Looks lovely Great blog as always. Funny what you said about people not saying hello.. we were just saying the same today after getting the usual ignorance from all the people we passed today.. not including the Indonesians of course who are only too happy to learn all about your life story! Oh and we just finished our Mcd's cones too.. best ice cream bargain out there!
Have fun in the rest of Borneo.. how long are you there for? We're just planning our Borneo section now for October and are really looking forward to it so your advice helps as always.
Take care both of you Sophie x
introverted...not sure?! Definitely try and rent a tent on the beach...we didn't ask how much it cost for the rental but the camping fee at the office was 5 ringgit per person and then a little bit extra if you want the use of a BBQ.
As to the travellers being introverted, we really don't know whether that's the case! Yes, they did speak English (we heard them talking to each other in English!) we don't mind people not having a full conversation with us - we understand not everyone likes to do this but to ignore people when they said hello we think is just plain rude. Hopefully we will have better luck in the future!
Someone has already put our wing-tip photo up on the forum post. It's actually one of the first times we attempted this, we've always forgotten to get the camera out of our bag...this time we made a special effort as we knew we would take off over those gorgeous islands!
Nice Trip but Nice blog guys, Mindanao is a good place to visit if you want to tread the path less travelled. But, much as I love seeing tourists visiting our country, It would be sad to hear another foreigner get abducted largely because they were too daring and some even refuse to have security provided them for free. In this regard, I wouldn't recommend that you guys go too far south of the island since there are still risks with regards to kidnappings and rebels as you're probably aware of .To give you an idea just get a map of Mindanao and make a horizontal line across its midpoint and that will be your demarcation point that I would strongly advise not to cross for reasons already mentioned.
cool i'm planning on KK next Jan to climb the mountain and stuff - i'll try and rent a tent on the beach after reading this!
interesting what you say about moody backpackers - do you think people are becoming more introverted when they travel? Did they speak english?!
Your wing-tip photo has to go up on the fourm of wing-tip photos...!
i enjoyed reading it! At the first glance on the second picture i knew it is in Philippines. That made me proud of myself that i'm really a Filipino. I enjoyed reading your trip in here. i know you had fun despite the situation and everything that has happened to the three of you. i'm from cebu to be specefic and good luck to your next trip.
Siargao in November Hi Marco...nice to hear from you. Siargao is a really, really quiet place with not a lot to do. If you don't surf (like us) then probably 4 days is more than enough time.
In November the rains will be hitting Mindanao (best weather we have heard is May - October) and there will be waves on all the eastern side of the island, so no calm seas. It's very different to other beaches we have been to and enjoyed it because we had really good weather, in the rain we don't think it would be much fun as there is not a lot to do!
What a shame Hello Neil and Donna, first off, my wife and I think that both of you are doing a lot of travelers a a great service with your blogs.
My wife and I had been wanting to go to Palawan and Cebu for the longest time and I think that your experiences in these places has given as the answer to our question, which is, "why have we not gone there yet?" Well, I guess the unfortunate situations that you both have encountered is a message for us not to go.
My wife and I are both Canadians, but I am actually from the Philippines and she is French-Canadian. I brought her to my mother land back in 1997 and we did experience that behind most smiles and friendly gestures came with a fee. It is such a shame as there are so many beautiful places there, that is beginning to get a lot of bad rap due to the growing greedy and opportunistic mentality.
I am very active with conservation, with a special focus on marine environments and from my research, the Thresher sharks in Malapascua is almost going the way of the Do-do bird due to overfishing for fins and pharmaceutical and cosmetic use. it is a real shame.
At anytime during your visit in the Philippines, did either of you ever felt really unsafe from locals, the health of the beaches or the sanitation practices of your accommodations?
Well, good luck on the rest of your trips and we wish you both safety and profound discoveries.
Paolo and Caroline
same with us we just arrived in costa rica and are having the same sort of feelings. having to get used to all these modern conveniences and amenities. not sure if i like it... i miss the backpackers.
Not a Stalker, lol Hi, I just subscribed to your blog today, but to ease Neils worries I'm not a stalker. I just thought your blog was pretty funny and it would be nice to get ideas on places to visit or not (as soon as I'm done with my schooling and get that internet job, of course.
By the way I thought your list on the front page was hilarious.
No place like home?!? Hi, cool blog, very weird reading this entry and made us think about what it'll be like going home. We've been following your blog on and off, first saw it when we were looking at where to go on our trip...happy traveling. www.mytb.org/majasteve
Questions! Hi, still following your fab blogs. What are you doing back in the UK and are you off travelling again? Finally, how do you do it?! I'd love to be travelling for soooo long! Keep up the good work. P.S. Hope you're enjoying the scorching weather in the UK..if you are both still here (1st June). K from Glasgow
ha ha... good old Blighty! Fab blog as always.. so nice to see snaps of 'home!' It's our 1 year anniversary of being away today can you believe it. We always think how strange it would be to go back now so we can't even imagine how it was for you two! Have a lovely time won't you.. hope the wedding goes well and that Donna got a nice outfit. Hope to see you guys at some point when you come back to your second home of SE Asia. xx
Still got the travelling bug Unfortunately our negative slant comes from our recent trips being prety dire. We tell it how it is. We recently had a great experience in India and blogged a lot on it and loved it so much we will be back soon. The problem is in SE Asia at the moment there is the perception that people are travelling less when in this part of the world it isnt the situation on the ground (Philippines has more tourists than we have ever seen!), but some of the locals believe what they hear on the news that there are less tourists and it turns into a vicous circle of trying to milk the tourist. We have still got a positive attittude to travelling and are experiencing some really nice places at the moment and will blog on these. Watch out also for our upcoming blog of the UK (our first visit back home in 2 and a half years)!
Hi Guys, we've been following your blogs with much interest because we have visited some of the same places. Recently, we noticed a change in your writing (a decidedly negative slant). We understand the ups and downs of travelling and so we have this quick question for you: Are you guys still enjoying being on the road?? Sometimes, like everything else, it's just gets too much and you need to take a break. Hope you reconnect with the joys of travelling and recognize that people are people everywhere in the world.
How strange, i flew from Macau once and took the ferry over from HK. I got escorted thru and into the airport coming upstairs from the ferry transfer and straight into the terminal. There was a security line there transfers but i was the only one in line. It was almost like i was a VIP haha
Oh Dear Hello you two,
Where do you stay when you are 'living' in the Phillipines? as the level of accomodation is fairly basic most places we've been so far...do you stay in Cebu? Shame abourt Sabang..we swerved it as didn't fancy the river much. Puerto is nice though, got a good room with all mod cons and food is quite good in the canteen in the mall, pork tocino is my favourite so far, stacey likes the vege pinet bek (or whatever its called) ...livin the dream. Did some awsome snorkelling in El Nido... take it easy, Ross and Stacey
Sorry about that Hi, I am a Filipina but no longer living in the Philippines. I am sorry to hear about your experience, especially for the rudeness of the people. Filipinos are supposed to be hospitable but I guess you're right about the greed part (it is such a shame). I can only imagine how the world economy is affecting the Islands. I have never been to Palawan and always wanted to go there but I am hesitant too because I am already expecting something just like your experience. I will be visiting the Philippines in May... but I won't be going to Palawan.
Hope the rest of the Philippines will treat you better.
beautiful pictures I've been following your blogs off and on for over a year now, and they are always entertaining. Glad to see you're having a great time in India... and these pictures of the Taj are amazing... The panorama is great as well... some of the views are unique, and ones that I've never seen before.
Best wishes!
We saved for 3 years and then went Hoff to travel the world. Chris Columbus and Magellan eat your heart out...do you reckon other people will have already discovered the places we are going to? You bet!
About Us
Neil, originally from Hartlepool, UK and Donna, originally from the Wirral, UK have known each other for 19 years. We bought a house, got cushy jobs in Nottingham and always had a passion to travel and see what more was out there in the big wide world (sounds corny or what?). The opportunity came when we were both made redundant and given nice r... full info
Irvin
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Nice Trip
hahaha... Nice Adventure ....