We will depart Kelowna in the very early morning, stop in Vancouver where we'll have five hours to wait (which is plenty long enough to have a nice leisurely breakfast) before we pick up another flight to Seoul, Korea (11 hrs and 40 mins in the air). Once we arrive in Seoul we will be on the ground for 1 1/2 hours (just enough time to stretch our legs) before we climb back onto our final flight of the day to Manila (a little more than 4 hours long). By the time we arrive in Manila it will be the next day at 10:15 pm local time and we will have been in transit for a little more than 24 hours so we'll be ready to check into our airport hotel where we'll crash for the night.
The next morning it will be back to the airport where we will catch a domestic flight at 12:00 noon (1 hr long) that will take us as far north as we can fly on the island of Luzon to the city of Laoag. From Laoag it will be a jeepney, bus, or van ride for the final 2 hour journey to the north coast and the town of Pagudpud.
Are you tired yet? I know we will be so our plan so far (and there really are very few plans in place for this month long adventure) is to stop in Pagudpud for two or three nights so we can catch our breath, enjoy the beach, and begin to think about the month long journey that will take us overland in a southerly direction.
I'll blog as we go and will post our updates whenever we're able. Internet is supposed to be fairly available but....until we're there it's hard to know for sure. Until the posts begin, here are a few fun facts we're learned while prepping for this journey.
- There are more than 7000 islands in the Philippines! I can't imagine that all 7000 of them are large enough to be inhabited but....who knows....perhaps they are!
- You can buy about 30 Philippine pesos (PHP) for $1 CAD.
- Accommodation seems to range between $20-$500+ CAD/night. (We'll be looking at the $20/night places!!)
- Good local meals can easily be found for under $10 CAD.
- Jeepneys are the most common local method of getting around and are very cheap. (less than $1). They are also very uncomfortable which is likely one of the reasons they're so cheap!
- Tricycles are also a common mode of local transport and they too are really affordable. Friends of ours who were recently in the Philippines hired a trike and driver for a full day of touring and the cost was about $20 CAD. Two people can fit in the seat behind the bike but from the photos I've seen it looks pretty tight so I'm thinking that at that price we can hire two!
- Philippine beaches have been dubbed the most beautiful in the world for several years now. Borocay has been #1 for a while but more recently the island of Palawan seems to be edging it out as the best place to visit. Our plans (loose as they are) do include Palawan.
- Manila is known for it's shopping malls. (We're NOT going to any shopping malls!)
- Some of the mountain tribes still practice traditional rituals with their deceased family members and we do plan to visit the hanging coffins of Sagada. (more on that when we're there)
- Most Philippine nationals speak English.
- The rice terraces of Benaue are considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. (Yes, this is on our gotta visit list too.)
- Two things the Philippines is famous for are it's abundant and incredibly beautiful flowers and it's many many festivals. Lucky us...we will be attending a Flower Festival in Baguio. (This is the one stop we know for sure as we had to book accommodation in Baguio or risk not having anywhere to sleep with all the visitors who will be there for the Festival.)
So.....are you tempted to (virtually) join us on this Southeast Asian adventure? I hope to see you checking in with this blog along the way.
Next post will be once we're underway,
Lorrie & Lynda
Can't wait to hear all about it!!!! Sounds like an awesome adventure for you two.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels you two. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to following your great adventure you two!
ReplyDelete