Philippines
-
Alona Gain, Naturally
Well, it’s fair to say that after our gratifyingly varied journey through the Philippines we’ve definitely arrived in the holiday market tourist bit. Down at the bottom of the island of Bohol lies the small island of Panglao, and down at the bottom of Panglao lies the village of Alona, where it’s impossible to walk any distance without enjoying exchanges with tour operators, tat jewellery sellers, hair braiders, boat owners and boys selling fresh mango. Nobody’s pushy but everybody wants business and there seems to be plenty to go around. It looks like Alona is booming too. Construction sites are a major feature, whether a new chunky hotel, spaces between…
-
Car To Carcar, Boat To Bohol, Pigs In Between
Our driver is here early and we’re off, leaving Moalboal behind feeling like it’s a little too soon to be making our way back across Cebu Island to our next destination, Carcar. As we drive away from our digs, the driver heads towards White Beach, which we know is a dead end road on a peninsula. He must know a cut through. His Google Maps satnav keeps telling him to do a U-turn, he ignores it every time. He must know a cut through. Eventually when he stops and asks directions, the guys at the roadside point back the way we’ve come. “Oh”, he chuckles, “wrong way!”. So, it seems…
-
Moalboal: Bustling Bars And Barbecued Bananas
The prop plane bounces through the storm and touches down safely in Cebu City where we spend a night at an airport hotel doing our best to dry out both the backpacks and those items which got wet in the onslaught. We did of course give the bags every practical protection, but rain as heavy as that is going to find a way in somewhere somehow, and it has. The damage isn’t too bad but judging by the uneven soaking it looks like the baggage handlers stood Michaela’s backpack in a puddle at some point. Thanks for that guys, nice touch. Having snaffled a car and driver at the airport…
-
Days In Guinobatan…..This Is Dry Season?!?
Having chosen this time of year because all of the guide books and websites call it the dry season, the continuing downpours have surprised us a bit – we expected tropical showers but what happened in Guinobatan was something else. First came rain, then some sunshine, and then…..wow. Picture those TV images of monsoon rains, then imagine 48 hours without the smallest pause. Our tiny river became a torrent, streets became flooded…..all ending with crazy scenes at an airport. It unfolded like this…. The heavy rain which blighted Banaue has followed us here, hammering down through the firsr night and into Tuesday morning, swelling the river and delaying our start…
-
Moving South: Guinobatan And Its Mighty Neighbour
Accommodation in the two mountain towns has been a little on the rustic side, without AC and with no storage facility for clothing. Living out of the backpacks for a week in that level of humidity has left everything feeling damp: our clothes, our toiletries, even the bags themselves are wet to the touch. Back for one night in Baguio as we start the journey south, it’s a big relief to be in a dry environment with cool AC and a hot shower, but there’s definitely going to be a need for a laundry session soon. Nothing feels clean and fresh now……but then travelling through humid climates ever was thus….…
You May Also Like
London: Simply The Best
From Paros To Sifnos
The Crazy World Of Francisco Brennand
-
Impressions And Opinions: The Philippines So Far
We’ve been in the Philippines three weeks now so it’s perhaps a good time to reflect on our early impressions. One thing’s for sure, it’s been a very varied three weeks, with a mammoth city, an active volcano, a town of Spanish heritage and a two-centre excursion into the mountains all forming part of the experience. Sunshine, humidity, cool mountain air, torrential rain. So here’s some impressions after those three weeks… People It will probably sound a little crass to put into print just how lovely everybody has been so far. Filipinos have shown themselves to be extremely kind, ultra friendly and considerate, but, in addition, honest. Not one tuk-tuk,…
-
The Rice Terraces Of Banaue: A Stay Of Two Halves
Our stay in Banaue took something of a different turn as a proper deterioration in the weather took hold. The Philippines has this week been hit by a weather front known as a “shear line” – no, we hadn’t heard of it either – which has brought torrential rain to several islands. South of here the damage has been much worse with devastating flooding, here in northern Luzon it was less damaging but still pretty extreme. Our perseverance in getting out to the rice terraces on the wet day was rewarded by some better weather on Day 2. This is how it went… The thing which draws visitors to the…
-
Sagada: Hanging Coffins, Lemon Pie And The Paytokan Trail
Sagada, say the travel websites, is not an easy place to get to, but is without doubt worth the effort. Let’s deal with the first half of that sentence: it’s a ridiculously long drive to this remote location no matter where you start from. Look at the basic mathematics: a drive of just 143 kilometres (89 miles) takes 6 hours – yep, SIX HOURS ! – so it’s pretty obvious that this is no ordinary journey. There is, of course, no highway, the whole route is a narrow, twisting mountain road of steep inclines, dramatic descents and tight hairpin bends. Add to that trucks struggling up the mountains, long trails…
-
Baguio, City Of Pines
Slowly, slowly the bus hauls up the mountain road, climbing ever higher above the pine clad slopes and dramatic valleys, dragging round sharp hairpins until eventually we’re even above the clouds which cover the mountainsides in a giant cotton wool coat. It’s an incredible view from the bus window even before the setting sun sends unlikely shades on to the rolling clouds below, casting the pine forests into a ghostly golden twilight. This spectacular is, remarkably, to be outdone by the skies of the following evening….but of course we don’t know that yet… We hadn’t been sure about the bus, in terms of how we would get a seat. You…
-
Northwards To The Heritage City Of Vigan
A bit of geographical perspective first. The Philippines is made up of no less than 7,641 islands, about 2,000 of which are inhabited. The island of Luzon, where we have started our Philippines tour, is home to both the capital city Manila and just over half of the population of the country as a whole. Luzon is the Philippines’ largest island, roughly half the size of Great Britain. From Manila we have headed to the north of Luzon, to the region of Ilocos Sur, bound for the town of Vigan. The short domestic flight lands at Laoag, from where it’s just under two hours by road to our instantly appealing…
