Peurto Galera

We were supposed to fly straight out of Manila to Boracay but had a change of heart last minute & decided to check out Puerto Galera which was just a 2 hour bus ride & then a 2 hour boat ride from Manila. There are 2 main areas in PG - Sabang & White Beach. We couldn't decide between the 2 so decided to do both as they're quite near to each other.

Philippines. Manila all filler, no thriller.

You will find yourself in Manila whether you like it or not if you travel to the Philippines. All roads lead to Manila. We have seen the capital three time in less than a month. The first impressions of Manila were all good. The customs guys were cool about the bullet keyring and the man inside the currency exchange kiosk said that I looked like Kurt Cobain. Nice compliment, but a lie. Leaving the airport with poverty under the cover of darkness. I found myself surrounded by all these stretched super shiny Jeeps. Manila's most popular form of public transport. The Jeepney.

Singapore. Day Four and Five.

Singapore has the coolest Chinatown we have ever seen. Home to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. It's an impressive looking multi storied temple that has Buddha's tooth encased in a golden box which can be viewed via video link on an LCD TV. Very strange. There is also this 'secret rooftop garden' & giant prayer wheel. I'd read about the 'secret garden' & it had a sign pointing the way. Huge secret. We got lost around level 3 or 4 & walked around places where I don't think we should have been. It was pretty cool. Unlocking doors and walking outside onto the balcony facing Chinatown's Food Complex. I could see people playing chess & others taking a nap on the tiled benches. We lit Joss sticks & made a little prayer. I always find the offerings to Buddha very interesting. Strawberry Fanta must be a favourite of his as half empty cans are always at these shrines. Skittles was a new one.

Singapore. Day three.

We were centrally located near Bugis Junction. It was a cool area full of boutique shops. Private A/C room for £25 a night, which was much lower than any other accommodation that we could find. Too good to be true? Yeah. We didn't have a bathroom. The website was a little misleading to say the least. The shared bathroom was down a long flight of stairs. Bit of a pain but no big deal.

Singapore. Day one and two.

The Republic of Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island below Malaysia. It is one of the most densely populated countries on planet Earth. It is only 55km from one side to the other. It is unlike any other Southeast Asian country I have ever seen. And because of that, it is such a nice break from Southeast Asia. It is cleaner than clean. Someone told me that chewing gum is outlawed. The streets, the parks are flawless. Its public transport is brilliant! the MRT (Tube, Subway, whatever) is cheap and super convenient. Riding around all day for both of us on single ride tickets never cost any more than 10 Singapore dollars, which is about £5. The landscape of the country is amazing. The architecture is really cool and the public parks are so trippy.

Misery Business - Singapore Changi Airport

Singapore's Changi Airport is in the business of misery. We have flown in & out & both times were possibly the most frustrating & stressful times of our travels. Singapore is like a perfect city - so clean and sparkly but full of rules that must be adhered to, so I guess to keep it that way the airport has to be the same.

Hanoi. Vietnam.

Hanoi was the end of our Vietnamese tour and it started with a nineteen hour bus journey. The first four hours were on a rickety old bus with no A/C and broken chairs. The next fifteen hours were on the top bunk of a sleeper bus. Comfort was far from mine. At 5am three hours before we arrived in Hanoi the douchebag driver decided to replay the travel 'entertainment' which was the Vietnamese version of Pop Idol. At maximum volume. Shortly after this it started to rain. It didn't stop raining for a further five hours. I had been wondering where all this Vietnamese rain was. We found it in Hanoi.

Hoy! Hoi An, Vietnam.

I was recommended a vegetarian restaurant & place to stay by a Dutch guy on the booze cruise. After walking in circles for about an hour, while being offered tailor made suits by ladies on bicycles, we finally found the restaurant. We ate here 19 times & even did a cooking class. We have been meaning to do a cooking class since India but it just never happened.

Nha Trang, Little Moscow. Vietnam.

On the South China Sea. With a full band behind us we sang Wonderwall. The booze cruise was almost in full swing. The band knew a song for every country & we all took turns at embarrassing ourselves. With a floating bar in the middle of the sea. Trying to anchor yourself onto the bar with your feet & getting the next rum & pineapple 'cocktail' without getting any sea water in your plastic cup was not as easy as it sounds. Oh, and all the while, getting stung by jellyfish.

Delightful Da lat, Vietnam.

Loaded with a map that had been photocopied one hundred times and looked like an old man's tattoo, we headed out regardless. In search of Hằng Nga. Popularly known as the “Crazy House”. With lots of local help we found the Crazy House & it did live up to its name. Along the way we stopped for brunch at a street vendor. We bought baguettes with laughing cow cheese. Baguette, salad, one triangle of laughing cow cheese & sugar. SUGAR!? What the hell. All the sugar in my sandwich had gathered at one end. Half of the the sandwich was a regular cheese & salad the other was a doughnut.