The contrast between Bangkok and Manila is huge. Bangkok is modern and fancy while Manila is bleak and grey. Poverty is visible everywhere, but it is still a great place to start your journey in the Philippines (see also our article about Manila). But the Philippines has something that makes the country a pleasure to visit: a very friendly and hospitable population. Filipinos and Filipinas are world class and if there would be a world champion of friendly and hospitable people, these people would be the world champions! We spent some days in Manila to stroll around and to visit the main tourist sights. From Manila it was a one and a half hours flight to Cagayan de Oro on the southern Filipino island of Mindanao. This is the place from which we travelled in five weeks slowly back northwards to Manila. The flight was ok for the main part, but because of heavy rains and strong downwards winds in Cagayan de Oro, we had to make a restart, our first one ever. But after circling around for around 30 minutes the pilots of Cebu Pacific Airlines decided that it was safe again for another try; this time a successful one.

After spending the night in Cagayan de Oro we took the bus to the small harbour of Balingoan from where we took a local ferry to the island of Camiguin. This volcanic island is one of the most enjoyable destinations in the southern part of the Philippines. The island is small and quiet enough to explore on a rented motorcycle. There are small villages, beautiful bays, mystic volcanoes, white beaches and several springs and waterfalls to explore. And again, the population is friendly and hospitable. Mass tourism didn’t spoil the island yet (see also our article about Camiguin). After our visit to Camiguin we took the ferry back to Mindanao (Balingoan) from where we took the bus to Surigao. The city is nothing special, but it is the starting point for a trip to Siargao Island, one of the main surf destinations in Asia. And because of the fact that our travel companions are crazy about surfing, it wasn’t difficult for us the make the decision to go to ‘Cloud 9’, the main surf break on Siargao Island. And also for us this was a great destination, because it gave us the opportunity to experience the surf culture for a couple of days (see also our article about the surf culture at Cloud 9).

The student town called Ormoc was our next destination on our way to Manila. Ormoc is a typical Filipino town where you can easily spend several days to explore the town. We especially enjoyed the market area of Ormoc where all kinds of exotic parts of animals are displayed to attract potential customers. Intestines, pigs’ heads and penises of bulls are sold as local delicacies while the market is for us a perfect place to decide to become a vegetarian. Also the smell is difficult to persist, but after a couple of minutes it becomes acceptable. Ormoc is also the place with the best small cocktail bar in the Philippines. The bar with the name “Bebidas Coffee-Cocktail Bar” serves great 1-litre cocktail pitchers with exotic names like Sex on the Beach, Mud Slide and Inferno (how this last cocktail is made can be seen here). This bar is also the place where Jorn showed us how to drink a cocktail through the nose.

Our last destination on the Island of Leyte was the town of Tacloban. We had some bad weather in this town, so we decided to have a rest day before visiting the Sohoton National Park. This park is officially located on the island of Samar, but it is most easily visited from Tacloban on Leyte. The Sohoton National Park is mainly known for it caves, but also the one and a half hours boat ride to and from the park is beautiful. The ride gives you the opportunity to see how people live on the shores of the river. Waving children and smiling women who are washing the clothes in the river are a bonus on this great daytrip.