Family & Friends in the Philippines
by Lianna and Nick
Unlike most backpackers, we had the opportunity to experience Manila the way of a local…a local Canadian diplomat that is. We originally decided to get over to the Philippines when I remembered my Dad’s cousin John and his wife Aileen, live there to work for the Canadian government. Staying four days in their gorgeous house, sleeping in, doing laundry and appreciating the delicious (western!) food was great downtime to get us back in the mood for traveling.
Manilla comes as quite a shock from the other parts of Asia we have been to so far. Large air conditioned shopping malls, basketball jersey-wearing teenagers and every American restaurant chain imaginable add a unique Americanization effect to this South East Asia metropolis.
Four days later, we set out for Boracay to meet up with Nick’s highschool friend George who, with his girlfriend Maddie, have been teaching English in South Korea for the past year. We arrived at Ocean Breeze which became our base for relaxing on our porch and having hilarious conversations with the staff over many beers.
Boracay is my favourite beach I have ever been on. Besides the fact that there are endless enticing eats, the beach itself has the finest, whitest sand imaginable and the crystal blue water spans wide into the ocean shallow enough to be compared to hundreds of olympic sized swimming pools. We quickly fell into an idylic routine of swimming and sunning ourselves for most of the day before retiring to a delicious deli for custom made sandwiches and imported cheese for lunch each day.
While Boracay offers just about any water sport one can think of including kite boarding, jet skiing, and SCUBA diving, we chose to take a sailing trip around the island to break up the days of being lazy. We boarded our paraw, a traditional outrigger, not knowing just what we had in store. As soon as we crossed the channel to the windward side of the island, things turned from a peaceful boat ride to an adrenaline pumping Man vs Nature competition. Our boat sloshed about, routinely dunking us almost to the point of throwing us overboard. All was in good fun and we certainly enjoyed the trip especially for the first hour or so. George thankfully had a waterproof bag to keep the cameras safe which was a must for this kind of trip.
Our nights went late usually singing karaoke (a national Philippine pastime) or building endless, sometimes gigantic, sand castles. Drinking is probably one of the cheapest activities in the Philippines with a beer costing 85 cents and a 26 ounce bottle of rum costing just 75 cents. That is not a typo either, 75 CENTS! With a multitude of live music, fire dancers and discos its hard to get bored here.
Spending time in a location as perfect as this with such good friends makes Boracay just about impossible to leave, and thats exactly what happened. We lengthened our stay by two more nights for just those reasons and didn’t end up departing until Feb 6 when we took the boat to Caticlan and were crammed in a van for the 6 hour trip to Iloilo City in Panay. Tommorow will be another day of traveling as we make our way to Dumaguete in Negros.
Hi John and Aileen – nice to see you guys again! and so nice to know Lianna and Nick were with family for a while. All your pictures are fabulous especially the underwater one where I would definitely think of Ariel and Eric from the Little Mermaid – do you have a “dinglehopper” Lianna for your hair? Continue having lotsa fun – Mum
OK, you sold me. Philippines is now on my travel list! It is funny how what is supposed to be a peaceful excursion turns into an adventure whenever you are traveling. That sailing trip sounds like a blast! I miss cheap beer. India and Sri Lanka don’t have cheap beer at the bars. We are spending about 2 bucks for a large bottle. I want 75 cents back:) Your dad’s cousins place sounds divine. I might have milked it for a few more weeks…(just kidding, at least a few more days:)
You both look fantastic, beautiful healthy colour. Lianna, your hair looks great. Its wonderful that you were able to meet up with your relations and then your friends, its such a small world. Pictures are great especially the one underwater. Stay safe………Maureen
Nice tan Lianna looking at those San Miquel beer makes me thirsty.If you happen to stop in Cebu visit Ayala Mall and eat at Shakey’s Pizza and order a pitcher of beer for two bucks.Have fun in Cebu so much to see and do there.
Eva I had to let you know that last night we got Shakey’s pizza delivered to our room and it was delicious. We’ll have to check out that mall too!
dear leanne ,I see that you and Nick are having a great time . Enjoy
hearing your events of your trip. This must be exciting.Take care,Liette
Hi Lianna and Nick sorry i keep forgetting to write on this i check out your facebook and comment on that but forget to comment on here, Well you guys are having a fantastic time i can see and what fantastic pictures to be able to show to your children in years to come. You both look fabulous.
Love Margaret
hi,
i came across your blog while planning my own vacay!
i’m so happy that you loved staying in our country.
would you believe that i’ve only been to a handful of places outside
Manila City (yes, i’ve been to more tourist sites overseas than in my own country!)
so now i’m determined to visit all the beautiful local destinations, support domestic tourism and mainly because it’s waaay cheaper!
have you heard of bantayan island off cebu?
it’s like boracay, only less commercialized/crowded.
i’m saving up for it. let me know how it is if you get there.
have a safe and happy trip. enjoy!
oooh, yes, shakey’s thin crust pizzas are great! LOL
don’t forget to check out the restaurants along Tomas Morato street and Timog street in Quezon City when you get back to Metro Manila.
food trip!
Hello Lianna and Nick, what a nice way to keep in touch and let everyone share in your experiences. The pictures are beautiful and I can only imagine the stories to go with! Enjoy, travel safe and look forward to more pictures of your adventures.
take care, Bruna and Terry.
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