hey members, me and two other classmates are thinkin of a trip to philippines, as of now no plan is concrete but we do have a short week's break somewhere during march, would be greatful to hear some suggestions on where to go and how to get there. all three of us are interested in photography too so we hope to shoot some nice photos as well as chill out and relax.
Philippines
- Thread starter tjerome
- Start date
what do you plan to visit?
Clubs?
Malls? (they have #3, #4 and #9 of the worlds largest malls)
Beach/Nature?
Historical Places?
Clubs?
Malls? (they have #3, #4 and #9 of the worlds largest malls)
Beach/Nature?
Historical Places?
For nature and beach you may want to go to these places:
1. Baguio - One of the coldest place in the Philippines. Because it's located at the mountains hehehe. It will take you 7-8 hours by bus and 5-6 hours by a private car coming from Manila.
Comment: Nice place, so many things to do, Nice food.
2. Tagaytay - Almost same as Baguio, it will only take you 3 hours from Manila but nothing compares to Baguio
Comment: Nice view of volcano, nice people and food, buy a native fish they call tawilis and fry them they taste very good.
3. Boracay - One of the best beach in the world but you need to take a domestic airplane from Manila to go to Boracay.
Comment: Nice people and food.
If you want to go to the best malls around metro manila you may want to go to:
1. SM Mall of Asia - Pasay City
2. SM Mega Mall - Ortigas Pasig
3. SM West - Quezon City
4. Festival Mall - Alabang
6. Glorietta Mall - Makati
If you plan to eat in the mall you may want to consider the following resto and fast food:
1. Jollibee - The number one fast food chain in the Philippines same as McDonalds but better.
2. Chow King - The number one chinese fast food chain in the Philippines the owner of this is Jollibee food corp.
3. Yellow Cab - The best pizza in the Philippines (Someone might dispute this hehehe).
4. Gerry's Grill - Good grilled food.
Must try or die food:
1. Baloot - You need this to have strong knees hehehe it's sixteen-day fertilized chicken egg. We give it to every foreigner hehehe.
2. Palabok - One of the best noodle dishes looks like spaghetti but the sauce is yellow.
3. Isaw - It's a native style pork intestine that they grill to perfection hehehe.
4. Bulalo - The best ever beef soup with vegetables.
5. Andoks Manok or Mang Boks Manok - The best ever grilled chicken in the Philippines and in the world once you try one you will miss it when you go back here.
6. Sisig - The best ever fried minced pork with egg.
7. Goto/Lugaw - The best ever congee in the world, yap you heard that right hehehe.
8. Lechon - The best every grilled whole pork hehehe.
Just a note: If you are going via public transport try to wear something simple and not to extravagant unless you plan to ride a taxi everyday hehehe.
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beach and nature would be the main thing i guess, if there are fun clubs around would be a great bonus. malls is the least of our worries
then boracay is the place to go. if you plan to go there direct, take an international flight from singapore to manila. from the international airport, you need to transfer to the domestic airport, and take a flight to caticlan. from there, it's just a 10-minute ferry ride to boracay island. check with your boracay hotel if they provide transfers from caticlan or boracay ferry terminal.
in boracay itself, you'll find one of the best beaches in the world. check out the water activities available, including snorkeling, sea-bottom walks, jet-skis, banana boat rides and para-sailing. also for nature trip, go for island hopping boat rides.
there are shops around the place they call The Mall, with plenty of places for food and nighttime fun around the island.
boracay is a must-visit if you intend to go to the philippines.
in boracay itself, you'll find one of the best beaches in the world. check out the water activities available, including snorkeling, sea-bottom walks, jet-skis, banana boat rides and para-sailing. also for nature trip, go for island hopping boat rides.
there are shops around the place they call The Mall, with plenty of places for food and nighttime fun around the island.
boracay is a must-visit if you intend to go to the philippines.
mmm, i was speaking to a student from philippines in school and she told me that boracay is rather commercialized and suggested that i head to El Nido instead, but i've checked the charter flight prices and they are rather costly. like 400 SGD for a round trip :/
@rockstar thanks for the valuable advise!
i've been to el nido too. there are 2 el nido resorts: lagen and miniloc; i've been to both. if you prefer stand-alone resorts, then el nido is the place to go. both el nidos are island resorts, so when you're there, there's nothing much to do, unless you go for boat rides (island-hopping, cruises, etc). boracay is a bit commercialized, but then, you have more things to do there.
i've been to another palawan standalone resort, club paradise. el nido is much nicer, but my point is, when we were there for the 3 days, we actually got bored. we didn't get bored at el nido since we went for plenty of boat rides. i've been to boracay twice, and both times, i had no time to get bored; there's so much i want to do there! and to think that during those times, i haven't got my D700 yet!
if you ask me, i'll go to boracay first. you can reserve el nido for another trip. it's not going anywhere anyway.
note: island resort, meaning, there's only one resort in the whole island, so you're basically a captured audience by the resort.
i've been to another palawan standalone resort, club paradise. el nido is much nicer, but my point is, when we were there for the 3 days, we actually got bored. we didn't get bored at el nido since we went for plenty of boat rides. i've been to boracay twice, and both times, i had no time to get bored; there's so much i want to do there! and to think that during those times, i haven't got my D700 yet!
if you ask me, i'll go to boracay first. you can reserve el nido for another trip. it's not going anywhere anyway.
note: island resort, meaning, there's only one resort in the whole island, so you're basically a captured audience by the resort.
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i normally don't suggest malling and clubbing in the Philippines. If you are used to malling and clubbing in SG then Philippines is no good for these kinds of trip.
I highly recommend trekking, caving, scuba diving, and mountain hiking.
Philippines is rich in gorgeous natural resources. So many to mention.
try to avoid tourist crowded areas... as much as possible if you want to enjoy your stay and save money i recommend to liaise with a local Philippine friend who knows the place like where to stay, eat, stop and shop.
If you are adventurous like me then i recommend you try The Sagada connecting caves.
book a flight via TIGER AIRWAYS or CEBU PACIFIC and select MANILA-CLARK as your destination. Book a cab once landed and tell the driver to drop you at MABALACAT TERMINAL where you can ride the bus going to BAGUIO. usual price for the cab from the airport is 500Peso which is around 16-18SGD.
Note: Do not pay more than 20SGD. Get the cab from the airport crew to avoid being scammed.
once reached the terminal you can choose which bus you feel comfortable most.
lots of choices. they have Philippines Rabbit, Victory Liner, Genesis etc etc.
ride the bus that says "BAGUIO" and double check with the bus captain or conductor.
once reached BAGUIO you can walk about 500meter to reached a cheap but nice hotel called
"BLOOMFIELDS" this is near SM BAGUIO (shopping mall) spend the night here it will cost you around 60SGD/ night with free breakfast.
first trip to SAGADA starts at 6am. get a cab from the hotel and tell the cab to drop you to SAGADA TERMINAL. buses here are not so great looking but you got no choice.. locals usually brings live chickens and some traditional stuff with them on the trip. not to mention some kids vomiting because of the zigzag and bumpy road waiting in the mountains.
on the way to SAGADA is like on the way to TIBET. gorgeous and beautiful. its the highest elevation in the philippines so its definitely cold.. watch out for your gears for moisture and condensation.
just to break down your time lines:
Singapore to Clark 4hrs
Clarck to Terminal Baguio 30mins
Terminal Baguio to Bloomfields Hotel 5hrs
Bloomfields to SAGADA terminal 30mins
SAGADA Terminal to SAGADA 6-7hrs
long journey but worthit every minute once you reached the mountainous region.
once you reached SAGADA you need to register in the local municipal hall. this is for your body insurance just in case you fall in the caves dead they know who you are and who to contact.
there are no HOTELS in sagada.. only INNS.
warm people, nice food, nice weather, killer view and gorgeous gorgeous caves!
here you will spend the cheapest trip of your life. per night is only 15SGD per person,
food is about 2-3 Dollars a meal (expensive.. this is mountain so don't expect poultry food)
caving will consume hours:
single cave entry will take about 2hrs in pitch dark (100feet down)
connecting cave will take about 4-5hrs (100feet up and downs) depending on how fit you are.
Always prepare, bring med kits, trekking sandals and trekking shorts and outfit. Make sure you have a waterproof bag for your camera.. inside the cave need to walk with water up to waist with bats all over your head.
batteries, flash lights, and cigarettes to kill the cold.
hope this help and i hope you get the chance to visit sagada. i have been addicted to its caves and will try to go there again for the 6th time with my friends this April!
for more info visit: http://www.visitsagada.com/
I highly recommend trekking, caving, scuba diving, and mountain hiking.
Philippines is rich in gorgeous natural resources. So many to mention.
try to avoid tourist crowded areas... as much as possible if you want to enjoy your stay and save money i recommend to liaise with a local Philippine friend who knows the place like where to stay, eat, stop and shop.
If you are adventurous like me then i recommend you try The Sagada connecting caves.
book a flight via TIGER AIRWAYS or CEBU PACIFIC and select MANILA-CLARK as your destination. Book a cab once landed and tell the driver to drop you at MABALACAT TERMINAL where you can ride the bus going to BAGUIO. usual price for the cab from the airport is 500Peso which is around 16-18SGD.
Note: Do not pay more than 20SGD. Get the cab from the airport crew to avoid being scammed.
once reached the terminal you can choose which bus you feel comfortable most.
lots of choices. they have Philippines Rabbit, Victory Liner, Genesis etc etc.
ride the bus that says "BAGUIO" and double check with the bus captain or conductor.
once reached BAGUIO you can walk about 500meter to reached a cheap but nice hotel called
"BLOOMFIELDS" this is near SM BAGUIO (shopping mall) spend the night here it will cost you around 60SGD/ night with free breakfast.
first trip to SAGADA starts at 6am. get a cab from the hotel and tell the cab to drop you to SAGADA TERMINAL. buses here are not so great looking but you got no choice.. locals usually brings live chickens and some traditional stuff with them on the trip. not to mention some kids vomiting because of the zigzag and bumpy road waiting in the mountains.
on the way to SAGADA is like on the way to TIBET. gorgeous and beautiful. its the highest elevation in the philippines so its definitely cold.. watch out for your gears for moisture and condensation.
just to break down your time lines:
Singapore to Clark 4hrs
Clarck to Terminal Baguio 30mins
Terminal Baguio to Bloomfields Hotel 5hrs
Bloomfields to SAGADA terminal 30mins
SAGADA Terminal to SAGADA 6-7hrs
long journey but worthit every minute once you reached the mountainous region.
once you reached SAGADA you need to register in the local municipal hall. this is for your body insurance just in case you fall in the caves dead they know who you are and who to contact.
there are no HOTELS in sagada.. only INNS.
warm people, nice food, nice weather, killer view and gorgeous gorgeous caves!
here you will spend the cheapest trip of your life. per night is only 15SGD per person,
food is about 2-3 Dollars a meal (expensive.. this is mountain so don't expect poultry food)
caving will consume hours:
single cave entry will take about 2hrs in pitch dark (100feet down)
connecting cave will take about 4-5hrs (100feet up and downs) depending on how fit you are.
Always prepare, bring med kits, trekking sandals and trekking shorts and outfit. Make sure you have a waterproof bag for your camera.. inside the cave need to walk with water up to waist with bats all over your head.
batteries, flash lights, and cigarettes to kill the cold.
hope this help and i hope you get the chance to visit sagada. i have been addicted to its caves and will try to go there again for the 6th time with my friends this April!
for more info visit: http://www.visitsagada.com/
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Hi can i noe hw nice is bicol is?.. cuz im planning also for June trip with my fren and i will be staying at their houses also
If you want an adventure of a lifetime, try swimming with the whale sharks (locally known as butanding) in "Donsol, Sorsogon" (Bicol Region). Getting there will take you one hour flight from Manila. Presence of these gentle giants in the bay of Donsol peaks around Feb-May.
Note: Swimming with butandings was featured in Time Magazine as Best Animal Encounter in Asia (2004). Try googling butanding to know how it looks like.
Note: Swimming with butandings was featured in Time Magazine as Best Animal Encounter in Asia (2004). Try googling butanding to know how it looks like.
don't forget the scenic Mayon volcano, the world's most perfect cone shape volcano
you may also want to visit Cebu and Davao. In Davao, I suggest Pearl Farm in Samal Island. If you're nature lover, try searching for Subic.
In Bicol, is there any shopping center? for what i know my friend told me to go City is at Nagai City, correct me if i wrong as i bringing ladies for the trip
Bicol is very far province. It would take you hours of travel just to go to a nice shopping center if there is. But usually there is local wet market to indulge in fresh food.
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