Philippines

For winter break Kev and I had booked to go to the Philippines so once the long slog of winter camp was over I was thrilled to be heading to the sun! Here are some pictures of what we got up to. We had 2 days in Manila (the capital) and 3 days in Port Barton, a small town on the island of Palawan.

Goodwill gate and entrance to Chinatown in Manila

This is public transport in Manila. They are called jeepneys and there are hundreds of them whizzing around the streets! You hop on and off and they are really cheap. It's certainly an experience, and it's difficult to see where you are and they aren't very user friendly for foreigners although the drivers and passengers are incredibly helpful so we only really got lost once using them.

San Miguel apple flavour! Lovely (and cheap!)

Very expensive salt and vinegar crisps that I couldn't wait to buy!

On our second day in Manila we decided to head to the Coconut Palace first,  Emelda Marcos had it built for a visit from the Pope, who then never showed up! Apparently it's very luxurious and it cost a lot of money to build. We went at the wrong time though so we never actually got to see inside! 

At rush hour they dedicate one carriage of the train to female travellers so I took advantage of the special zone. This did mean that Kev and I got split up though cos his section was too busy to get on. We were able to meet up at our destination station though. 

A deep fried hard boiled chicken foetus. Yuk!

The view from the hostel restaurant/bar in Port Barton

Hammock

It was very comfortable :-)

Cock fights are very popular in the Philippines

Day 3 - Island Hopping and snorkelling

Our guide cooked our lunch for us; BBQ chicken with rice and salad. Eaten overlooking the beach!

It was very beautiful and quiet.

A gambling game that the kids were all playing. You bet on a colour and then they let the 3 dice fall and you win if your colour is showing.

Our jeepney back to the airport. We were on there for about 4 hours.

Then we got a lift in a motorised tuk tuk which took us, the guy in the orange t-shirt and another woman with a big bag, along with the driver. Who thought it possible to have so many people in this little motorbike and sidecar set up!