Category: Philippines

View from our lunch spot 0

Island hopping in El Nido, wreck-diving in Coron & visit to Taal Lake

The center of El Nido wasn’t that big at all and was mainly occupied by tourist vendors and travel agencies offering island hopping tours and also dive shops. Main reason for me was the diving since there was some really diving to be done in the area. But more on that later. First up was the island hopping tour. There are 4 different pre-packaged routes that all the agencies offer. Depending on what you want to see, you can select a tour that visits the major sights or one that visits the hidden lagoons. But be sure to check out...

Dahican beach in Mati 0

Skimboarding in Mati and a ride in underground river in Puerto Princesa

Mati was only famous for 1 thing: skimboarding and partly surfing. Other than that, there wasn’t much else worth visiting for the average tourist. That was also the reason why I decided to take a 5 hour slow bus ride from Davao to arrive in Mati in the middle of the night in a rundown hostel with no other guests. The next day I managed to fix a ride and pick up to the Dahican beach where all the action is happening. But the thing is, the waves are only good at certain times during the day. Mainly early in...

Some of the CS Davao hardcore members 0

A trip down south to Davao in Mindanao

The Philippines consists of more than 7000 islands, they said it takes about 3 decades to visit and experience every Island. As I don’t have that much time, I at least wanted to visit each major region and part of that is Mindanao, the world’s 19th largest island. It’s known for dazzling scenery, primitive hill tribes and an almost complete lack of tourists because of political unrest and occasional fighting between the government and Muslim separatists. Government has warned tourist not to go to Mindanao because of this situation. Even local Pinoys don’t venture out there. However, the north coast...

Basilica of Santo NiƱo 0

Dumaguete and diving around Apo Island and 1 day visit in Cebu

Dumaguete as a city was quite energetic for a “small” city. It’s actually known as a university town as a huge college campus engulfs much of its centre. Upon arriving, I didn’t really notice that many tourists around, good thing I blend in seamlessly now. The main reason why tourists come to Dumaguete is to go diving around Apo Island, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. One of the Philippines’ famous diving sites, Apo Island has one of the world’s best known community-organized marine sanctuaries. It is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have over 400 species...

Virgin Island near Panglao Island 1

It’s more fun in Philippines! Manila-Bohol-Panglao Island in 5 days

As my trip is slowly coming to an end, I wanted to savour every moment of the next country as it will be the last “new” country I visit. As usual, I haven’t done much research on it prior to arriving there. I did make some plans with Sarah, a friend I met back in Japan and again afterwards in Korea. As she had a short holiday in Korea, she was quite specific with what she wanted during her 4-5 day stay in the Philippines. It was her first time in The Philippines so she wanted to see some culture...