Siquijor Island - witchcraft and waterfalls

Another day another gorgeous Philippine Island. I caught they ferry to Siquijor fresh from a warning from a local the night before who was telling me to be very careful as the island has lots of mystery and witchcraft.

Solangon beach Siquijor

After much reading up in my lonely planet and on the internet, I still didn't really know where to stay. Zooming in on Google maps I found a cluster of hotels and guesthouses just south of San Juan so I headed there.

Beach and the sea wasn't as picture perfect as this photo shows

My research also told me to be careful of been ripped off by the tricycle drivers who ignore the posted tourist rate of 250 Peso signs to San Juan and try to charge 500. It is not possible to do it for less than 250 I read, challenge accepted. I headed out of the port and the first thing I saw was a half full Jeepney waiting to become overloaded before setting off. Luckily he was heading my way so I got my transfer for 20 Peso, have some of that professional travel writers.

The first gaff I chose had an economy room at a less than economical price of 1,000 (£15) no air conditioning, no bathroom and no hot water. Fair play to the lady in this resort she directed me over the road to a 'food haus' that had accompanying room with A.C. and bathroom for just 600. Only problem was, it had a bathroom but didn't have water. I was given a bucket of water and a cup which was to double up as my shower and toilet flush for a few days.

The place I stayed was a family run business, all the staff were really nice and made me feel very welcome. I tried to repay there kindness and the fact it was a cheap room rate by eating most of my meals in the attached cafe. It also helped that it served delicious food at very cheap prices.

I'd showered that morning and didn't fancy the look of the stale merky looking water in the bucket for another one so I went out to see the sunset probably stinking a little bit.

Sunset over the Negros Oriental

No sooner had I walked into a sunset bar I was talking to locals, expats and travellers, then making friends with their friends. The place had a really relaxed and friendly vibe to it. It also had a sunset special happy hour drinks menu. Cuba Libra's for 55 Peso (85p) and they packed a fair old punch too. 

If Carlsberg did sunsets

The downside to chatting and enjoying yourself in a bar is it is thirsty work. When travelling alone I like a beer or two at night, but don't normally go over the top, so I bid everyone goodnight and headed home. I called in a place for supper, had a quick bite and a bottle of water, paid my bill and left to go to my room next door.

The waiter shouts to me, "Are you going to the party"

"What party"

"The annual fiesta up the hill"

I said I wasn't but it got me thinking...
I had a key for my room but not one for the entry to the house, so if I went out late, would I be able to get back in.

On walking to my room, the girl from the adjoining house asked me the same question, she offered to give me a lift. Within seconds I was throwing cups of cold water over myself to freshen up, and off I went.

The fiesta was basically an outdoor disco, it was busy enough with more people arriving all the time as local restaurants and bars were closing. I quickly got chatting with some local youngsters that got me on the rum and sprite. They were buying it by the bottle full and pouring huge measures to pass around.

Fiesta Time - poor photo but the rum had kicked in

The night went fast, very fast, the next morning I could remember dancing which is always a bad sign

I got up for breakfast and went back to bed, only getting up occasionally to get another bottle of mineral water. The day was wasted. I went out for the sunset and had a mango shake. 

The morning after the night before

A girl shouts over," I've been so hungover today", I said "me also, were you at the party last night?" "Yes we were dancing together" she replied. "Oh dear, I'm sorry" I sheepishly said. We had a good laugh which raised my spirits but I kept on fruit shakes for the evening.

I had planned only a two night stay in Siquijor but the wasted day meant I'd seen little of the island so I stayed an extra day.

I had a really nice tourist day. I visited some special old (400 years) tree which had a pool in front of it with those fishes that nibble at your dead skin on your feet in foot spas. I had a bit of that for free, it caused a strange tickling sensation, but made sure my feet were well and truly out the water when the larger fish came over.

Old balete tree with foot spa in front

San Isidro Labrador Church in Lazi

Next I went to Cambugahay waterfalls which were stunning. It was a three tiered waterfall, each one progressively better than the one before. I so much wanted to get in for a swim and a cool off, but the lonely planet warned that many tourists have had possessions stolen whilst in the water.

Cambugahay Falls

Inviting pools

I noticed a small island in the middle of the top pool, waded out to that and left my bag on there so I could keep an eye on it. The water was crystal clear and nice and warm. By now my water had run out at the hotel so this was my best and only way of getting clean in days. I could and should have stayed there all day, but I had a driver waiting for me at the top of the 200+ steps.

The top pool and my shower for the day

Walking back down the waterfalls I witnessed an unbelievable site, a bride in full white traditional wedding gown on a rope swing posing for photos swinging over the bottom pool, the groom then jumped on also and the inevitable happened, the pair of them went in the water. I'm not sure but I guess this guy might hear about this from his new wife for most of his married life.

Sadly I never caught on camera the bride on the swing, but this gives you an idea

I then asked to be dropped by Paliton Beach about 3 km away from my hotel. It was a gorgeous beach but the sea has lots of grass in it. Passing around a couple of coves I found a nice spot with nice shallow water which I lazed in for hours.

Paliton Beach

I went back to the sunset bar again, this time taking it steady, but having a great night with the same people I'd met on the first day.

One last sunset to enjoy

My time on the island really made me appreciate one commodity which I'd previously taken for granted, water. Due to the severe drought the island has little water, I'm not sure how the more expensive resorts were managing. I was amazed at how free flowing the waterfalls were in such drought. Must be fed from underground. 

With each day I travel the more and more I realise how little in life you really need. That said, if there is an art to a bucket flush toilet, sadly I haven't really mastered it.

There is definitely a draw to Siquijor, many people I spoke to either never leave or return each year. Other than the waterfalls it wasn't that special a place, but it was a place I really enjoyed, I can't quite put my finger on what it was. Perhaps that is part of the mystique of the island.

The church in Siquijor town as I waited to catch the ferry of the island

A hidden Gem - Sugar Beach

Sugar beach

Following a late start due to the lure of the thermal baths at Mambukal, I set about my optimistic and epic journey to Sugar Beach. In truth I was always chasing my planned itinerary. But after the 2 buses and Jeepney ride, I saw a wonderful sunset as my journey was reaching conclusion. Trouble was it then took a massive detour and by the time I was due to alight the bus it was already pitch black dark and didn't fancy the 3km ride from a random village by tricycle followed by a paddle boat across the river and then look for accommodation.

Instead I opted to stay on the bus to Sipalay the next big resort and look for accommodation in the town and resume my travel plans the next day.

Sipalay beach

A quick check on booking.com, agoda and Airbnb, showed me a reasonably priced gaff near the bus station. A quick check in and off I went looking for food.

It was 7:50pm, and I asked in the hotel restaurant what time they were serving food until.

"I will just check with the chef sir"

2 mins later "8:30'sir"

So I ordered my meal and waited.

The waitress came back a few mins later and said "sorry we have none left of your choice, so I ordered something the waitress said was available, 10 mins later she came back and said "sorry sir, kitchen closed"

Sipalay beach had many local tourists, and I managed to get food elsewhere at a ridiculously cheap price, tasty too. It was a place the Lonely Planet says you have no reason to visit other than to catch a bus, but I thought it was a nice setting and I think the criticism was overly harsh.

Sipalay, not a bad place considering its write up in the Lonely Planet

I then went to the busiest bar on the beach front and got well in with some local lads who had been drinking a while it seemed. One guy was insistent that he bought me a drink, which out of politeness I refused. However it quickly turned 360° and ended up him wanting me to buy him and his mates beers, at which point I paid my small bill, made excuses and had an early night.

The next morning I took full advantage of having the pool to myself, had a swim and relax before continuing my journey to Sugar Beach. Each travel leg I managed to shave a considerable amount from the Lonely Planet guidelines by negotiating the price down.

Nice morning in the pool

I was glad I hadn't embarked on this remaining portion of my journey the night before, when I saw the complexity in getting to the beach. Down a very poor dirt track for about 3 km and across a river in a paddle boat. Both 'drivers' tried and failed to rip me off, but at night I would have had considerably less bargaining power.

Journey across the river

Just around the corner is Sugar Beach

I found accommodation easily enough at my preferred destination. A lovely resort that had some cheap (very cheap) Pica huts made from bamboo and coconut tree leaves. The hut was about the size of a standard garden shed, with a mattress on the floor and a mosquito net to prevent the inevitable bites due to the large gaps in the hut walls and roof.

My Pica hut 

This net did a fine job of keeping the bugs out

Sugar beach was quiet, very quiet, at times I had the place to myself. With beautiful sand fringed by coconut trees and warm sea, it was lovely. The 2nd day (Saturday) it did fill up with day and weekend trippers from the Philippines. The were all friendly and invited me to the feast they were having and I joined in with a game of volleyball.

Lazing in the hammock

I caught a little too much sun messing around in the sea having a swim. A cool breeze hit the bay making it feel cooler than it obviously was.

Nice spot this Sugar Beach

The owner of my hotel (Canadian) rocked up the next day and I spent a long time chatting with him. After the staff saw me with the owner and seemingly knowing him, the staff who were already excellent, treated me like a king for the rest of the stay.

Nice little bar on the rocks

I got taken to a cave, which otherwise I would not known existed, then shown around the nearby locals village. Drinks in the bar were good value especially when the owner was buying them. He was a bit of a confident 'businessman' and entertained me and the girls that worked at the resort with a series of magic tricks and presumably exaggerated stories.

Hidden attraction the cave at Sugar Beach

The staff in the place were really good fun, polite and confident enough to tease me over my apparent fear of the huge lizards (Gecko's) that were about. Normally I don't mind these as they eat the bugs and mosquitoes in your room. These fellas however must have eaten some mosquitoes in their time. They were about a foot long and 2 inches wide. Quick on their feet also, which made me a little jumpy, much to the humor of the staff.

HUGE Gecko's

I was asked by the owner to join him and some other guests on an all expense paid, island hopping and snorkeling trip be next day. I was too polite and too English in a way, which lead to me leaving the resort before they came back. I was annoyed with myself, throughout my travels I wanted to force myself to accept the many opportunities to come my way. In my defense I did have another monster day of travelling lined up so wanted to get away at a reasonable time. It would probably have meant staying another day with more drinks and magic on the night

So in the last couple of weeks I've been to two very beautiful and contrasting beach resorts, one massively developed (Boracay) this one much quieter. So which beach did I prefer?

Sand and sea quality Boracay just edges it, but Sugar beach was near perfect. Nightlife I preferred Sugar beach with its quiet nightlife where you get to meet and know everyone. Sugar beach is not a party destination and should remain that way in my opinion. The remoteness of Sugar Beach keeps the place special. Great for scuba diving apparently if that is your thing. Importantly to me both have magnificent sunsets to enjoy.

Philippines do sunsets exceptionally well

Another ambitious travelling day was to follow. Just as well I skipped the free boat trip as it took ages to get to Dumaguete. Back to town I took the hard route walking then a paddle boat over the river and a tricycle ride up the dusty and very bumpy beach track and into town. An alternative option was to get charter a boat to take me direct. This was 300 Peso, in both directions I got it for 120. So that was a total saving of 460 Peso (>£7) which paid for a nights accommodation.

Got to say I've loved other places more

With it been Sunday, buses weren't that frequent, but once the first one came they almost lined up as connections. I had to get three buses in total, 1.5 hours, 2.5 hours  and 2 hours. I took the unwise, even foolish over confident step at the start of the journey by buying a coconut pie from a street seller, 2 in fact as he didn't have change. The pie just looked like a standard meat pie you get in England but the filling was hot fresh coconut, the slimey stuff you get in fresh green coconuts before they have dried out. They were delicious and my stomach never suffered from the experience.

I stayed somewhere a bit nicer in Dumaguete, it was nice to get good night sleep and feel properly clean when you come out of the shower. It was well worth the £12 room charge.

All that travelling tired me out. Continuing the upscaling theme I had dinner in a highly recommended restaurant with homemade ginger lemonade which was delicious.

Fine Dining

A good sleep after an early night and I was feeling revitalised. I took in the sights of Dumagete which took about 2 hours (dragging it out), went back and did a bit of studying on the internet, which set me up nicely for another nap. 

Dumaguete Cathedral

Dumaguete Bell Tower

This hotel was really great to meet other travellers, I got onto long conversations on numerous occasions with people from round the world, sharing travel tips and stories.

Squid for just a few quid for lunch

Would I recommend Dumagete to other travels, yes but only as a stop over to break the journey. On the night walking along the seafront there is plenty going on with makeshift stalls and street food. A nice vibe of people going for an evening stroll.

Nice statue by the promenade

Next blog covers my time on Siquijor Island, famed for witchcraft and me partying hard at the annual fiesta.

Life in Philippines away from the beaches

Leaving the island of Boracay I had a similar sketch as arriving, having to pay an extortionate (in comparison to the boat fare) terminal fee and a cheap boat ticket. Having promised myself that the rest of my time in Philippines would be over land or sea what would happen over the next few days would be long bus rides and boat trips.

I took the bus (6 hours) to Iloilo, a name that I continually failed to pronounce correctly. I had various passengers sat next to me, some couldn't speak English, some were quiet but the last couple of hours I was accompanied by a student from Iloilo. Angela was very friendly and the discussion flowed and the time quickly passed by.

To save me the expense of a taxi from the bus station to my hotel, Angela not only helped me get the Jeepney that I needed, she also came with me, which was a nice touch as it was completely the wrong direction for her.

Jeepney's are a great way of getting around cities and towns in the Philippines (if you know which one to catch). They are Jeeps with a long open back, with benches running along both sides. They are very cheap and stop for you when you want. You just hop on or off the back.

Iloilo has a dedicated nightlife area called Smallville, which is home to many bars, restaurants, clubs and upscale hotels (not mine). So Saturday night in Smallville would do a right job.

Many bars and restaurants had singer's or bands on. I choose a restaurant with a local lady blasting out tunes from Maria Carey, Adele, Rihanna etc. She really was excellent. I later found a bar with a band playing some real good tunes. The band was fronted by 2 student singer's, the bass guitarist was also a young girl. On the drums and guitar were possibly their fathers.

My intention was to bar hop but the band was that good I stayed for plenty. Thank goodness I didn't notice the nightclub behind this bar until the following evening or the night could have got very heavy.

The next day been Sunday and the Philippines been mainly Catholic meant that most of Iloilo was closed. Good job really as I wasn't on top form from the night before.

I did manage to get out and into the city for a walk. Not too much to see or do, I went into the museum which was supposed to be closed but the guard let me in, turned the lights on and trousered my entry fee.

For those that can't translate this, it is Iloilo Museum

Iloilo Cathedral, one of the few places open on a Sunday

That night I also went to Smallville, but the night was on a much smaller scale, although I did hit that nightclub as the band in their were also very good.

A decent boat ride and I was on my next island, with none of the rip of terminal (just 30 Peso) and environmental fees.

Boat to Bacolod

In Bacolod, there isn't too much to do as a tourist. I walked into town, about 4 km from hotel, with literally hundreds of jeepneys whizzing by, but I didn't know which one I needed.

Bacolod central park

I visited a wildlife preservation place (not a zoo) it was home to various birds and owls. I walked a further 2 or 3 km to Bocolad's version of Smallville for dinner. The locals were ultra helpful and friendly to me, probably unusual to get a foreigner out there. They told me how the Jeepneys worked and which one to catch home.

Are you looking at me?

A couple of rare birds from Bacolod

Jeepney ride home

The next day I craved a tourism day so went to the historical town of Silay. I did it all by a series of Jeepneys. I got to love them and quickly became an expert in them. One ride I was in charge of collecting all the money and handing out change which I and the locals loved.  Having so many Jeepney's plying the same route brings plenty of competition and they are always trying to overtake each other in search of extra passengers. It makes for a fun ride.

Silay is virtually unchanged in the last 100 years and is a view to what Philippine towns looked like back then. I had lunch in a 1920's bakery and visited a few houses which the owners proudly showed off their collection of antiques and was a great glimpse into life in that town.

Hofilena Heritage House

A decent spot inside

Some other geezers house I went into

I had lined up a football match for the evening. It was Bacolod against a team from Singapore in the AFC cup (presumably Asia's equivalent of the champions league). Just before I was setting off to the ground the heavens opened big style. 2 solid hours of torrential rain with a great electrical storm. I abandoned going to the game, if it went on I would be amazed.

Once the rain subsided it left many area's flooded so I just went to the Korean restaurant next door for dinner and an early night.

Korean dumplings for supper, a taste of whats to come later in my trip

I had left a bag full of washing at the laundrette and paid extra to have it ready for 10am the next morning as I wanted to get an early start. Sadly they let me down and it wasn't delivered until 12. The reason I wanted to get away was I was staying at a resort up in the hills towards the centre of the island. It had various activities to do, tree top canopy walk, waterfalls swimming pools and a couple of Japanese style thermal baths.

Mambukal Resort up in the hills

I booked my room at the office in Bacolod the previous day, requesting the cheapest private room which was under a tenner. They warned me that the class of room I had chosen was very old and I might not like it. After booking I read up on trip advisor, one writer saying the room gave them the creeps so bad they checked out without staying over. Personally I didn't think it was too bad. It was very dated, maybe needed a lick of paint but was clean had a bathroom with cold shower, so I was happy.

Boating lake at Mambukal

I got myself straight into the thermal baths which were fairly hot, very hot as you got near the waterfall that was filling it with near boiling thermal water. I spent ages in there, I liked chatting with the locals who were also on holiday at the resort. The locals just get in the water with whatever they are wearing, possibly not the most hygenic thing, but that is their culture and I respect that. That said I changed into my swimming shorts before entering.

As it was getting dusk we were treated by a fine sight of hundreds if not thousands of huge fruit bats and flying foxes flying over the pool. I'm not a massive fan of bats but I didn't mind these.

One or two massive bats flying about

After I was about cooked in the pool I got out and had a cool mango shake at the food stalls. Saying I'd be back later for dinner and a few beers, when she said they close at 7 I thought what am I going to do tonight, I didn't fancy just staying in my very basic room. I went around all the food stalls and found one that was going to stay open until 9, after I quick shower and change I was back in no time. 

Thermal Spa at Mambukal

A power cut soon ended any possibilities of lasting until 9pm, so I ended up with an early night in my room. 

The next morning was more thermal bath action before a seemingly impossible day of travel to my next destination, Sugar beach. Sugar Beach was recommended to me by a friend and he described it as a bit of a Robinson Crusoe kind of place. I read online that it was a bit like Boracay before the tourists arrived. I didn't leave until gone 11 and I needed to get a bus back to Bacolod (1.5 hours), a Jeepney across town to change bus stations, A 5 hour bus to Sipalay, jumping out in a small village just before the city, a motorcycle with sidecar (Tricycle) down a very bumpy road to the sea, a paddle boat across the river to Sugar beach where I needed to walk 1km or so and find some accommodation. Mission not accomplished.