Blogs from Manila, Philippines, Asia

Day 8 We slept in.. well until 8.30am. The Air BnB didn't offer breakfast as we were used to in hotels and resorts but as we craved plainish food we were happy to find a diner offering french toast. We thought we would make the most of the warmer weather and chill by the pool. As a guest, we had to pay to use the pool. It cost us $5AUD each but it was worth it to just lounge around and soak up the warm weather. Kym played his uke and I read and it was nice to do nothing. Deciding that our adventure would be the Ocean Marine Park we grabbed a Grab and spent the afternoon wandering around the park. A sealion show, creepy crawly exhibit and of course plenty of tanks with an ... read more

Day 1 Flight Cebu Pacific, its a budget airline operating from Melbourne or Sydney direct to the Philippines. The line up for the bag drop was long and didn't seem to have any order to it and we changed lines several times, always, always to the slowest and felt like we were stuck in a cartoon of never ending waiting. Not sure if it was a Cebu thing or a Melbourne airport thing. On the Cebu flight it says that you can't bring phone chargers in your carry on.. ignore this, you can. The flight wasn't packed and yet Kym and I were separated sitting 'next ' to each other with an aisle inbetween us and a row of empty seats infront of Kym. We weren't allowed to change until the seatbelt sign came off after ... read more

Manila is known as the Pearl of the Orient but ask a Filipino and almost all will tell you to not to waste time there and to get out of the city at the first opportunity. It has a reputation for being a sprawling metropolis where modern clashes with poverty, and city traffic that is so congested it crawls if it moves at all. The Lonely Planet is kinder saying the name is apt because ‘its unappealing shell reveals its jewel only to those resolute enough to pry’. We’d decided instead of bouncing straight through we’d give it a day and a half. We’ve come to experience something of the country and see what life is like, not just see the highlights. On arrival we didn’t feel too bad, despite flight delays on our first 2 ... read more

My first time traveling to Asia. I have family that lives there and my father and stepmother have been to visit quite often. I had anxiety on the flight as it's the longest and furthest I've ever flown. To say it was indeed a culture shock is an understatement. After a 16 hours flight from JFK, 3 hour layover and 2 hour flight yet again... We finally landed in Manila. The trip was compiled of spending time in Metro Manila, driving to Baguio and Vigan to visit the mountains, then flying down to Coron for 4 days for some R&R on the beach.... read more

Fortunately Super Typhoon Paolo, packing 240 km/hr and gusts reaching 296 km/hr veered away from the Philippines towards Japan and we were able to board the overnight Ferry to return from Romblon to Batangas. As the storm was approaching we got heavy rain that flooded some streets and wind that destroyed bridges in islands south from us. Luckily on the day of our departure from "The Three P" Dive Resort in Romblon, Philippines the storm started to turn away and we had a fairly smooth 8 hr overnight ride. Just in the middle of the crossing it got a little bumpy but and I heard a few people waking up but later I heard that the bumps mid way are quite normal. The ferry gets cancelled only in extreme weather conditions so hearing that it was ... read more