Last year I took some time off during summer break to get away from Hong Kong and visit one of the nearby sensational tropical attractions. At that time, a new budget airline by the name of Airphil Express just opened up with insane return fares going from Hong Kong to Cebu for 750HK$ (~95US$), and it was just too good to pass up. When I booked the last minute flight I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but as it usually happens with these things everything worked out brilliantly and that trip offered some of the most authentic local experiences I’ve had since I moved in to Hong Kong.
I think what took me most by surprise was just how undeveloped the Philippines are. The inherent stereotypical bias from the Filipinos I’ve met oversees was that they were quite well educated, mostly English proficient, and so aside from the general rumors I try to ignore regarding corruption and crime I expected things to be generally well off. You’d expect that from a former American colony, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, even Cebu City, one of the most developed cities in the Philippines was far below my expectations regarding infrastructure. If I’d have to place it, I’d say it was somewhere along the lines of northern Thailand, Cambodia and non-Urban Vietnam. But this is just from my very short tourist observations, I could be dead wrong.
But, as a tourist, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It could spoil your vacation if you’re expecting top notch tourist attractions that cater to the well-travelled international audiences, but if you’re there to enjoy wonderful undeveloped beaches and relatively unspoiled authentic local culture, then southern Philippines might be just the thing. Most of my time was spent in Siquijor, a small island south of Bohol, where I had some terrific local adventures – catching local cock-fights, sipping horrible rice wine with the locals, enjoying wonderful hospitality from a local arts group and playing with local Filipino kids on gorgeous tranquil beaches on both sides of the island. Not to mentioned rarely visited waterfalls and off the beaten track picture perfect beaches. My near-death experience trip just off of Dumaguete to some mountain hotsprings and further north to the twin lakes will most definitely stay with me for long.
My path, should you wish to follow some of it was :
- Cebu City – Day 1
- Boat to Tagbiliran City – Bohol Island base – Day 1
- Motorcycle trip around Panglao Island – Day 2
- Motorcycle trip around Bohol Island – Day 3
- Boat to Siquijor – Day 4
- Motorcycle trip around the eastern side of the island. – Day 4
- Boat to Dumaguete. – Day 5
- Motorcycle trip to hotsprings, twin lakes, all the way up to Bais City. – Day 5
- Boat to Siquijor. – Day 6
- Motorcycle trip around the western side of the island. – Day 6 (you might want to switch this with day 5, I did it this way because of the boat schedules)
- Boat to Cebu City and flight back. – Day 7
This is what it looked like…
Following are the posts I wrote about my Filipino travels :
Cebu City
- Magellan’s Cross – Basilica of Santo Niño : Cebu City
- Carbon Market : Cebu City
- Yap Sandiego Heritage House : Cebu City
- Fort San Pedro : Cebu City
Bohol
- Chocolate Hills : Bohol
- Loboc : Bohol
- Philippine Tarsier Wildlife Sanctuary : Corella – Bohol
- Bohol Mini Zoo (photos only)
Siquijor
- Olang Arts Park : Local Encounters at Siquijor
- Northern Beach Siquijor : Playing with local Filipino kids
- Southern Beaches of Siquijor : Local Kids
- Kagusuan Beach : Siquijor
- Cock Fighting – Authentic Filipino Culture : Siquijor, Philippines
- Lugnason Falls : Siquijor
- Siquijor : Butterfly Sanctuary
- Recommended stay: Villa Marmarine : Recommended Siquijor Accommodation
Dumaguete
- Twin Lakes of Balinsasayao : Dumaguete
- Misfortunes & Beauty : Red Rock Waterfalls Hotsprings
- Old Bell Tower – Dumaguete
- Dumaguete Mini Zoo (photos only)
- Bais City (photos only)
- Rizal Blvd (photos only)
Hope to go back and visit other parts of the Philippines when back to Asia. Palawan, Borocay, and the northern side await me.