Hello 2020! New Year, new decade. We kicked it off strong with a much needed vacation to the Philippines (aka “the motherland)”, and returned to one of our favorites – Japan 🙂
Planning our trip to the Philippines was quite the challenge in terms of narrowing down exactly where we wanted to go. There are over 7,500 islands in the country, and we had just a few weeks to hop around. We settled on 4 stops: Manila, Palawan (El Nido), Boracay, and Bohol.
Our first couple of days in Manila served as an opportunity to decompress after the long journey and adjust to the 13 hour time difference. We stayed at the Shangri-La in BGC – the perfect welcome to the city with lovely accommodations and staff, as well as a centralized location with plenty of walkability to bars/restaurants. Thanks to my brother and his girlfriend who have frequented the area, we got some excellent food recommendations and didn’t hold back on trying them out with the limited time we had.
After just two nights in the city, we made our way to El Nido – a part of a large group of islands known as Palawan which is a must see when visiting the Philippines. Island hopping is a major attraction here, so we spent a couple of days on chartered boat tours doing just that. We swam and kayaked in/around a few lagoons with turquoise blue waters, and even had lunch prepared for us on a private beach. On our last day in El Nido, we took a quick tricycle ride to another beach called “Maremegmeg” or “Vanilla Beach”. This particular area is known for having great sunset views, and is home to a very cool restaurant/bar nestled high above the trees called “The Nesting Table” (you have to climb up a bamboo staircase to get there). Overall a very cool vibe and great way to end our time in Palawan.
Next stop was the island of Boracay. We received mixed reviews from people who have visited, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. The island has had a reputation for its strong “party scene” and influx of tourists that apparently negatively impacted the surrounding beaches. However, it has since been cleaned up after closing for 6 months and enforces some new restrictions in strive to create a quieter and more eco-friendly destination. That said, Boracay’s White Beach was probably one of our favorites the whole trip! Powdery white sand on our feet and stunning crystal clear waters. The atmosphere outside of the beach was still a bit hectic for those who prefer serenity, but it didn’t affect us. Also, Matt attempted to paddle board for the first time and it was pure entertainment. We had the opportunity to check out Puka beach as well. Puka beach was still beautiful and far less chaotic than its counterpart, but we were left a bit underwhelmed and decided to spend the rest of our time back at White Beach.
Our final Philippine destination was Bohol – an island that had a mix of beaches and a mountainous countryside. The beach wasn’t as impressive as El Nido or Boracay, but the beachfront bar/restaurant vibe was more to our liking and our beautiful resort made up for what was lacking. Our first full day was spent on a countryside tour visiting popular sites such as the Chocolate Hills, Tarsier Sanctuary, and Twin Hanging Bamboo Bridges. We also had a nice lunch while cruising down the Loboc River, complete with local music entertainment, and even had the chance to try out the “Tinikling” – a traditional Filipino folk dance which involves having to dance over and in between two bamboo poles. Super fun! The rest of our time was spent relaxing and soaking in the sun before transitioning to another climate.
After about two and half weeks, we wrapped up our Philippine vacation and headed to Japan! We can’t express how much we love that country. With only a few days to explore this time around, we decided to stay in one city and pretty much ate our way through Tokyo. In between our sushi and ramen stops, eating all you can eat shabu shabu, and indulging in a ninja themed omakase menu, we were able to check out a very awesome digital art museum and attend a Grand Sumo tournament! Our hotel was also conveniently located by one of our favorite bar areas *Goldengai*, and we checked out a bunch of fun themed “barcades” as well. The grand finale was an early birthday dinner returning to one of our FAVORITE restaurants – Hakushu – known for their amazing Kobe beef. As always, we had a blast.
That about sums it up. This trip was an incredible way to start the New Year and we’re very much looking forward to our next vacation wherever that may be. Until next time.
– AM & Matt
For more pictures from our trip to the Philippines and Japan, check out the image gallery page or click on the links below: