We pick up the trail way back in late January in Melaka, Malaysia. With Glenn's broken clavicle, Melaka offered comfort and some fine food options; much of the day's planning centered on meals. We hooked up with Leo who was also in Malaysia and Sheila figured out the local swimming pool operating hours. Glenn dumped his shoulder brace and opted for the "Prince Charles" walk (hands behind the back) for strolls around historic Melaka town. We ate our way through the world heritage city for roughly 3 weeks.

We then selected a connection to the Philippines through Singapore which was only a few hours south by bus.

We scooted through well-organized Singapore to Changi airport. Jetstar (Qantas subsidiary) is one of many airlines that offer "cheap fares". By the time that you have paid extra fees for seat, bag, taxes, service fee, booking fee, it's a "less expensive fare". If you buy an on-board meal, your savings evaporate. The public is permitted in the Changi staff food court, but it is not well signed, so we followed hungry staff and purchased a load of Chinese food for the 3.5 hour flight. We got through security and a strong food odor followed us right onto the plane. It must have made a few people hungry on board because in-flight food sales were brisk.

We had read somewhere that to avoid stiff airport taxi fares at Manila airport, arriving passengers can catch cabs at Departures where cabs drop their fares off. We did just that and the taxi delivered us to a hotel in the southern part of the city. Glenn was so pleased with the 80 peso fare ($2), that he tipped the driver an extra 40 pesos; the last of the big spenders.

The Philippines has a facade of shopping malls and fast food chains which gives a first impression of Americanized Asia. We found most people upbeat, happy-go-lucky, English was widely spoken (it is the language of secondary education, business, media and inter-regional communication), taxis and public transport are cheap and largely comfortable, TV's in hotel rooms work, there was little sense of security issues and the beer is cheap and cold. So, yes, it is more fun in the Philippines. How can you not love a country where you constantly hear "thank you Sir" and "thank you Ma'am"? But if we were to provide a compelling reason to visit the Philippines, it would be the mangoes. Simply, delicious and so creamy that you could spread them on bread with a butter knife.

We scaled our planned trip back somewhat and hopped from one beach to the next. We flew into Palawan with Cebu Pacific. On board, three volunteer passengers stood up front and sang love songs. One passenger didn't want to give up the microphone so the flight attendant managed to delicately wrestle the mike from him. Palawan island itself is 650km long with 1,800 (not a typo) offshore islands and is considered the "last frontier". Whilst there is no McDonalds or large chain hotels on Palawan, it is a pleasant tourist trap. El Nido has some wonderful kaarst scenery, largely accessed by tourist boat tours, and relaxed Port Barton exudes a languid, laid-back charm with its own beautiful nearby islands.

In the capital of Puerto Princesa, we discovered a small Vietnamese restaurant run by "boat people" refugees. Up at El Nido, we were introduced to the forehead shrug, which is the Philippine equivalent to the Indian nod, meaning "yes". And at Port Barton, we discovered how good "fast food" really is. All over the country, you can find kapit bahay, where delicious home cooking is displayed in cooking pots. You walk in for friendly service and plenty of smiles, lift the pot lids, and select your ready-made fast food. "Thank you Sir", "Thank you Ma'am" and once you have had a good adobo (a national dish), the search for the perfect adobo never ends. It's more fun in the Philippines.

Glenn's shoulder provided a lame excuse to fly ("cheap", not just "less expensive") to Dumaguete, Negros instead of ferries and buses. Negros is the place to go, if you like mangoes (we were not disappointed). Once again, we headed to the beach (on neighbouring Siquijor and to Sugar Beach, Negros). It's hard to sleep in the Philippine mornings because of the pervasive roosters; cock fighting is the national "sport". We dropped in on the Dumaguete cock-pit on a Sunday afternoon (mostly men). Each fight was preceded by a frenzy of gambling between spectators via a system of hand gestures. The roosters are equipped with sharp razor blades so the actual fight is over in a flash of feathers. The winning birds are sometimes stitched up by the on-site vet, while the losers are plucked and go straight into the on-site pot. It may be more fun in the Philippines, but not if you are a rooster.

Philippines is a renown scuba diving destination. We tried it out at two well known places; Apo Island (near Negros) and Moalboal (Cebu Island). It was fine but we were underwhelmed by fish numbers, even in sanctuaries.

However, muck diving at Dauin (Negros) was a pleasant surprise, especially the numbers of ornate ghost pipe fish. We dived the site from shore as a day trip from Dumaguete. $20/dive incl transport, guide and equipment. Air included! Just two of us.

Which brings us to the whale sharks of Donsol. It another eco-tourist trap, where all the rules seem to be broken with glee. Donsol attracts more Philippine nationals than foreign tourists, so it adds to the carnival atmosphere. When a whale shark is spotted and twenty boats converge on it, over a hundred people jump in the water. After all, we all want to swim with dolphins, whales, turtles and even plankton eating sharks. The authorities don't really mean that there should be a maximum of 6 snorkelers per whale shark, do they? Few Filippinos seem to swim well, so they all wear life jackets, lock arms forming a human line and the guide pulls them along. Swimming with Donsol whale sharks was a contact sport (an elbow here, a swim fin in the face there) and when you ran into a Filippino life jacket line, it was like a rugby scrum. It's more fun in the Philippines.

Our flight to Manila was canceled due to poor weather, so we hurried to the bus station. We caught a $10 overnight bus to Manila so that we could catch our international flight the following day.

It all had to end sometime. In late March, we flew from Manila to Vancouver and onto Vancouver Island.