A summary of my travels between Oct-Dec 2019

As I complete 14 months of travels, I return home briefly to London for Christmas, before catching a cheap flight on New Year's Eve to Buenos Aires to begin the Americas part of my journey.

Here is a taste of the remainder of my time in Indonesia, two months in the Philippines and two weeks in London.

Gili Trawangan (Indonesia)

A 75 minute, £15 fast boat from Padang Bay in Bali takes me to Gili Trawangan. The largest of the three Gili Islands with a reputation for its party scene, white sand beaches and scuba-diving. The only way to get around the island is by walking, cycling or horse drawn cart. The vast majority of tourists choose to hire a bicycle, but I feel this is missing the point of slow island life and not necessary. gili-trawangan

The best way to see the beaches and in fact the whole island is to simply walk around it in around 2 hours. This became my daily routine every morning starting around 7am. I would either walk directly on the beach even though many parts are covered in broken shells and coral, or walk on the circular path and road.

The crystal clear blue water is beautiful for a swim or snorkelling where there are indigenous large turtles. I would often have the whole beach all to myself with not a person in sight despite an estimated 3,000 new arrivals every day.

I decided to stay at a homestay instead of a hostel as the price difference was less than £1 per night. I had my own basic room with air conditioning but no hot water. Agus, the owner had been building new rooms to rent out and help his family bring in additional income together with also holding down an evening job in a restaurant. I felt as though I may have made a little difference as he would tell me that any rental income would go straight into buying more concrete and wood for construction. We ended up having quite a few lengthy discussions when he had the time.

I got talking to a young waiter in a restaurant who told me that his monthly take home pay was less than £76. I knew Indonesia was one of the poorest countries in the world, but this really brought home the message, that the Philippines, as well as many other countries in this part of the world share similar economic realities.

Manila (Philippines)

Manila is very similar to Tokyo in that it is made up of multiple towns/cities that have merged together over time into one huge mega city. I firstly stayed in the Malate area as I wanted to experience local life which I got a flavour of when getting a haircut.

I entered a unisex salon, as I walk in, loud music is blaring, the smell of alcohol was abundant and it became clear there was a smorgasbord of sexualities among those present. manila

Slightly taken aback, I nearly turn round and leave only to quickly be guided by an attractive woman towards the back of the shop and an elderly gentleman. She told me he would be cutting my hair. He proceeded to give me a really good haircut but made some odd comments about the woman, that turned out to be his daughter. She asked me if I was married or travelling alone....I could see where the conversation was leading. Her father then pulls out a razor blade to fine tune the back of my neck. I think I chose the right point to wind down my conversation with her.

Distances are huge in Manila, together with a huge population leads to congested streets partially due to a lack of public transport. Having said this, the private sector has come up its own solutions over the years with motorcycle taxis of various types at your disposal. They are probably the most efficient, if a somewhat hair raising way to get around.

Food choices are heavily influenced by the Philippines association with the USA, with pork in particular being a favourite. Meat is a big thing here with vegetable dishes almost frowned upon. Despite my preference for street food, I struggled to balance my meals with vegetables and began to put on the weight I had previously lost!

The majority of travellers stay around the Makati area which is very western with its modern large shopping malls, restaurants and hotels. It doesn't feel as though you experience the real Manila until a visit further down many side roads reveals the poverty that the vast majority of Filipinos deal with every day. I got a sense of poverty when visiting the Tonto area in the north of the city and at a cemetery in Makati teaming with residents. I felt apprehensive as I entered and saw burning trash and garbage everywhere. My initial doubts were however immediately put to rest when I was told I would be safe by a group of young men. I went with my gut instinct which turned out to be the correct choice. I could not have met a nicer bunch of lovely, genuine and honest people, yes the kids did ask me for money which I felt very at ease to hand over. An older gentleman explained that the government was going to clean up the cemetry which meant all the families would probably be back on the streets again.

Vigan (Philippines)

A 9 hour coach journey heading north of Manila brings me to the beautiful historic city of Vigan. vigan

This is another UNESCO Heritage landmark which has retained its Spanish colonial charm with cobbled streets, landmark buildings and horse drawn carts. It is regarded as one of the best preserved towns in the whole of Asia despite many buildings having seen better days. The lack of tourists makes this feel like a real place where people live and work, so much so that there is only one really good independent coffee shop.

Coron (Philippines)

A long day of travel ensued with a 9 hour coach journey back to Manila, then an overnight ferry with a 6am arrival at Coron. I chose steerage class for the ferry where I had a bunk bed on a semi-exposed deck with around 200 other travellers. It was certainly an experience, music was playing, lots of eating, kids playing and talking, or should I say shouting. I felt like Leonardo De Caprio on the Titanic when I went to collect my included meal.....a piece of chicken and rice as I looked upon what the upper class ticket holders were being offered. Despite my earplugs and eye shades, I didn't really sleep. I think it was 2am when I decided to take matters into my own hands and switch off the blaring television.

If you have little time in Coron you're able to take in all of the main sites with one boat trip including Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, Twin Lagoon, Coral Garden and a beach for sunset. coron

Better yet, get together with a group of others and hire your own boat for roughly the same price and create your own itinerary. You go to the market to select your own food, which included a 2.6 kg fresh tuna fish which was cooked on a barbecue on the boat for us by the crew. The cost of the tuna fish was 15 times cheaper than in London, £1.85 per kilo.....unfortunately I was too slow in asking the chef to cut me off a piece to eat raw.

I had to spend an extra three days in Coron due to a nearby tropical storm which caused the coast guard to cancel my boat down to El Nido in the south of Palawan, all boat trips were cancelled including local tours. Many travellers on shorter trips decided to fly instead but as my itinerary is flexible I decided to wait out the storm. We formed a group at my hostel and hired a minivan to take us around the island to different beaches, a waterfall and an impromptu stop at a clinic as one of the group had an allergic reaction to cake that may have contained nuts. We ended up having a fantastic time, helped by a few bottles of cheap local rum for a mere £1.70.

El Nido (Philippines)

As I arrived three days late, my guest house (not a hostel this time, was a basic room and much cheaper), was playing hard ball about whether I should have to pay again for my room. To cut a long story short, I asked to be shown my room which they immediately did. After not a great start, I ended up on good terms with the owner....probably because I extended my stay by one night and booked all my tours and onward travel. I felt I needed to give something back.

This is a seaside town with a beach right by the port where the ferries land. Bars and restaurants create a very chilled beach lifestyle. el-nido

This is a base for multiple island tours (A to D) which take you to stunning golden soft sand beaches, coral reefs for kayaking, snorkelling, hidden caves, hill top views all topped off with a sumptuous buffet lunch. Each 7 hour tour costs a maximum of £20 with each highlighting a beautiful part of the Philippines. I would suggest staying in the centre of town unless you hire a moped as everything is within a 10min walk. Las Cabanas Beach is around a one hour walk with a nice curved bay and various small beach bars to watch people zip-lining across to the nearby island and sunset.

Port Barton (Philippines)

A gruelling 3 hour journey along twisty roads with a mad driver, in an overloaded minivan, has me arriving at Port Barton. The streets are simply hardened mud, which when wet create swamp like conditions and there's no street lighting in the evenings so your smartphone light comes in handy.

This sleepy seaside village with a beautiful curved bay was my base for three relaxing days, one of which was dedicated to another island hopping day tour. The tour took in two separate coral reef snorkelling sites, a swimming with turtles spot, a stop at the Maxima islands for a freshly prepared BBQ lunch with a spot of kayaking using the crew's kayak. port-barton

We finish off on a tiny raised sandbank in the middle of the ocean and go looking for starfish, which we eventually found which were huge. Back in Port Barton, a waterfall, Coconut Beach and White Beach are all an hour's walk in opposite directions and worthy excursions. The concrete road suddenly ends, taken over by mud and rocks making for an interesting hike or moped ride. On arrival settle down with a beer or cocktail in hand while swinging from a bamboo hammock watching the ocean waves hit the curved bay. Coconut Beach is less picturesque but also less frequented for those seeking the Robinson Crusoe experience.

Puerto Princessa (Philippines)

Another 4 hour journey south this time using the public bus service with open windows provided natural air conditioning, with the legroom being far superior to the crammed minivan of my previous journey and so, less gruelling. I had a window seat which reminded me of my previous driving trips around Europe, albeit with somewhat less horsepower! My visa was due to run out on Monday 18th November which was the reason to go to this main city as I seek a 29-day extension to remain and explore more of this beautiful country.

Rather than paying a premium for a fast track visa, I opted to put that money towards staying in my own room for just £7pn which turned out to be a small 1 bedroom flat with its own kitchenette and lounge. It had super fast wi-fi which I used to back up my photos & videos to the cloud and catch up with some movies.

There really isn't much to do in Puerto Princessa. There are a few shopping malls that you can get around in under an hour, a fresh market and fish restaurants down by the port boulevard area. I managed to find a female operated craft brewery where I spent a few hours sampling different types of craft ales, they were OK rather than great, which was a shame as the concept was unique.

Dumagete (Philippines)

Unfortunately there is no direct way to get to Dumagete apart from flying to Cebu and catching another flight, fortunately the cost was only £47 and quite painless. The reason for coming here apart from it being a base for day trips, is that it's a popular location for ex-pats and so I wanted to explore if this was an option for myself in the future. I was fortunate to choose a very nice hostel but there wasn't really much to see and do.

Siquijor (Philippines)

This island was not on my itinerary but as I ran out of things to do in Dumagete and noticed it was a mere 50-minute boat ride for only £3, I decided to give it a try. I stayed at a small hostel near Paliton Beach which was known for serving freshly prepared food. siquijor

I spent my days either chilling out at the hostel or watching sunsets at the nearby beach with a beer in hand with others on the beach playing great tunes on guitars. As the roads around the island were in good shape, I decided to hire a moped and explored various waterfalls, beaches, coves and a cliff edge restaurant with a stunning view. The island is a very easy place to spend a few days or even weeks as some fellow backpackers kept extending their stay.

Moalboal (Philippines)

I had another, planes, trains and automobiles journey to get to Moalboal from Siquijor. A 15min motorcycle trike firstly to the port, then a 1 hour boat back to Dumagete followed by another 15min trike to Simbulan Port in the north of Dumagete. A quick 20min boat then takes me to Liloan Port on the island of Cebu, from where I take another 10min trike north, to the bus station to catch a bus to the outskirts of Moalboal (make sure to get a window seat on the left side of the bus for great views of the coast). One final trike takes me to my hostel right in the beach. It was a bit of a chore, but the whole journey ran like clockwork with me never having to hang around for a departure for more than 10 minutes......I guess I was just lucky with a total journey time of under 4 hours having used: 4 taxis, 2 boats and 1 bus cost a total of £12.25.

This town is famous for it's diving and also a massive sardine population which is estimated to number in the millions and can be viewed by simply snorkelling out from the beach. moalboal

Another very popular activity which I did was canyoning at the Kawasan Falls which involves traversing small waterfalls and jumping into pools of water while surrounded by amazing nature. Two of the largest jumps were 35 and 48 feet.....I only did the smaller one....high enough for me. The centre of town has a good selection of bars and fresh fish restaurants where you can eat tuna (my favourite) for an incredibly cheap price. I would suggest staying as close to the centre as possible otherwise everything is a motorcycle ride away.

Cebu City (Philippines)

Another 4 hour journey, this time heading north east using the public bus service, once again along many long and twisty roads. This is where the Spanish first landed in the Philippines and it's been a centre for commerce ever since, creating a busy city as a result. cebu

The city is pretty big so I chose to stay in two distinct areas, firstly near Ayala Mall, a huge shopping centre surrounded by apartments and entertainment, where ex-pats live and hangout. Life seemed to evolve around shopping and eating, which very quickly becomes very limiting. My second hostel was in the down town area which was more gritty and real, it was here that I got to taste the famous national dish that is roasted “lechon” meaning “suckling pig”. This dish is often eaten at large family celebrations and is a real treat, but also available from many street food vendors.

A few historical things to do include, the Taoist Temple, the Fort of San Pedro and the Yap San Diego Ancestral House. Cebu is also a place to go island hopping as well as swimming with the huge, but gentle whale sharks.

Malapascua (Philippines)

Having endured another hyper-speed minivan journey to Maya Port to the north of Cebu to catch a 1 hour boat to Malapascua Island;

I would recommend the slower large air conditioned bus instead, if only for peace of mind and much better legroom. This island has so many cove beaches scattered around where locals actually live. It was interesting to see people with seemingly so little in material wealth leading such a simple life where kids are playing on the beach jumping from one fishing boat to another into the beautifully clear sea while living in a wooden hut......I started to wonder, was my western life actually better?

Boracay (Philippines)

To get to Boracay required going back to Cebu City to catch a flight. The boat journey back to Cebu was pretty choppy with the docking process taking over 30 minutes due to big waves. A fellow backpacker that I met at my airport hostel, told me that his boat started sinking with the engine cutting out and they had to make an emergency landing on the beach and evacuate everyone.....I guess I was lucky. boracay-cove

My hostel in boracay was located north of the main beach which made it very peaceful and away from the majority of tourists. I had originally booked 3 nights, but after my first few hours walking along its huge main beach, I extended my stay to 6 days. Boracay is one of the main tourist destinations in S.E Asia and therefore extremely busy. Having said that, heading either to the extreme north or south of the main beach you will likely be almost alone.

My days were pretty consistent in going for an early morning walk along the amazing white sand beach. To do my bit, I would collect pieces of broken bottles, glass and beer bottle caps that I would see on my journey and hand over to any nearby restaurant or hotel. boracay-clean

I would then find a cove or palm tree and listen to music, read or simply look out to sea. If I wanted a cold drink, there was a chap with a kayak that serviced the more remote areas of the beach! The central area of Boracay is home to a good selection of restaurants and bars but prices are definitely higher than other parts of the Philippines, it is however still possible to take advantage of various happy hours.

London (UK)

December 16th had me returning to my home town having notched up 59 weeks of continuous travels. My immediate first impression was that it wasn't as cold as expected, but the sky was grey and the next few days reverted to type with rain. My visit was for just two weeks as a tourist and not a Londoner, as I stayed in hostels rather than at friends to continue my backpacking journey. london-xmas

I wanted to see how hostel life in London compared to other places. Surprisingly my 15 nights averaged out at a mere £10.33 per night. I stayed in three separate hostels, one in Russell Square, Elephant & Castle and lastly in Bayswater. Each had a different vibe and set up. I stayed in the biggest dorm so far with 30 beds in one room. The room was huge with triple layer bunk beds which I hadn't seen before, after being allocated a middle bed, where I couldn't sit upright, I swapped to a top bed in a corner which gave me some privacy, with eye shades and ear plugs helping to offset being in such a big dorm.

It was great catching up with friends I hadn't seen for over a year, with a chat, meal or drink in a pub happening day after day. Seeing London as a tourist was interesting, I would venture out everyday and visit parks, museums, christmas markets and art galleries and just have a general wonder as every tourist does.

London is a special place, so full of life, diversity and culture especially during christmas that in one sense, I already miss it.....but not the weather.

This will very likely be my future, having fleeting visits to London to catch up with friends as I continue to travel around the world and possibly settle down elsewhere.

HOMEPAGE