Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!

After two weeks of volunteering for the NGO Rise Above I decided to take the weekend off, and visit my GIP friend Ace who lives in the idyllic and historical island Iloilo. With a cheap flight from Cebu with Cebu Pacific Air I reached Iloilo a couple of hours later, and was met by my friend at the airport. We had already agreed that if the weather was bad we would go restaurant hopping instead of island hopping, and since it was already late Friday afternoon we decided to start with the restaurant hopping. According to Ace, people in Iloilo don't live long because all there is to do in Iloilo is eating. And not to mention that they have a lot of greasy food too! Haha..

But with a good guide you're anyway guaranteed delicious food! The chicken barbecue we had was so good^^

By the beach in Jordan, Guimaras

Visiting Jordan, Guimaras

Although the weather forecast had predicted a possible typhoon for Saturday it seemed like we had avoided it after all, and the good weather made it possible for us to go Island hopping! We left Iloilo by a small ferry heading for the neighboring island Jordan, and were picked up by a jeepney (local bus) reserved by my friend. It took us to a beach on the other side of the island where we got into a small Filipino boat. From there we visited many small islands in the area, and had the chance to swim in the crystal clear water. On one of the beaches we stopped by I got to take pictures with a sea turtle, and on another island we visited a sort of traditional Filipino house.

Me with a sea turtle

When we came back to Iloilo after our little island hopping adventure Ace drove me around in Iloilo and showed me all of his city. Iloilo is a very historical place with many old and pretty buildings dating back to the years of the Spanish colonization. Unfortunately most of these buildings have already been destroyed, and the remaining ones are not being kept very well either. I hope for the future that the government sees the value in these historical buildings and do a better job in conserving them for the future generations and possible tourists.

Inside one of the old houses..

The rest of my stay in Iloilo was spent eating delicious foods and desserts..

On Sunday morning it was time for my flight back to Cebu. I had a great weekend much thanks to my friend Ace who took so good care of me and showed me around, and not to mention his family who let me stay at their place. I hope I get the chance to visit Iloilo again some time in the future!

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Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.