we relax after our long travels, so after a lovely breakfast we swim and sunbathe and play with the parrots. We walk into town for lunch and do a bit of investigating about getting to Oslob to swim with the whalesharks. The hotel does a trip but it’s very expensive and we’re not coming back so we’re not looking for a day trip, we’re going on to Panglao on Bohol. Eventually we find someone who will take us down to Oslob and look after the luggage until we have finished swimming with the whalesharks and then take us to the boat for our transfer to Panglao. With that sorted we can relax.

Kawasan Falls

We’re happy to stay close by at the Parrot Resort, it’s a lovely place but in the afternoon the girls and I get a trike to Kawasan Falls. It’s a good 30 minute drive but very picturesque. It’s still busy with lots of traffic and lots of people, Cebu is much busier than Palawan, more built up with more towns and lots more traffic. From the entrance it’s a 20 minute walk to the falls (Martin definitely couldn’t have done this with his bad leg). Those wet shoes would have been useful here too, flip flops are a bit slippy. 45 PhP each to get in and there’s alot of locals, especially in the first pool. We get alot of attention for photographs and we watch people climbing to the top of the falls to jump in. There’s two more levels to climb up to. It’s very pretty and we stop to swim and take photos but we don’t jump from the cliffs although there are plenty that do!

Early start for Oslob

The alarm goes off at 3.30am and we pack to leave the Parrot Resort, it’s been a lovely three night stay, highly recommend it to anyone coming to Moalboal. The van arrives for us a little late but we’re on the road by 4.15 and an hour and half later we’re in Oslob. We’ve just paid for a transfer so then confusion rules as we have to pay and queue for our turn to swim with the whalesharks. Although it’s very early it’s amazing how many people are here already. We sit and wait for our number to be called and although it’s busy and confusing it’s actually very well organised. I sit with trepadation, as I wasn’t sure this was such a good idea, as it is definitely a tourist thing, feeding the mammals so they we can swim with them, although there’s alot of talk about not touching them and not wearing sun tan lotion so they are trying to do the right thing. We have to wait for about 40 minutes and I was worried the whalesharks would be full and go off for the day by the time we get in the boats. Armed with our wet bags and go pro our number is called and we’re kitted out in life jackets and snorkels and ushered down onto the beach. Those wet shoes would have been more useful than flip flops here! Our number is called again and we climb into the long narrow rowing boats – there’s no engines and it’s just 3 men rowing with about 8-12 in a boat and it’s pretty choppy so it can’t have been easy. We’re rowed off shore, bouncing on the swells to where the many other boats are. A small boat is feeding the whalesharks and we’re invited to get in the water, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. But oh my god when you jump in the whalesharks are just there right in front of you! Big, giant, gentle whales with wide open mouths scooping up the plankton. The swells bounce us around and it takes a little while to get used to the fact that there are lots of people in the water but even despite that there is no getting away from the fact this is an amazing experience. You can get so close to the whalesharks, literally eyeball to eyeball and they seem totally unphased by the amount of people in the water with them. Half an hour later our time is up and we have to climb back in the boat and it’s not even 8.30am. We find our driver and he takes us into Oslob town proper and to the departure point for the Apetik boat over to Pangloa. This is where the driver leaves us to drive back to Moalboal.

Boat to Moalboal

We’ve got a couple of hours now to wait until the boat leaves at 11.15am. Our luggage is taken over on a little boat to the main boat. It can take 72 people and will take 90 minutes for the crossing. There’s alot of bad reports about this crossing but this company seems to have a good reputation. When we leave the boat is full and although the sea looks calm it’s a rocky crossing and you can see alot of people are not keen. Fortunately we do arrive in one piece although i wouldn’t recommend this on anything but a calm day! When we arrive it’s a wait to get all 72 of us off the boat to the beach on little tenders and all our luggage and little trucks are waiting to take us into town. They’re charging 100PhP per person which is well over the odds but we’re now so tired we just want to get to Alona Beach. We’re dropped off right outside our final destination, Nora’s Place. It’s a sweet looking place but probably our most disappointing. The rooms are a bit old fashioned and not everything works. The compromise here was no breakfast but you do get a motorbike per room! I’m sure that’s the draw for many and it is useful when we found out we’re a good 15-20 minute walk into town but we’re not keen on the bikes as the roads are busy. I’d read and was expecting Bohol to be a peaceful island but Panglao is anything but peaceful and it’s got a real seaside vibe about it with alot of Asian and local tourists. We’re not instantly in love with the place, not helped by the fact when we go out for lunch Martin has his phone stolen!

We need a day relaxing after such a busy day and early start yesterday. It’s sunbathing, swimming and going into twon on the bikes for breakfast and lunch stuff, a pretty lazy day. Although we did spend some time finding out about boat trips and how to explore Bohol and getting things booked. We explore more of the town and there’s more nightlife here than we’ve found anywhere else, including a central entertainment area which is fun. But tonight we’ve booked ourselves on a firefly tour. Picked up at 6pm we drive to Loboc over on Bohol island. There we join boats on the river to see the fireflies in the trees, it’s an amazing experience even if it is a long way to get to see them. We eat late tonight!

Exploring Bohol

A driver and car picks us up today for a trip onto the island of Bohol. We drive to the Chocolate Hills first which is a good hour and a half. Bohol again proves to be quite busy, and i thought we could have driven around here on motorbikes, but not sure that would have been a good idea. The weather is pretty cloudy today so when we arrive the chocolate hills look a little lack lustre. We create a stir at the top of the viewing platform and lots of foreign tourists want photos of us fair skinned people! The girls then go on buggies around the area, Martin and I having to decline on account of my bad back and his bad leg! OMG! There’s alot of tourist things to do on Bohol and having a driver unfortunately slightly went against us for once as he took us where he wanted to go and we didn’t end up going to the official Tarsier Sanctuary as he said it was too busy and we ended up going to a small wildlife park which I wasn’t keen on. We did get up close and personal to tarsiers though which was a highlight of the day. These creatures are so small you would probably never see them yourself in the wild and the staff at the park had to point them out to us as they were clinging to a small branch. Luckily I got some amazing photographs up close of their incredible faces and tiny little hands using my zoom lens, just wonderful.

Loboc Riverside Lunch Cruise

Our driver then took us to the Loboc River for a riverside lunch cruise. This is such a cheesy experience but really worthwhile which is probably why there were so many people and so many boats but again as with most things in the Philippines it’s pretty well organised. These large flat bottomed river boats are set up with tables and chairs and buffet lunch tables to seat about 80 people. As you cruise gently down the Loboc River you have lunch and are entertained by a small band and cabaret singer, as I said, pretty cheesy. But the river is really interesting, the food wasn’t that bad and it’s a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. The boats stop at little villages and the local community come out to sing and dance for you, everyone from the little children to the grandmas and grandads and you can give them money for their village.

Bohol wasn’t the highlight for me that i expected, Palawan definitley beat it for me, but it’s definitely worth going as it’s very different and there’s alot to see.

Shompoo Cruise

Another boat trip

Today we’ve got another boat trip but this time we’ve got the boat all to ourselves. It’s an early start as there is the opportunity to see dolphins out in the bay. We do see them, although fleetingly before we give up the chase and head over to one of the islands for snorkelling and to find turtles. We have to transfer over into a much smaller boat to be able to tranverse the reefs and then we can climb out for snorkelling. Our guide helps us and we find turtles sitting at the bottom of the sea. He dives down to disturb them and they swim along with us, which is truly amazing! The boat then takes us to another place famed for its coral reefs and it doesn’t disappoint, the reefs are so colourful and absolutely full of fish, this is just amazing swimming along with them. When we’re done swimming, we go to what is called Virgin Island. As we approach it looks like a town in the middle of the sea but can hardly see any land. Basically it is a small spit of sand that only appears when the tide is low and that’s when all the villagers descend on it with small boats and set up a make-shift town selling drinks and making fabulous sea-food concoctions. The water is simply beautiful and we can jump out of the boat and literally walk knee deep in this clear warm water. It’s a fascinating place, simply beautiful and we spend quite a while here, it’s just amazing. This day has been a fantastic end to our wonderful journey through the Philippines. We’ve only been to three of its islands and feel we’ve only touched a fraction of what it has to offer but it has been so beautiful, much more than we expected, the people so friendly and with so much to see and do, it would be impossible not to come back.

turtles in Panglao

We leave Panglao the next day flying from the new local airport just a short 15 minutes drive away and fly back to Manila to wait for our international flight home. The Philippines has been amazing!

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