Blogs from Panay, Philippines, Asia

It’s ten o’clock on a Sunday morning in January and the winds of Kalibo are blowing hard. “Can you take me to the town center?” I ask the tricycle driver as soon as we get out of the airport. Soon we’re zooming through the highway and snaking our way through small trucks with people clutching Sto. Niño, figures of the Infant Jesus. The town center is filled with people walking around narrow streets, filled with anticipation for a day that will later crescendo to a boisterous evening. The capital of Aklan province is celebrating the Ati-Atihan Festival. For about a week, the locals take to the streets in extravagant costumes, dancing spontaneously to the loud beat of the drums. The events climax on the third Sunday of January, starting with a slow-moving procession that goes around ... read more

who can say no to boracay... White sand, the sun and the crystal blue sea. a lot of water and extreme activities at morning and party allnight long. :D for more photos... do visit (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3286245922200.2154559.1449229051&type=3)... read more

I said i'd cut down my entry size and i tried, but i haven't! Those who complained can suck it. I have a lot to say! Feel free to read as much or little as you wish. With two Swedes, a Norwegian and a French/Nicaraguan i flew to Manila and then onto Catiklan on Panay Island (the main island in the centre of the Philippines. From there we got a ferry out to Boracay Island, a much smaller island 7km in length. The first impressions of filipinos by this point were that: 1. they are a whole world nicer and friendlier than the chinese 2. they seem a little plumper, perhaps due to diet, than the chinese 3. Filipino women come caked in make up and the men can be very camp Boracay Island was beautiful. ... read more

Guimaras, a tiny island in between Panay and Negros, is absolutely loaded with beautiful beaches and opportunities for exploring areas little-visited by other tourists. One such location is the beach of Tatlong Pulo, a tiny, pristine, stretch of white sand in front of the village of the same name that is almost entirely sheltered from the sea by several rock islands. Near to the beach there's a hell of a lot of undisturbed coral so swimming there is only really feasible at high tide, but locals are happy to lend you a fishing boat to get out to one of the rock islands where the water is much deeper. The only accommodation option is a treehouse which costs 150 pesos per night no matter how many people. Food and drink are prepared for you and are ... read more

"The Negritos in Panay are called Ati and have lived here for around 25,000 years," Daisy tells us, "and there are lots of theories as to where they originated from but one of the latest is that they came in a wave of migration from Ethiopia that originated around 60,000 years ago." She pauses and takes a breathe of air before plunging back into her monologue. "Another theory is that they are descended from African pygmies because they look so similar - short, black, frizzly hair, you know. Yet another theory says that they are descendants of New Guineans or Australian Aborigines. "Over the years, new, ethnically different settlers arrived from China, Taiwan, South East Asia, that sort of area, until they formed the majority of the population, the South-East-Asian-looking Filipinos that you see all around ... read more