With 7,641 islands in the Philippines, and a strong dislike for travel days, planning country number 51 was especially challenging. It seemed like a good time to test AI travel recommendations so I asked it where we should spend two weeks in the Philippines and drilled down from there. After getting specific ideas of places, hotels, and activities, I consulted some friends who had been recently and read all I had time for on Facebook and I was ready to book. Our decision was to spend 2.5 weeks in the Philippines at three different locations:
El Nido, Palawan. This was our beach week. We stayed at a small inn on the Caalan Beach access road which had a very local feel. The road isn't wide enough for a full-size car so tricycles are the way to get around and when it rains, the road is muddy up to your ankles and the locals typically walk around barefoot, a reasonable accommodation to the weather. Internet was crazy strong for a backwater place like this at around 200 mbps but the power went out frequently and the water often went with it. El Nido City is run entirely by the tourism industry. Off the main drag, we could get meals at a closer-to-local price of about 130 Pesos (US$2.25) but inside the city (a 15 minute walk), those exact same meals would run closer to 400 Pesos (US$6.91). We loved the silogs and banana shakes!
As you walk the streets, there are tour operators on every block and people everywhere trying to sell you things. The big thing here is island hopping tours labeled A-D. We did Tour C which went to five different islands and focused on snorkeling. It was amazing! Since it was off-season, we got a 10 percent discount on the tour putting it at 1600 pesos (27.48 each) plus another 100 pesos each for the rental of the snorkel gear and water shoes. Over the next 7 hours (rain or shine) we visited five islands with different characteristics each. Water shoes were essential and kayaking was an option that we skipped. This was by far our best day!
The beach right at El Nido was rocky and not swimmable but a short tricycle ride put us at soft sandy beaches that were worthy of a day of relaxation. Each of the main tourist beaches were well equipped with restaurants but didn't have working showers.
Cebu City. An hour long flight away is this lovely city of less than a million people that pays homage to its Spanish colonial roots as it grows to meet the needs of its expanding population. While it is possible to do day trips to swim with whale sharks and turtles, those tours leave at 3 AM and return around 10 PM and we just didn't have that energy. Instead, we dug into the history and cultures that was so unique to the region. We visited the site of Magellan's cross which was built to memorialize the visit of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and wandered past the Basilica and the Cathedral (pants are required dress code here!) before spending an hour exploring Fort San Pedro, built as a Spanish defense in the 1700s.
Now hungry, we made our way to the Carbon Market. This is a local market that sells fruits and vegetables along with handmade goods and all sorts of grocery items. We saw more mango here than all the people in the city! Making our way upstairs, we stumbled upon a variety of food stalls selling assorted dishes for under 100 pesos ($1.72). We tried several different options before deciding that we had had enough of the heat and were ready to return to our air conditioned hotel. Since the streets near the market would not be navigable by a grab car, we headed for a more major street and found a tourist focused food hall which lead to our first taste of the Lechon dish that Cebu is known for.
With an early morning start to beat the heat, we took a Grab to the Cebu Taoist Temple. The temple is on the top of a beautiful hill overlooking the city in a gated community. Dressed appropriately in long pants and following the requested silence mandate, we explored the grounds and learned a bit about the Tao beliefs.
Closer to our hotel near IT Park, we took full advantage of the night markets and street vendors, even buying rolls from a guy that cooked them in an oven attached to his motor bike. And we got to enjoy the mango smoothies that became a staple of our diet here.
Manila. With only a couple days left in the islands, we met up with a US friend who has an office here to explore the capital. We learned the story of Dr. Jose Rizal, national hero from the Spanish Colonial era, visited San Sebastian Church, and immersed ourselves in the National Museum of Anthropology (they speak over 175 languages here!), before heading to Makati for our Night Street Food tour. We tried all sorts of new foods (some good and some not great) and enjoyed live music as our guide shared his life experiences.
Finally, for our last full day in the Philippines, and with a few final pesos to spend, we headed over to the Singing Cooks and Waiters restaurant where Erich joined in on the fun!
This is definitely a place we will need to return to! Each stop had its own feel and culture and foods and yet there were some commonalities. First the facts: everyplace we stayed used electrical outlets that would fit US plugs, cars drive on the right side of the road but I wouldn't rent a car given how bad the traffic and roads are (and Grab ride-shares or tricyles are cheap), lots of places don't have toilet paper in the bathrooms and don't allow you to flush so bring your own or get used to the sprayers.
But the fun stuff: We discovered that Filipinos love to sing! In every grocery store or restaurant, music would be playing and the staff would be singing along, often loudly. We learned that the heat is pretty oppressive here so staying hydrated is important. Obviously they believe so too because all over the country, you will find filtered water dispensers. You grab a plastic bag and plug in a single peso and you get a bag of water!
Finally, Filipinos are proud of their beautiful islands and love to share all that they like about them. Hope you enjoyed us sharing this!
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