Visit Home

On the way back from Siquijor we visited my fiancées home. It was nice to see her Mum, Dad and son again.

Her brother was doing some cooking in the Kitchen. I hope to do some cooking soon but will need to practice my fire lighting skills first.

Being new years eve most families were preparing for the new year celebrations.

Siquijor Siquijor

Hired a motorbike to go to the town of Siquijor on Siquijor. This is a view of some of the shops.

A nice little busy town where you can get most of your needs, however if you need to change money you need to go on a bit further to the town of Larena.

Delta Ferry

Once in Dumaguete airport a short taxi ride to the ferry.  The Delta ferry to Siquijor takes about an hour and costs 160 pesos plus a terminal fee of 15 pesos. If you have heavy bags you can ask a porter to put them on and take them off for a small tip.

Manila to Dumaguete

Arrived at Manila airport terminal 1. My flight to Dumaguete was on Cebu Pacific Airways. These fly from terminal 3 so a taxi for about 300 pesos will get you there.

The flight is just under an hour.

Seoul Incheon Airport - 5th Trip

This airport is South Korea's premier air facility. It is situated 32 miles west of Seoul City Centre. This airport is so big a very well organised. There is always plenty of room to go to sleep if you have a long wait when transferring. Walking around the shops will keep you fit as it is really long with all the shops right by the gates.

The flight from London Heathrow is about 11 hours. Then normally about 3 hour wait for the next flight to Manila in the Philippines.
The temperature at Seoul Airport was about -3C with snow all over the airport. Temperature will go down to about -7C through the night.

Hong Kong

OK this blog is about my trips to the Philippines but travelling via Hong Kong has got to be the best and quickest route. Staying a few nights in Hong Kong was another new experience and really worth doing.

The weather was not that good in Hong Kong but still very hot. Still did the Star Ferry and travelled on the metro which is just amazing compared to London underground.

Well that is the end of my forth trip to the Philippines and now looking forward to my fifth trip. Philippines now seems like home. People are so friendly, the climate is just so nice and you can relax or party what ever you fancy. With 7,107 islands I think that I will have plenty of travelling to do.

Negros - Dumaguete

We took the ferry back to north Cebu and then a coach back to Cebu City. From there we took a taxi right down to the south of Cebu. This meant a much shorter boat trip to Dumaguete. The driver suggested that we take one of the smaller boats which we did.

We stayed in Dumaguete as we had a flight booked to Hong Kong via Manila

Bantayan Island

The next part of the trip was to an island that I had not been to before. The journey was rather long. We had a ferry trip to Cebu and from there a coach to the North of Cebu and then another ferry across to Bantayan Island.

The resort we stayed at was so lovely. Because it was low season we were the only couple staying at this resort. We were allowed to use a swimming pool that is normally for the exclusive use of honeymoon couples. The food was not too good but we did find a lovely place to eat in the local town which was only a short trike ride away, which added to the fun.

Loboc River - Bohol

Although I have done this trip before I just could not resist it again. Each floating restaurant can hold about 20-25 people each. The boat ride starts at the Loay Bridge, just 20 kilometers from Tagbilaran City. A motorboat maneuvers a large bamboo raft upstream through the Loboc River, and the buffet begins. We stopped to watch a local choir sing and had some good live music on board as well.

Chocolate Hills - Bohol

From Siquijor we too the ferry to Bohol and then a taxi to the Island of Panglao. We stayed two nights with a day trip to have a tour of the island of Bohol.
The world renowned Chocolate hills in Bohol is truly one of nature’s most magnificent wonders. This sight is really worth going to see. I have never seen them in the dry season but they go brown like chocolate.

Coco Grove - Siquijor

Coco Grove resort on Siquijor is a really lovely resort. The staff were so nice and the food was excellent. The resort is right next to the beach with all the rooms set in really beautiful gardens.

We hired a motorbike to get around on, the stay was so pleasent. Such a great place to relax.

4th Trip September 2010

This 4th trip was really good. I flew via Hong Kong and stayed there for a few days on the way back,, however while in the Philippines we did a lot of travelling and sight seeing.

This trip included some new places and some previously visited places.

Luzon, Negros, Siquijor, Bohol, Panglao, Cebu, Bantayan Island and Hong Kong.
This trip was very special as I got engaged to be married to a very special woman. This holiday was so nice being together and travelling together.

Dumaguete

We stayed at a resort called Santa Monica for a few days before I departed for Manila. This resort had a really nice swimming pool and the staff were very friendly. We enjoyed our evening drink with a plate of nuts.

This holiday was far to short and seem to fly by. I suppose flying to the other side of the world for a week is mad, but really worth every minute.

From here I stayed in Manila for two days before flying back to the UK. That gave me time to visit some rather large shopping malls. The Mall of Asia in Manila has got to be one of the biggest malls I have been to.

3rd Trip June 2010

My third trip was a short one week stay. On this occasion I headed straight down to Siquijor. I stayed at a resort called Charisma for several days before going to a resort in Dumaguete on the island of Negros.

This trip was all about relaxing with very little traveling

2nd Trip January February 2010

My second trip to the Philippines involved some sight seeing. I initially stayed on Mactan Island for a few days so I could see more of Cebu. Mactan Island is next to Cebu and joined by two bridges. I went out on a couple of trips using a taxi as this way it is much more flexible.

I saw many sights including this Guitar factory where everything is made by hand.
From Cebu I took the long five hour ferry to Siquijor. It stops at Bohol and Dumaguete on the way. If you use the ferry make sure you where something warm. They love their air conditioning and I can tell you I froze.