Philippines, the most stunning place on earth......

Dear All,
This could well be one of my last blog entries as I leave the Philippines on Sunday 15th and head back to Singapore. It's yet to be worked through but I’m hoping to visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, or at least one for a couple of weeks before coming home!

Since the last entry around the time of my birthday I feel I have really got out and experienced what the Philippines has to offer. After a few days in the office with Aaron and watching Benjamin Button (great film, Aaron cried, I nearly did.....but didn't!), it was time for us to have a few days off so Aaron, his mum & partner friend and I went to Boracay early on Friday for fun, sun and relaxation. Boracay I quote "is the trophy beach of the Philippines" (lonely planet, 2006!) however it is actually an island and it is white beach which attracts 10's of 1000's of visitors each year. Our hotel room was only 5m from the beach where the sand is so soft and water so warm and clear. It's hard to be anything but relaxed on Boracay however Aaron and I found a way not to be! So we hired some bikes and spent the day cycling on the worst roads imaginable in the soaring mid day heat, the only thing that could make it worse would be if the bikes wouldn't change gear.....and they didn't! We discovered some fantastic beaches on parts of the island people didn’t bother to go to (puka and llig-lligan beaches), we rewarded ourselves with a pizza and a few beers before watching another incredible sunset! The evenings were spent having fantastic fresh fish for next to nothing and watching various live bands.

Monday came far too quickly and after a leisurely morning it was time to make the 5hr trip back to Iloilo. Tuesday was a day for me to organise some things and get a great massage before heading off to Guimaras by myself for the 1st time in the Philippines the following day, (Aaron's mum was very worried about me!).
Guimaras is a small island about a 10 minute boat ride from Iloilo, however it is worlds apart. Upon arrival in the port I was mobbed by tricycle drivers wanting my money, but I was told to ask for a specific guy so I tracked him down and off I went. He was a very nice genuine man and took me for a guided tour of the island showing me a cave, the islands oldest church, it's museum, and also took me on a tiny rowing boat to some fantastic secluded islands where we went snorkelling and chilling before rowing back and to round off a fantastic day he took me swimming in a secret waterfall he found while hunting for spiders when he was 8 (Filipino boys keep spiders in a match box for a week then they fight each other and people bet on the one they think will win). It was then time to catch another boat to my cottage for the night which as you can see isn't in a bad position. I only spent one night here and the next afternoon made my way back to Iloilo for a farewell meal as Aaron and I were leaving the next day for Manila and I wouldn't be returning to Panay (the island Iloilo is on).

Friday was pretty much spent travelling as once we arrived in Manila and met Aarons girlfriend we drove north to Mount Pinabuto which until it blew itself apart in 1991 locals didn't know it was a volcano! So Saturday was an early start to get our guide and 4x4 and head to the Volcano and hike to the creator. Once at the creator we went for a swim (yes theirs not many people that can say they have swam in a volcano, but we can!) and kayak before sitting on the side for a traditional Filipino meal (rice and bbq pork). The water was so hot in places you just couldn't stand in it.
After walking back we made the journey back to manila which was going so well until Aaron got pulled over for speeding! Ha! We met up with some more friends and went out in manila catching the final score of Eng v Italy.

Sunday I once again said goodbye to Aaron as I caught a flight to the southwest island of Palawan to see one of the worlds most stunning seascapes, the beautiful 'Bacuit Archipelago'. It was a bit of a journey to get there. After the flight I had to wait a night in Puerto Princesa before getting on a rickety old bus for 7 hours on dirt roads (what ever colour you got on the bus you all came out the same shade of brown from the layers of dust on every one and everything). The second I got to El Nido though I knew it was worth it (and to be honest I think the journey adds to it beauty) with it s beach and stunning islands. I struggle to think of a more beautiful place on this earth. I fell in love with it, it is so easy to see the islands once you are there. Several boat tours run to different islands, so I did a couple. The day would start off with an early breakfast, then pick up your snorkelling gear before jumping on the pump boat around 9.00, it would then take you to a few different places of interest and islands. One of my favourite places was small and big lagoon on Miniloc island. The swedish TV series survivor are currently filming in a lagoon just off big lagoon and I managed to swim for long enough and found it. It is set in the most stunning of backdrops, but as I was swimming I didn't have my camera, I think beauty like that though is meant to only be savoured in our memory.
I made several friends whilst in El Nido which made it great fun as we went to the only night club a few times however it is only the size of an average garage with some chairs around the edge and a few broken speakers, great fun though.

I've had to drag myself away from El Nido as I’m now back in Puerto Princesa waiting for my flight back to Manila to meet with Aaron and his friends for one more night out in the Philippines before heading back to Singapore!
The Philippines is a stunningly beautiful archipelago and a country I will definitely be coming back to. The people are very friendly especially when I talk to them in tagalog one of their languages which I’ve been really enjoying learning, they all smile and are very shocked, I think its because I’ve perfected the accent as well :-)

So how could I not come back,
the weather is amazing,
the people are so friendly,
and the landscape is out of this WORLD!

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