It's More Fun in The Philippines

Over the previous bank holiday weekend I went on my first weekend excursion from Hong Kong. I was lucky enough to have the Friday off school as well (teacher training day in Cantonese) so me and my fellow English Teacher Jess booked a quick getaway to the Philippines!
There's one direct flight going from Hong Kong to Cebu airport each morning at 9, we decided to stay on Mactan island, where the airport is, as we were craving some beach time after our Easter city break to Beijing. A short pleasant journey (I think around six hours in total) from my flat in Mong Kok to our beach side resort in paradise. It was a great reminder of what a wonderful travel base Hong Kong is. We stayed in be resorts, a lovely boutique resort, complete with outdoor infinity pool, a marvellous cocktail bar and a great buffet breakfast included in the price of the room.
I was a bit worried that the trip would feel a bit rushed given we were only there for two full days and two half days, but we actually had a great balance of activities and relaxation time.

As my last trip to the Philippine's was to Boracay, is was nice to see a bit more local life and experience a Philippine city as well as enjoying the beautiful beaches. Not that there isn't any local life in Boracay, but the ratio of tourists to locals is definitely a lot higher! We had more opportunity to talk to the wonderful people of the Philippine's, definitely the friendliest country I have ever been to.

One the first day we went on a boat trip, I got horribly sunburnt but it was a great day.

Where we stopped for lunch

Our fresh seafood meal

Doing a spot of fishing, I caught three fish!

We hired a boat from a guy we got talking to just outside the resort. He was really nice, the price was reasonable and we had a whole boat to ourselves, but we did end up spending quite a bit more then expected given that he had told us a set price (charges such snorkelling fees, and we had a coconut incident not dissimilar to the one I had in Vietnam with a salesman in the snorkelling area, he gave us a coconut without asking if we wanted it then charged a fortune once we had finished it. Lesson: be wary of men with coconuts!) Still the amount we spent over the whole day was still very reasonable - the Philippine's is very cheap, just watch out for additional charges on day trips like this.

On the second day we went into Cebu to visit the historic area and check out city life in the Philippine's. We had a free guided tour around the beautiful Fort San Pedro - our guide was marvellous and we learnt some genuinely interesting things about life in the Philippine's during the Spanish era.

Magellan's Cross

Some local children at the Tabo-an market.

A great weekend, a day at sea, a bit of shopping, a bit of history, wonderful people, lots of Chi-Chi cocktails from the Salt bar at be resort (freshly blended pineapple, coconut milk, coconut rum and vodka) and a well needed break from my currently very hectic Hong Kong life!

It's definitely more fun in the Philippine's!

Easter in Boracay

During the last Easter Holiday's we headed to the beautiful Boracay Island.

After fourteen hours, several modes of transport (a taxi, two planes, a bus a boat and a tuk tuk) we arrived on the island late on Easter Friday. It may have taken a whole to get there (although fourteen hours really isn't that long in terms of SE Asian traveling time) but we were staying in one place for the week so we could really get settled in. We chose to stay at frendz resort which was a brilliant choice; cheap (despite higher holiday prices), friendly staff and just a short walk from all the bars and restaurants along the White Beach. The bar at frendz was also a great place for meeting other people and was even popular with those not staying at the hostel. By the end of the week everyone who was staying in the hostel knew each other. The bar had happy hours almost every night and live reggae music twice while we were there.

Reading up a little on Boracay before the trip I was expecting it to be very busy and touristy, especially as we were traveling over Easter weekend - which is apparently one of the busiest weekends of the year. However, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The white beach is undoubtedly touristy and it's packed out with sun loungers and locals trying to sell you stuff during the day. However there are so many other beaches easily accessible from the white beach, all of which were very quiet and beautiful. On the days we weren't doing day trips or activities we opted to explore these other beaches nearby. A tuk tuk driver got us to all of them in no more than 15 minutes for less than £2. We headed back to white beach most evenings for the lively bar scene and to meet up with others staying at frendz.

Highlights of the trip.

Snorkelling Boat Trip

This was my first time snorkelling. On our first day we wanted to do one of the many activities on offer, so we eased ourselves in with the snorkelling/boat trip around the island. We got a few beers, sat out sun bathing on the rafts, toes in the water - a blissfully perfect start to the holiday. The two guys who were sailing our boat were lots of fun and pointed out various landmarks to us on the way around (by landmarks, I mean beaches). Snorkelling was good fun, although the water was very choppy and I thought I was drowning for the first few minutes because there was so much water in my mask.

Dinwid Beach

The 'Boracay Postcard' beach. Breathtakingly perfect.. crystal clear waters.

Ariel's Point

A boat trip out to 'Ariel's Point' where you can swim in the crystal clear waters, snorkel, hang out on rafters and do some cliff diving if you dare!

Free flow alcohol for the whole trip - a choice of beer or rum and mixer (for beating the cliff diving nerves..) and an all you can eat buffet.

Scuba Diving.

My first time Scuba diving. I met Ben's parents for the first time in Boracay, so I guess you could say this was something of a bonding activity with his dad! Despite being absolutely terrified at the beginning, I absolutely loved it - one of the best experiences of my life never mind the trip. When we got to the ocean floor they gave a tiny bit of some sort of bread, hundreds of tropical fish swarmed around us and were eating the food right out of our hands, some of those little fish have pretty sharp teeth as well. It really was like being in a different world. Next summer when I do some traveling at the end of my contract I'd like to do a PADI course somewhere as I'm definitely keen to do some more of this. We did our dive with Boracay Island Divers.

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Ocean Phosphorance

If you sit by the sea at night (which happened every night while we were there..) it sparkles with vivid luminous phosphorance. One of the most magical things to see. 

Puka Beach

A long stretch of white sand and beautiful turquoise water, there was hardly anyone there at all when we went.

The Spider Bar.

Located at the end of Puka beach, someone said a we walked in 'welcome to our paradise' ..it really is. You can can jump directly from the bar into the ocean. We sat on some seats on the floor, drank cocktails, played cards and watched a firework display before leaving. A perfect way to end our last night on the island.