This Time Last Year: Philippines

It’s so much more fun in the Philippines! This time last year, I was wrapping up 10 days in beautiful Philippines . One year later, I’m sharing random fun facts and tips I picked up both in planning and being on the trip.

People/Food

• People eat with spoons and forks, don’t expect knives
• Service everywhere was excellent in the Philippines and people are so warm. My taste of Filipino hospitality started right at the consulate in London!
• Filipinos have savory foods but they favor sweet
• Crocodile is tasty, try it!
• Try halo-halo (shaved ice, milk, a scoop of ice cream), adobo (most popular) and singing (sour and savory dish)
• The culture is very family-oriented
• Karaoke is king here, no joke!
• Filipino culture is a combination of the east & west
• 11% of the total population lives/works abroad

Tips

• The nightlife in Station 2 in Boracay didn’t seem to be as crazy as folks made it out to be but perhaps I missed the wild nights
• Go to Palawan (Coron or El-Nido), its amazingly beautiful and still relatively untouched
• Most domestic flights route through Manila so don’t be surprised if you have to fly back to Manila on your way to another island
• Take a GoPro with you or at a minimum a waterproof case for your phone. You’ll want some underwater footage (I didn’t and both my phone and camera fell in water)
• Getting from Boracay airport in to town was confusing. You had to get so many tickets and transfers (including a boat ride). My Boracay guide who sorted it all out. Worth it in my opinion!
• There’s so much to see and do, I wish I had time to go to Bohol and El-Nido amongst other islands
• Book domestic tickets in advance, and they’ll be significantly cheaper. Main airlines are Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, and Philippines Airlines
• Go sunset sailing on a Paraw in Boracay

Surprises

• I got asked about my (braided) hair a lot, in a nice way
• People say ‘sir/ma’am allllllll the time
• Filipinos explore their own country! This is the only country I’ve been where I’ve met more locals on holiday than foreigners.
• Boracay’s sunsets are worth the hype but bear in mind hundreds of other people got the same memo, you will NOT be alone at the beach
• There isn’t much to do in Coron town itself, the beauty is on the water. Get out there!
• I did see a lot of younger-looking Filipino women with older Caucasian men in Boracay
• If you love to dive, the Philippines islands are some of the best places in the world to do so

It’s more fun in the Philippines in the official tourism slogan and it’s so true! There are so many ways to plan an itinerary to visit some of the 7,000 islands in this nation. Either way, you won’t go wrong! For more details on where I went and what I did, see my previous posts here and here.

Which of these facts did you find surprising? Do you have additional fun facts or tips? Please share in the comments section below!

PS, If you haven’t yet, please don’t forget to subscribe to be notified by email of new posts, and to receive my new monthly newsletter starting at the end of this month (April). Have an amazing month!

Till next week,

Dee