Manila airport is on the list of the worst airports in the world. Mainly due to the corruption but also because of the scams especially with the transportation. While we were on the ship we spoke to a number of the crew who were Filipino and asked for their advice for the airport. They all laughed and then proceeded to explain that yes it’s pretty bad but apparently it’s getting a lot better under the current president Bongbong Marcos (yes it’s Fernando and Imelda Marcos’ son).
They told us that we probably won’t have to bribe the immigration people any more but that the taxi drivers will possibly drive off with your luggage or at least charge you ten times as much as the ride is worth. Choose the coupon taxi as it’s fixed price and they write it down and that’s what you pay. Also they register the driver and so they are less likely to drive off with your luggage.
Getting to the coupon taxi booth was a right hassle though. Everyone had an official printed out badge saying they were coupon taxi (which they weren’t). The price from the first guy was 5 x as much as we knew we should pay. The next 4 x and so on until we actually got to the little booth surrounded by people saying they were coupon taxi (which they weren’t). We’ll wait for the man in the coupon taxi booth thanks!

As it turns out the advice was right. We didn’t have to bribe immigration they were actually very helpful when we realised we had to do another online health declaration, including our monkey pox status. The taxi driver didn’t drive off with our luggage and we didn’t get scammed because we used the coupon taxi and so paid the government rates. Always pays to be prepared.

The next morning we were back out to the airport to fly to the island of Boracay. We had pre organised the hotel pick up which is a must as you need to get from the tiny airport of Caticlan to the jetty on a boat for a 10 minute ride to the island and then from the jetty to the hotel. Sometimes you just need to spend the $50 to make your life easier.

Boracay is known for its beautiful beaches but also that it started to become over populated with tourists and the infrastructure couldn’t cope. At one point the island was referred to as the worlds biggest cesspit. In 2017 the government closed Boracay to all tourists for six months. They brought in the army and used the time to upgrade the water, waste and sewerage systems. They replaced all the diesel tuktuks with electric buggies and mandated that the hotels and businesses clean up their act. It was the best thing they ever did.
The island reopened just in time for covid to hit and for it to close again.

White beach Boracay is actually a really beautiful beach, so we are very glad we went Added bonus a new country for the list). White sand, clear clean blue water and lined with palm trees. No sun loungers or umbrellas to spoil it, like so many other beaches in the world. There is a beach path that separates the hotels and restaurants from the beach. So you can wander along the sand in the evenings to watch the sunset and the hundreds of small sail boats going out for a sunset cruise.
The people were lovely, the water was warm and the sunsets were incredible.
We will definitely return to the Philippines and spend more time on the other islands. Palawan, El Nido and Cebu all came highly recommended by the locals.

Then we were back to Singapore for another health declaration and a two night stay at Marina Bay Sands.We’ve both always wanted you stay there and to swim in the very instagrammable rooftop pool (was actually the most instagrammed hotel in 2017). The three towers with the ship across the top has to be one of the most recognisable buildings in the world and it’s certainly an enormous hotel with over 2500 rooms. We weren’t disappointed with an incredible view from a really lovely room and a couple of amazing swims in the pool.
Bucket list ticked.