Have you traveled around the Philippines?
What local destinations have you visited?
Personally, I have only been to a handful of provinces in the Philippines. I dream of exploring more soon.
However, Lester Regacho has already traveled around the country. He told WhenInManila.com that he spent 101 days backpacking the country, from north to south – from Itabayat, Batanes to Sitangkai, Tawi Tawi.
He shared his journey on this five-minute travel video.
“PiliPinas sa Limang Minuto”
This is just a short video to showcase my 101 days journey backpacking around the Philippines as part of my #lesterizingjourney in #143DaysSEABackpacking. It has been my dream since I was a child. From books I read through Sibika’t Kultura that magically opens my imagination and brings me to places like Rice Terraces of Banaue. I even saw myself bath on mist of Pagsanjan Falls and dance to the beat of drums in Ati Atihan Festival in Kalibo Aklan but someone tap me as I was daydreaming already. Years passed, and I caught myself stuck working on an 8-hour daily job, and I asked myself, “what happened to my dream, if not now then when?”. I quickly signed a resignation letter to my employer and book my flight back to the Philippines, and now I’m more than happy because it was successful. I managed to simply DREAM – to Discover Reach Experience Admire & More.
ESTIMATED BUDGET: 101k (1k per day)
ACTUAL EXPENSES: below 100k (Filipino hospitality was beyond to what i imagined)
ROUGH ITINERARY:
– Kilometer 0 (Luneta)
– from Itabayat, Batanes to Sitangkai, Tawi Tawi
– Philippines 4 extreme points of Philippines (Northernmost Point: Mavulis (Y’Ami) Island, Itbayat, Batanes 21°07′N 121°57′E Southernmost Point: Frances Reef, Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi 4°24′N 119°14′E Easternmost Point: Pusan Point, Caraga, Davao Oriental 07°20′N 126°34′E Westernmost Point: Ligas Point, Balabac, Palawan 07°53′N 116°53′E)
– 8 provinces in Philippines flag raises (Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac)
– shortest time to visit the 4 baroque churches of the country (Baroque Churches of the Philippines refers to four Spanish-era churches in the Philippines designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1993. On August 15, 1993, UNESCO nominated Church of San Agustin in Manila, Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo.)
– Bonus: off the beaten tracks like falls hopping in Caticlan, virgin and private islands like Balabac Group of Islands), unknown mountains like Bud Ayos and Bud Taganak of Tawi Tawi), preserved gems like Heritage of Tabawan, the best coffee in the world? Sulu Coffee (i’m a barista in profession for more than 5 years, enough to say it was the best)
Lester also told us that he is working on his travel book about this journey. He aims to include a possible complete itinerary with expenses through 81 province of Philippines.
Let’s watch out for that!
What do you think of doing a travel itinerary like this?
