The Philippines

As I sat on our dock at our hotel's restaurant overlooking the ocean with 80's music in the background, I realized that the Philippines is the best kept secret from most of the world. Most people cross the Philippines off of their travel list because of the constant turmoil of the southern-most islands. Our only motivation for stopping in the area were the cheap flights offered out of Osaka. We both knew very little about travel there but bought our lonely planet guide and got to work.

The landscape of the Philippines consists of giant rock karsts breaking through the clear blue water in all directions, bright white sandy beaches, and thousands of secluded islands. This is definitely a paradise suited for patient travelers that don't mind spending days in transit to see a new island or city. The country has remained off the beaten track for most backpackers, which has allowed the country to feel more cultural and less touristy.

Typical sunset in Boracay. We could definitely watch these daily.

Upon our long awaited arrival in Boracay on December 11 (we slept in the Manila airport the night before) we knew the next few weeks would be fantastic. Boracay is not much to look at when you first arrive. There is lots of pollution and no beach in site. Our tricycle driver let us off on a dirt road that lead us to our hotel, Frendz. We had a little cottage that was fairly simple, no air conditioning or hot water, but would do just fine for the next three nights. Boracay was beautiful. All restaurants and bars are built directly on the white sandy beach. It was a regular occurrence to eat meals with your toes in the sand. Our time in Boracay consisted of visiting Puka beach, eating fantastic (and very cheap) food, chatting with our hotel owner, watching a cock fight, listening to acoustic music on the beach, meeting other travelers, watching sunsets and drinking lots of free rum and cokes (compliments of the owner Steve).

We thought we would spare you guys the gory details of the actual cock fight. The precious little boy makes for a much better photo.

Chilling with some people we met in Boracay. We were enjoying drinks at a restaurant called The Hobbit House, and yes it's run by "little people".

On December 14th we packed our things to head for another island, Palawan. This island is a little bit more rustic with less tourists and not very many forms of transportation throughout the island. We arrive in Peurto Princessa, the capital, and settle into Peurto Pension. There is not much to this city. It's fairly quiet at night so we took full advantage of the aircon and tv in our room.

The following day we took a 2 hr van ride to Sabang to see the subterranean river (the largest underground river system in the world). It was a great day trip and we finished it up with the best dinner (and cheapest) we have had on our trip.

Preparing to explore the subterranean river.
We were told numerous times to keep our mouths shut while in the cave. Apparently many guests have accidentally swallowed bat poop.

The following day we began our hellish journey from Peurto Princessa to El Nido, the northern tip of Palawan. Twelve of us piled into an eight person van and began our unforgettable journey. Only about 1/4 of the journey is paved. The rest is all gravel. Our driver was apparently in a race that we hadn't been informed of. Our "8 hour" journey was over in 5 hours and arrived with a van full of people scared for their lives.

At least the the trip was worth it. I think the following pictures will do our next three days justice at the Greenview Resort.

Enjoying the amazing sunset from our hotel.

Snorkeling in one of the many reefs nearby El Nido.

Me making the climb into a hidden cave in the small lagoon.

Our tour on day two of some secret beaches and hidden caves.
This beach's only access is by a swim-through hole in the side of a karst. We swam through as the tide was coming in causing a wave to crash against the rocks nearly drowning Eric while he video documented the entire experience.

Relaxing on the steps into the ocean on Shrine Beach.

Eric and I enjoying Hidden Beach. A few minutes after this photo was taken a baby shark swam past us. Apparently the beach isn't as hidden as we had thought.

After a few days in paradise we climbed aboard "the fast boat" that is supposed to get you from El Nido to Busuanga in 4 hours but guarantees the trip in 8 hrs. So, as expected, we arrived on Busuanga island exactly 8 hours later.

This is also a small island with nothing much to it. We came here so that Eric could dive because they have the best wreck diving in the world. A bunch of WWII ships sunk in the nearby waters. While Eric dove I joined another tour group to island hop. Our first stop was a pretty lake on Coron island that is ranked the cleanest in the world. After the lake we convinced our captain to be a little more adventuresome and take us to the island's tribe. This was a great experience, although we understood why he was hesitant with our request, the waters were very rough and the tribe hadn't seen visitors in nearly 6 months. They welcomed us into their town and showed us around. We climbed a huge wooded mountain to view their homes and had great views. We concluded our days journey with a trip to another lake and lagoon.

Our first night in Busuanga enjoying the salt water hot springs. We were the only white people here out of about 50 Philippinos.

Eric enjoying his deep dive at the wreck site that was located two hours away from Busuanga. Many battleships were sunk here during WWII.


Visiting the Tagbanua Calamian tribe on Coron Island.
There was a little hut that the village people lived in at the top of this mountain.
The long hike up was definatly rewarding.

A scenic stop on the way to Kayangan lake.

Our final stop in the Philippines was to explore Manila. Between the traffic, trashy streets, crowds of people, and our sub-par hostel Eric and I couldn't get out of the city fast enough. We still aren't sure if we were just in the wrong parts of the city or it was just way too different from our past week of calmness. Leaving the next morning before sunrise was not a sad event, in fact my highlight of Manila was the empty, spacious and quiet bus ride to the airport.

Eric finally getting a clean shave after much convincing. This straight razor shave cost him $1.75.

Eric enjoying the souvenir shop in Manila.

We left the Philippines and arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We only had the evening to explore the city before heading back to the airport for our flight to Bali on December 23rd.


The city lived up to the high standards we had heard and read about. The city is very clean and easy to navigate. We went to china town for some shopping and then made a pit stop at the KL Tower for an aerial view of the Petronas Towers and the surrounding city. After that we went to the mall and happily settled into a table at Chili's for some yummy American cuisine. After dinner we went to the midnight showing of Avatar (which was quite entertaining) and then headed back to the airport around 3am for a quick nap. Short but sweet trip through Kuala Lumpur complete.

Enjoying the Petronas Towers under the stars.

Now on to Bali for our Christmas vacation from our vacation. We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays. We miss everyone from back home!