Surfboy
Ian Joined: October 31st 2008
Logged in: February 10th 2012
Logged in: February 10th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Arriving in Guimaras
Just a short 15 minute pumpboat ride from IloIlo City gets you to one the lesser visited Islands of the Visayas, Guimaras. The Island is famous for having the sweetest Mangoes in the Philippines and there are Mango Plantations everywhere! Very verdant, green little Island. From Jordan Port we caught a very slow Jeepney for about an hour to the small village of Dolores and were dropped off at the side of the road without a clue where to go. Thankfully a few friendly locals soon organised a motorbike taxi to take us the short journey to Guisi Beach. Stayed at great liitle resort called Guisi Clearwater in very simple room without shower outside overlooked by Coconut trees! Nice beach and great fro swimming as so clear! also nice liitle old Lighthouse nearby to explore with ... read more
Beach!
Decided to spend Christmas and New Year on the quiet, relaxed Island of Bantayan. Not sure why I keep coming back to Bantayan, maybe its the empty beaches, maybe its the best value place to stay I have yet found here in the Philippines or maybe its just th efriendly locals, but had a great time.... read more
After typhoon Sendong
Following the Typhoon hitting Negros thought it would be good to head north towards a beach. So left Dumaguete and hopped off the bus at Alcoy. Spent the day at Tingko Beach in amazing sunshine just a day after torrential rain and winds!... read more
Cottage at Hard Rock
Once more to Siquijor! mainly as is so easy to get to form Dumaguete. Arrived and hired a motorbike from one of the tricylcle guys at the pier and headed East to Enrique Villanueva as always wanted to stay at http://www.hardrockcottages.com/ as they have isolated little cottages right over the water. Very nice place to stay and unbelievably quiet. Then moved to Sandugan and stayed at http://www.islandersparadisebeach.com/which was slighly more conventional with nice cottages on a quiet sandy beach. Went touring on the motorbike and managed at last to find Kagusaun Beach which is meant to be one of the best on the Island. Not that easy to find as its down a small lane off the highway near the Town of Maria, then a bumpy track to the beach from little village of Minalonan, but ... read more
Dumaguete Boulevard
Just went out for a quick walk in Dumaguete and ended up in the middle of a procession for Hudagyawan Festival, thats why I like the Phlippines.. never predictable, always colourful and so full of energy!... read more
Onde Guesthouse
Decided to travel to Bantayan Island again. Was last there about 2 years ago and liked but this time was a very different experience. Last time I stayed on a very quiet area of beach North of the main pier, this time I decided to stay in Santa Fed Town itself and had a great time. Found wonderful little place to stay called Onde in its own secluded garden but in Santa Fe also. 2 minute walk to the beach and 1 minute to all the bars and eateries. I found the best stretches of beach were at Sugar Beach and the White Sand Bar by the floating Bar. The sand was perfect white and the water crystal clear. The only problem I had was that Onde locked thier gate at 10pm every night, so I ... read more
Looking for Langub Beach
Another visit to Moalboal, one of my favourite places in the Philippines. Mainly because its such a relaxed little beach resort but also because its possible to find new beaches to visit. This time I went in search of Langub beach, about 10km south of Moalboal and wasnt dissapointed. Its a lovely quiet beach, since its not so easy to find, mainly visited by Filipinos only. The sand was powder white, the water was clear and the sun was shining. Fantastic place. I liked this beach even more than White Beach in Moalboal, mainly because it was deserted and had no resorts at all.... read more
My pickup from Sipalay City
Last time I rode from Dumaguete to Sipalay by motorbike. This time I did it the easy way, Ceres Bus from Dumaguete to Bayawan to Hinoba-An to Sipalay City. Then I called one of the resorts and they offered a free pickup by boat from Sipalay City beach. When I first arrived it was pissing down with rain and things were not looking good, but then the rain suddenly cleared and I had 4 days of wonderful sunshine. I really like Sugar Beach in Sipalay parly because of its remoteness and partly because the resorts blend so well with the beach that you dont really realise they are there, and its peaceful. In fact so peaceful, most of the time all you can hear are the waves lapping on the shore. Stayed at Sulu Sunset and ... read more
Marvins in Naval
Sometimes you wonder if the all hassle of travelling in the Philippines is worth it? From Dumaguete, a jeepney to Sibulan, pumpboat to Lilo-an, bus to Cebu City, Jeepney to Cebu Ferry Terminal, Fast Ferry to Ormoc then a crazy minibus ride to Naval Town in Biliran. But in this case the answer is a definite Yes. Biliran is an amazing mixture of mountains, waterfalls, beaches Islands and Rice Terraces. It also seems to be the most pristine, unspoilt and un touristed places I have ever seen. I hired a motorbike guide called Roy for the day in Naval, and he proceeded to drive me through amazing scenery all day, because thats all there is here, its all amazing. Unfortunately I dont have time to visit some of the offshore Island because they look beautiful, but ... read more
Getting a bus in Cebu
I wasnt expecting too much from Malapascua as I visited a few years before and didnt remember it as that good. But this time it was fantastic. Mainly because I took the time to spend a whole day walking around the wholew of the Island and finding some beautiful deserted beaches. The Island has changed a lot since my last visit with loads of new resorts, some of them still under construction, but I really enjoyed the low key atmosphere especially as I found a great little bungalow just behind the beach with a sari store selling the cheapest beer on the Island.... read more
