TRAVELLIN' NORTH.

11th - 15th Dec 2025

A map to give you some idea of the country. The centre arrow points to Manila. The top one to Tarlac and the bottom Bohol/Panglao islands (relevant later). Distance, as the crow flies, between Manila and Tarlac is about 100 miles. So big distances by road and ferry. There is no very functional rail service…despite efforts to build one. As you can see journeys to the south of Manila involve crossing many islands. To the north is more straightforward. There are about 7000 islands (I read) in total!

I was invited to visit the sister and relations of a London based friend's Filipina wife in a farm complex in the small town of Mayantoc, which is a 45 min drive north-west of the town of Tarlac (see map). My 'host' and 'guide' for this visit was to be her nephew called Bong. Travel there was to be by bus. I was told that 'Victory Liner' buses operated good services from various terminals in Manila, the nearest to my hotel being that at Pasay.

I decided to split the journey and first go to Subic Bay, an outskirt of the large town of Olangapo on the coast west of Manila. Subic Bay was a major US naval base up until the Japanese invaded and captured the Philippines in WW2 forcing the Yanks to abandon it and scuttle a large number of ships and destroy much else in the process.

Above: There were many buses parked at the busy but efficient terminal at Pasay at which I arrived at about 8.00am expecting long delays and normal Manila chaos. Not so! Almost straight onto a bus bound for Olongapo.

Right: It was spacious, clean and comfortable and there were only about six of us on board to start with. We paid on board and it was remarkably cheap for the 4 hour journey (about £6 equiv)

The journey out to the north of the city was relatively painless and on leaving the main built up area we passed a continuous scenery of very run-down shanty towns (left).

Right:….and desirable apartment blocks!

Then out into clean air towards the town of San Fernando.

Right:…..and onwards through flat countryside with many rice fields….

Left: …and over semi-dried up river beds.

Right:…….into higher and more forested terrain with big hills in the background. The roads were in surprisingly good nick and sparse traffic, so good progress.

Interestingly, all the road warnings signs and advertising hoardings were written in English such as "keep left and make way for traffic joining" and this one (left). I later discovered why.

Right: Even the petrol tankers had warnings in English as on this one which, under the 'Flammable' sign (pity if it wasn't) was the message 'no smoking within 50 feet'. Note imperial 'feet' not 'metre' equiv.

The reason? The indigenous language in the Philippines is 'Tagalog'. However different regions speak their own dialect and not Tagalog, hence the only universally mostly understood language is English!

Into Olangapo's Victory Liner terminal and it was a 10 minute taxi ride to the hotel room I had booked on Subic Bay; the 'Cribz 217 International'. It was a large building with rooms (not all hotel rooms) you entered using a code sent by internet! There was a sort of reception desk but nothing to do with the accommodation. It worked; and my cheap room 217 was very spacious and comfortable (left). 

It even featured this monster of a 'massage' chair (right). I tried it only once as it was rather an alarming and painful experience! The downside was, as I found to be the case in some other hotels, there was no bedside light or light switches. The light switches were all far away at the door so you stumbled your way to the bed in the dark. I somehow managed to 'jury-rig' a lamp from the other end of the room to above the bed. Another common problem here, as I discovered in cheapo hotels in this part of the world, is the hot water supply…or temperamental lack of. On the plus side, there was a good laundry service.

I was kept company in the bathroom by this friendly, if shy, cockroach. I called him Colin. He even shared my offerings of crushed biscuit. We parted on most amicable terms.

I wandered around Subic Bay and, perhaps because I didn't do any research, found little of interest to see or do. The harbour area was dull and I didn't venture into the countryside. There was certainly no tourist info available.

Right: This statue was on the waterfront. It is called the 'Children of the Sun Monument' and unveiled in 1996 as part of the 4th APEC Leaders' Summit. No, me neither.

There were few attractive bars or restaurants in the area. Left: Near the waterfront I passed this place which looked reasonably inviting….except there seemed to be no staff around, or other customers for that matter. I eventually managed to find a lady who sold me a San Miguel beer.

This notice (right) was at the front door of a local Government office building next door.

I walked the 15 minutes across a bridge over an inlet into Olangapo to see what the town had to offer. It was a busy place with, as in Manila, an over-abundance of 'fast-food' joints such as MacDonalds, KFC and the Philippine favourite 'Jollibees' amongst others. Chicken, in all it's varieties, features

predominantly on all the menus. All very popular with the locals, but not my choice of eatery.

It is surprisingly difficult to find a quiet and pleasant 'homely' café, bar or restaurant.

A walk around town revealed little of great interest. Right: A 'festive' arrangement.

Left: A 'meaningful' piece of advice stuck to somebody's balcony. I'm not sure if I do this…but will try in future.

Right: Nice to know in case you need it. Not many British NHS establishments would dare to boast this.

Left: This statue in a leafy Square captured my interest as the inscription on the base was barely legible. I discovered it is of the first 'Mayor' of Olangapo, James Gordon. He was one of four sons of an American Marine serving in Subic Bay. His parents and siblings returned to the USA but he married a Filipina lady and stayed. He was a very popular mayor from 1963 - 1967 as he managed to stamp out much corruption and gangsterism in the town. Unfortunately one of the 'gangsters' assassinated him (shot him) as he was giving an address in the town hall in 1967. Well, he tried!

Back to my hotel which did have the advantage of having a useful convenience store next door called 'Uncle John's'. This is a chain of stores in the Philippines on the same lines as 7-Eleven shops. Talking of which there is a 7-Eleven on just about every street in Manila. Most convenient for a traveller, as they also have reliable ATM machines and take card payment. There are, apparently, over 4000 of them in the Philippines.

Right: I eventually found an attractive restaurant/hotel quite near my hotel called The  Aurora. It had a pleasant dining room with a decent (not all chicken!) menu and helpful staff. The decorations outside were colourful.

Well that rather sums up a not particularly fascinating visit to Subic Bay and Olangapo.

Onwards next up north (by Victory Liners again) to meet the gang at the farm at Mayantoc. I'm getting there slowly!

 

INTRAMUROS. OLD MANILA

10th - ?th Dec 2025

The impressive looking Manila Central Post Office

On a visit to Intramuros I walked to the 'grand' Central Post office (left) which is located to the north-east of the 'walled' city on the south bank of the river Pasig. I was hopeful I might find some postcards here, and it looked promising. However, on closer inspection, this 'grand' building was derelict. It had been completely burnt out in a mammoth fire in 2023. The inside rooms were just abandoned black shells! No time scale for renovation, it appeared.

However, just behind it, and guarded by armed security (as everything is here), was what has taken its place; this little hut (right). So I went in and found a sole lady 'manning' it. She was actually very polite and helpful. I asked, more in hope than expectation, about postcards. She rifled around in a few cupboards and drawers and eventually produced a dusty little cardboard box with some city postcards in it! Amazing! I stayed in this office to write and post them. She said they would take about two weeks to get to the UK. I was dubious. However they did, much to my surprise!

Intramuros (inside the walls) is the historic part of the city. It is bounded by walls, although I didn't see any, and surrounded by the large well kept Rizal Park. 

Left: A photo, not mine, of part of the 'walls'. I never saw any walls. They must have been well hidden, although I was not actually looking for them.

While up in the north part I decided to take a look to the Presidential Palace, Malacañang Palace, which is located on the north side of the Pasig river about 3 kms to the north-east of the Post Office. The President is, as I'm sure you know, the redoubtable Bongbong Marcos. It looked a simple matter of walking down the south side of the river, cross a bridge, and then east along the north side. You must be joking! I got about half a mile down a footpath by the river towards the bridge when it came to a dead end. I had to retrace my steps, take a long detour through the city to get to a road leading to the bridge which had no pedestrian footpath. I walked across anyway, dodging traffic. 

On the north side of the river another hike along various streets until I reached a fenced area surrounding the extensive Palace grounds. There was at least a gate here to enter. Finally reaching the guarded entrance to the actual Palace compound (right) I was told firmly by a well armed sentry "NO ENTRY"! I suspect any visits to see the Palace are only by 'authorised' tours. So, despite my pleas, I made my retreat.

Left: En-route I passed this smart building (in the outer area); the 'Office of the President'. Perhaps I should have rung the bell and spoken to Bongbong.

Right: A better photo taken through the gates.

Left: A pic of the riverside frontage of the Palace which I did not see. Taken on a bright sunny day the like of which I did not see either. Most days I was here, especially in the afternoons, were either cloudy, rain showers or drizzling.

So, a trudge back to the city. Right: There are many of these SM shopping malls throughout the city; this one is just outside Intramuros. They are vast, on 4 or 5 floors, and amongst coffee shops and greasy-spoon restaurants are expensive shops selling all kinds of useless luxury items (handbags, shoes, clothes etc.). Plus medical and dental outlets. I believe 'SM' stems from the 'ShoeMark' brand.

Left: Most seem to have 'characters' hanging about in fancy dress to have your photo taken with for, they hope, a small donation.

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of 'down-and-outs' on the streets. Some, like this poor old chap (right) obviously severely handicapped and wheeled around by whom I assumed was his elderly wife. I  contributed.

Left: …and another common sight, often on bridges and in underpasses.

On circumventing the Rizal Park, which seemed curiously devoid of any people and not many entry and exit gates, I found (advertised in my guide book) the Bayleaf Hotel which boasts a sky-deck terrace with good views. I went up and indeed on the top floor is a very smart restaurant and open viewing area. 

Below: A view east to the clock tower on the City Hall.

Below: To the south-east a view beyond the pond to the National Museum of Natural History, which I subsequently visited. The rain had started to come down, visibility was reducing, so I decided to have a light meal in the expensive restaurant!

Right: The hotel seems to have a 'commendably woke' event planned!  

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For some reason this blasted blogging site is now playing up and I can't 'move' the photos. So closing down early and hopefully it will come back to life when I start a continuation of this, and other, well overdue, reports. 

The Sentinel of Freedom, or Lapu Lapu Monument, in Rizal Park near the museums. This monument honours Mr Datu Lapu-Lapu, the first Filipino national hero, who defeated Ferdinand Magellan at the battle of Mactan in 1521.

I decided to wander down to the museum area in the park. There are three of them there; the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Anthropology and the National Museum of Natural History. I chose the Natural History one because it was closest and, by now, it was pissing down with rain. I was soaked (no umbrella) and hoped to dry off in there. It has a very grand pillared facade.

There was a long queue of people, mainly children's/students' groups with teachers, waiting patiently on the steps up to the entry. I employed my normal technique of just walking around to nearly the front of the queue, waving to someone, and joined them. Nobody ever objects! I think it's called 'blagging'. It was free entry and then another queue to leave any bag you are carrying at a desk/store.

It is a vast museum on 6 floors. Left: The entrance hall. There are miles of passage-ways, escalators, stairways and 'galleries', some of which had little in them. To be honest I found it a bit boring, but at least I was drying off.

I show a few photos of some exhibits which were not just stones or plants or little insects etc.

Right: A bird with a big beak. Surprised it doesn't have 'weight and balance' problems in flight. A nose dive would seem likely.

Left: This fish generously donated it's dentures.

Right: A tusk from a Stegodon. They were elephant-like creatures around from about 2,000,000 years ago. This tusk, the notice told me, is 800,000 yrs old. Whoopee!

Left: This croc is called 'Lolong'. A large Indo-Pacific male adult saltwater crocodile from the marshes on the island of Mindanao. It was captured in 2011 and sent, in captivity, to a nature park in Bunawan where it died in 2013 (at about 55yrs old). It was named after the veteran crocodile hunter Ernesto 'Lolong' Coñate who died during the hunt for the giant reptile. We are not told how. It is/was 20 feet 3 inches long and weighed in at 2,370 lbs and the largest croc ever held in captivity. 

You could make a lot of handbags from that!

That will have to do for the time being and I hope to be off up north to visit some relations of a friend's Filipina (London based) wife.

GETTING AROUND MANILA

 8th - 10th Dec 2025

The Katipunan Revolutionary Monument in Intramuros, Rizal Park, featuring local hero, Andrés Bonifacio, revolutionary leader of the Katipunan revolutionaries who temporarily ousted the Spanish Government between 1896-98. 

I searched in vain for a useful Tourist Information Centre. I was after a) a paper map of the streets (like a London A-Z) and b) some postcards (I like sending them). The advertised tourist office in Intramuros, staffed by several disinterested young people eating sandwiches, was useless and the Central Tourist Office in Makati equally so. A polite gentleman there said there might be maps and postcards in one of the large National Bookstores. There weren't. As a solo traveller navigating around this traffic-jammed maze of a city is not easy. I had bought an e-SIM card for my iPhone which proved invaluable, indeed essential. Without access to Google Maps one would be permanently lost and, fortunately, the national internet provider 'ICT' worked well everywhere except up in the mountains. Indeed internet was remarkably good everywhere and in all hotels and bars.

To get from A to B there were several means of transport, but walking, as I like to do, posed an irritating problem. There are several 8-lane motorways, some on two levels, which criss-cross the city (below). You set off on foot, following your Google map directions on your phone, only to find your way blocked by one of these blasted motorways, or a fence, or a wall. It can be a long detour to get over, under or around, to the other side.

The most reliable and comfortable way to get around is to use the 'Grab' taxis for which I have the required 'app' on my phone. They are both efficient and relatively inexpensive, although you may have to wait some time for one to arrive during the ultra-busy traffic periods ie. between 8.00am and 10.00pm! I also discovered motorbike taxis on  the 'Move-it' app which were excellent and relatively quick. To get from Makati to Intramuros in the north by car, about 5km, could take anything up to 2 hours! (normally about 1hr 15mins)

Other intra-city transport consists of 'cowboy' taxis (I never touch them), motor-bikes with side-cars, tuk-tuks, the occasional horse and cart,  'Jeepneys' and the rather basic overhead 'Metro' (LRT and MRT) system.

Right: A typical 'Jeepney'. They are effectively based on a WW2 US jeep's chassis and have an elongated low passenger compartment. There seems to be competition as to who can produce the most extravagantly decorated version!  These only operated within their local districts. They wait at a pick-up point until full…and full means packed. It only costs 10 pesos for a ride (12p) of whatever distance. I tried them on a couple of occasions. Not being able to find out where they were going, I just got into one pointing in the direction I wanted to go and hoped for the best.

Left: Inside after being squeezed in, it was just a question of monitoring where I was on my phone and get out at one of the many stops before it turned in a different direction. Other passengers shouted something when they wanted to get off, but they knew where they were going. More were picked up en-route. An amusing form of transport but not entirely predictable.

There were lots of motorbikes with various forms of 'sidecar'. Some very basic and carried freight, or (right) old women.

Left: Others were more luxurious.

Right: The redoubtable tuk-tuks were in abundance. Again, these stuck to a local area.

Left: ….and one driven by a lady, which is a rare sight.

Right: A horse and cart. I think these were used by the well-heeled tourists on guided tours. More for pleasure than getting from one place to another. You may notice that it is raining in this photo. It did tend to rain or drizzle most afternoons and the roads, pavements and streets became quickly and annoyingly waterlogged. I'm not surprised there is chaos if and when it really pisses down! Drainage seems to be a problem.

Left: The overhead LRT (Light Rail Transit) Metro and MRT (Metro Rail Transit) operate on a few lines. I never quite discovered how to best to use them as the stations were difficult to find and the only route diagrams were at the stations. The useless tourist information offices could not provide one.

I did use them on a couple of occasions from 'near' Makati (Vito Cruz station) to the Central stop in Intramuros. Very cheap at 25p (UK equiv). Right: As with everything in this city, we were packed in like sardines.

There were always many motorbike, tuk-tuk drivers and others pestering you for business. Most irritating, as were the other hawkers trying to sell you stuff you didn't want (e.g. old ladies selling little bunches of flowers). I suppose it is a normal hassle in this part of the world. At least they are out there trying to earn a living unlike so many wasters in the UK lounging idly and comfortably at home on generous 'benefits'!

Left: Another exuberantly decorated Jeepney. I wonder who 'Sherryl' is?

I mentioned earlier of the need to find either bridges or underpasses to get across those blasted motorways. All of them seemed to house down-and-out homeless people (right) and there were many beggars of various descriptions on the streets. There is a rather squalid side to this city.

That will have to do for now and I haven't even started on the more interesting sights and experiences I encountered, let alone my trips outside Manila. I will get around to it one day!

PS. Just found this basic map (on the internet) of the LRT and MRT routes. Might come in useful later and to anyone following me!