Magical Journey - The Philippines

Philippines is a place like no other on earth. Karaoke is playing all day long and the people are god fearing with tendencies of calling you Sir. We have found the most beautiful adventure amongst these god fearing souls

Each year, as we prepare for our new adventure, we feel the pain of our parents' separation anxiety as we head off into the sunset. Our annual travel is designed to take us out of our comfort zone and into a state of reality check.

This year our destination was the Philippines, the Republic of Philippines to be exact. We knew nothing of the place and no matter how hard we tried to find out more about what to expect from our visit, we were unable to locate anyone who could advise us where to go and what to do. It was a good sign, not many people have ventured to this part of the world and we were encouraged by the hope that our stories would be unique and informative when we returned.

It was reassuring to see our plane from Hong Kong to Manila filled with ethnic faces, with only a handful of Westerners. Let me explain; when traveling to distant destinations our aim is to connect with real, authentic communities, learning the value of community living and discovering their culture. We want to feel like we are not just visiting the place, we want to explore its soul.

We landed in Manila just after 4pm and the sweet fragrance of traffic fumes mixed with some distant blooms, stagnant water and sweet toasted coconut, welcomed our arrival. The heat and humidity hit us at once and even though we are used to the heat, this was different, even to Ballito's scorching summersheavy, polluted and toxic, it felt like a warm wet blanket.

After changing some money we were greeted by hundreds of travellers waiting for a taxi, something we were not aware of. I mean come on! After a 24 hour journey, the last thing we wanted was to wait for three hours in a queue.

We were taken aback by brazen solicitors, trying to convince us to pay R600 for a taxi ride to our hotel that should really have cost us less than R100. Anyway we decided to take a walk out the airport complex, which is situated right next to a major highway, skyway connectivity, we walked guided by our GPS and eventually arrived at a place where we did not want to walk any more and we hailed a taxi, which drove us to our airb&b apartment in the Radisson Condominium in the Makati Greenbelt district.

We chose a one-bedroom space on the 16th floor, in the middle of the commercial district, it hummed and drummed and kept us enthralled. Manila never sleeps, and is a real sensory overload. Its regulated, its policed and its super clean. Strict laws for smoking and drinking in public prevent people from just dumping their trash.

Philippine's president Duterte is a hugely respected politician in the Philippines and he rules with the iron first, taking no crap from anyone, as he continues to kill Filipino drug lords and raises the pay for the local police and security companies, placing policemen and security guards at every corner and entrance to every building.

Even though we were right in the heart of the Manila Mania, we at no point felt threatened or unsafe. Duterte has been very effective and the people of the Philippines appreciate it openly.

Manila is a sprawling city with a massive population of over twenty million people. They love their malls, strip malls, multi level malls, and the have some breathtakingly beautiful malls.

And then there is the endless sprawl of makeshift stalls, some spilling over into the street, some crumbling under the rot and decay of decades of existence with no thought of upgrade or improvement. The filthy rich share the same pavement as the impoverished, inundated by the incessant swish of traffic, blaring hooters from every imaginable form of transport, and then some forms that even your wildest imagination could not conjure up.

From the Jeepney to the tricycle, to the seven up on a scooter, it appears as if anything goes in Manila and all over the Philippines, and so it does.

Come along with us on our recounting of this adventure, we will take you to crystal clear water and crazy tourist towns, from marble and glass to rotten bamboo and mud. The Philippines is exasperating as it is awe inspiring, with Cathedrals and Karaoke dens, it is bound to be amazing.