belletammy: Visiting the Philippines

The Philippines was the last country in South East Asia I visited before leaving the region last year. My sister joined me and we both needed that holiday. We spent the first 3 days in Manila and I am glad we did as my sister could barely function for the first two days, she slept, a lot, because adulting 😂I was not very different either, hahaha.

The Philippines is a country of islands. It has approximately 7,641 islands so you'll be spoilt for choice. The country thrives on tourism so we were looking forward to exploring. Popular slogans we saw around were "Love the Philippines" and "It's more fun in the Philippines". We visited only Manila, Boracay and Palawan.

Manila - on arrival, there are usually lots of people selling tours at the airport. Be careful not to fall victim as the prices they give are exorbitant, same with taxi services, we fell hard for this one. Prior to your trip, look up how much taxi fares cost to your destination if you don't have pre arranged pick up services. My sister and I flew in from different destinations. As she arrived before me, she had to wait for hours for me to arrive. My priority on arrival was finding her, so by the time we met each other, we had walked out of internet range when we hailed a taxi randomly. Only to find out the next day when we started using Grab (Uber equivalent in Asia) how we had been cheated many times over!

We did not do much in Manila as we wanted to take it easy. We visited an aquarium then went by the national museum but there was a long queue, so we headed back to our hotel. We stayed at a hotel in Ermita, a district in Central Manila.

The aquarium I have to say was underwhelming, one of those tourist traps.

It was expensive and there was not so much to see. The part we enjoyed most was a show put up by seals, that was incredible.

Enjoying the seal show in the audience

As always with every new destination, local food is always on the list of things to try. We saw lovely looking dishes at the first restaurant we went to but we were quite disappointed with all 3 dishes.

On the 2nd full day we had, we went on a walking tour which we found online and booked with GuruWalk.

The meeting point was at the Fort Santiago, Intramuros and the tour started at 9am. The goal was to finish before the sun got unbearable as the tour was meant to last for three hours. Our tour guide's name was Xyza, she was lovely and knowledgeable. We were a group of 5 people.

Fort Santiago, a defense fortress, is located in Intramuros, in the old city, it is recognised as one of the oldest historical sites in the city. It holds a lot of stories which Xyza narrated quite knowledgeably.

The amount of ruin this fortress went through, it was interesting to see it still standing. Parts of the fortress held dark stories, of capture and torture, then the tight, small spaces where people were held was even more depressing to see.

We went by the Manila cathedral, wandered a bit in the old town then hopped onto tuktuks and ended up in China town.

Four of us with the tour guide. My sister took the photo

We were treated to supposedly the best dumplings, then we finished at Lord Stow's bakery to try their egg tart, which is a favourite and popular choice. It's not my favourite pastry so I wasn't as excited.

The whole group before we dug in! Our tour guide (Xyza), holding the dumplings

We spent some time wandering around Ermita, which was quiet

We arrived the Philippines on a Saturday night and by Tuesday, we were at the airport to head to Boracay. We spent a total of 13 days in the country, 3 nights in Manila, 4 nights in Boracay and 5 nights in Palawan.

Boracay - To get to Boracay, you'll arrive at the Caticlan airport then there is a transfer to the jetty port, from where you'll be transferred to the island by boat. Things happen quite fast once you land. People grab your things and lead you from one transfer area to the other, and to get boat tickets. Without warning, you'll be made to pay for it and they insist on prices. With this, they weren't the nicest. So if you do not have a lot and can carry your luggage, you might want to do so. The same thing happens on the other end when you arrive the island. Someone got our suitcases and was asking for way more than usual, we stuck to the price we knew but he tried to hold onto our suitcases. We had to bring our bargaining experience to bear to get our things. Our hotel had arranged pick up from the jetty port so it was easy from there.

Sites and sounds of Boracay

Boracay is a typical island town, buzzing with life and tourists. There were lots of options for food, massages and different forms of entertainment. We loved the atmosphere and the vibe.

View of one of the pools in the hotel

Some of the hotel rooms

Our hotel, Altabriza Boracay resort, was in the heart of all the action. It was located in station 2, yet the rooms were surprisingly quiet. Station 1 is more about the luxurious beach experience with high-end resorts, while station 2 is the bustling hub for nightlife and day time activities. Station 2 offers central access to Boracay's attractions and you get the full island and beach life experience. The full range of hotels can be found in station 2; from luxury to budget friendly, we saw a few hostels as well. Depending on the kind of traveller you are, your choice will determine which part you would like to stay in.

Boracay is known for its powdery white sand.

First view of powdery white sand

I looked forward to seeing the powdery white sand I had read so much about, then when we got to the beach, I was taken aback. I walked back to the nearest shop and asked if this was the white sand beach.

The shop owner laughed, then answered in the affirmative. He could see my disappointment, I figured it wasn't his first time of getting that reaction. As my sister and I walked back to the water, I told her "there are whiter beaches back in different African countries so I could not understand the hype about this one", but what do I know?!

We were at the beach, a lot. There were different sides.

Chilling at the rooftop pool at the hotel

And later on, trying to jump as high as a kite

Taking in some cool air before heading out

And off we go...

At this point there was no turning back for my sister

All signatures were done and payment had been made

There were so many activities to choose from; snorkeling, scuba diving, free diving, parasailing, etc. Well, I convinced my sister to go parasailing. When we were signing the waiver, she went into a slight panic, but I reassured her that all would go well.