More than Manila

With incredible marine life, idyllic beaches, exquisite food and a colourful culture, the Philippines has a lot to offer.



On September 9, 2014 Australians were given a new overseas budget destination. That Tuesday was the day that the inaugural flight of Cebu Pacific Air’s Sydney-Manila service landed at Mascot. It departed a couple of hours later and I was fortunate enough to be on board.

Cebu Pacific started flying in 1996 and is now the Philippines’ largest airline: it flew 13 million passengers in 2013. It serves 34 domestic and 26 international destinations and the A330 aircraft on the Sydney route have an average age of less than 12 months.

While the aircraft might be new there’s no doubt that it’s a budget airline – by narrowing the aisles it even gets an extra seat across each row. Inevitable Filipino good humour and great hospitality make it a cheerful flying experience. And, for a modest fee ($5 an hour, $12 for the whole flight) the aircraft even provides WiFi. It’s not fast so you wouldn’t want to download large files but emailing and some web browsing is certainly possible. Anyway, you need your own device to access the inflight entertainment.

The introduction of Cebu Pacific to Australia has a lot of Australians considering the Philippines as their next holiday destination. It’s at once a complex country of 7107 islands and 175 languages yet a simple one where a $1 beer is easily found. Even better, 2015 has been designated as Visit Philippines Year so there will be even more festivals, parades and concerts than usual in this party nation.

For those considering a week or so you could do worse than combine visits to Manila, the capital, and the islands of Cebu and Palawan. That gives a neat balance of history and big-city living, swimming snorkelling and diving, and some world-class nature experiences.



Capital charms
Manila is a dichotomy of bright lights in a crowded city, cutting-edge hotels in a resort district, and an historical area that echoes with centuries of complex history. That was certainly my experience as I stayed in the Solaire Resort in adjoining Paranaque City, close to the airport. The room was luxurious, the service impeccable, the Finestra Italian Restaurant excellent and there’s 18,500 square metres of gaming floors.

That’s a far cry from the tranquil atmosphere of the Intramuros historic district of Manila. The name simply means “within the walls”, the ones the Spaniards started building 20 years after arrived here in 1570 and 20 years before the construction of the integral Fort Santiago. While it seemed everyone desired the riches of the Philippines it was only when the American flag was raised here in 1898 that the next stage of colonisation had begun. Much of the city was destroyed in World War II before it was reclaimed by America.

The waves of history that have washed over here leave a lasting impression. No wonder the locals show such a strong Spanish influence yet speak perfect, if American, English.

Still in Intramuros, lunch at Barbara’s traditional restaurant revealed a maxim as consistent as Filipino good humour – there will be music and you’re likely to know every song the band plays.

Seeing Cebu
Cebu is only an hour flight away from Manila but the atmosphere is very different. Manila feels like an endless city but Cebu has some of the festive mood of a holiday destination. Many visitors come to Cebu to head to Oslob district in the south of the island where local villagers have encouraged whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, to stay around throughout the year to be fed and visited. We elected not to venture so far but rather explore snorkelling opportunities nearer to the city.

Staying at Be Resorts on Mactan Island it would be impossible not to think of swimming. The resort is comfortable rather than luxurious and spills onto a white sand beach overlooking a boat-dotted sea.

It’s very easy to take to the warm waters, too, as there are numerous outrigger motorboats, known locally as bankas, and all seem to be for hire. At Hilutungan, one of the numerous offshore islands we didn’t land on the island at all but rather stayed offshore and swam from the boat. The water was clear and warm and there were an impressive array of fish to observe. Snorkelling from the beach at nearby Nalusan Island was less impressive but that was more than compensated by the seafood banquet lunch.



Cebu City has one remarkable historic feature: Magellan’s Cross was erected here by Ferdinand Magellan on April 21, 1521 on the world’s first voyage of circumnavigation. The cross is in its own small chapel but is now fully enclosed in a larger wooden cross because people used to break off splinters for good luck. The luck certainly didn’t extend to Magellan himself as he was killed less than a week later in the Battle of Mactan. 

Minutes later I was wishing I had a sliver of the cross or another lucky charm as I contemplated the Sky Experience Adventure options on top of the Crown Regency Hotel and Towers. There was a skywalk where I could simply take a walk around the outside of the building. Or I could do a similar circuit in a small roller coaster. By far the most challenging option was the Zipline from one city tower to the next – an urban flying fox without equal. The operator confided that there are plans for a new Zipline that would extend across several city blocks. Now that will be a thrill ride.

Cebu City also provided the most memorable dining experience of my Philippine sojourn. Zubuchon is a simple restaurant with several outlets that serves what renowned chef Anthony Bourdain once described as “the best pig ever”. Lechon is the national dish of the Philippines – a whole pig roasted over charcoal. From the crispy crackling to the juicy meat I see no reason to question the master’s judgment.

Palawan perfection
If Cebu is a step towards relaxation from Manila then Palawan, the long skinny island pointing towards Borneo, is a giant step to island downtime. Even the transport is casual. Manila has an endless stream of Jeepneys, originally made from US army jeeps stretched into extravagantly-decorated quaint mini-buses. Palawan’s Puerto Princesa airport has an area for “tricycle parking”. These are a sophisticated motorcycle and sidecar taxis. In Palawan they’re ubiquitous.

Of course there are offshore coral atolls like Pandan Island that offer excellent swimming and relaxation. Over at Cowrie Island the open-air massage pavilion is the perfect way to move from holiday relaxation to bliss.

There are two exceptional natural attractions in Palawan. Iwahig Firefly Watching is a relatively new ecotourism project on the Iwahig River. It’s best done on a moonless night when boatmen take three people per boat for an hour to cover a kilometre of riverbank, returning along the opposite shore. There are a lot of fireflies but they defy photography. Each local boatman is knowledgeable about the river, the stars and the fireflies and each carries a red torch that encourages the fireflies to light up when they see this giant new competitor.

My last day in the Philippines was the highlight. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it’s easy to see why. The 8km Cabayugan River is underground for most of its length and flows through a spectacular limestone karst formation and straight into the sea. It’s visited in small man-powered boats. The underground formations from narrow tunnels to giant chambers up to 60 metres high are awe inspiring.



The plunge from the tropical sunlight to the ethereal glow in the outer caves soon gives way to complete blackness lit only by the boatsman’s light. As it plays over the features we soon discover that several species of bats live in the caves. Re-emerging into daylight seems almost anticlimactic except the walk through dense jungle to the beach reveals skulking monitor lizards and chattering monkeys.

Too soon it was time to fly home. But I resolved to return to the Philippines soon. Visiting with few preconceptions I found it such an easy country to travel in – and a very friendly destination. If you seek out the highlights it will be a memorable holiday or it can simply be a very affordable relaxing beach holiday. Visit Philippines 2015 – I look forward to it. •

Photography by David McGonigal, opening shot by Shutterstock

TRAVEL FACTS

Getting There 
Cebu Pacific flies to Manila from Sydney five times a week (except Friday and Monday). cebupacificair.com

When to GoSeasons vary depending on where you are going but generally the rainy season is seen as June to October and the peak tourist season is January to May. Easter can be very crowded and expensive.
Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Further InformationTourism Philippines. tourismphilippines.com.au; itsmorefuninthephilippines.com

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