Southern Leyte - Quest For Whalesharks
Jan 7–10 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Leaving Siquijor behind, I was heading off-the-beaten path to Southern Leyte with one main purpose - to see the giant whale sharks.
Why Southern Leyte? Simple, because here, the whale shark tours are done ethically, i.e. there is no feeding the whale sharks, no baiting, no interfering in their lives, no changing their natural behaviour, but instead seeing them in their natural habitat, their home.
So after spending a layover night in Cebu, I took a ferry to Southern Leyte and a TukTuk to Padre Burgos specifically. Since my whale shark tour wasn't until the following morning, I rented a scooter and explored the surroundings such as a lovely viewpoint, a cute little waterfall and a not-so-nice beach, before watching the sunset at an absolutely gorgeous beach.
Since this region is hardly on any travellers itinerary, I had all these places either all to myself or with mostly locals. It was a perfect first full day in Southern Leyte.
The following morning it was time for the whale shark tour. I did not know what to expect, but was simply hoping that we would see some. The boat ride to the place where they normally are this time around took us around 2h and we picked up our 'spotters' (i.e. local fishermen) that would help us find the whale sharks, geared up in our wetsuits and then waited.
It took all of 10 minutes before we got the signal to jump in the water as there was a whaleshark making its way nearby. I will never forget the first time I saw it: It was enormous, elegant, beautiful, and so majestic the way it glided through the water. Just wow. It was pure bliss. I cannot put it into words, except to say that I was genuinely blown away. I knew they were gorgeous, but not like that. I immediately thought: A gentle giant! (They are completely harmless, by the way).
Over the course of the next 2.5h hours, we saw six more whale sharks and each time I saw one, I couldn't believe my eyes. What amazing creatures live in our oceans? Everyone on the boat was blown away by them. It was worth every penny and every minute to get to this more remote place in the Philippines.
On the way back, we shared footage and remained in absolute awe. After being back onshore, a few travellers and I shared a celebratory drink or two to relive such an amazing experience.
Since I previously booked two whale shark tours (to maximise my chances to see them), the next morning, I was again on the boat, in my wetsuit, equipped with my snorkel and camera and even though we had to wait a bit longer to spot them this time, we had plenty of opportunity to swim/snorkel with them once again. The feeling you see a whale shark swimming next to or right underneath you while you just stare at them in amazement truly is priceless. That day, we saw 5 or 6 whalesharks and I freedived a little bit towards them to get that little bit closer.
Thinking back at the experience, it was mesmerising. I will always remember when I saw the whale shark for the first time in the water and how my mind just could not comprehend the size and beauty. While it was busy at times with other people in the water (i think 14-20), I always felt as if the whale sharks just did not care (or maybe were curious sometimes), but just went on with their swim as if we were not there. This is exactly how it should be. Not disturbing them, but leaving them alone and simply admiring their elegance.
Yeah, whale sharks. My heart is full having seen them like this. Something that will probably forever stay in my mind - this is how incredible I felt the experience was. Just wow!
With that, I was saying goodbye to the whale sharks and Southern Leyte, as I was heading to Malapascua - to see a different type of shark ;-)Read more
Siquijor - Third Time's The Charm
Dec 28–Jan 6, 2026 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Ah, the Philippines. Certainly among my top three favorite countries. Evidently, since this is my third time here within 2 years! There is just so much to explore.
Anyway, my first stop was Siquijor - a mystical island that I have been on twice before. During these times, I made some great friends and since it was the end of December, I decided to stay here over New Years and celebrate with friends.
The island itself is not necessarily a must-do on a Philippines itinerary, but what drew me here for the third time was - next to the friends - the island vibes, the laid back combination of beach hopping, scootering around, the still relatively rudimentary infrastructure and maybe the familiarity. This combination, I thought, was an ideal way to start this third around-the-world trip.
So, when I arrived, I was greeted warmly and over the following week and a bit, I spend time with my friends celebrating NYE, chilling out on the beach, driving around the island, doing a night dive, going to one of my favorite beach clubs (JJ's), practicing a bit of Muay Thai, making new friends, catching sunsets and so on.
Like I said, none of this is spectacular or really 'new', but nevertheless I enjoyed the time there.
That said, I think three times on this island is 'enough' for the near future. I have seen the highlights, I was very happy to see friends again, relieved some old memories and made some new ones. In other words, the island has offered me what I needed at the time during all the three stays here and since there are a lot more places I wanna see in the Philippines (and the world), Siquijor needs to take a step back now. Doesn't mean, I will not return, but probably not in the near future.
With that, I say thank you Siquijor, to the people, to the Fable Hostel where I met old and made new friends over the last two years to beautiful Paliton Beach, to the Bridge to watch sunets, to JJ's for what are maybe my favorite parties in the world, and to so many other things.
Good bye Siquijor - May we meet again.Read more
Germany - Here We Go Again
December 26, 2025 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 4 °C
Having come back from my second trip around the world, I genuinely thought, this was it with long-term travel for the time-being. After all, it was nice to be back home, seeing family, celebrating Christmas at home, getting to know my newest niece, meeting up with friends and generally just find a routine to get back into the 'normal' life (I do not want to call it the 'real' life, as real was what I saw and experienced over the last two years).
In addition, travelling around the world two times is not the cheapest thing in the world and as such a job had to be found - although many people have asked me "how are you ever gonna go back to an office job and corporate life". The answer to that I do not think is very hard, as routine is probably gonna kick in very quickly, so I was not afraid of that.
Luckily, during my time in Peru a few months back, I managed to land myself a remote well-paid online gig with flexible hours. This made sure that money was coming in even whilst I was looking for a 'proper' job in Frankfurt.
However, after a while working from home, seeing the weather getting ever more bleak and the job market not being too active, a thought formed in my head. What if I can indeed go for one last little trip, working on the go, whilst escaping the German winter and enjoying some warmer climates? Plus, I was also invited for a wedding in Colombia at the start of February, so another nice excuse to let's go and see our planet.
That idea developed into a plan and voila, here I am. The rough plan is to spend a month in the Philippines (4x islands), before heading to Panama to then sail through the paradisaical San Blas Islands to Colombia for the wedding and to live it up during Carnaval the week after.
What comes then, I still was not sure - either Brazil or Central America, which I was leaning towards.
Anyway, here we are. Hello world once again. I am excited what you have in store for me this time around.Read more
