Tero Pikala

I wasn’t planning to stay at Manila at all but changed my mind after Lorna said that she could show me around there.

Almost everything that I thought about Manila was true: bad traffic, scamming cabbies, mostly ugly buildings and too many bars where guys spend time with local girls who could be their daughters. Big shopping malls that look all the same everywhere in the world.

I did visit fortress by the river and it’s definitely interesting but nothing to tell stories about.

So Manila has been added to list of cities I will never visit again. Others are Jakarta, Salt Lake City and Washington DC.

Since my flight was from Clark at 7am I had to take a taxi there at 2500 pesos. And I wanted to make sure I have plenty of time and ended up there at 3am with airport closed and spent 2 hours at Angeles bar. Then local cabbie charges me 300 pesos for 5 minute trip to airport - normal daily salary for locals.

Next time I know better - I will never fly to Clark again!

Tags: Travel by tero
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My summary of different beaches and places to stay in PG:

Sabang

Center of nightlife. Place to be if partying is important. Most diveshops are here. Beach is not really suitable for swimming and bar scene could be too much for some even though naughty parts are behind curtains.

Little La Laguna

Just next to Sabang (5 min walk). Some bars and restaurants there and you can always go to Sabang.

Big La Laguna

Small beach little but more away from Sabang. Nice walk but bit much to do many times a day. Nice beach and would be good place for families who like spend time swimming lot.

White Beach

Some 14km away from Sabang. More of a traditional beach which is something I don’t like too much. Popular with Filippinos. I was there for only few hours so no idea about nightlife.

Coral Cove

Isolated place with 2 resorts. Sabang is 25 minute walk or 5 minutes with motorbike. Very beatiful place and good value for money. Staff seemed to be happy to look after kids while parents were away so this could be perfect for families. Not bad choice for honeymoon either specially if budget doesn’t allow something fancier.

Coral Cove dive center is run by a local guy who is very professional and has over 3000 dives here. He has also worked abroad and speaks very good English. Dives are more expensive than in Sabang but at least I dived as a sole customer and so had full attention.

Puerto Galera town

Very nice harbour and place where peope come with their boats. I can’t think of a reason to stay here in hotel though but make sure to visit this place for lunch or dinner because of the views.

Tags: Travel by tero
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It seems that my web server has failed so it wasn’t possible to publish more blog entries from the road. I also had pretty good time at Puerto Galera and didn’t really fancy writing anything anyway.

I’ll be home in about 24 hours and hopefully server hasn’t failed too badly.

Tags: London by tero
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