Philippines We spent a month in the Philippines and it was not enough we long to return. Eager to see where you explore. I'm sure you'll bring back some pleasant memories for us and make us want to see a few more places.
Those greens and blues... You have so many picturesque photos in this blog! It's hard enough walking on the ridges of those rice fields, let alone running for your lives along them... it must have looked hilarious :D
running and screaming across the rice paddies Thank you, there were just picture perfect shots everywhere. It is exactly what we said, we must have been a sight to the locals if they saw us running and screaming, ruining the peaceful tranquility of the place. Those tourists!!! It was real frighteningly though, that snake stood up to attack. In hindsight we all should not have crowded round it to get a better sight... Lesson learnt. ?
Patties make everything better :) Some cities are so much harder to get to know than others, and it sounds like Manila is the former. It's not nice feeling vulnerable, and I could feel your discomfort on that walk. The only two times we have felt that way on our travels (once in Naples and once in Delhi) - we trusted our instincts and hightailed it out of there! I’m so glad you blog as you go – it’s definitely our preference too...but it is definitely a tricky balance.
patties makes everything better. Thanks guys. Yes, if we didn't blog as we went we would have a backlog then I'm sure we would just neglect it. You guys have done really well blogging your adventures. We are yet to read about your Delhi adventures but from reading some of your blogs and speaking to other people we really want travel around India for a month, everyone has an opinion on it and we just know it's be a place that has an impact on us.
Tricky travel! Yikes--having to have a ticket out of a country. Like you, I never know really when I'm going to leave, but bravo for you two to get a couple of cheap tickets to show the airline. I've also read that Manila is pretty awful, but I know a couple of Travelbloggers who live there and are foodies and know of great places. I guess as a tourist, it's hard to find these gems. So sad the noise and poverty, but good for you for getting out and experiencing a bit of the city. So curious the islands are so gorgeous and the capital so poor. Hope the islands balance out your experience!
tricky travel Yes that nearly had us at the airport so it was a proud moment when we produced online tickets. Manila really is a great place, waking around malate and to Rizal park and intramuros was delightful. I guess although we have been to poorer countries we have never seen poverty like it. Even our pictures do not fully give our experience justice as we didn't take any pictures in the thick of it as it was too uncomfortable to and we felt like it would be a little disrespectful if we did but it will certainly be something that stays with us. Just coming towards the end of our time here, the beaches here are lovely, but feeling rather beached out now and looking forward to more culture again.
Those eyes Thanks guys, We both find monkeys intriguing. But like yourself after being here we started to question to what expense these encounters were having on them. They clearly reside here now instead of in the wild because of the fact the tourist feed them.
"Perfect blue waters, soft sandy beaches" ...." an amazing underwater world and great seafood" Sounds like you found a little bit of paradise. Glad you survived the mini bus.
Foodies Penang is one of those places foodies go to binge and it sounds like you were successful! Love the street art. What a delightful blog. Thanks for sharing.
Perfect! How utterly fantastic that this idyll surpassed your expectations! What self-discipline to leave for further exploration--I could imagine just ending up there forever.
perfect! Thanks Tara. We loved the Perhentian's and it was sad to leave but we had a flight booked 3 days later to the Philippines! So we knew we would experience places like this again.
Blue skies and bluer water! Sounds like you had a fabulous beach break. I loved our time in the Perhentians very much, and I sincerely hope they manage to hang onto the sleepy / laid back feel and don't go down the path of Thai islands over time.
Blue Skies Blue Water Us too, that was one reason we wanted to avoid Thai islands on this trip as many have become overdeveloped and appear to be party central as we disvovered 2 years ago. This place however has been touched by tourism but in the most respectful way to the island. We agree, I'd like to think it remains this way but for now long it will, I don't know.
Trekking... Steep and strenuous trek sounds like something I would have chosen as well... not always a wise choice as I tend to overestimate my fitness levels ;) Looks like you did brilliantly though! Great views, unexpected monkey encounter and some free strawberries :) Looking forward to your next blog!
trekking That's the same for us, always up for a challenge and then we start to doubt our fitness levels. Having done it this way though made us appreciate the Cameroon Highlands much much more. Thanks Anna
Hi we're Chris and P. We have quit our jobs and sold our house to follow our dream of travelling around the world for 12 months!!!
Let’s jump back about 2 years - We're driving to P's friend’s house for an evening meal when she turns and says "I've been thinking..."
And what a thought that was indeed. That thought turned into buying a dilapidated property and spending a total of 2 years 'doing it up' ourselves coupled with a new job and a wedding thrown into the mix for good measure. We even questioned ourselves at times on whether travelling would actually become a reality or be j... full info
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Philippines
We spent a month in the Philippines and it was not enough we long to return. Eager to see where you explore. I'm sure you'll bring back some pleasant memories for us and make us want to see a few more places.