Arrived back home around 8pm Saturday evening and had a great trip with all travel arrangements going according to plan apart from the odd trike breakdown. The only downside was that my camera was playing up so all pictures were taken on Maria's camera or the camera on my phone. Also, the scallies on Ocean Jet fingered my electric shaver but I didn't let this incident spoil our holiday.
Facts, Figures, Observations, Random and Useless Information
Route
Birmingham - London - Kuwait - Manila (via Bangkok) - Bacolod - Sipalay - Dumaguete - Siquijor - Panglao Island - Tagbilaran - Manila - San Fernando, Pampanga - Manila - Kuwait (via Bangkok) - London - Birmingham
Miles (as the crow flies) Over 16,500
Hotels 8
Flights 6
Coach/Bus (long distance) 6
Other modes of transport
Train
Taxi
Motorbike
Car
People Carrier
Jeepney
Pedicab
Trike
Motorized Banca
Non Motorized Banca
"Trikeney" (More about that later)
Weather
Feb 16 MANILA - Hazy
Feb 17 MANILA - Hazy
Feb 18 NEGROS OCCIDENTAL - Cloudy
Feb 19 SIPALAY - Rain
Feb 20 SIPALAY - Cloudy
Feb 21 SIPALAY/DUMAGUETE - Hazy
Feb 22 DUMAGUETE - Hazy
Feb 23 DUMAGUETE/APO ISLAND - Sunny
Feb 24 DUMAGUETE - Sunny
Feb 25 DUMAGUETE/SIQUIJOR - Sunny
Feb 26 SIQUIJOR - Sunny
Feb 27 SIQUIJOR - Sunny
Feb 28 SIQUIJOR/BOHOL - Sunny
Mar 1 PANGLAO ISLAND - Sunny
Mar 2 PANGLAO ISLAND - Sunny
Mar 3 BOHOL - Mainly Sunny
Mar 4 PANGLAO ISLAND - Sunny/Cloudy
Mar 5 PANGLAO ISLAND - Cloudy
Mar 6 TAGBILARAN/MANILA - Cloudy
Mar 7 SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA - Sunny
Mar 8 SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA/MANILA - Cloudy
Brownouts
3 in 3 days in Siquijor and one on Panglao Island.
Other Random Stuff
It costs around 60 pence for a haircut in Dumaguete.
The San Alfredo Resort in Pampanga has numerous swimming pools and a mini zoo which includes peacocks and ostriches amongst others.
A free underground train operates between all terminals at Heathrow so if you're arriving by National Express check the fares for each terminal online from your hometown as prices can differ. In my case, my flight was departing from T4 but I purchased a ticket for the bus station (T1/T3) caught the free train and saved around a tenner.
There's a clothing company in the Philippines called Frenchtoss.
The big bottle of San Miguel otherwise known as San Miguel Grande is available in places like Bohol but not up north. Someone else's words, not mine!
You get weighed along with your baggage if you fly with Tiger Airways from Manila Domestic Airport.
Bacolod seems a very clean city and doesn't have any of the traditional jeepneys.
You can buy a foldable map of the Philippines over there produced by New Holland Publishers Ltd of London which omits The Mall of Asia from the street map of Manila, defines the airport at Subic Bay as an international one and forgets airports such as Butuan and Ozamiz. It costs £6 to buy in the UK but only 185 peso's in the Phils - so I had the last laugh.
Dumaguete is a smoke free zone but smoking is allowed on private property such as bars and restaurants.
The cost for a motorized banca made in Siquijor that can seat around 8 people and can handle the larger waves, differs, according to some. A hotelier in Siquijor says 70,000 peso's while a former Siquijor fisherman based in Tagbilaran says 20,000.
Quote Reply
... Welcome back folks. 
... WOW, lots of travelling involved! 
Originally Posted by angellegwen
