I’m not sure many airports can boast a better backdrop then the one in Legazpi, Philippines. Walking off my 6:30 a.m. flight from Manila to Legazpi, I looked left to see Mt. Mayon standing tall amongst a perfect blue sky with clouds circling its peak. It was such a gorgeous sight I put off retrieving my luggage for a bit to take some photos. No wonder the Bicolans, locals to the area, named it “magayon,” which means beautiful.

Visitors have a clear view of Mt. Mayon when departing their plane at Legazpi Airport in the Philippines. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

I finally made it inside the airport to find a small luggage belt and not much else. Since there was only one flight, I was quick with picking up my bag and heading out. On my way out of the airport an officer stopped me, as well as everyone else, to check if my luggage tag matched the tag on my ticket. I later found out this is a security measure a lot of Asian countries take.

Leaving Legazpi Airport I found the same sight as in my airports near resort beach towns – a crowd of drivers screaming out from behind a fence. It can be a bit stressful to take them all on, so this time I made prior arrangements to be picked up by Amor Farm Beach Resort, my accommodation in Donsol, Philippines. Amongst a sea of shouting drivers, it was relieving to see “Bobbi Lee” on a white sign.

Tricycle drivers wave me over at the airport. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

The car ride from Legazpi to Donsol is about one and a half hours. Legazpi is very small, but busy. Tiny cement block houses and stores as well as bamboo huts covered in Red Horse and Coca Cola ad posters line the streets. Jeepneys, tricycles, buses and bikes weave back and forth and in and out of oncoming traffic. It’s a fun ride if you’re with a bold driver.

But all that calamity dissipated as my van left the city. Palm trees became more plentiful and small houses spaced out amongst massive rice fields. Not long into the ride I smelled something roasting. It was a good burning smell that I later found out was burnt shrubbery, which locals do to help prevent mosquitoes.

My driver must have noticed me taking tons of photos cause he offered to stop at Daraga Albay Church, so I could take some of this local treasure. The 18th-century baroque church on top a hill looked as if it was slowly falling apart with a few windows smashed and chipped siding, but it’s still active and people were praying inside. The church was supposedly built by a “daraga,” which means single lady in local tongue. The size and details made it look quite dominating against a tropical backdrop.

Dargay Albay Church looks in ruins, but it's still in use and offers beautiful views of the city. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

The streets became busy again as we entered Donsol proper. Welcoming guests to the town’s biggest attraction, a paper mache whaleshark is displayed before entering the Donsol. Donsol proper has a similar setup to Legazpi, but much more low key and bit friendlier. Everyone smiles when you walk or drive by. Couples and families ride or bike together. For a major tourist town, it seems to have maintained its family-oriented, close-knit community.

The scenery quiets down again then sign after sign for various resorts pop up exclaiming, “Turn Here!” or “Left to so and so in 800 meters.” There’s an array of places to choose from and most cannot be found on the internet or in guidebooks. If you’re planning to do a lot of water-oriented activities, make sure to find a place close to the Donsol Tourist Center. During peak season, March-June, it may be a good idea to book ahead.

I had already arranged my accommodation with Amor Farm Beach Resort prior and as the van pulled into to this quiet and roomy resort right on the beach, I had a feeling I picked the right place.

The beach by Amor Beach Farm Resort at night. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

Thanks to Amor Farm Beach Resort for supporting my trip to Donsol. As always, all opinions are my own.

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It’s not a common activity on Malapascua, yet, but motor-biking around the island is not to be missed. There is one place in the village that rents motorbikes. But almost everyone will rent you their own whether it be the waitress at your resort or lady at the barbecue stand.

Expect to pay P100 for the hour and P60-ish for half a tank of fuel. Don’t fill up the tank as the island is only small. Be prepared for more gorgeous beaches, even friendlier people and maybe even a monkey?

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I started my long, arduous journey to the Philippines at Melbourne Airport at around 11:30 a.m., Wednesday. I arrived there with plenty of time to check-in, so much so that I actually had to wait 20 minutes for the check-In desk to open. This gave me time to contemplate what I was about to do and where I was going.

I met my girlfriend in Australia. She had had to leave due to her visa running out, which meant If I was serious about things and wanted to be with her then I would have to chase her to where ever she was going. I was daunted by the upcoming journey as I had only traveled by myself once before. The travel bug had only really taken hold of me about a year ago. Before that I was content to just holiday with friends and family around Europe a couple of weeks a year.

When the check-in desk opened I was excited to be in the queue for a flight that would take me on a whole new adventure, the excitement soon turned to boredom though as I was made to wait one hour and 15 minutes. When I finally reached the check-in desk the check-in attendant asked me to provide my ticket and passport (normal practice at any international check-in desk).

But that wasn’t it.

She followed with asking for my ongoing ticket out of the Philippines. This came as a shock to me as I’d never heard of it before.

It was fine because I already had my ticket out of the Philippines booked, I just hadn’t printed it off yet as I thought that I wouldn’t need it until I was leaving the country. The attendant was adamant that I needed this ticket printed out for my arrival into the country. I was directed by the attendant to run across the road to the Hilton Hotel to print it off. Obviously, I worried that by the time I’d printed off the ticket I wouldn’t have enough time to get back and check-in. However, I managed to get it printed off and checked in with five minutes to spare. What a great start to a journey I was already nervous about.

With the check-in process taking so long I literally just had to wonder up to my gate and wait 15 minutes for the plane. I noticed on my way through the terminal that there was a currency exchange so decided to change the $50 I had spare into Filipino Pisos, just so I had some money on me for when I landed. The exchange rate there was 37 Pisos to AUS$1. I hadn’t, foolishly, checked any exchange rates and as it was probably my last chance to change money before I got there I changed the $50.

The three hour 50 minute-flight from Melbourne to Darwin went without a hitch. I landed In Darwin and was instructed to head straight to the gate for my flight to Manila. Between myself and the gate there was some security, where I was asked to fill out some immigratIon and customs forms necessary to depart Australia.

Exotic Island Dive Resort has a few hammocks on its beach for guests. Photo by Richard John Hackey

Again, the flight from Darwin to Manila went without a hitch and I was touching down in a brand new country. I was excited all over again but that excitement was then again dampened by the realisation that I would have to spend the next 8 hours waiting around the airport for my onward flight onto Cebu City.

I decided to try my debit card in a cash machine at the airport as my girlfriend had informed me that she had had trouble withdrawing money when she had landed. I, however, had no problem getting money out. Good thing, because I only had the $50 in Pisos in my wallet. Not the cleverest way to travel I know, but I had left Australia on a whim and, to be completely honest, I was no where near as prepared as I’d have liked to be. The exchange rate on the machine was 43 Pisos to AUS$1! That’s a whole 6 Pisos more than I got from Melbourne airport, I was a bit gutted I had got such a bad rate back in Australia but I quickly got over it as I’d only changed $50.

My next task was to find something to eat and then find a spot where I could perhaps sleep for a few hours. After what seemed like forever I was ready to board my flight to Cebu, the check-in queue moved much quicker this time but when I reached the attendant to weigh my bags she informed me that my bag was too heavy. The allowance for Cebu Pacific flights is 15Kgs, whereas the allowance for my flights from Australia was 20Kgs. My bag weighed 17Kgs so I had to quickly offload a couple of items of clothes and a pair of shoes. I just left them there next to the check-in desk…hopefully someone in the airport will have picked them up and found a use for them.

I headed to my gate and was met with another surprise. I had to pay P200 in airport fees, just to get through to my gate to catch a domestic flight.

By this point I was feeling the affects of traveling and I still had a one-hour flight, a four-hour bus ride and a 45 minute boat trip to go before I reached my destination of Malapascua, an island off the coast of Cebu Island.

I arrived at Cebu Airport and picked up my bags. I headed for a taxi ready to do some bartering as I’d heard that you really have to haggle with the drivers to get the prices down. After agreeing a price of P250, I was in a taxi on my way to the Northern Bus Terminal in Cebu City. The timing was perfect, because when I arrived there the bus for Maya (P95), which is the town where you catch the boat to Malapascua, was leaving. So I jumped out the cab and got straight on the bus. Within five minutes I was off on the penultimate stage of my journey which had so far taken me 24 hours.

The bus ride was insane!

I’m not the best passenger at the best of times, even with the safest of drivers, but this journey really took all I had to keep calm and not shout abuse out to the driver. They just don’t care on the roads here.

I was ridiculously tired by now and all I wanted to do was get an hour or two sleep, this was never going to happen as the bus driver seemed to have a perverse love of his horn. If it wasn’t the horn keeping me awake it was the constant jumping off my seat as we’d hit a bump in the road at outrageous speed.

I arrived at Maya in one piece, thankfully. Luckily, I did not have to deal with the usual welcoming there of scammers trying to charge passengers more than P50 (the standard rate) for the bangka ferry to the island.

The boat ride over to the island was such a complete contrast from the bus journey I’d just endured. I was finally able to chill knowing that I’d soon be arriving and that I could give my girlfriend a massive hug and just chill and have a well earned beer.

Malapascua Island in the Philippines offers clear blue waters and sky, worth the arduous journey. Photo by Richard John Hackey

I landed on Malapascua at 2 p.m. and made the short walk up to Exotic Island Dive Resort. where I would be staying. I was greeted at reception by some of my girlfriend’s mates. They told me she had just disappeared to fetch something from her room and that she’d be back any second.

So I decided to hide in the store room and wait. Her friends then told her that they needed something from the store room and asked if she would go and get it for them. Little dId she know I was waiting in the wet suits. She walked into the store room and I jumped out and shouted. She reeled back in shock at first then attacked me with a frenzy of hugs and kisses. I couldn’t believe I’d finally made it out to her!

The trip was long and not without It’s hiccups but I’d made it and all there was left to do was order a beer and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

The first glimpse of my new home for the next few weeks, Exotic Island Dive Resort in Malapascua, Philippines. Photo by Richard John Hackey