The Philippines
We went to the Phillippines in December and so much has happened since then! My mom came to visit and we went all over northern Thailand and Cambodia. However, since we aren't going any where until April, I will blog about that trip next month :)
A little back story on the Phillippines - my brother went there for a JMU summer program and loved it! But had all sorts of horror stories about their transportation and how a girl almost slipped down a rice paddy into a volcano. I also read a lot of blogs about how you need to travel slow because most of their flights are delayed. So we decided to pick two areas to focus on - Boracay and El Nido - two very different beach towns.
Right out of the gate our first flight was delayed by 3 hours! But that's ok - because I planned for that and we had a one night stay in Manilla before our early flight into El Nido. Once we flew into El Nido we took a tricycle (a motorcycle hooked to one wheeled cart) to our hotel and walked to the nearby beach. El Nido is known for its pristine white sand beaches and beautiful mountains jetting out of the ocean creating a perfect beach backdrop. However, its also known for its frequent power outages, spotty wifi, no AC, roosters that wake up you all hours of the morning, and risky boat rides. But we took our chances!
On day two we booked an island excursion called "Tour A" where we visited 4 different island locations. The water was pretty rough, but I didn't mind it because the boat had these extra bamboo supports that kept the rocking manageable. The bamboo supports actually broke in the first 5 minutes of the tour because the waves rocked us into another boat that was too close and ripped ours off. But the staff were able to fix it before too long and off we went.
The next day we rented a motorbike and drove to the number one beach in the world - Nacpan Beach! Driving there was a lot of fun and the landscape was beautiful. It seemed like a desert island it was kept so clean and untouched.
On our last day in El Nido we returned to the beach by our hotel. We were there from lunch until sunset!
Our flight to Boracay was of course delayed but we arrived after a bumpy and uncomfortable 2 hour transport from the airport to our hotel. Ben and I joked that we should of written the blog post after that bus ride (and it was worse on the way back - kid throwing up behind us, rear ended a car).
Boracay is similar to South Beach in Miami where a lot of the hotels and restaurants are right on the beach. We had a blast exploring different bars and restaurants and walking up and down the extensive beach. We met up with our JMU friends that visited Chaing Mai a while back and went to a cliff diving restaurant. You can see more of that in the video!
We just went to the beach every day and walked around town (of course got massages) and just enjoyed Boracay's atmosphere. After Boracay we flew back to Bangkok where we met my mom! I was so excited to see her and show her around Thailand - which you will here all about in the next blog post - Thanks for checking in!
A little back story on the Phillippines - my brother went there for a JMU summer program and loved it! But had all sorts of horror stories about their transportation and how a girl almost slipped down a rice paddy into a volcano. I also read a lot of blogs about how you need to travel slow because most of their flights are delayed. So we decided to pick two areas to focus on - Boracay and El Nido - two very different beach towns.
Right out of the gate our first flight was delayed by 3 hours! But that's ok - because I planned for that and we had a one night stay in Manilla before our early flight into El Nido. Once we flew into El Nido we took a tricycle (a motorcycle hooked to one wheeled cart) to our hotel and walked to the nearby beach. El Nido is known for its pristine white sand beaches and beautiful mountains jetting out of the ocean creating a perfect beach backdrop. However, its also known for its frequent power outages, spotty wifi, no AC, roosters that wake up you all hours of the morning, and risky boat rides. But we took our chances!
The next day we rented a motorbike and drove to the number one beach in the world - Nacpan Beach! Driving there was a lot of fun and the landscape was beautiful. It seemed like a desert island it was kept so clean and untouched.
On our last day in El Nido we returned to the beach by our hotel. We were there from lunch until sunset!
Our flight to Boracay was of course delayed but we arrived after a bumpy and uncomfortable 2 hour transport from the airport to our hotel. Ben and I joked that we should of written the blog post after that bus ride (and it was worse on the way back - kid throwing up behind us, rear ended a car).
Boracay is similar to South Beach in Miami where a lot of the hotels and restaurants are right on the beach. We had a blast exploring different bars and restaurants and walking up and down the extensive beach. We met up with our JMU friends that visited Chaing Mai a while back and went to a cliff diving restaurant. You can see more of that in the video!
Lobby of our hotel - Coast! We loved this hotel!
We just went to the beach every day and walked around town (of course got massages) and just enjoyed Boracay's atmosphere. After Boracay we flew back to Bangkok where we met my mom! I was so excited to see her and show her around Thailand - which you will here all about in the next blog post - Thanks for checking in!
