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SE Asia 2024SE Asia 2024
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SE Asia 2024

March - May 2024
Our DIY tour of this fascinating region enjoying the wonderful food and learning about the multiculturalism and diverse traditions. We'll visit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines Read more
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  • 141footprints
  • 9countries
  • 65days
  • 1.5kphotos
  • 3videos
  • 42.7kkilometers
  • 39.9kkilometers
  • 2.4kkilometers
  • 108kilometers
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  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 64–70

    Leaving The Philippines - Homeward Bound

    May 7 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We said goodbye to the wonderful staff at Flower Island Resort and got the customary send off, they move the bar speaker down to the beach, pump up the volume and do a good bye dance as we pull away. The "boys" work hard on the island; balancing heavy loads such as suitcases and large water dispenser bottles on their shoulder while negotiating the slope of the boat ladder into the water depending on the height of the tide and then walking up the slope of the beach to the resort. The waves were pretty high getting to Palawan Island and then we had the 45 minute drive to get to El Nido, stopping briefly at a craft store along the way. We headed to Manila fie a brief two days on the way home. The flight to. Manila delayed due to wind - our first delaywd flight since the Wrstjet at the start, and on arrival our bags did not make it as it was fully booked and we noted some suitcases were quite large (likely filled with dive equipment). Grab to our hotel just inside the old Spanish walls (Intramuros area) and a nice dinner at the restaurant. Luggage caught up with us just after midnight. The next day Doug walked around Intramuros seeing the typical tourist sites and Nancy spent time picking up a few things at a local antique, art and craft store called Silahis which was very good. We then went to the SM Mall of Asia which is huge and Nancy bought a new gym bag to bring home her purchases. We had a final drink on the rooftop bar after a late check out as our plane does not leave until almost midnight to Tokyo; the first leg of a two and a half day trek back to Toronto via LA and Chicago.

    MUSINGS ON PHILIPPINES AND MANILA
    We found the Philippine people very respectful and pleasant. We were warned that Manila was not a big tourist draw and that walking around our area was not advisable after dark. Security checks at museums, the mall (carrying guns, they ask you to open and look in your bag, they no doubt need to do this to keep certain individuals out). We know there is significant poverty here and the common folk on Palawan are living very modestly but we did not get exposed to much of it during our short stay inthe tourist centre. City or country we are hoping the heat wave ends soon (highs in the mid 40s) and rain comes as it must be so hard on those who can not escape the heat.    Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 64

    National Museum of Anthropology

    May 7 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    The day of departure we both took in the (free!) National Museum and of particular interest was an explanation of neolithic pottery making and tools as well as an excellent film and area devoted to rice cultivation. The galleries on textile makinf and basket weaving were amonf the mist educational and comprehensive we gad seen on these topics.Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 63

    Intramuros

    May 6 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Intramuros, or the ‘Walled City’, is one of the oldest districts of Manila, built around 1571 by the Spaniards – and is bound on all sides by moats and thick, high walls, with some over 6 meters high. Only the elite Spaniards and Mestizos were allowed accommodations in Intramuros. Intramuros defied and repelled numerous attacks throughout history. The Dutch, the Portuguese and the Chinese all failed in their attempts to penetrate the fortress city.
    During World War II, Intramuros was used as a garrison and prison facility by the Japanese, but Allied bombings resulted in it, and other parts of Manila, being severely damaged and destroyed.
    Today, there is a mix of historic monuments such as the Cathedral and Fort, many lovely colonial buildings and lively local residential and market streets. Pedestrians, cars, motorcyckes, and rickshaws and horse and buggies for the tourists all crowd the streets and lanes.    Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 61

    Flower Island Resort

    May 4 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We stayed six nights, five days at the resort "off the beaten track". We did this as we understood the reef nearby was good for snorkeling and wanted to be able to do that without taking a tour boat which typically goes to multiple spots with lunch on a beach. A stay of 4-7nights seems ideal depending on whether you want to do any out trips to other lagoons to do diving, snorkeling (turtle sanctuary, corals, lagoon and caves. On site there is a nice infinity pool, bar, restaurant, palapas, beach, snorkeling equipment and kayaks. We had a quiet, relaxing time overall; it took a day to adjust to slowing down. Slept well, enjoyed our bungalow. No Mosquitos! (end of dry season and with the hot temperatures the land, creek beds and vegetation was visibly dry). Staff friendly and hardworking. Breakfast buffet was included and it was $23 USD for lunch and dinner buffets. Overall food was good except for the chicken (tough), local and there was seafood most nights. We did find it too much to have a buffet three times a day and would have liked to see more a la carte options for lunch than pizza and clubhouse. We walked the 45 minute cobble path around the island and took the "sidewalk" up to the tower for impressive 360 degree views, seeing a native four foot monitor lizard a long the way.Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 59

    Pearl Farm

    May 2 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After a day of relaxing and reading a book in our room, we have pieced together the story of what seems to be a rather unique place. Jewelmer is a "fully vertically integrated company involved in cultivation, design, manufacturing and distribution of pearls". It was was cofounded in 1979 by a Frenchman, sea captain and aviation pilot Jacques Branellec and Manuel Cojangco (whose family owns the Phillipino beer San Miguel). They have the rights to use 8,000 hectacres of ocean including this island, the next one and the one that the Pearl Farm is located on. The area is essentially a nature reserve as pearls require a very clean water environment. We took a 20 minute boat ride over to see the farm and oyster "hatchery" which supplies the other 3 farms with baby oysters via helicopter fly out. There are 266 employees living on site. Fresh water comes by pipeline from an adjacent island into a filtration system which supplies the Pearl Farm as well as Flower Island with both fresh and potable water. The marine biologist explained growing baby oysters to South Seas golden pearl takes 377 steps and five years! Jewelmer only uses 2% of its pearl production in its brand of jewelry aimed at the "high end luxury market" and the rest is wholesaled off. A strand of pearls on display retailed at $30,000 USD. Additional inhabitants of the island were large fruit bats which were hanging in the mangrove trees nearby.Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    11
    Day 56

    Arrival at Flower (Gilligan's) Island

    April 29 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After a good nights sleep and buffet breakfast at the Manila airport-connected Belmont Hotel, took a Grab to the quaint old Domestic Terminal 4. We took a turboprop with tight seat spacing for Doug's knees on very friendly Air Swift to El Nido airport, which is very small, manual baggage unloading. The resort arranged transportation by car and then a speed boat to Flower Island Resort, taking two hours total. Suddenly, we were met by staff, given a shell necklace, and joined a group of 5 other guests. A big bonus is that our bungalow actually has air con! There are no electrical plugs or internet connection other than the dining room and the bar, and it went down at times, so we are relatively remote. The resort in general seems very authentic and well maintained, operating for 30 years, 21 units on an uncrowded property on the ocean. Palawan is the least inhabited area of the Phillipines, contrasting with Manila, which is the most densely populated city in the world.Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 55

    Travel to Manila

    April 28 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    As our flight for Manila did not leave until 5 pm and Nancy was keen to see “Jewel” the part of the airport that has a huge water funnel/waterfall. This is a 300 store shopping/restaurant complex attached to Terminal 1 . It is fantastic if one has an overnight layover and no time to visit the rainforest dome at Gardens by the Bay. Since we had done that, the fact that it was otherwise a rather humid mega shopping mall on a Sunday made this a less than ideal stop for us, especially Doug who hates shopping! It takes quite a bit of time getting from Terminal 1 to 2 where you catch a bus to Terminal 4. Terminal 4 was quiet, modern, carpeted with calm music playing and comfy chairs, no need for the Plaza Lounge. We got a bite and the time passed quickly.

    On to our last stop: Manilla and El Nido, the main city of the Palawan Islands where Flower Island Resort is located. We are a bit anxious about how this is going to turn out. The Philippines, along with all of SE Asia, is in a heat wave, and we suspect no air con on “Gilligan’s Island”. No touring planned, we hope there will be ocean breezes, a beach and fan in our accommodation will keep us cool for our six nights of resting up before our 40 hour travel time back to Canada (Toronto for a visit).
    The flight with Jetstar flight was good with the extra space of the exit row.. Another strange thing is when the stewardess came down the aisle with an aerosol can to spray the cabin "as recommended by the World Health Organization."    Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 55

    Four Days in Singapore

    April 28 in Singapore ⋅ 🌩️ 31 °C

    MUSINGS ON SINGAPORE
    A must see, unique, technologically advanced and futuristic city! The leader of this country for fifty years seems to have been a “benevolent dictator” to get so many things done. Of note, it is documented in the biography that Nancy started to read that he donated $12 million of his money to help set up 2nd language schools to help preserve and promote Mandarin (giving some indication as to how much money he built up over time). We’ve been able to see the multiple HBC (low income) houses, no street people, feeling safe, extremely clean environment and witnessed lux public transport and organized green spaces. Amazing to think we saw a Kingfisher Bluebird fly on to one of the high-tech trees at Garden’s By the Bay. We have tuned into the Asian News network and there seems to be a lot of momentum towards solving the plastic problem, green technology and attention to promoting the physical and mental health of people (eg if you reach the desired step count on the government program app, you get paid back in credits to buying healthy food!). We both felt much inspiration and hope to be found in this financially rich country that has optimized its special position as hub in East West shipping. Some would be critical of the over regulation and forced change and there is no doubt loss involved in the move to skyscapper vs kampong living. We found that people are not as genuinely warm, but very helpful, perhaps a reflection of a large city with "rules". We would stay in the Bencoolen area again as it was very convenient with the MRT at our doorsteps. Similar to the last locations, coffee and breakfast could open earlier for us, so something on site would be preferable to get going given that it is almost always hot and humid here.Read more

  • TravelerSE Asia 2024
    Day 54

    Little India

    April 27 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After a cool down in our room, we made it to the last of three ethnic areas. Singapore's Little India is easily the most atmospheric and authentically local neighborhood of all those we visited. Had a very nice and authentic dinner at a Northern India restaurant Jaggis, lining up with the locals at the cafeteria like table to request our dishes.Read more

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