So, I made it! A lot of people recommend to skip Manila if you can and continue your travels within the Philippines right after landing here. But I figured I would take a look for myself. It's a big city and well..that's it. The Filipino's speak a lot of English and very well too, which is nice! Part of the city was very modern with skyscrapers and even a Trump Tower -_-. I walked around for a bit and went to see Kung Fu Panda 3, what a great movie! It sort of teaches you that, not until you know who you truly are, will you be able to reach your full potential. The movie made me want to see panda's in China (volunteering) even more! Other than that I didn't do much, just watched the people for a bit. I was warned to watch my stuff, my bag, since there's a lot of theft. But I felt okay. I did see a lot of locals hold their bags very closely (on their lap), even in the cinema. So I guess the warning was grounded. There's a lot of security everywhere and signs too. No drugs, no weapons, etc. Even when I got to the airport to fly to Cebu, I couldn't even walk in without a security check and non-passengers aren't allowed. The people do seem really friendly though :), but everywhere you go, there's always a few rotten apples I guess.
Chaotic Cebu City
From one city to the next. The Taxi driver that 'offered' me a ride, Mr. Robinson, funny guy, was talking about drinking beers with me on the mountain that night, marrying me so he could move to Holland and said I was pretty. Yeah, okay. Goodbye Mr. Robinson. I had 2 nights in Cebu City, again too much. But I did take my first ride in a Jeepney. The first Jeepneys were originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II. But they are now the most popular type of public transportation here. Kind of "Pimp my ride" Jeeps, Kitsch style and mostly overcrowded but very cheap! It was a fun experience. On our way back, we didn't know which number to take back as it was a different one coming there. And I asked a security guard and he said: "It's better for your safety to take a taxi, ma'am". Which surprised me a bit, but since we took one there without any problems, we also took one back. So it's not that I ever not felt safe here, but everyone around me makes me feel as if I should. I met some cool people at the hostel and we shared our experiences. There was this one guy that had so many amazing stories to tell and saw a lot of countries from another side. A less touristy and more daring way of travel and he that way, saw a different and surprising side at times. Which really is an
amazing way to travel!
Big eyed Tarsiers in Bohol
Well well, Bohol...I've learned a thing or two in Bohol. I must say, before getting to Bohol, I really had almost given up on The Philippines. Didn't care for it too much at all. Didn't care for Bohol too much either, the beach and it's water is full of seaweed. They set up restaurants quite early which takes away from the beach as well. I did take a day trip and finally saw some of the beauty this country has to offer. Tarsier spotting (cute little animals with big eyes, which you can't touch or they will most likely commit suicide), Chocolate Hills, a hanging bridge, a man made forest, a 130kg Python that I held (partially of course) and took a picture with and the amazing Loboc River! It was a good day, but not something I would say I would come to The Philippines for. I have learned that what makes this country, a paradise, are the beaches, the islands. Unfortunately for me, this is not what I came here for. So The Philippines has so far been a bit of a let down. And I will have to come back to see some of the amazing and beautiful islands I have heard and read so much about in the last few weeks! I still have high hopes for my upcoming whaleshark swim (if I don't chicken out) and the North of The Philippines!! But for now, I chose to relax at a 'resort' with a pool until my flight leaves to Legazpi (from where I will move on to Donsol to swim with whalesharks) on Monday.
Delightful Dao
After taking a jeepney for about an hour and then a tricycle (also a popular and cheap way of transportation here, a motorcycle with a joined kind of sidecar). 3 days in a 'resort' with a swimming pool, what a delight. I booked a room at Dao Diamond Hotel, a hotel that supports and works with the Deaf. What an amazing initiative!! People are so nice here. I really enjoyed my days here. Big room, 80 channels on the tv, an outdoor swimming pool (that was all mine till about 4pm when either the kids or elderly would come out and 'play' as well). I finally was able to read my book again and totally relax and do pretty much nothing, except for my 4 hour excursion to a mall nearby where I went to see another movie and went to Jollibee (the most popular fastfood chain here). Oh and a mega super cheap supermarket. It's funny going to the movies here when people just walk in or leave half way a movie, still not sure why. I also really enjoyed how quiet traffic has been the last few weeks. There's lots of traffic but in Myanmar they would honk and honk and honk. They rarely do that here. I also managed to finally have clean feet again, which was impossible in Myanmar!
Delayed in Donsol (Legazpi)
I found out that if you book through Cebu Pacific with a connecting flight, also with Cebu Pacific, that if the first one is delayed, so is the second. So I didn't need to worry about missing my connecting flight when the first one was delayed for over an hour. I had about half an hour to get to my second flight and made it, my bag however did not... So there I was in Legazpi, then the bus to Donsol without my backpack, without my swim wear...kind of hard to swim with Whalesharks without it. So my first day I couldn't do much, but sleep, relax, enjoy, met some people. Bag got there at 5pm..so I went the next morning. There was a girl in my room that went for her 2nd time and she, luckily for me, had a GoPro! What an amazing experience to see these magnificent creatures! The first one I saw, getting dragged forward by our instructor, was a WOW HOLY SHIT OMG moment! Huge and beautiful. The other boats quickly caught on and went in too. It seemed busy although everyone kept their distance from the whaleshark. I still didn't care for it much. Later on we found a few that only we went in to see. Amazing. The last one (5th or 6th) was the biggest one. I first saw the tail very close by and figured it had to be big by the size of the tail. It ended up being 8-9 meters. The biggest one swimming around in these waters is however 18 meters! I loved doing it and wished I could have done two as well. But there's always next time :)! 
Stunning Sagada
Flew back to Manila for a night...Holy week...The week before/during eastern is called holy week here...peak season and closed malls. I booked a hotel close to the airport and mall of Asia, figured I would go to the mall. But it was closed on Holy Thursday and Good friday. Wanted to book a bus to Sagada on friday, but because that is a holiday, they skip friday and start going on saturday again. I've never had this much 'bad luck' as I've had here. But ah well, as Dory says, we just 'keep swimming'. Stayed in Quezon City for a night before taking the night bus to Sagada. To get to the bus terminal, I took a taxi from the hostel to and was again warned to be careful and then the driver told me a story about a tourist who got stabbed in a taxi and left for dead somewhere...and a backpack in Manila is a 'frontpack', always wear it on the front. Again...I felt like I shouldn't feel safe..
The busride up (9pm-8am) was long but what beautiful views! Ricefields, mountains/hills, lots of green, lots of nature. It felt so different from anything I've seen in The Philippines so far! I spotted another solo traveler in the bus and ended up sharing a room with her and spending out time in Sagada together. First stop was the Hanging Coffins. There's 19. The first thing I noticed was that the coffins were small. Our 16 year old guide told us that they were buried the same way they were born so in a fetal position. It was very interesting to see, even though I thought there were loads more. We walked a bit through the streets and up and down the hills of Sagada for our remaining time here. It was beautiful. The air was clean, there were hardly any mosquitoes. It cooled down a lot at night, no need for AC in the room or even a fan. Definitely one of the better parts of The Philippines! The way back to Manila was very foggy, we sat in the first row and wow, could hardly see a thing. Very exciting and we eventually made it :).
I spent my last few nights in The Philippines in a hotel with a pool again, but it was a bit cloudy so also did some sightseeing. And that's it for The Philippines. I feel like I haven't done a whole lot, but I did do and see some beautiful things and met a lot of great people whilst doing it! I have never been asked so many times if I was by myself and why? in a country. I was warned multiple times about the people by other locals, but have had nothing happened to me. Well time to move on and who knows, I might be back someday to see a bit of the paradise side :)! Oh and I got a bad sunburn on my back during the Whaleshark swim and it started to peel in Sagada, every day a different country/continent would appear, wicked ^_^.
Cheers!