Arriving in Manila we were greeted by the infamous Manila rush hour (24-hours a day!) where it took us over two hours to travel the 20 km to our accommodation. That night we were treated to a great meal and given some local tips by our friends Allen, Eric and Dy (Thanks guys!).

The next day in Manlia we braved the Mega-Mall and quickly decided we had enough of the hordes, and decided to head up to the mountain province of Luzon – Sagada.

Our first overnight bus of the trip took us north to Sagada, where we woke to views of the famous Banaue rice terraces (2000 years old!). The white-knuckled driving of the bus over the tiny mountain roads had Hayley wishing it was still dark so she couldn't see the shear drops and mountain slips.

A few days up in the mountains was great to escape the heat and chaos of Manila. We hiked the mountains and explored the limestone caves. Wandering through the hills we were able to observe the famous hanging coffins – a local tradition still practiced today where village elders have their coffins hung from the side of the prominent cliffs.

After a few days in Sagada we hoped back on a night bus to return to Manila, after 13 very cramped hours we were glad to arrive at our hostel. A quick sleep and a days recovery was all we needed to get us going again… Back to the airport we went, for a quick flight south to Palawan province.

Busuanga Island in Palawan province served as our base for island hopping around the seemingly endless smaller islands and deserted beaches. From Coron town we hired a motorbike and headed north around Busuanga island. After 75km on the bike we pulled up at Ocam Ocam beach a fishing settlement that only got electricity less than a year ago. As darkness was approaching and no caretaker was in sight Pete jumped on the motorbike and headed to closest town to hunt him down. He returned to the beach with not only the caretaker but his wife also balancing on the small bike. (Trying to explain an AirBnB booking to the local care taker proved a little tricky here). After Ocam Ocam we headed to the town of Conception and stayed in a hilltop treehouse. Pete even managed to fulfil a dream of living in a Hobbit house while we were there.

The islands and beaches we visited here were totally secluded and unspoilt, living off fresh Tuna and Mangos… life doesn’t get much better.

A huge thanks to our friends in the Philippines for helping to prove that it really is more fun in the Philippines! Thanks Allen, Eric, Dy and of course Evelyn!