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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Journey across the river |
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| 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.
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| My Pica hut |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Dumaguete Cathedral
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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.
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| Squid for just a few quid for lunch |
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| Nice statue by the promenade |
Next blog covers my time on Siquijor Island, famed for witchcraft and me partying hard at the annual fiesta.
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