Philippines
Located in the Pacific Ocean near the equator, the Republic of the Philippines consists of around 7,640 islands — about 2,000 of which are inhabited — that form an archipelago.
-National Geographic
The month of December begins the Southeast Asia chapter. First, we happily scheduled a layover in Seattle. Crazy to think that it’s been eight months since we’ve seen family and friends. For how short it was, it was well worth being overwhelmed in time management and repacking. As for my mother, she landed in the Philippines before our short layover in Seattle. We planned to spend the next few weeks with her. Once we arrived, Tim and I were extremely tired from our lack of sleep, tight time frames and humid heat. My mom felt the opposite. She had the utmost excitement and continued to surprise us with a welcome home party.
Growing up, I’ve only been on the main island. My favorite sweets were taho (made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (sweetener and flavoring), and sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). Halo halo (shaved ice dessert) is another classic fave. I even enjoyed Balut as a snack.. it’s funny to see it featured in reality challenge shows and portrayed as a bad flavor, when it is unique cultural icon.
At my mother’s home (30 minutes south of Manila), we would have delicious fresh baked pandesal for breakfast (three pesos for one piece), or hotsilog, corn beef, eggs and rice. For lunch and dinner, lots of home cooked meals were served. My family and I would take a jeepney or tuktuk to the market to buy meats, seafood and vegetables. The routine was to purchase two or three days worth and have a fair share of eating out.
***WARNING*** below is a video of how they gut a fish at the market.
Three islands visited on this trip: Luzon (Manila), Cebu and Palawan
Some food we tried from Cebu listed below:
- Bibingka (rice cake)
- Puto bumbong (purple rice cake)
- Mango Float (icebox cake dessert)
- Lechon (roasted pig) I’ve had a lot of Lechon but the best is known to be from Cebu
- Fresh seafood, picked up during our boat ride and cooked in the sand
Aside from the many foodies. There were two main activities:
- canyoning – costing $3,000 pesos total / $30 USD pp
- This tour started out as a small hike and the majority of it took place in the water. There were multiple waterfalls and points where you could swing and jump off the ropes or jump off cliffs. At midpoint, Tim and I enjoyed some Filipino BBQ skewers, rice and beer.
- swimming with whale sharks $500 pesos / $10 USD pp
- For this tour, Tim left at 5:00 AM to beat the crowd. Our homestay was right on the beach but the site was 1.5 hours away.
My auntie whom owns farm land was fun visit too! It was nice to enjoy fresh eggplants, fresh coconut (normally I like coconut but the freshness made it sweet and delicious), peppers and sight see. In addition to her backyard, a crystal known as honey calcite, is continuously growing! This crystal was hammered out of the main platform.
Palawan consists of many activities
- more waterfalls (Pamuayan and Bigaho)
- cave adventuring (Puerto Princessa Underground River, known as one of the 7 natures of the world) here we met monkeys and bats on tour
- talking to birds (cockatoos and common bill mynas)
- Taraw Cliff hike (more like climb!)
- and luckily decent weather on the motorcycle rides
- Tim and I rode from Puerto Princessa (2 night stay) straight to El Nido (4 night stay). El Nido to Port Barton (3 night stay). Port Barton to Puerto Princessa (1 night stay).
Our beach perspective
Tim and I were sun chasing, sun baking, ocean dipping, and enjoying sunsets. We stayed at a hostel in Nacpan beach. A much more relaxed beach than the touristy beach town, El Nido. Duli beach was nearby and at the time of visit, had a surfing competition.
Taraw Cliff
Located about 40 minutes from the main entrance, our alarm went off at 4:30 am. The dangerous hike was closed off to the public. Although with a local guide, you can access the view point through a neighborhood back way. It is pure rock climbing. There were craggy limestone edges which made it very difficult. As we made it closer to the top, other headlamps would shine from a distance but never made it to the top (they must have turned around).
Hut
Here is an elevated hut to watch sunrise/sunset right outside the hostel (Nacpan beach). For others, it could be a day drinking or day dreaming spot paired with a nice ocean breeze mixed with the relaxing sound being the crash of waves.
After exploring Palawan, we returned to Manila. A quick journey from Manila to Solano (where christmas was celebrated), and then Baguio City. We got to enjoy a lot of Christmas lights, little biking areas (solo & double seats) more farm animals and puppies!
Butterfly pea grown in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. My aunt and uncles like to place it in hot water for tea or soak in clear alcohol. I loved the beautiful dark blue dye it created.
To wrap up, we did not celebrate New Years with family due to VISA requirements and flight reservations. On the last night, we visited Makati (which had pretty skyscrapers, restaurants, food market, live music, and bars/clubs). As for the future return.. definitely have a lot more to see & do!
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