South East Asia & The Philippines

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The Philippines was chosen as our next part of the adventure around Asia and our first destination in South East Asia.

As I sit here with less than a week left in the country I have to say WOW. This country has stolen my heart with its rich diversity, friendly locals and lack of tourists, the Philippines has been a great experience for me. One of the reasons that I’ve loved each and everyday in the Philippines is because of the warm hearted, friendly locals. Every walk in the country has been enjoyable as the local’s smile politely greeting you with their local greeting, which is the tilting back of their heads whilst raising their eyebrows in your direction. With practice I learnt this greeting along with Kamusta (hello) the smiles widened and the adventures grew.

Spending such a long period of time in one country as you can imagine I managed to see a lot. Here is a list of the places visited in the Philippines:

Manila
Caticlan
Boracay
IloIlo
Cebu
Malapascua
Bohol
Panglao
Loboc
Peurto Princesa
El Nido
Banaue
Sagada

Some fantastic places visited i recommend you all come and visit this idyllic country. Here are some of my highlights.

Christmas on Boracay Island we had a group of nine fellow travelers all away from home. We needed a plan…we decided to throw a party to take everyone’s minds off of home. I & Jeff organized a great day which included a roasted pig for dinner with all the trimmings. Following this we visited a local village where we shared drinks with the men of the village and played games with the children. The Christmas day sunset was seen from a secluded beach with just the nine of us on it. And as the stars shone we celebrated with a drink and some live reggae music.

Other highlights include diving the Black Forest of Panglao. Hiring motorbikes to drive to the chocolate hills of Bohol. A day trip to the Lagoons of El Nido’s small surrounding islands. Singing in Karaoke booths in the capital. The list goes on.

The beauty of the Philippines is still there for all to see but let me just mention, once the tourism monster takes its hold on this country it’ll simply become another Thailand. I have been lucky enough toi see this country before it’s bubble busts.

Thank you for reading & enjoy the photos……Salamat

Next stop Singapore to meet friends and celebrate Jeff’s 25th for a weekend before heading to Kuala Lumpur and then Lao. The adventures continue.

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