Philippines negros beaches. Negros is my favorite island in the Philippines

Negros Island is medium in size in the Philippines. The total area is 13 thousand square kilometers. In length, it occupies 180 square kilometers. It is washed by the seas: Visayan, Sibuyan and Sulu.

An array with mountainous terrain occupies most of it. It is a huge dark cliffs with tropical forests. Hence the name - Negros.

The island is conditionally divided into East and West Negros.

The western part mostly has a mountainous terrain covered with forests. Sugar cane is grown in the lowlands. The administrative center is the city of Bacolod.

Festival of Smiles (Maskara Festival), Bacolod

It is the largest, cleanest, most modern port city in the Philippines. There is an annual festival of smiling masks. It takes place in mid-October and is celebrated for three weeks. It is a carnival procession through the city streets, accompanied by dances, music, various competitions, street theater, and a fair. The festival of smiles ends with fireworks.

Oriental Negros. Most of the area has a mountainous terrain with tropical forests. Industrial crops are grown on a small low-lying area. The administrative center is the city of Dumaguete.

This is the second largest city in the Philippines with a lot of entertainment in the center: night bars, clubs, all kinds of shops, beauty salons, cafes, restaurants, etc.

Holidays on the island for those who want to stay alone with untouched nature and at the same time actively have fun. The best time to visit Negros is from December to May. During this period, the air temperature is 25-28 degrees and there is no rain. In general, there are no prolonged prolonged showers here.

Attractions

The village of Patag is located forty-five kilometers from the central city. With a height above sea level - four hundred meters, between the mountains of Marapara and Silai. On the tour, you will see a bewitching landscape of mountains. You can observe local birds and animals. A great option for lovers of nature walks and hiking.

Kanlaon Volcano - the conquest of the mountain will appeal to amateurs or professional climbers.

Public Square - located in the central part of the city of Bacolod, has the shape of a trapezoid. Great place for day trips. There is a stage on the square (city holidays are held there) and four fountains.

Capitol Park - you can admire the artificially dug lake and the famous Asian buffalo sculptures that line the shore. In the center of the park is the governor's residence.

Fountain of Justice - around it there is a small square where you can have a picnic. Also, various political actions and battles often take place here. Located in Bacolod.

Churches and cathedrals: Cathedral of San Sebastian, Centennial Belfry, Chapel of Santa Clara. A good opportunity to admire the architecture.

The islet of Sipawai is famous for its beach, the old pier and the ancient Balete tree (there are many legends about it).

Casaroro waterfall is located near the village of Valencia. The road to it will be an amazing adventure. To get to it, you need to overcome the descent of 300 steps, go through the stones and the mountain river.

Hot springs are located near the waterfall. There are gazebos in the form of a bungalow for a picnic.

Lakes Balinsasayao and Danao (twins) - you can only get to them by motorcycle because of the broken road. Parking and entry to the territory are paid. There is an observation deck from which you can see both lakes at the same time. You can ride a boat on the lake.

Museums

1. Negros (Negros Museum). Address: Bacolod, Gatuslao corner Lacson Street. Open from 9 am to 6 pm.
2. House Museum of Vintage Glass Laguerta.Brgy. Address: Bacolod, Sum-ag.
3. Dizon-Ramos. Address: Bacolod, 42 Burgos St | JRR Foundation. Open from 9 am to 5 pm.
4. Bernardino Jalandoni and many others. Address: Silai, st. Rizal.

Beaches

Apo islet is very popular among lovers of beach holidays, diving and snorkeling. It can be reached from the center in one hour. Upon arrival, you are recorded in a journal and charged 100 pesos. Apo has an amazing beach.

Sihikor Island is famous for its white sandy beaches. Sandugan beach is quiet and peaceful. There are several hotels near it. You can get to it by ferry from the center. The journey will take 1.5 hours.

The famous Shuga Beach is located in Sipalai - a sparsely populated, stunning and clean beach with hot sand. A great place for a relaxing pastime, as well as for families with children. Surrounded by palm trees and coconuts.

Hotels on about. Negros

How to get there

Negros can be reached by air or sea from Manila or Cebu. From Manila to the city of Bocalod you will fly one hour. From Cebu - half an hour. It will take you an average of five hours to get by sea from Cebu. From Manila - 20 hours.

I continue to write about the Philippines. The last few days have been very busy. And in general, the whole trip turns out to be very active.

For 11 days in the Philippines, I swam only once quickly, and everything is on the move. Mostly, of course, it is connected with Easter. Here it is taken very seriously. But I'll start in order with Negros.

Negros I was simply subdued by its nature and people. Incredible mountains and fields, animals and small villages. It is impossible to describe in words, you have to go there, see and feel everything for yourself. After a trip around the island, Negros could not understand at all what she was doing in Thailand for 2 months, because the Philippines is the demolition of the head. Negros is a medium-sized island in the Philippine Islands group.

Located in the center of the archipelago, it has an elongated shape, more than 180 km long. Area - 12.7 km². The population is 3.7 million people. It is part of the Visayas island group. From the north it is washed by the Visayan and Sibuyan seas, from the south - by the Sulu Sea. Mountain island. This is a beautiful place where there are very few tourists, a lot of smiling people and the bluest sky.

I'll start with animals. On about. Negros they are much thicker than their Thai counterparts

Cows in the mountains of Negros:

I'm so happy, Negros

Similar posts about my trip to the Philippines

Negros Island does not have as many swimming beaches as Mindoro or Palawan, and they are not as luxurious as the beaches of Boracay Island, but interesting and unusual places for sunbathing can be found. Almost all the beaches of the eastern part of the island have black sand: they are well suited for diving and snorkeling. In the area of ​​​​the town of Dauin there are hot thermal springs, where locals and vacationers often come for the weekend to improve their health.

Travelers who are interested beaches of negros island for passive recreation, you can visit one of the following places:

Manjuyod White Sandbar. A sand spit, several kilometers long, is located near the town of Bais. From Dumaguete to Bais can be reached by regular bus, which runs on this route daily, or by tricycle. The journey will take a little over an hour. Bangka sets off directly to the spit. The crossing takes about 20 minutes. Those who do not want to use public transport services, and who are not attracted by the prospect of finding their own way, can use the services of a travel agency and order a transfer.

You can rent a cottage at Manjuyod White Sandbar. Such a structure is not endowed with frills, but it perfectly protects from the sun. The cost of rent per night is from 3 thousand pesos. Vacationers who plan to stay here for a while need to bring food and water with them: the nearest restaurants, shops are located in the port of Bais. Experienced tourists recommend protecting the skin with sunscreen: you can burn out within 15 minutes. The sand on the spit is white and soft, but it is not recommended to walk on it without shoes. There are also coral reefs that can be explored with a mask and snorkel: snorkeling equipment should be taken with you.

BeachesislandsSipalay(Sugar Beach, Punta Ballo Beach). A favorite place for newlyweds, couples in love. Many vacationers consider the beaches of Sipalay to be the best in the entire country of 7000 islands. It has everything for a wonderful beach holiday: clean white sand, clear warm water, picturesque nature. There are about 7 hotels on Sugar Beach alone, where visitors can rent a room for a couple of days, eat delicious food. Those who are interested in snorkeling will not be bored: at the end of the island there are diving spots where vacationers can watch the inhabitants of the underwater world. All the necessary equipment can be rented already on the island, although the prices here are somewhat higher than on Negros.

island beach Lakawon. For those who are interested in the underprivileged beaches of Negros island, definitely need to visit this place. People come here for solitude and relaxation. The island of Lakawon is located 50 km from the city of Bacolod, in the western part of Negros. If you wish, you can spend the night on the island, staying at a local hotel. In this case, rooms should be booked in advance, and toiletries and mosquito repellent should be placed in the luggage case. Electricity is supplied at certain hours, water pressure can sometimes be a problem.

The hotel has several chefs who prepare excellent seafood dishes (squid, mussels, octopus), chicken, rice. Visitors to the island can take their groceries with them and have a picnic on the beach, or visit a local restaurant and enjoy the delights of Filipino cuisine.

The sand on the beach is white and soft, but it is not recommended to walk on it without shoes: glass fragments and pebbles may be present here. The best time to visit the island is May-July. In winter, the water begins to bloom.

Carbine Reef. It is a tiny island in the middle of the sea, which is located a few minutes drive from the city of Sagay, in Negros Occidental. From Bacolod to Sagay can be reached in 2 hours by regular bus. When planning a visit to Carbine Reef, make sure to reserve a gazebo in advance: the sun is merciless here all year round, which can lead to sunburn. The favorite entertainment of the island's visitors is diving, swimming, barbecue. You can bring some products with you, but it is better to rent the necessary equipment (coals, firewood, etc.) already on the spot.

The beaches of Apo Island. Those who are interested in unusual beaches of negros island, be sure to organize an excursion to the island of Apo. Ships depart from the port of Malatapay, a 40-minute drive from Dumaguete. The highlight of Apo Island is a diverse underwater world with colorful corals, exotic fish, large turtles and molluscs. There are all conditions for diving, snorkeling and passive beach recreation. In the evenings, you can watch sunsets, attend a drumming concert, or enjoy the delights of Filipino cuisine in one of the local restaurants.

Many tourists stop in Dauin, and from there they make one-day tours to one of the most remarkable places in the country of seven thousand islands. However, those who want to explore the exotic Apo in more detail can stay at one of the island's two hotels. You should not count on special luxury: the bathroom is limited to a barrel with a ladle, and cold water is supplied in limited quantities. Prices for such unpretentious accommodation cannot be called low, but this does not stop most vacationers.

Negros Island considered one of the best places to live. This is due not only to the developed infrastructure and cozy atmosphere, but also to the huge number of natural attractions. Mountainous areas covered with dense green forests, picturesque lakes, numerous waterfalls are the object of regular visits. Tourists who are attracted by diving, snorkeling, beach holidays will also not be bored here: there are about 15 dive sites near the western and eastern coasts of the island, where you can dive almost all year round.

Water features of Negros Island : waterfalls and lakes

Tourists often organize excursions to these picturesque places. The most notable waterfalls of Negros Island:

• Casororo. Located in the eastern part of Negros Island, a few kilometers from Valencia. Upon arrival in this colorful town, you can use the services of local guides, or explore the territory on your own. Guides to the waterfall are not difficult to find: they are on duty here regularly. Often, the fee for their services is several times higher: you definitely need to bargain. The path from Valencia to the waterfall takes about 8 km. Photographers will be pleased with the views that open along this route. After a walk through the dense forest, a surprise awaits visitors: a huge series of steps (over 300) that must be overcome in order to get closer to the desired attraction. On the approach to Casororo, there was previously a bridge, which was destroyed by another typhoon. Tourists will have to move along a slippery stone path. The waterfall itself is one of the highest in the country with 7,000 islands. Its height is over 30 meters. A nominal fee is charged for visiting, and the walking route takes more than an hour.
• Malabo. The path to this unusual creation of nature runs through the same Valencia. Local residents are not too aware of its exact location: it is better to purchase a map of the area, or check the route in Internet resources. Malabo is not endowed with such large dimensions as the previous waterfall, but it attracts visitors with an unusual combination of colors: brown, beige and azure. The "culprit" of this phenomenon is iron, which settles on rocky ledges, and paints them in bright red colors. The Malabo waterfall is not as spectacular as Kasororo, and it is important to visit it if a long visit is planned for negros island.

In terms of lakes, the most picturesque, interesting to visit are mountain twin lakes Danao and Balinsasayo, which is in the eastern part of the island. In 2000, these lakes were given the status of a national park. Rare species of fish have found refuge in their waters. Many trees, shrubs and flowers grow in the surrounding areas. Twin lakes are located near the city of Look. If desired, vacationers can organize camping, have a picnic. Renting a boat to view the territory will cost an average of 400 pesos. Danao and Balinsasayo are separated by a small land area. Experienced tourists also recommend visiting small lakes, which are located on the way to the twin lakes.

Mountain

Mountain formations that are located within the island of Negros are of a volcanic nature. The following objects are popular:

• Mount (volcano) Kanlaon. It is located in the western part of the island, 30 km from the city of Bacolod. This hill attracts extreme travelers who want to diversify their vacation by climbing (about 40 paths) to the highest point of Negros Island. This volcano has erupted several times, and the last catastrophe had no prerequisites, and ended unfavorably for several climbers. However, despite all the danger that this volcano is fraught with, the number of visitors here is increasing every year. This is due to the amazingly beautiful views, which can be called the most remarkable within the country of seven thousand islands. When climbing to the top, there are rare species of birds (hornbill, parakeets), various reptiles (lizards, snakes). From a height of 2435 meters, wonderful views of the nearby islands open up.
• Mount Talinis. The second highest elevation of the island of Negros, which by its nature is an active volcano. Mount Talinis is located in the eastern part of the island, and attracts interest among tourists with its numerous mountain lakes. It is here that the majority of visitors to the island come to take a tour of the twin lakes, have a romantic picnic, and enjoy the delights of untouched nature.

Other Attractions of Negros Island

One of the most beautiful places on the island Apo Island, which is a few kilometers from eastern Negros. Ships depart from the port of Malatapay, a 40-minute drive from Dumaguete. The highlight of Apo Island is a diverse underwater world with colorful corals, exotic fish, large turtles and molluscs. There are all conditions for diving, snorkeling and passive beach recreation. In the evenings, you can watch sunsets, attend a drumming concert, or enjoy Filipino cuisine at one of the local restaurants.

Many tourists stop at Dauin, and from there they make day trips to Apo Island. However, those who want to explore the exotic island in more detail can stay at one of the two hotels on the island. You should not count on special luxury: the bathroom is limited to a barrel with a ladle, and cold water is supplied in limited quantities. Prices for such unpretentious accommodation cannot be called low, but this rarely stops vacationers.

Philippines

We drove there from Malaysia, from the island of Redang. It took quite a long time.

The boat from Redang to Kuala Terrenganu is an hour's journey.
Waiting for the bus to Kuala Lumpur - 7 hours.
Bus to Kuala Lumpur - left at 21:30, arrived at 5:30, eight hours on the road. Moreover, in any transport in Malaysia, you must definitely take warm clothes: they turn on air conditioners as if they were carrying perishable products. We didn’t spoil - we knew about it and we had it with us, but even then we were a little cold.
In Kuala Lumpur, we got to the airport - very convenient, right from the bus station we bought a ticket for a high-speed train for 5.5 ringit per person, drove one station, transferred to the shuttle bus to the terminal we needed, in general, got there in 40 minutes.
We were early at the airport, we had to wait again, but for a relatively short time, the plane took off at 11 am - we managed to have breakfast, take a break, and there it was already time for registration.
In the Philippines, in Cebu, landed at 15:00. We got out of the airport in a jeepney - this is an analogue of Thai songteos, a pickup truck with benches in the back, but much more miserable. In general, the Philippines is a poor country, it immediately catches the eye. When I asked the policeman how to say “thank you” in Tagalog, he immediately hinted: “Salamat! Now, if you give me a souvenir now, I will tell you: “Salamat!” ;)
They asked to drop us off at the pier - they thought to take a ferry to Bohol Island and stop there. But it turned out that we were late for the morning ferries, the evening ones depart quite late, and again it was already too lazy to wait. We took a taxi to the bus station, got on the bus and went to Moalboal, fortunately, we read something about it. The distance on the map is 80 km, we thought that we would arrive in an hour and a half. Yep, shzzzz. For four hours we made our way through traffic jams and along mountain serpentine, with stops for smoke breaks.

As a result, we got to the stop, where a couple of guys on two motorbikes (habal-habal in the local language) took us to the first inexpensive hotel that came across, settled in, went to eat and collapsed to sleep. No wonder, in general.
Today, more or less looked around, you can live here.
In the sea - a reef wall, snorkeling right from the shore. A couple of kilometers from us is the more traditional White beach, as the name suggests - with white sand. Motorbikes with a CVT are rented at very high prices, I took them with “mechanics”, which, however, may be good, because we plan to go to local waterfalls, and there are mountain roads.
Fruit is cheap here, beer is cheap, restaurants are everywhere, Wi-Fi is available, our house is right on the seashore, it costs 600 pesos a day, which is about 450 rubles, but if we stay for a long time, we were promised a discount.

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I don’t know about you, but every time I arrive in an unfamiliar country, at first I experience a slight panic. Around - a completely new area, people speak an unheard of language, look unusual, behave differently, their habits are different, money is strange, and where to run is completely incomprehensible. European colonists of the Middle Ages also faced this, but they acted quite simply: they took a musket, a Bible, a hammer in their hands, and quickly brought the new area into a state identical to the usual ideas. But it’s not easy for a simple tourist to do this, he has to somehow assimilate the mind in each new case.
In the Philippines, I must say, it took a very short time, despite the fact that the country is in many ways different from those already visited.
This time we visited the countries of three religions during the trip: Thailand is a Buddhist country, Malaysia is an Islamic one. In the Philippines, the main religion is Catholicism, because the first to arrive here were the Spaniards in the person of Magellan. Here, in Cebu, by the way, he was killed, and in honor of the local leader Lapu-Lapu, who became famous for this, a monument was erected here and the towns were named. Catholicism in the Philippines is a popular and active religion. The cathedral in small seaside Cebu would be the envy of other European cities, walking through the streets, now and then you come across a look at the statues of the Virgin Mary, children study in schools named after the saints, and even a small crucifix hangs on the door of our room.

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Traces of Spanish primogeniture are generally felt here: the name of the Filipinos is usually something like Jose, Julio or Pedro, we live in the Clarita hotel, and the boats of San Vincent and Cordoba dangle in the sea. However, in the second half of the last century, the Americans flooded the Philippines, having built military bases here for the Vietnam War, as a result, even many Philippine cities were formed at that time, and precisely in the locations of American troops. Yes, and English, despite the fact that native Tagalog is the state language, is used everywhere here, to the point that half of the inscriptions on banknotes are made in English. This, by the way, greatly facilitates communication, since even the children here sing songs in not the purest, but understandable language.
The national currency is again the Spanish trace - the Philippine peso. The current exchange rate is approximately 44 pesos to one dollar ( January 2014).

The organization of seaside towns is not much different from Thailand: streets with shops, cafes, pharmacies, exchange offices, a bunch of private stalls with all sorts of fruits and household small items, on the roads there is a Brownian flicker of cars, motorbikes, passenger pickups, pedestrians and tricycles - this is a local version of tuk- fat, in which a covered cramped passenger stroller is not behind the motorbike, but on the side. The traffic is right-handed, and this, by the way, at the first moment became a problem for me: out of Thai habit, I constantly strove to go into the oncoming lane, especially when cornering. True, here everyone drives as they want, and this did not particularly bother anyone.
There is a lot of housing by the sea and for every budget, from frankly backpacker hostels for 200-250 pesos per day, to relatively decent hotels. You can also rent a house for a long time, there are options for five to ten thousand a month. So far, we have rented not the cheapest accommodation, with air conditioning and a very large veranda, it was the first hotel we came across after a long journey, and we simply did not have the strength to search thoroughly. But, perhaps, we will stay here for a long time, since the room is comfortable, and finances allow, all the more so, the owner promised a “discount for a long stay”.

Local public transport - tricycle

Local motorcycle transport differs from the usual Thai, if only because the Philippines has its own production of motorbikes. The first motorcycle I rented here was made by the Chinese company Rusi, which is very popular here. Quite a normal unit, only the wheels are painfully bicycle, thin. True, they are large, so even off-road he was driving without really straining.

But then the owner of our houses appeared, and immediately offered me a cooler and cheaper bike - competition.
As a result, today I took from his neighbor for 200 pesos a day (150 rubles) an almost adult Honda XRM 125, shabby, but quite working.
Getting used to a manual gearbox also turned out to be a simple matter, especially since the roads here, with the exception of the main one, are not the best, and there is nowhere to particularly accelerate. However, there are no special mountains either, even the serpentines are relatively gentle. Almost everywhere you can ride in third or fourth gear, switching lower on rare steep climbs. I think that in a couple of days the unusual jerking of the left foot will safely go into the subconscious, and then there will be no difference from Thai scooters at all.

We met Maxim today - a guy from the Far East, went abroad for the first time, and hung out in Moalboal. He rents an apartment, lives here with this money, goes in for freediving, maintains a travel blog, which also brings a certain income, in general, he lives for his own pleasure.
Maybe someday I will get together and monetize my many travel stories, although I have a slightly inappropriate format for a classic blog - they are not so much informative as descriptive and artistic, with lyrical digressions.
And I’m not ready yet to quit my job and live on a regular monthly rent - for the time being it still gives me considerable pleasure to run around shooting, communicate with clients, sit at a computer, invent some new angles, and see people’s reactions to my photos. “It is better to be needed than free” is a controversial slogan, but true for me. While I reassure myself that now, by the fifth decade, I took the first step - I went to free bread, and in another twenty years I will become old and decrepit, then I will arrange a pension for myself - I will abandon the camera, I will sit under a palm tree with a laptop and epistolary in my pleasure. Although, as the current situation with completely ruined equipment shows, the lack of a camera does not stop me - improvised means are used :)
But in general, of course, the ability to travel for a long time is the main miracle of freelancing.
When you do not have a boss who can suddenly forbid you, an adult, to do something.
When you set yourself tasks and solve them yourself.
When there is no rigid schedule, according to which you must work not to solve these problems, but from nine to six.
When you yourself regulate how much time you are willing to spend on making money, and how much on spending it.
When there are no memos around you, vacation applications, reports, instructions, manuals, pay slips, undercover fights, the first department, staffing, arrivals, bypass sheets, travel certificates, explanatory notes and a public refrigerator on the floor.
I love my job.

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When I asked Yandex Navigator to build me a route from the hotel to the Kawasan waterfall, for some reason it gave me a travel time of 1:50 by car. Well, okay, I thought, the road is mountainous, serpentines, cliffs, steep climbs, it can really take so long to drive. But everything turned out to be not so scary. The road is really mountainous, but gently sloping and with decent coverage. There are many turns, but you want to slow down only in order to admire the opening views. In general, we arrived in about half an hour.
Entrance to the waterfall is paid, parking costs 50 pesos, plus another ten from the nose - for entering the territory. The poster promised one and a half kilometers on foot, which, according to the experience of walking to waterfalls in Thailand, is quite a lot. But even here everything was not scary: a completely flat, wide path leads to the waterfall, and it runs past a surprisingly beautiful mountain river. Absolutely blue water, so transparent that every pebble at the bottom is visible, areas with a turbulent current and rapids, quiet backwaters, leaning palm trees, the play of light and shadow - one and a half kilometers are passed absolutely unnoticed.
The waterfall itself is full-flowing, of medium height, 10 meters, no more. But again, very beautiful, and the freshwater lake at the foot is a great place for swimming. The picture is slightly spoiled by the local small business, whose representatives tried to shake off money from us even for the fact that we sat down at a table on the shore, but even they did not strain much. The Chinese in life jackets ride on bamboo rafts across the lake - 30 meters to the waterfall and back. We preferred to swim on our own.
On the left, an inconspicuous path goes uphill, along which it turns out that there are five different waterfalls, from very small to quite independent. At the very top, you can also swim, and there are practically no people there, and the rafts are idle without the Chinese.
In general, a very pleasant half-day walk, calm, relaxed, with constant pleasure for the eyes. I have never seen such a clean mountain river before, even a fast current does not interfere with viewing it to the full depth, to the very bottom. Local villagers, however, use this beauty for banal laundry, but here they are in their right.
Honda XRM 125 on the track proved to be pretty decent. The only thing is that I don’t have a bike for rent, but a personal one, a neighbor of our owner of the houses. He is a young guy, so the bike was slightly tuned up: the steering wheel is painted with some kind of local Khokhloma, “Monster” is written on the seat, and the muffler is such that the sound from a modest 125-cc stool shakes the windows of the surrounding houses and it seems that a harsh full-size chopper is passing by .
By the way, he just stopped by and asked to return his beloved horse, promised to bring a more standard Honda Wave in 10 minutes. I feel that after the Philippines, I can easily write test drives for all models of motor vehicles in Southeast Asia :)

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I consistently admired the morning sea, daytime sky and evening sunset in the Philippines, and then I realized that, in principle, everything on this island is very ... colorful. Somehow, in a special way, sunlight falls on the ground, so that everything plays with very special colors, there, even my pictures on a mobile phone look more or less decent, and in real life all this is quite pleasing to the eye. You go somewhere along the road, and you constantly want to stop, just shoot the view from the side of the road. Seascapes are even more attractive, and the sunsets here are simply amazing, and often double (in the story about last wintering, I described this natural phenomenon).
You are sitting somewhere in a restaurant above the sea, on the horizon is the neighboring island of Negros, the sun is slowly setting, the clouds flare up scarlet and crimson, the water takes on the color of molten metal, becomes somehow especially slow, lazily oscillates in waves ... Then the sun sets completely, the world darkens , but after 15-20 minutes, high cirrus clouds suddenly flash bright pink and the short, but most beautiful part of the nightly show begins ... It's beautiful here.

We visited local farmlands.
Again we rejoiced at the stunning colors of the surrounding world. Sometimes it seems that the grass was specially painted with acrylic paints, because there is no such saturated green in nature. Well, at the same time they tinted the sky, whitened the clouds, added a yellow sun ... In general, the Philippines is a world of continuous re-photoshop.

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The longer I stay in the Philippines, the more I understand that this country is even more convenient for wintering than Thailand.
Firstly, inexpensive and comfortable housing is just as common and accessible here. Here, for example, Maxim. He lives here for half a year, rents a very nice house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a small garden for 8,700 pesos, which is about 7,000 rubles a month. A typical hotel / guesthouse costs from 200 pesos per day and more, depending on the quality of accommodation. We rent for 600.

Secondly, there is no need to make monthly vizarans. You just need to come to the immigration office, which are in all more or less large towns, pay 3,000 pesos, and your visa will be extended for 30 days. The second renewal costs 7800, but is done for two months, with the issuance of an ID-card. Further ones cost 2800 for two months, and so on for up to 16 months, after which you still have to leave the country and then enter back.
Thirdly, the prices here are, as it were, not lower than in Thailand. In the town they sell delicious buns and pies for 2-5 pesos apiece. Renting a motorbike costs from 200 pesos per day. To eat in a tourist cafe - 200-300 pesos per person, in a local one - 100-150. A bottle of beer in a cafe costs 30-40 pesos. A large bottle of water in the store - 30. By bus from the town of Cebu to Moalboal, we arrived in 4 hours and 200 pesos.
Fourth, the Philippines is made up of 7,000 islands, each of which seems to be famous for something. On one - some very special coral reef. On the other, volcanoes. On the third - waterfalls. On the fourth - awesome beaches. On the fifth - a river 17 meters deep with clear water. In general, you can travel all winter to various interesting places without leaving the country.

And with all that, there is absolutely no dominance of tourists. That is, of course, European pensioners come across here too, live for years in the same place with their newly acquired Filipino girlfriends, enjoy life and are always willing to chat. But there are no such crowds of tourists as in Thailand anywhere, even in a resort area, such as our current one.
There is, however, in the Philippines and one significant disadvantage. It's hard to get here. I don't know if there are direct flights from Russia to Manila, I don't think so. It seems that there are charters from Khabarovsk to Cebu, but this is unverified information. That is, a metropolitan resident must first fly somewhere to Hong Kong, from there to the Philippines, and then by local flights or ferries to get to the resort areas. You can’t fly off for a week or two with such logistics, flights will take up half of the vacation. However, maybe that's why there are still not very many tourists here, and in fact this is a plus, not a minus ...

I learned how to open coconuts with a large cleaver :)
Tomorrow we are going to move: the time has come to get to the whale sharks, since they live not far from us. So in the morning we rent a house and start in the direction of the town of Oslob, where we will stay for a couple of days, snorkel, and then move to the neighboring island. It is a pity that we are without an underwater camera, of course, whale sharks up to 10 meters in size. Oh well, maybe next time.

The last two days have been hectic and filled with constant moving, checking in, checkouts, ferries, tricycles, jeepneys, tickets and searches. As a result, we got to the island of Negros, the village of Dauin, not far from the city of Dumaguete: I have not stuffed such a number of new names as on this trip for a long time.
As a result, we settled in a nice hotel on the seashore, where, according to reviews, a long coral reef was promised, but in fact it turned out to be a calm, beautiful sea, without fish and corals, but with good swimming. We will come to our senses, rest and relax.

Well, I must admit that the island of Negros turned out to be beautiful and amazing.
There is a great sea, at least in those few places where we have already visited. The sand is black, volcanic, which is probably why the island is called Negros. The water is completely blue, clear, calm, swimming is very pleasant.
We met yesterday with the local Russian party, fortunately, there are not very many compatriots here and everyone knows each other. We immediately fit into the company, went to barbecues in the mountains, to hot springs, we had a very pleasant evening. All are entirely people of creative professions, all traveling, although many have settled in the Philippines firmly and for a long time. We were immediately found more or less permanent housing, and absolutely amazing. This is a whole floor of the house, a large three-room apartment. Living room with kitchen, where there is all the necessary equipment, including even a washing machine and a water cooler. Two bedrooms, three balconies, bathroom, breakfast bar, floor-to-ceiling windows and sea views. And all this wealth - for 800 pesos a day, which is about 600 rubles.

I rented the already familiar Honda XRM 125, drove to the supermarket, stocked up on all sorts of household items, groceries for a week, today we already had dinner with our own fried fish.
One minus of this house: it is so comfortable here that you don’t really want to go out.
We got acquainted with the neighbors, it turned out to be guys from Novosibirsk, but they have also been living here for half a year and they know very well everyone from our yesterday's company. There are few of us here.

The Spanish past of the Philippines has left the country with a rich phonetic legacy. Yesterday in the morning we went to… Valencia — a small town in the mountains, chosen by expats for its cool climate, silence, inexpensive housing and, at the same time, a small distance from civilization. Only eight kilometers in a straight line from the highway, you won’t have time to accelerate properly, and there are already small streets around, quickly leading to the central square, almost of European architecture, though with funny Asian banknotes. Cathedral, municipality, school, monuments to Catholic saints and unknown important people, sprawling trees and relative desertion.

The catchy name is Casaroro Falls. First, we drove for a long time in first or second gear to the mountains, then the road became completely empty, we abandoned the bike, and went on foot. As usual, a local aunt is on duty at the “entrance to the Failure”, collects 10 pesos each and writes down the names of those who come. A steep long ladder leads down from the mountain, at the bottom of the gorge there is a fast mountain river, along the banks of which gigantic bamboo thickets stick out in bunches. The road to the waterfall, obviously once ennobled by concrete bridges, collapsed during the next typhoon, you have to climb over chaotic piles of boulders, cross this very river, but after the next turn an impressive sight opens up: not the highest, but with a straight narrow stream, 30- a meter-long waterfall cuts rocks with a sharp water blade, rumbles and raises clouds of water dust. Beautiful.

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The weather has improved, today we got to the twin lakes - this is one of the natural attractions of Negros Island, where everyone advises to go. The road is quite long, 40 kilometers from us in one direction. At the same time, you first need to drive through the city of Dumaguete with its Brownian traffic, and at the end, make your way along broken primers in the mountains. As a result, it took almost two hours to get from home to the lakes.
True, I must admit, it's worth it. The mountain road is very beautiful, with excellent views on the sides - the sea, the neighboring island of Cebu, the ravines and mountains, the clouds covering the peaks, the local agriculture and the extremely friendly locals.

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There is almost no one on the lakes. There was only one other couple of tourists besides us, we rented two canoes from a local small business and set off to look around. The water in the lake is surprisingly calm. It’s a pity to even immerse the oars, it seems that by doing this you are breaking the established age-old harmony. The mountains along the coast look like landscapes from films based on Tolkien's books, they don't look like the tropics, it looks exactly like Middle-earth. In general, it is quite possible to swim out to the middle of the lake, throw the oars and contemplate. I thought to complain about the fact that I only had a mobile phone from photographic equipment, then I thought that anyway no DSLR was able to convey such beauty. Come see for yourself.
At the left bank there is an exit to the second lake along a stone path. There is even a point from which you can see two lakes at once. True, last year's typhoon pretty much mangled the observation tower, tore off the wooden flooring, and now it is problematic to climb there.
At the right bank there is a path with a sign "Olayan falls - 100 m". You can park your canoe and take a walk, look at the mountain river and a small waterfall.
And on the way back, we were caught in the mountains by clouds, and for some time we rode inside the clouds, dispersing the fogs around us and sometimes getting caught in the rain. We returned already dark, wet, tired, but with a lot of pleasant impressions. If you are on Negros, be sure to go to Twin lakes.

Well, even my wife has already written on her Facebook that the Philippines are more suitable for a long winter than Thailand. Here, on Negros, there is almost everything you need for a long stay.

- Housing is inexpensive, both daily and monthly
- They give you a motorbike for rent, the roads are quite decent
– Public transport is well developed
– The sea is clean, there is a small but absolutely fabulous coral reef nearby, I’ll write about it separately
- Nature is beautiful
- Good weather
— Fruits, rolls and other products are inexpensive and of excellent quality
– There are supermarkets, clinics, restaurants, pharmacies
– There is a huge choice of places to visit in the surroundings, from local attractions to neighboring islands
— The local population is friendly and treats tourists kindly.

The town of Dumaguete itself, in the vicinity of which we live, is small, but at the same time quite hectic. The traffic on the streets is such that from the outside it is generally not clear how you can drive here. However, as soon as you join the stream, somehow by itself you immediately begin to deftly maneuver between tricycles and jeepneys, overtake unfortunate cars and attach yourself behind intercity buses. The rules for driving at intersections are especially impressive here: no rules. There are no traffic lights in the city, there is no interference rule on the right, you just need to drive up, slow down, look into the eyes of those who are driving across ... and whose Tao is firmer - he goes first :)
The same applies to all sorts of little things, such as double solid. She seems to be here and there, but no one cares about her. And so it is in everything, from parking rules to the mandatory wearing of helmets. True, I saw the police here only a few times, they are mainly busy regulating especially busy intersections during rush hours and restricting traffic at night: “bricks” are put up on some streets and they suddenly become one-way. For beginners like me, a trip through the city at night turns into a fun quest: "Find a new way to the house."

Here, after my last posts, several questions arose from different people at once: “Is everything really so fabulous in the Philippines?”
So, of course, there is no free paradise on earth, everyone should understand this. Therefore, I will try to write about the cons of the Philippines in general and specifically the city of Dumaguete, at least from the point of view of a beginner.
Well, first of all, they want money everywhere and for everything. Small ones, yes, but constantly. If, say, in Thailand, all beaches legally belong to the king, and even a five-star hotel is obliged to provide free access to the beach to everyone, then there is no such law. If you want to swim with the fish, here's a ticket, pay 50 pesos. Is that your motorbike parked here? Please, the parking fee is 20 pesos. Go to the island? 50 pesos per person for entry, this is in addition to the cost of the transport itself. Do you want to sit by the waterfall not on the ground, but at a table? 300 pesos, please, is the rental of a table and chairs in a cafe, charged even if you order food and drinks there. Welcome to the beach of our hotel, only 200 pesos entrance fee. Do you want a bed? Another 50 pesos, please. In general, I learned the word "fee" here much better than in the previous five years of travel, since it is really encountered at every step.
Secondly, if you have not been able to establish relations with insects in your life, you definitely do not need to come here. There are a fair amount of mosquitoes here, which also charge their "fee" from tourists and leave fair blisters on the body. Moreover, they are somehow very nimble here, it is very difficult to catch him on the fly, and even bites, an infection, somehow on the sly. Mosquito repellents do not help much, but banal coconut oil saves well, which, however, can not be bought everywhere. In Moalboal, for example, it was only in one small shop, handmade and quite expensive.
It is absolutely impossible to get rid of ants in houses: there are several types of them, from completely microscopic to more or less familiar size, it is pointless to fight them, they stupidly take in numbers. At first I tried: they disappear for several hours, and then you look: again they have trodden several paths through the entire apartment. All products must be stored in the refrigerator, garbage should be thrown away immediately, crumbs should be wiped off the table, dishes should be washed thoroughly, and girls should also hide cosmetics, creams and other delicious-smelling organics - otherwise they will come and bite :) By the way, if it is unsuccessful to crush an ant, even the smallest one can pretty bite before death.
Ants are hunted by spiders. I had a shock here: for a couple of days I didn’t touch an empty backpack lying on the floor, and suddenly I needed it for some reason. I take it in my hands, and from it and from under it, hairy spiders that have settled there are bursting in different directions - the smallest is about a ten-ruble coin, and the largest is the size of my palm. If I were an impressionable young lady, fainting would be guaranteed.
Thirdly, larger living creatures. The whole Philippines is one big village, at least in those places where we managed to visit. Accordingly, large-horned, small-horned, hornless and others, meat, dairy and egg-laying, graze everywhere here. They shit anywhere. Throw themselves under the wheels, waiting in ambush. Frankly, it all looks quite exotic, but accidents on the roads due to the fault of pets are not uncommon here.
Well, and a lot of all sorts of little things that may not be worth paying attention to separately, but in general it sometimes annoys.
Expensive fuel: sometimes it is not even clear how very cheap public transport survives if a liter of gasoline costs from 50 pesos at gas stations.
Crazy motorbikers: the concept of "cut" here, in principle, does not exist, because this is not a rare incident, but a general driving style. If you rent a bike, check the brakes first, because you will have to use them often. There is nothing in the city yet, in principle, the speeds there are not high, but on the highway it regularly happens that some crazy teenager is taxiing right under the wheels from the side track from behind the bushes. And today, for example, I had to slow down to the floor, when a pedestrian who was completely indifferent to dense traffic rushed across the street.
The currency exchanges here are quite strange. In Dumaguete, it’s still okay, here in the supermarket there is a normal, familiar exchanger. But, for example, in Moalboal on the island of Cebu, and even in Cebu City itself, the exchanger usually looks like a suspicious-looking stall that says “Money changer”, there are no courses on public display, you have to ask the aunt behind the glass. And the rate is often 2-3 pesos lower than it should be.
Sockets. Here they are designed for two flat contacts and are physically incompatible with our plugs. If you are staying in the city - this is not a problem, you need to go to the nearest store and buy an adapter. But in Moalboal we had problems at first: adapters are not sold in the resort area, they are sent to neighbors in every store, but they don’t have such a product either. Until I took a motorbike and drove to the city, we sat without charging. By the way, instead of several adapters, it is better to buy an extension cord right away: in some inexpensive hotels, for example, you may have only one working outlet per room.
Beaches. As such, there are simply no beaches in Dumaguete. There is a beautiful coral reef 15-20 km from the city, in the village of Dauin, where you can just swim. But the sand on Negros is black, volcanic, so it doesn’t look like a paradise bounty at all, especially if you first walk with wet feet on the black sand. In Moalboal, there is no sand on the shore at all - there are immediately stones, corals, to enter the water you need special shoes. True, we drove there to White beach, this is a local beach, but it did not impress us, in the same Malaysia on the Perhentians everything is much more fabulous.
Well, the main disadvantage, of course, is a very long and inconvenient way from Russia. A flight with transfers, a search for local transport, a tiring road to tourist areas - in Cebu we had to shake the bus for another 4 hours to get to the resort of Moalboal. Moreover, a taxi would not have saved us much - the roads in the city itself are very narrow and busy, it would have been faster if only on a motorbike. Yes, and from the airport to the bus, we got first by jeepney, then by ferry, and then also by taxi. In Dumaguete it is simpler, here the airport is not so far from the places of residence, but if you fly from Russia, there will be as many as three flights: to Hong Kong, then to Manila, and only then to Dumaguete. By the way, we still have to get out of here back to Moscow at the end of the month, so all this is still waiting for us in the reverse order.
In general, there are also negative sides in the Philippines, as in any country in the world. For some they matter, for others they don't. But if anything, don't say I didn't warn you!

I have a feeling that in two weeks in the Philippines I saw more waterfalls than in all previous trips combined. Here, one has only to turn off the highway towards the mountains, immediately stumble upon signs for some next "falls". And sometimes it’s even easier: you’re driving calmly, and suddenly a waterfall of quite a decent height pours down from the mountain right by the road. Not particularly full-flowing, but in Thailand it would have been fenced long ago, put a couple of sun loungers next to it and collected 50 baht for entry. And here there is only a sign next to it that, they say, not only water is pouring out of there, be careful.
You drive another 300 meters, you come across an almost active volcano - the mountain smokes, stinks of hydrogen sulfide, oncoming motorbikers wrinkle their noses with distorted faces, an incomprehensible word “fumaroles” pops up in your head. And here is another pointer - Red Rock falls. There is not one waterfall here, there are several of them of different sizes. Small ones were left unattended, a pool and steps were made to the middle so that you could swim. Well, at the largest and most powerful people are photographed with might and main and splashing in icy water. Everyone is cheerful and wet from head to toe - the waterfall raises clouds of fine mist. The stones around are really red, the mountain river is beautiful, it’s not far from the city - it turned out to be a completely relaxed and pleasant half-day excursion.
In the Philippines, in general, it is very interesting to simply travel in different directions, it is not even necessary to go to specific sights. Usually, on the sides of the road, you can see all sorts of beauties without even getting off the bike. An amazingly beautiful country, next time I will definitely take a spare camera just in case.

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The first time I tried snorkeling with tropical fish, like many Russians, was in the early nineties, when it finally became possible to travel abroad. And the first place, not surprisingly, was Egypt, Sharm el-Sheikh, the reef wall at the Radisson-sas hotel and the Ras Mohammed nature reserve. I remember there were a lot of impressions - the Red Sea is already famous for its underwater world, and for an unprepared Soviet person who had not seen other seas except the Black and Baltic, it was generally an aesthetic shock. But, unfortunately, for many years this forced me to be somewhat skeptical about diving and snorkeling in general: other countries, seas and reefs could not compete with the charms of the Red Sea, especially when it was backed up by the brightness of first impressions.
My wife will not let me lie: usually I was reluctant to go on all sorts of dive trips, sometimes even preferring to send her alone in order to have fun in some other way. And if suddenly snorkeling in the place where we lived was right from the shore, I usually had 10-15 minutes. He put on a mask, swam to the fish, hung, stared and returned - what is there to watch for a long time, everything is the same.
When we came to the reef here, on Negros, in the small village of Dauin, I generally thought that this was some kind of fraud. The sea is a beautiful blue color, but at the same time from the shore it is completely opaque. And I know what a proper reef should look like! Azure transparent water, thickets of algae, dark spots of corals - this was the case in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and everywhere else, varying in degrees of external attractiveness, but not much different in essence.
Moreover, the wife dived, swam, no, she says, there is nothing here, where is the reef? And then a boat is sailing towards us, in it is a local elderly uncle. Guys, he says, are you snorkeling here? Do you have a ticket? Let's get 50 pesos for a snorkel! Okay, I answer, you have money, just show me where to swim, there’s nothing right there. Ah, so you have gone far, you need to go there, to the left, there is no longer a reef, only stones.
In general, so as not to torment you for a long time: the reef on Negros is amazing. It is small, only a hundred meters, probably wide, then stones and sand really begin. The sand is black, so the sea outside seems dark blue and opaque. But one has only to put on a mask and dive, an amazing sight opens up to the eyes. Absolutely clean, transparent water, bright contrasting colors. A huge number of fish, both quantitatively and qualitatively - a lot of different species swim here. Of course, I have seen most of them before, but there are those that I first considered only here.
Flat fish and bubble fish, flocks of little things the size of a fingernail, and imposing sleepy giants, purple and yellow, red and blue fish, colored and black and white striped, speckled and squiggles, round as a pancake and long as swords, schooling fish , solitary fish, fish in pairs of the same species, and in groups of different sizes and colors ... Moray eels hide under large stones, starfish and mollusks crawl along the bottom in huge shells that look like fallen leaves. Yesterday he sailed away - met with a giant sea turtle, swam after her for a long time, until she had finally gone into the impenetrable depths.
And corals - the same unprecedented variety. Corals like flowers, like brains, like trees, like green moss. Bright blue, bushy, surrounded by glowing blue fish. Thickets of coral that look like open roses, fields of coral that look like a forest of outstretched fingers. Coral arches, columns, mountain ranges, gorges and plateaus. The sun's rays, luminous lines breaking through the blue water, playing with highlights on colored surfaces, going into the dark blue depth, shimmering, mixing and disappearing into the darkness.
This little reef in Dauin is the first place on the whole trip where I really regretted not having an underwater camera sunk in Malaysia. Words, no matter how hard you try, it is very difficult to describe all the impressions. By the next season, I will definitely get something like GoPro, there will be a reason to return. Probably, people who are seriously interested in diving know more interesting places, but I finally interrupted my first impressions of the Red Sea: the local underwater world is richer, brighter and more interesting.