A perfect holiday destination – endless beac

A February 2003 trip to Luzon by perrytoo

Quote: This was going to be about the Philippines, but I never got past Luzon. It’s a whole rich holiday destination in its own right. Highly recommended!

A perfect holiday destination – endless beac

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Overview

Quote:

Impossible to describe adequately in 200 words. I remember the warm empty seas, the breathtaking scenery in the hills, the sweet-smelling pine woods, the sense of freedom and safety, and always the wonderful Filipino people. I’d like to put in a good word for the newspapers too. The Americans may have introduced a vicious gun-culture, appalling pork-barrel politics, and chewing-gum and McDonald's, but they also left behind a respect for education and a wonderfully free press. Dozens of readable local, regional, and national titles everywhere, full of local gossip, polemical political discussion, and news of the Filipino diaspora giving an unexpected international dimension. English newspapers seem dul...Read More

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Best Way To Get Around:

Intercity travel is mainly by coach, but it’s much more difficult than it should be because of the number of different companies involved, all of which use different termini, even in quite small towns. Journey times are long, broken by occasional pit-stops at pre-arranged eateries, and enlivened by back-to-back Jackie Chan videos. Local street-sellers will jump on board at every opportunity, selling everything from newspapers, sweets, and cigarettes (individually), hot sweet corn, and packed lunches of rice dishes wrapped in bamboo sticks or banana leaves, to local delicacies of fresh fish, fruit, rice cakes, and peanut brittle. Impossible to go hungry, or become bored. It’s also worth mentioning the conductors, clambering up and down to the roof stowing luggage, changing the tape in the video, supervising itinerant sellers, checking tickets, and making sure that everyone gets safely back on the bus after pit-stops. They seem to remember effortlessly every detail of each traveller’s itinerary, and will remind them (waking them as necessary) when approaching their destination. They also guard unaccompanied packages scrupulously, jumping out to deliver letters at the appropriate places and taking excessive care to make sure that everything ends up in the right place, in the right hands. Read Less

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Las Villas, San Juan

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Hotel

Quote:

A beautiful garden on the beach, kept in perfect order by a middle-aged German with a solicitous Filipina wife, and a large and cheerful Filipino staff. The rooms are in small cottages scattered around the gardens, decorated with dark stained wood and whitewashed walls, with scented sheets and a few items of carefully selected antique (looking) furniture. No reception - a member of staff will materialise whenever necessary to sort out any problems. This is definitely a place for getting away from it all, providing sun, sand and sea, hermetically sealed off from all the troubles of the world. Even the sand is beautiful; very fine, a mix of dark grey and white, like powdered granite, with a sprinkling o...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on April 28, 2003

Las Villas, San Juan

Luzon, Philippines
(072) 242-3770