In total we spent around 10 nights in El Nido. We did not need to stay that long but to be honest we opted for the cheapest flight back to Cebu which was over 2 weeks after arriving in Puerto Princessa. Initially we planned to visit Coron island but instead decided to spend more time in Port Barton (see previous blog) and El Nido with a few days at Puerto Princessa either side. So what did we do with all that time? Well, for starters - every morning we went to the Mid-Town Bakery. They sell the best donuts in Palawan, the size is decent and they are always fresh. Compared to the donuts in Greggs bakeries back home, here we were treated to warm donuts covered in sugar on the outside and a warm doughy ... read more

Travelling to our next destination was long winded but we enjoyed the scenery, listening to music and reading so it wasn't too bad at all. From Apo island we caught the boat across to Malatapay, the jeepney to Dumaguete then a bus to the island of Cebu which was meant to take 5 hrs but took around 6.5 hours as our bus broke down and we had to wait for its replacement before travelling across on the bus ferry. In Cebu we decided to stay near the airport in an area called Lapu Lapu, but we soon wished we choose something a little closer to the bus station as the traffic getting here was horendus and the taxi took one and a half hours. In total we spent a whole 12 hours travelling that day so ... read more

For us the aptly named Sugar beach conjured up thoughts of fine white sand, beaches lined with palm trees stretching as far as the eye can see, beautiful crystal clear water lightly lapping against the beach and an overwhelming feeling of tranquillity. To our surprise it turned out to be all of the above, although the sand was more golden brown than white. At Sugar beach we were treated to the most tranquil 3 mile beach, everything in some way was perfect, but was this paradise for us? Well if you would have asked us before ever travelling we may have answered Yes. However now, things have changed. Getting here from the popular expat epicentre of Dumaguete was a full days undertaking including 3 buses and a small boat. We caught our first bus from the ... read more

Tagbilaran; The jump off point for visitors wishing to visit the popular chocolate hills and the incredibly cute Tarsiers in a nearby sanctuary. Tagbilaran is the main port town on the island of Bohol. From Malapascua we travelled back to Cebu city, stayed a few nights (in order to extend our 30 day visa) and then caught a 2 hr ferry from Cebu port across to Tagbilaran, Bohol. We arrived in Tagbilaran with the usual touts and taxi drivers asking "where are you going?" "Tarsiers?" "Chocolate hills?" "Panglao?" We politely declined all offers and made our way into the main town in search of our hostel 0.8miles away. As we walked we could not help but notice there was a distinct lack of jeepneys and cars on the road. Instead it was polluted by tricycles; more ... read more

The return night bus from Banaue to Manila arrived earlier than expected at 3am. Tired, we caught a quick cab to get us back to Pink Manila Hostel. Arriving to people still partying at 4am was a little shock, but we quickly avoided the invitations to join and jumped into our dorm beds and fell straight asleep. A 16 bed dorm room that is, the largest we have ever slept in and we both slept like babies. The following day we decided to do nothing but relax as most things were closed (we found out that even McDonald’s was closed when we strolled the empty streets). We therefore spent most of our time in our hostel. P jumped in the pool a couple of times, Chris went to the local gym on the ground floor and ... read more