Farewell Philippines

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I must say, if I can get emotional for a second, I am writing this with a heavy heart. It’s sad to say goodbye to this place. Despite the warnings not to, I really did fall in love with this place. Looking past the sweltering humidity, pollution, and not least waiting for people on “Filo time”, but something about this place just sticks with me. I guess the simple answer to what that “something” is is the people. While not as overtly friendly as say the Thai, they are extremely welcoming and just happy. All the time. Even when their houses have been destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda, they’re still smiling and laughing.

I can’t say that their amazing sights of nature didn’t play a part either. The Boracay sunset is the best I’ve seen in the world, even surpassing San Sebastian in Spain by just a whisker. Island hopping in Coron or Gigantes is as good as anywhere, including the more widely known Phi Phi or Halong Bay. And the diversity – despite seeing these beautiful places, I still haven’t been to Sagada, El Nido or anywhere in the Mindanao region.

So, sad to have to leave, Philippines. In the famous words of US General Macarthur during World War II, “I’ll be back”.

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Comments

[Clara]

So emotional. Glad to have you back.