How to Travel in the Philippines
I am confused, I have been to the Philippines maybe four times now, and I am not sure how to travel around this country. It would seem that all countries are easy, however they are not. There are always various levels of understanding of a country.
I just do not know where the layers are here, or how to see the layers. I am 98 percent sure there is much more here than I can see. Last night, I heard or talked with a very obnoxious American, I listened, kept my mouth shut, listened to him explain, purport, brag, tell, make too loud talk, do everything wrong culturally you could possibly do, however in the end he is accepted by the other Expats.
This is maybe the cloud over my judgments, I also talked with Tao, an Australian who is open, clear, listens, wants to start a Hostel here with me and he is a good person. There is some type of cloud over my eyes; I cannot see the clear paths here in the Philippines to interesting locations. I can almost guarantee it is because the male Expats in his country only offer up information that is selfish, self-serving and has something to do with women.
Solution
I feel a need to explore, there is a painful threshold of confusion here also, the taxis, transportation, explanations on how to move around the country are embedded in the sounds of a taxi driver who wishes to confuse me.
I think the solution is this, I just go 2 hours to a city, do my exploration slowly, and completely, every time I start to go to a city, I hear some negative commentary, or some Expats explanation that gives me a bad feeling. The only solution may to totally stop talking with Expats, or possibly to find girl travelers. This is amazingly difficult; I just do not see female travelers.
I guess I may make in about 4 days a bus trip 2 hours away from here, then stay two day, then jump two hour again, take a circular route because I fly to Bangkok on May 10.
How to Travel in the Philippines
- hoz said on Saturday April 29th, 2006 09:13:00 PM
I agree with you. Travel in the Philippines is frustrating to say the least. I have met Filipinos there who have traveled the world, but not their own country. You need a local guide, not expats. It is possible to rent a car and driver very inexpensively. Get someone with a 4wd and sense of adventure. Head up to Baguio, Make him take the Mountain Rd. Go to Batad and see the Rice Terraces, visit Sagada and the Burial Caves in Bontoc Province, head to Vigan to see the old Spanish Architecture. head further north to visit Pugudpud, the remote seaside resort town. There is much to see in the Philippines, but without a guide it's hard to find it.
- David H Dennis said on Monday June 12th, 2006 12:02:00 PM
Sad to say that I'm writing this after you've already left the Philippines, but I might suggest that you emulate the expats, find a girl of your own, and have her take you around.Because of factors you've already mentioned, single women in the Philippines are not hard to find and they generally find western men highly appealing even when they personally are not bargirls.I don't really think you get the true Philippines experience without a girl. I found Bacolod City a very nice place to settle down while I was there, with the nice upscale amenities of the city combined with less traffic, less pollution and less overall misery. But I was focusing on it as a place to live, not as a tourist place. I'm not sure if it has much to offer the tourist other than a strikingly classy hotel (L'Fisher) and some slick-looking restaurants. You can find both those things in Manila but the stress level is way, way down.The experience of having a Filipina girlfriend, even a "temporary" one, is well worth experiencing. It really makes you feel different about the country.I highly recommend the experience.D
