I left Bacolod City that morning at around 9am expecting a 3 hour journey to Bantayan Island. I took a taxi to the bus station about 20 minutes away then would take the bus from there to Cadiz. I arrived at the bus station jumped on the bus (still the only westerner around) and put my headphones. Whilst on the bus I spoke online with my filipino friend from Bacolod, who asked me “are you sure you will make the ferry, there is only one a day?” I should have done some research. I arrived at the bus terminal in Cadiz a hour or so later and took a trike to the ferry port. Upon arrival nobody else was there. I asked the guy working about the ferry to Bantayan, which he then confirmed to me that the one ferry per day had left at 10:30am. So I called the taxi driver back over and asked him to take me back to the bus terminal. I could either stay one night in Cadiz and take the ferry at 10:30am the next morning or head back to the bus terminal and head for Escalante where I could take a different longer route to Bantayan. Being impatient I booked a ticket and jumped on another bus without windows and headed for Escalante, I think it was around a 45 minute journey. There was only locals on the bus so I got alot of stairs but, everyone was polite.

Upon arrival I took another taxi from the bus terminal to the ferry port. I purchased a ticket and waited about 30 minutes for next ferry across to Tabuelan, Cebu. The ferry seemed to be more of a cargo ferry with a few passengers. It took 2 hours and when I arrived back on Cebu, I looked for some sort of transport to Hagnaya port to head over to Bantayan. There was only a couple of guys on motorbikes offering A ride. I spoke with one of the guys who told me the journey to Hagnaya by motorbike was around 1 hour or I could go to the nearest town to catch a bus which was 30 minutes away. I decided to go to the town as it was pissing down and I had my rucksack uncovered. I still got soaked through completley and the guy must have been driving about 60mph, about 40 around corners. I asked him how he drove so fast without us flying off in the drenched roads to which he said “good tyres”. He dropped me off in the town at a bamboo bus stop, there were two other filipino locals waiting, a man and women. He asked them in Cebuano to make sure I got on the bus with them (that is what he told me anyway) and said he would wait, I said it was fine he could leave. We waited over an hour, a couple of buses went past but they were full. Then a minivan arrived, the two locals began to get in whilst I stood confused. The driver then said he would try to fit me in. luckily there was space and off to Hagnaya we went. I think it took about 45 minutes again, I was starting to think I should have just took the motorbike directly to the port, I was soaked anyway. I arrived at the port at 19:30pm and asked for a ticket to Bantayan. They said “sure the next ferry is at 01:00am” at this point I was really stressed. I sat in the lobby and hung all my wet clothes out in the waiting area on the chairs, layed down on the uncomfortable steel benchs and tried to sleep.

I arrived on Bantayan Island at about 3am after a 90 minute ferry. I met a taxi driver at the port who seemed genuine, not trying to rip me off. I told him that I needed a moto but he couldn’t arrange it at this time. So I jumped in his taxi and he would drop a moto to my hotel the next morning. I woke up the owner of the hotel who took me around to my room across the street and I crashed out, what a day. The next day I met up with my friend and we went to the beach. I spent about 3 days with him and his girlfriend before they left to Cebu. I decided to stay, I was really enjoying the island. Everyday I went to a restaurant in the center called Steak ‘N’ Sizzle and I befriended the staff who welcomed me everyday. I spent most of my time on the island going to Paradise Beach and training at a local mma gym P3B Gym. This was the kind of place I could live. I hung out with a local friend down in Madridejos alot of the time also. We went to watch the annual Barangay basketball competition which was pretty funny, they had a match of guys against the lady boys. We also hung out with her friends alot and drunk alot of red horse every night, luckily I was training at the gym most days so I could work it off. I spent about 10 days there and it was probably the best time I had during my time in the country. The island wasn’t overcrowded like some of the places I had been, I got right back into my training after months of drinking, I met some great people and enjoyed alot of chill time at the beach with perfect weather. I decided I would head back to Cebu and fly to Davao City, I had been interested in coming here after reading about it being the safest place in the country because the strict ex president was from here (he cracked down on drug crime, brutally having alot of criminals executed).

I arrived in Davao City and headed to my accomodation at a RedDoorz, I booked these occasionally as they were pretty cheap usually £8 or £9 per night. The first day I tracked down a motorbike to rent. It was alot less common to find motorbike rental here, the same with Bacolod City but, I found one. It was within a Barangay. It was difficult to find located down the side off a shop and along a mudtrack until I reached a house with steel doors. I gave them a knock and we organized the rental. That evening I drove up to a viewpoint on the mountain where hundreds of locals were gathered, hanging out, eating/selling BBQ and drinks. It was pretty cool. I got speaking with a local guy who was out on his mountain bike, he asked me “what are you doing in Davao?” I told him people had said its a nice city and worth visiting which he thought was strange as he didnt see many tourists here unless they had a girl from the city. I asked him if it was true about it being safe and he told me if a local commited a crime on a tourist they would get in more trouble then if they commited it on another local. Also he asked “where the hell did you rent a a motorbike?” it obviously wasn’t common here. This was another reason I wanted to visit, the same went for Bacolod. Im not saying they dont have tourists and I did see a couple of westerners whilst here but, I think its a little off the beaten track. I found out that evening that Davao has some extreme rainfall during the evenings. I got caught out on my motorbike that night and drove back to the hotel with my legs held in the air as I went through knee deep puddles of water.

The next day I hung my clothes outside the hotel hoping they would dry. I found another gym that afternoon and managed to get some more pad work in with one of the trainers. That evening I went to the City night market which was just outside the hotel. I found a stall and ordered some rice and chicken, by this point rice three times a day was normal. I had more stairing whilst here from the locals but you know what, its nice to have some attention now and again, as long as its not negative. I had been caught out again that night and got completley soaked on the bike. My phone had got wet so whilst at the BBQ I placed my phone over the grill to try dry it out. Bad idea, after that my touch screen only worked in certain areas. I visited Samal Island the next day. I drove to the ferry port a little anxious as I had heard there was police stops and I didnt have a international license, later I found out you can get one from the post office in the UK for about £13. I had no problems and sat on my bike on the ferry to the island. I only stayed the day as the weather wasn’t great, so I just drove around the island looking for beach’s. They wernt the best to be honest but the island was nice. The next day I decided to take the 3 hour bus down to General Santos and visit Manny Pacquiao’s gym. Unfortunately he was working in Manila that weekend and the staff told me normally he would be here this time everyday. I got a 2 hour training session in anyhow. They really killed me and after the session I bought a protein shake and sat and spoke with the staff. I had booked the bus back that same day to Davao, where I had a flight to Manila arranged the next day.

I arrived in Manila and stayed at Red Planet Makati. I spent the next few days hanging out with friends, visiting malls, going for drinks, I took the metro alot around the city and also plenty of motorbike taxi’s. One night we went down to Manila Dolomite Beach, unfortunately we arrived and it was closed so we went for some seafood at a Manila Bay. The Filipino people really know how to make some amazing seafood. Before coming to the Philippines alot of people told me not to spend much time in Manila because it is dangerous and rough, which it may be but, I do think it is a great city with a lot to offer. I was fascinated with the contrast of high rise buldings in the business district right next to the barangays of the local people, the hundreds of jeepneys in the city and the amazing views at nightime. I also found somewhere to get some boxing sparring. I asked if there was anyone to spar and there was one coach, a small guy probably 5″5. Don’t be fooled, we only did two rounds and I left with a sore nose and had to ice it and the sportsbar next to my hotel.

Recommendations

• Steak ‘n’ Sizzle (Bantayan)
• P3B Gym (Bantayan)
• Paradise Beach (Bantayan)
• Pacman Wild Card Gym (Gen Santos)
• Manila Bay

After almost 2 months in the Philippines, it was time to leave. After the first somewhat disappointing trip in December 2022, I can happily say I had an amazing trip this time around. I met some great people, visited a lot of islands and citys, ate some great food, got plenty of good workouts in, sang some karaoke, drunk a lot of Red Horse and ate a load of rice. I had a good time in pretty much every place I visited and there are a few places I didn’t visit but I plan to go again in the not so distant future. My top places were:

• Bantayan Island, if you are looking to relax.
• Siargao, if you want to party.
• Coron, if you want to go diving.
• Siquijor
• Manila
• Moalboal

If you are looking for any advice on your trip to the Philippines, feel free to contact me and I will recommend as best I can. Please like, share or subscribe. Next up, Japan