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Published: January 24th 2009
Monday 22 September to Sunday 2 November
Phillipines and its islands (7,107!) has been a real highlight of our trip to South East Asia so far and we strongly recommend it to everyone. We found stunning beaches, coral reefs teeming with fish, waterfalls, few tourists and friendly locals. We spent most of our time on Palawan Island (Puerto Princesa, Sabang, Port Barton, El Nido, Coron) and also visited Manila and the rice terraces and villages of North Luzon (Sagada, Tinglayan and Batad).
Highlights • The karaoke-mad and friendly Philippinos, who break out into (mostly very out of tune) songs at the drop of a hat.
• Colourfully decorated Jeepneys (American-style jeeps converted to taxis) + motorbikes with sidecars: the super funky way to travel!
• Walking tour of old Manila with a very enthusiastic actor-guide, bringing its amazing history to life.
• Snorkeling with whale sharks on Steve's birthday, with photographer Duncan at Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa.
• Sailing around the islands and swimming through small holes in limestone rocks to find secret deserted beaches in El Nido; snorkeling/diving/kayaking in the crystal clear waters.
• Valerie getting her advanced scuba diving certificate visiting the dozen or so
Jeepney
So decorative!sunken Japanese WW2 war ships in Coron, Basuanga island.
• Trekking to isolated hill top villages in Dananao, Tinglayan (North Luzon) to meet the locals; admiring the elderly tribeswomen's tattooed arms.
• Peaceful town of Sagada in the hills, where people are still traditionally buried in coffins hung on the mountains.
• Thousand year old rice terraces carved into the mountains in Batad, near Banaue, North Luzon - riding on the tops of jeepneys with sacks of rice and friendly locals, for the great views of the mountains and valleys.
• 16-hour overnight ferry rides with the locals, their cows and lots of frozen fish.
Lowlights • Very limited diet due to the Philippino love of any type of meat, including dog (we're vegetarian).
• Pet monkeys in small cages.
• Plastic carrier bags are given out with ANY purchase, no matter how small.
• Being woken up at 6am most days with out-of-tune Philippino singing and/or barking dogs and/or crowing roosters.
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Lurhen
non-member comment
I had a smile on my face reading your article...I thank you for your positive comments. I am a Filipino, now living in Canada and I do miss everything down there. The sun specially, the warm sun...I am going to Palawan with my family and I do hope everybody enjoys it. I am sure you'll never forget your visit in the Philippines-hopefully you'll go back.