Philippines

In October, I went to the Philippines for one week (with Basil who is currently studying in Hong Kong). Both of us have not been to the Philippines before so we decided to do this trip together. Since it was still raining season in Bangkok, it was apparently the perfect timing to leave the city.

However, after booking our flights we found out that october is supposed to be the rainiest month of the year (on the two islands we wanted to go).

After a 3 hour flight from Bangkok I should have met Basil at the airport of Manila. But after landing, I found out that I need to go to another terminal, which was not as easy as it sounds. The traffic in Manila is terrible and I had to take a very expensive taxi to drive all arround the airport. Anyway, I finally met Basil and we got our flight to Cebu.

Cebu City has no local buses, so jeepneys and taxis pretty much rule the road. Jeepneys come in all sorts of colours and shapes and are definitely the way to get arround in the city.
 

In Cebu City there is not that much to see, which is why we decided to rent a motorbike in order to see more of the island. Basil forgot his driving license and unfortunately the rental place insisted on seeing the driving licenses. Therefore, we could only get one scooter for the two of us.

By riding a motorcycle you can just see so much more of a country than by sitting in a bus.

 

Starting from Cebu City we drove down the east coast.

About 90km from Cebu City is Dalaguete located. A nice little town with a market and nice beaches.

The next day we had an early start and got up at 6 am. We had planed a lot and were afraid it would start raining at some point. Firstly, we took the road across the island, because we wanted to go to Osmena Peak which happens to be the highest point on the island.

 

The road was not great, but we managed to get there.

 

In Mantalongon (a small village up in the mountains), we stopped and checked out the farmers market. Obviously, this is the spot to trade vegetables.

 

  

Afterwards, we started our hike to Osmena peak. There were other people who rode there motorcycle up there, but we decided to walk since the 'road' was not in the best shape and rather rough. We did not want to risk to get a flat tire and therefore decided to walk.

Basket ball fields can be found everywhere in the Philippines. So it was not that surprising to come across a basketball field in the middle of nowhere.

After a 1 hour hike we reached the top and enjoyed a great view. We could even see the coast and some islands from up here.

On the way down (thanks to google maps), we took the wrong road and it got even worse. Even though, we tried to be careful we got a flat tire. Some guys in a truck (trying to fix their truck) didn't have any tools and the people living there couln't really help, either. The only option was to get back to the next village and ask for help. All the people were really helpful and one guy took me back on his motorcycle and helped me finding some kids with tools. The 5 of us headed back to our scooter and those kids managed to fix our tire in like 5 minutes. They also told us that we were on the wrong road. So maybe the flat tire was for the best.

 On this day it also started raining for the first time. We expected heavy rain and thunderstorms (againg thanks to google weather forecast). However, it only lasted for 20 minutes and then it was all sunny again.

Next stop were the Kawasan Falls. Nice waterfalls on three levels where people can swim in the different refreshing pools.

 

In the evening (it gets dark arround 6 pm) we went to the white beach at Maolboal and stayed in a hotel located just 50 metres away from the beach.

Before we headed beack to Cebu City on the next day (we wanted to take the ferry to Bohol at lunch time), we enjoyed the beach and went for a swim in the sea.

I also discovered a boat with the name 'three sisters and 1 brother'.

 

After a very long and exhausting ride back to Cebu City (a lot of traffic and epecially buses drive like crazy), we took the ferry to Bohol. This is another island which is famous for the chocolate hills.

After renting two motorcycles (this time driving licenses were not necessary) we went to the guest house 'nuts huts'. It is located in the middle of the jungle. The last kilometre was just a pretty small path and it was already dark when we got there so we were not sure if we are really going the right way. However, at the end of the path we found the stairs to the nuts huts.

We enjoyed a great dinner and got our own personal hut for the night. The next morning, we went to a waterfall close by and went for a swim. It was a great way to start the day.

On the way to the chocolate hills we stopped to see  a hanging bridge..

... before we arrived at the first look out with a great sight (chocolate hills).

In our guide, we read about another look out called 'the 8 sisters' that we wanted to see. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to tell us where to find this spot, because they all wanted to sell tours. For that reason, we decided to try it on our own. On our way we discovered beautiful sceneries...

Unfortunately, people in this area could not speak any english and even though they tried to help, they would not know what we were looking for. But after a while, we found a guy who just graduated and knew the '8 sisters'. He lead us to this spot...

Even though, the spot was nice...

... the ride there was probably more memorable...

Before heading back to the peer, we wanted to visit a tarsier sanctuary. On our way, we discovered this...

Hundreds of scarecrows...

In the tarsier sanctuary, we were able to see those little animals. The Philippine tarsier is just about 15cm in height.

Afterwards, we took the ferry backto Cebu, stayed over night and took the first flight in the morning to Manila.
At the airport, one of the toilets was closed. Fortunately, there was one person there informing all the people about it, because it was hard to see the sign.

 

In the plane they had a crazy AC (no worries, this is not smoke and our flight was fine;).

In Manila, we went to the Intramuros (Spanish, "within the walls"), which is the oldest district of Manila.

We enjoyed a great dinner and a last beer in a roof top bar...

... before we went back to the airport the next day.
 

Traffic was crazy and we were already really close to the airport. Our driver expected that it would take another 3 hours for the last 5 kilometres so I decided to walk to my terminal.

And after the flight to Bangkok, I was kind of happy to be back. The traffic is just as bad, but after living here for two months, I guess I can handle it better.