The Visayas Loop

Welcome to the Philippines, its an amazing country, that seduces you slowly and definitely leaves you with the impression that you'd like to return again soon. The friendly, curious, engaging people are rumoured to be amongst the happiest on the planet. This seems to me to be the case, even problems are shrugged off with laughter and as many people speak good English, its an easier country to navigate your way around than you might expect.

The Philippines is an archipelago of over 7,000 islands that spans most of the tropical range north of the equator. The main draws are the countries natural beauty, its fine beaches, diving and snorkelling around its tropical reefs, lush islands with tracts of pristine rainforest, glimpses of unique pockets of wildlife and biodiversity, picture postcard volcanos (many alarmingly active) and of course the famous man-made rice terraces of the north.

Firstly I will try to put a few things into perspective. Despite what you may have heard, it is a safe country to travel in, safer than in recent years when the occaisional tourist kidnapping shamed its reputation as a tropical paradise. Aside from the troubled southern island of Mindanao, off limits for most travellers, the main dangers seem to be the travelling around itself. Ferries are known to sink more often than they probably should and the beat up fleet of buses and jeepneys that ply the countries poorly maintained roads rarely reassure. Also, I might add, few of the cities and regional capitals are worth more than a nights stay, most are traffic clogged and lack attractions that capture the attention of the passing tourist and once you've realised that, you quickly travel through them and onto the real attractions.

The country has a terrible reputation for corruption and its daily newspapers are full of the latest scandals in the closely linked worlds of business and politics. The Philippines is currently ranked 141st of 180 on the latest transparency international index, alongside Iran, Cameroon and Yemen. The perception is that this problem is at its worst within government and in the larger cities. However, the phenomenon does often spill over into the transport sector and I have a catalogue of such stories, which I will not relate here right now. Much of it blatant dishonesty on the part of bus / jeepney conductors trying to make a quick buck.

My journey began in Manila, a chaotic, brash, often overwhelming metropolis of around 12 million people or more. Who knows for sure how many people live here ? Its crowded, noisy, polluted and fringed by shanty towns and there aren't many interesting must do sites for the would be visitor. The old Spanish colonial district of Intramuros was once the cities heart and soul but it was the target of heavy American bombing when occupied by the Japanese during world war two and it has never really recovered. The districts of Makati, Ermita and Malate are the main draws, Makati is the modern shopping and business district whilst Ermita and Malate offer up a plenty of places to stay alongside fine dining and pleasant strolls along the wide palm lined Roxas Boulevard, where the famous Manila sunsets can be witnessed.

Most visitors move swiftly on and I was no exception, heading south into the visayas region by road and ferry. The many tropical islands here, offer plenty of fine beaches to discover. White beach on Boracay island, is the countries most popular beach. Indeed it must rank as one of the worlds finest and has so far been spared the overdevelopment that has ruined fine beaches in other countries. Overall, the island feels well engineered, a beautiful 3km strip of white sand beach is lined by coconut palms, a walking path and the restaurants and shops that face the beach. Behind this lies most of the accomodation options. Despite attracting the international jet set, theres still room for the backpackers who make their homes in the reasonably priced nipa huts in amongst the commercial mele. I thoroughly enjoyed my five days here and it was only the temptation of getting deeper into the fabric of the real Philippines that made me want to leave.

A few bus and ferry journeys later, took me to the remote town of Sipalay on the west coast of Negros island. Just north of town, and cut off from the mainland by a river crossing lies the unspoilt Sugar beach. Whilst, not quite rivalling White beach on Boracay for sheer dazzling beauty, the golden strip of sand here has a more relaxed vibe and is a perfect swimmers beach. From the moment I pitched up at the collection of beach huts that make up the Driftwood Village resort (as usual with no advance reservation), I knew I was in for a pleasant stay. I was greeted with a warm welcome by both the staff and other travellers. The ambience here is just perfect and its easy to slot into the daily groove of laid back days chilling on the beach, socialising in the open air restaurant whilst sampling some fine filipino food with evenings spent drinking and playing pool, table football or even darts in the bar. I could have easily spent another week or so recharging my batteries but the lure of the other islands and the thought of a hotel room with tv for the 6 nations rugby opening weekend got me back on the road to Dumaguete on the other side of the island.

If ever you are in Dumaguete, I can highly recommend staying with Harold in his mansion. Its one of the best value hotels in the country. Harold (a filipino despite the English name) is a blast, a great host and is pretty knowledgeable about the attractions that surround this port / university city. Nearby Apo island offers up some of the best snorkelling you are likely to experience anywhere. A biodiverse coral garden of hard and soft coral is populated by a collection of colourful reef fish that had me mesmerized for hours. Of course, the divers also rave about the bigger fish you find underwater here too but I'm gonna have to take their word for it this time around. In addition, the seafood on offer in Dumaguete's restaurants here is a real treat for the tastebuds. Feast on grilled lapu lapu in soy sauce, tuna steak coconut soup or sample the excellent sashimi.

The ferry took me east to Bohol, another island paradise where tarsiers, white sand beaches, pristine rainforest and the famous Chocolate Hills top the billing. Tarsiers were until recently thought to be the worlds smallest primate. They are certainly an unusual animal. Large bug like eyes give out a curious stare and they are able to rotate their heads almost 180 degrees in each direction like an owl. The best way to get to see these creatures is by visiting the tarsier sanctuary near the small town of Corella. Its as good an ecotourism experience as you are gonna get anywhere, a guide leads you into a small enclosure pointing out the tarsiers who are nocturnal and spend their days resting in the trees. Your only allowed around 5-10 minutes and no cameras, which scare them. I saw four tarsiers and left feeling quite priviledged. Due to logging and hunting they have no remaining natural predators in the surrounding forest and their numbers here are thriving. Further inland lies the Rajah Sikatuna National Park, which although poorly maintained offers the chance to trek into some primary rainforest. Its a shame, the park seems unprepared for visitors and the only way to see the forest was to go it alone and keep to the trails. I had a closer encounter with a one metre grey / black snake than I had perhaps hoped for and although it probably wasn't poisonous you can never been too sure. Tropical rainforest continues to enchant me and its often the sounds of what you don't see that are as alluring as what you do.

My fave place to stay here is called Nuts Huts, set alongside the Loboc river looking out over more pristine rainforest. Its run by a charming Belgian couple who have the prime location for viewing the islands many sights. At night, the sound of cicadas lulls you off to sleep. Its one of the most atmospheric places I have ever stayed in. Its a shame the weather was not quite on my side during my stay here as the nearby Chocolate Hills really need the right season and weather conditions to be fully appreciated. Luckliy I got brief glimpse at the viewpoint, before the heavens opened, the clouds came in and a monsoonal downpour washed away the afternoons tourists.

Theres a definite buzz about this part of the Philippines. Cebu, the countries second city, acts as the hub for journeys onwards to Negros, Bohol and further afield to the volcanic islands of Siquijor and Camaguin, both of which have been earmarked for a future trip.

Pressing onwards, northwards and counter clockwise around my loop around the visayas, I caught another ferry and then the road overland across the islands of Leyte and Samar, taking me to the southern tip of Luzon, the countries largest island.