Thrilla' in Manila, North Luzon, Cebu, and Boracay

Again, time to catch up.

Before traveling to North Luzon, I had a couple of days to acclimatize in Manila. I spent most of my time exploring the city (trying to figure out the public transportation), trying new food, and getting used to the heat!

Hammocks on the roof of Pink Manila Hostel

Luxury..

Quiapo market

Bulalo. A traditional soup with cow bones, bone marrow included. Surprisingly good!!

Almost as good as Venus..

The Jeepney: public transport. But you have to know the routes..

Watching basketball at the bus station

On my last night before heading north I met Erwin, a local of Manila who works with the hostel. He had an extra ticket to an MMA fight that night and asked me to join. Before the fight, he took me to a few places that he considered to be the "true Manila". We went to his home neighborhood, met his family, then went to the stadium with a group of his friends. After the fight, I took a night bus to Banaue in North Luzon.

When I arrived at the guesthouse the next morning, I met 5 other travelers from Europe and we organized a couple of trekking tours.

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Views from the guesthouse

Over the next couple of days, we trekked nearly 20 hours.. At about 1 hour in, I was wishing I had listened to my dad and bought a pair of shoes that could actually be laced up.

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Rice in the making

The finished product

Met a member of the Ifugao Mountain Tribe on our way up the rice terraces. This is about as authentic as it gets.. Kidding, he charged me 20 pesos for the photo.

Sacrifices to the rice gods

The crew

On our second day of trekking, we took a truck to Batad. Marius and I sat on the roof for the ride. It was bumpy in areas where there was no road, but it was definitely a highlight!!

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The fellas getting high of beetle nut.

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Our trekking adventure ended with a swim at the falls!

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After a few days in North Luzon, I said goodbye to my new friends and hopped on the bus back to Manila, to catch my flight to Cebu Island.

I landed in Cebu City and made my way to oslob to swim with the whale sharks. when I arrived, there were no whale sharks. That's because I got off this bus at the wrong stop, 30 minutes by car. Great!

But I did make it eventually!!

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After the whale sharks, I took another bus to Moalboal to do some diving at supposedly one of the best spots in the Philippines. I stayed in Moalboal for the night then it was back to Cebu for my flight to Boracay.

Boracay. Pristine beaches, sunsets, sunrises, and partying. I met some amazing people and they made Boracay the highlight of the Philippines.

The crew

Balut. Look it up.

Puka beach

Parasailing 

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Good thing the parasail is double knotted

We went fishing and had a meal!

Caught these little suckers but bought lobster

Scary 

We became very close at Frends Hostel and this could be why..

From my two weeks in the Philippines, I realized that in the next few months, I will be leaving many more friends and memories with a heavy heart. But I couldn't be more excited for what's coming next!!!

Love you guys!!