Going solo: Philippines

As my time here comes to an end, I have had the time to reflect on the amazing things I have had the opportunity to do. From a young age, I have always wanted to travel abroad. Fast forward to a couple of years later and here I am living my dream.

Living in Korea has given me the opportunity to travel around Asia at a relatively low cost. It wasn’t cheap but it was less than what I would have had to pay had I been travelling from home. Over the winter vacation, I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The aim was to see as much as I could before I had to go back home so, I had to make sure that I fitted the three countries into my very short two weeks leave. It was no easy task but I was up for the challenge and boy oh boy did I have an amazing experience.

In this post, we take a look at my time in the Philippines. I hope you enjoy.

Philippines

Cebu
My first stop on my tour was Cebu Island. Cebu is known for its historical and religious attractions. It is also known for the colourful festival that takes place every third Sunday of January called Sinulog. The majority of Filipino people are Catholic and Cebu has the oldest church in the country called Basilica Minore del Santo Nino Church. Although I was going to leave way before the main event, I got to experience all the excitement and pre-event festivities.

Visited the beautiful Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and even attended Mass.

Cebu Heritage Monument is a structure depicting scenes about events and history relating to Cebu. The sculptures are made from concrete, bronze, brass and steel.

Harris my tour guide. He took me all around the city centre, helped me get a sim card and took me to a famous local restaurant. He was so nervous because I invited him to eat lunch with me hahaha, so cute!

Fort San Pedro is a military defence structure which was built by the Spanish in the 1700s.

That evening I met the owner of the hostel that I was staying at. She invited me to join her and others for a drink on the hostel's rooftop and of course, one drink turned into many. I met some lovely locals who eventually went above and beyond to plan out my Day 2 activities for me, hahaha! Such kind people!

Chilling with the owner (on my left) and her friends and family. The owner's mom kept the drinks and snacks flowing all night. Such great hospitality!

I spent the whole of Day 2 at an exquisite beach resort. They have a day pass where visitors can spend the whole day using the hotel's various facilities and private beach. They also offer a delicious buffet lunch and afternoon tea. I spent the whole day and evening there before heading out to the airport to catch my next flight to Manila.

View of Movenpick Hotel. This hotel is so beautiful and the staff members are extremely helpful and friendly.

Palm trees, beach vibes, bev therapy and sunny skies. What more can a girl ask for?!

Manila

Manila is the capital city of the Philippines. It is a city with a mix of Spanish colonial architecture and modern skyscrapers. Manila is heavily populated and a lot more modern and developed than Cebu.

After some rest, I took a walk around the neighbourhood to explore the area. The general mood in Manila was different from that of Cebu. In Cebu, the people seemed more open and welcoming whereas, in Manila, people were minding their business. 

Manila city view from my hostel's rooftop. 

Exploring the streets of Manila. I love walking around and getting a feel for the place. This way you can meet locals and see how they live their lives.

I was told that I HAD to try out the Filipino fast-food chain called Jollibee, so that's exactly what I did! They have the most interesting combinations of foods I have ever seen. But ke, we all have different tastebuds, so... hahaha!

So this is glass noodles with gravy, shrimps, egg and beef topping served with a drumstick on the side. Talk about mixed masala hahaha! Like Wowza!

Later I went on a walking tour, organized by the hostel, around the other part of the neighbourhood. During this tour, I got to mingle with some of the people that were also staying in the hostel.

There is a Spanish influence all around the neighbourhood. 

I always try to eat some form of street food wherever I go. Just for control, lol!

That evening I went out for dinner with one of the guys I had met earlier. He is half Filipino, so he was excited to share his culture with me. He organized my activities for the next day for which I was really grateful. I see a trend here, hahaha. I am a ‘go where the wind blows’ kinda traveller and so I was more than happy to accept suggestions from locals.

The next day my new friend and I headed out for a tour around Intramuros. Intramuros is an old colonial walled city within Manila that was built by the Spanish in the 1500s.

Memorial for victims of the war.

A young photo shoot won't hurt nobody!

San Agustin Church doors are so pretty.

You can see the contrast between the new city and the old walled city of Intramuros. 

Thereafter, he accompanied me to the airport for my flight to Bali and made sure I was safe and on time. Can I just say, it’s so nice to travel solo and single…Wink wink! Hahahhaha!

Last selfie before I was off! Meeting great people is inevitable when you're travelling solo:)

Anyway….On the next episode of Going solo…

Bali