#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Philippine Forum >  >  Best Part Of The Philippines To Visit.....Advice Needed

## Scottish Gary

Im going to the PI for the first time in March and im not sure where to go. I keep hearing about Angelis, Subic City and Cebu.  What in your opinions is the best one of the three?  Is Manilla worth a visit?
I like a bit of culture by day and preferably a beach and some Pattaya style naughtiness at night.   I will be flying from Bangkok.............cheers

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## Davis Knowlton

Manila: No beach. Little culture. Expensive nightlife.

Angeles City: No beach. No culture. Inexpensive nightlife.

Olangapo (home of the former Subic Bay Naval Air Station): Some beaches. No culture. Limited nightlife.

Cebu: Beaches. No culture. Acceptable nightlife.

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## Bettyboo

^took you 9 minutes, Davis - you're slowing down...  :Smile: 

Is Flippoland gonna make a good holiday location from Thailand? I'm a lot bored of the local region, would like to try further afield, but not too far.

Make sure to post your pics and report SG.

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## Davis Knowlton

> ^took you 9 minutes, Davis - you're slowing down... 
> 
> Is Flippoland gonna make a good holiday location from Thailand? I'm a lot bored of the local region, would like to try further afield, but not too far.
> 
> Make sure to post your pics and report SG.


Well Boo, there are some great beaches here, and super diving. Also more stunners than can be imagined. Every time I go to a mall or someplace like that, I always see one or two real traffic stoppers. Nightlife ranges from raunchy and fairly cheap (Angeles) to some real stunners in expensive Manila. But, you have to decide what you want to do as attractions like good beaches and diving are not often co-located with blowjob bars. No real culture. You can see some WW2 sites of interest, and some super old churches, but basically it's Asian shopping malls just like LOS. Filipino cuisine is nothing like the great food of Thailand, but you won't starve. Angeles City, which is wall-to-wall whores and bars, has a surprising number of decent little restaurants, mostly run by Swiss or German expats.

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## Dillinger

> Manila: No beach. Little culture. Expensive nightlife.


Are we talking 3 somes here Davis ?  :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

> Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
> 
> Manila: No beach. Little culture. Expensive nightlife.
> 
> 
> Are we talking 3 somes here Davis ?


Pick yer number, mate...all things are (easily) possible here.

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## Scottish Gary

I often hear ex pats in Pattaya saying they are going over to Angelis for a few days. Funny thing is the two of them sound exactly the same. If its just the sex then why not save yourself the cost of a flight and stay where you are?
From what you say Davis it sounds like there is nothing in the PIs i couldnt get in Southern Thailand apart from a new country to tick off.  
Im not to sure if i want to go now.

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## Davis Knowlton

OP: I just took a glance at some of the older threads in this forum, and there is very good coverage of most places that should answer almost all of your questions - with pictures.

^I've lived in both - 6 years in Thailand - 17 here. There isn't all that much difference. Two main points are language and food. When I lived in Thailand, it was kind of nice to pop over here and actually be able to hold a conversation. Now that I'm here, I look forward to trips to Thailand for the food. Otherwise...same-same, but different.

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## leemo

There's lots of culture at Angeles, just be sure not to catch any.

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## beerlaodrinker

> Are we talking 3 somes here Davis ?


No,3 holers

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## cyrille

I really liked Cebu, in particular Bantayan Island, north of Cebu.

Will probably be a mess after the hurricane, though.

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## Bettyboo

> good beaches and diving


This bit is what I'd be interested in - I find Thailand lacking in the beach department; over-rated, imho, & filled with horribleness. Although, I'm sure you can find nice places - I should get in the car and drive down the coast past Chaam until I get to far south dodgyness; sure I'd find lots of nice beaches.

I enjoyed a short Sri Lanka break last year, so a Flippolad break could be nice, also see a different set of people in their homeland. I find them a nightmare here in Oman, but I'm sure it'd be very different in the motherland. Just don't find Thailand interesting really...

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## helge

Haven't been there since 87, but the Pureto Galera area had beaches and nightlife (bars)

Is that 26 years already  :Sad:

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## reinvented

> No,3 holers


theyre catholics, its birth control

im a papist too before the inquisition arrives
ive only been to manila and i liked it, some really hot women, fantastic mexican food and interesting beers beyond red horse
flip food is shit and everyone is armed to the teeth but the flip girls ive known were a lot of fun

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## aging one

> This bit is what I'd be interested in - I find Thailand lacking in the beach department; over-rated, imho, & filled with horribleness. Although, I'm sure you can find nice places - I should get in the car and drive down the coast past Chaam until I get to far south dodgyness; sure I'd find lots of nice beaches.


have you been to Lanta, and Raillay in Krabi? Or Kata, and Kata noi southern Phuket?  Those to me are some of the nicest beaches I have encountered. Phi Phi in low season is still a great beach as are Chaweng and Lamai on Samui.  The gulf of Thailand does not do it for me. I love the Sheraton in Hua Hin, but I dont bother with the beach as the resort is so nice.  :Smile: 

If you have been to those places what times of year were you there?

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## cyrille

> I enjoyed a short Sri Lanka break last year, so a Flippolad break could be nice


ime cebu beaches are nicer than sri lanka.

good snorkelling on bantayan.

better beer than thailand, which wouldn't be difficult.

the food is a disaster though.

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## beerlaodrinker

Its all good, you just have to get it in perspective gary, angeles is a good option to fly into thus avoiding manila, which as far as im concerned is a shithole, if you go to angeles
or subic or manila,you wont get the real picture, but if it just pussy you need then angeles will do the job , do a side trip to subic and hang out with some retirees, interesting dudes they are are to. some of of em submariners, crusty fuckers, but good guys to have a beer with,straight shooters,go for it gary ,Report back with a picture thread,

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## Davis Knowlton

Should have mentioned, Gary, with the new highway, Subic is only 45 minutes or so from Angeles. You can drink, whore and stay in Angeles, and easily do day trips to Subic, Barrio Baretta, etc for beach, sun and a daytime change of pace before returning to Angeles as the neon lights come on. If you picked a winner the night before, take her with you. They love a day trip out of Angeles. In fact, you'll find most of them, wherever they're from, have never been out of Angeles since they started working there.

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## Bettyboo

> Lanta


Nope, worried it's like elephant island, just the trendy set looking for the latest beach...




> Raillay in Krabi? Or Kata, and Kata noi southern Phuket?


Yep. Went to Krabi about 20 years ago with 9 Danes; spent the Thai new year. Nice. Hired a fisherman a couple of times; deep sea fishing, touring the islands, snorkling, lovely.

We also went to PhiPhi, not very developed then, nice.

Stayed in Kata for 6 months 15 years ago, very nice, not built up too much then (did a dive master/instructor thingy...)




> Chaweng and Lamai


Yep, 20 years ago. Nice.

I've been back to Phuket and Samui in recent years, horrible... Horrible people, Thais and foreigners, overbuilt beaches, dirty, scammers everywhere - Thailand has really become a shitehole in these areas, imho. Although, people who live there and have a car can no doubt find nice places; the tourist areas are truly horrible - Chawaeng and Kata are worse than Benidorm, I'd much rather spend a week in Benidorm than either of them...

Many folks say that Krabi is still nice. I hope so, I've thought about hiring a car there, or driving down, and spending a week there.

To be honest, Sri Lanka was much nicer than Thailand is now, and much cheaper too. Thailand is now expensive for horrible areas. Paying 3,000 baht for crap accom and crap service in Kata is just ridiculous, imho. Sri Lanka was a fraction of the cost, the beaches were clean and beautiful...

Thailand has been past it's sell by date for a decade or more as a holiday destination, imo. Much better places for the same money can be found in other countries; not sure why anybody would spend 1,500 pounds on flights and accom to come here from Europe (maybe the sun...). I'd rather tour the North of England or South of France, they're just more beautiful... Maybe I've soured a little over the years...  :Smile: 

Yes, I reckon Flippoland could be a nice place to have a look - beaches and a day or 2 of easy diving.

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## cyrille

> Thailand has been past it's sell by date for a decade or more as a holiday destination, imo. Much better places for the same money can be found in other countries.


Care to give examples?

I see you've vaguely mentioned countries, but no specific 'places ... in other countries'




> I'd rather tour the North of England or South of France


What, like, now?




> Yes, I reckon Flippoland could be a nice place to have a look


Don't get your hopes up.

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## Bettyboo

> Care to give examples?


I did already, the heart of Samui and Phuket.

&, I did: Sri Lanka. I also went to Nepal a few months ago, that's a wonderful place and not expensive - I paid 3,000 baht a night for places that'd be many times that in Thailand. My Thai friends pay 10,000 baht + per night when they go to Hua Hin, just don't know why you would - for a week, I'd rather fly to Nepal or Sri Lanka (or Burma or +++) and stay in nicer hotels with nicer beaches and end up paying less money... Have a click on my Sri Lanka thread; I didn't stay in, but a had lunch a couple of days, in a really nice 5 star hotel, the price of drinks and food was great, the drink and food was great, much better than you'd get in Hua Hin that'd cost 3 or 4 times as much. Yes, I've been to Hua Hin a few times. It's a total rip off for averageness...




> What, like, now?


Yes, the winter is a beautiful season. I lived in Ulaan Bataar where it gets to -40 and colder, so around zero is hardly cold by that standard. All seasons show beauty. It's rather limiting if we only go sight seeing in summer (not saying that you were suggesting that)...

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## cyrille

> Originally Posted by cyrille
> 
> Care to give examples?
> 
> 
> I did already, the heart of Samui and Phuket.


Those are examples of places that are nicer than Thailand? 





> Yes, the winter is a beautiful season. I *lived* in Ulaan Bataar .


So you'll be heading there on holiday when it's at its coldest ... or will you be looking at somewhere like the Philipines?

Really not sure what your point is.

You seem to be just getting into 'I'm a more discerning person than you' mode, tbh.

Let me know if you really are that pathetic, and I'll just stick to reading your stuff on cricket.  :Wink:

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## steevee

What's Batangas and area like?

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## Davis Knowlton

I live in Batangas. Actually a bit north of Batangas City. It's a quiet little place, close to good shopping in Alabang (50 minutes north) to Manila (about 90 minutes north). Within an hour or so of some decent beaches. If I leave my house at 10AM, I'm in Batangas Port and on the ferry by 11, and in Puerto Galera by noon. Good schools for the kids. Clean, good air, not much traffic....you could do worse.

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## cyrille

Sounds cool.

How do you do for food, davis?

Is the local stuff good?

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## Davis Knowlton

This part of Luzon provides much of the produce for central Luzon/Manila, especially pork, chicken, vegetables and fruit. In addition to my business in Manila, I have a small farm here. The produce is excellent. Filipinos just screw up the cooking. My wife is a university trained chef, so no worries. Which is good, as there are no restaurants here other than fast food.

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## cyrille

> My wife is a university trained chef, so no worries.


Handy.

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## Davis Knowlton

^Indeed.

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## cyrille

> there are no restaurants here other than fast food.


They really do seem to love the stuff.

It's a shame - I've been to the islands twice, and by no means consider myself an authority, but my verdict is lovely people, nice place, and ...spam and rice.

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## Bettyboo

> I live in Batangas. Actually a bit north of Batangas City. It's a quiet little place, close to good shopping in Alabang (50 minutes north) to Manila (about 90 minutes north). Within an hour or so of some decent beaches. If I leave my house at 10AM, I'm in Batangas Port and on the ferry by 11, and in Puerto Galera by noon. Good schools for the kids. Clean, good air, not much traffic....you could do worse.


Yes, that does sound very nice, Davis. I'd like to find a similar setup in Thailand if possible...  :Smile:  Bangkok isn't it, but neither is Manilla...

Go on Gary, do a photo trip...  :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

^I lived in Manila due to work for six or seven years. Filthy, horrible traffic, choking pollution - I got out as soon as I retired and spent another few years there to get my new business up and running. I've been down here for over eleven years now; rented for six, then spent a year building my place, which I've now been in for over five years. Each year, my trips to Manila become less frequent, and shorter. I often have a hard time believing I actually lived in that cesspool for so long.

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## Bettyboo

^it's easy to be stuck in the city (I've had over 10 years in BKK, and never liked the place...), jobs, internet, western food, etc - but I reckon you made a great choice to set up your own business and have things on your own terms. I hope to follow your suit sometime in the future.

Your location sounds ideal. Nice lifestyle. Occasional black whisper ops...  :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

Sloth and lethargy probably would have kept me in Manila, had it not been for the twins. I moved when they were ready for pre-school - that was what drove me to the country, and a wise move it turned out to be. I just couldn't see them sucking in that brown air, sitting in a school service for two hours a day to go six blocks, etc, etc. Wife never pushes me to do anything, but I could hear her sigh of relief across town.

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## Scottish Gary

> Should have mentioned, Gary, with the new highway, Subic is only 45 minutes or so from Angeles. You can drink, whore and stay in Angeles, and easily do day trips to Subic, Barrio Baretta, etc for beach, sun and a daytime change of pace before returning to Angeles as the neon lights come on. If you picked a winner the night before, take her with you. They love a day trip out of Angeles. In fact, you'll find most of them, wherever they're from, have never been out of Angeles since they started working there.


 Sounds like a good option Davis, thanks

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## Davis Knowlton

> Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
> 
> 
> Should have mentioned, Gary, with the new highway, Subic is only 45 minutes or so from Angeles. You can drink, whore and stay in Angeles, and easily do day trips to Subic, Barrio Baretta, etc for beach, sun and a daytime change of pace before returning to Angeles as the neon lights come on. If you picked a winner the night before, take her with you. They love a day trip out of Angeles. In fact, you'll find most of them, wherever they're from, have never been out of Angeles since they started working there.
> 
> 
>  Sounds like a good option Davis, thanks


Just took another look at the Angeles-Subic Highway. It's 50 miles, so probably a bit more than an hour, vice the 45 minutes I recalled.

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## Attilla the Hen

Palawan. Stunningly beautiful, great people and the only place I felt safe wandering around after midnight on my lonesome.

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## nidhogg

> This part of Luzon provides much of the produce for central Luzon/Manila, especially pork, chicken, vegetables and fruit. In addition to my business in Manila, I have a small farm here. The produce is excellent. Filipinos just screw up the cooking. My wife is a university trained chef, so no worries. Which is good, as there are no restaurants here other than fast food.


Philippinos can be great cooks, but Philippino cuisine is a mystery to me.  All those great influences, chinese, malay, spanish and most of the food simply tastes awful.  can't even really put it down to the american influence.

Had great trips to philippines, mostly down at PG where the diving is awesome, PG has a reasonable night life (kinda touchingly naive for the most part) - reasonable accomadation and a fairly laid back feel.

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## Bettyboo

> Philippinos can be great cooks


I'm sure this is true for any nation. I've had the worst ever green curry chicken, here in Oman, cooked by a Flippo. I asked them to make it as spicy as a Thai would eat it, just standard as you'd get in Thailand, did they know what that meant? Yes, he said... It came as a chicken steak with a light 'green curry' sauce...  :Sad: 




> mostly down at PG where the diving is awesome


Is it difficult diving or simple stuff? I'd kinda like to do some easy 15-20m reef type dives, maybe a 15 minute boat trip out (or even a walk from the shore in a little bay...).

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## nidhogg

> Originally Posted by nidhogg
> 
> mostly down at PG where the diving is awesome
> 
> 
> Is it difficult diving or simple stuff? I'd kinda like to do some easy 15-20m reef type dives, maybe a 15 minute boat trip out (or even a walk from the shore in a little bay...).


Mostly easy. Great, really great muck diving. Can dive from the shore (used to do night dives from the shore), but most 10-15 minutes by boat (you can do longer day runs to other nearby places where it can be challenging).

Highly recommended dive trip - and take your (underwater) camera.

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## Bettyboo

^ sounds ideal, thanks.

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## nidhogg

^ Don't forget to wave to DK as you go past!

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## Bettyboo

^I won't be waving, I'm gonna sneak into his compound and leave a union jack on his breakfast table! Just to prove that the impossible is possible...  :Smile: 

I'll be in Oman until July. I hope to be getting fitter and do a few dives here in preparation. Supposed to be some nice and easy diving from Muscat; I just wanna do some very easy refresher diving.

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## wackyjacky

> Palawan. Stunningly beautiful, great people and the only place I felt safe wandering around after midnight on my lonesome.


Yup.  Positives - mountains, waterfalls, crystal clear lakes, underground river, diving, kayaking, islands with the beach on the inside etc. Negatives - you will NOT get laid.

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## Itchy

I have very happy memories of the departure lounge at Manila Airport.

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## harrybarracuda

Angeles is great for 24/7 nightlife and casinos/poker.

But if you want beaches and nightlife, then Subic Bay might be a better bet. You can do a sort of two-centre holiday although Subic has a small collection of girlie bars as well. Subic is about 90 minutes from Angeles on the motorway.

For culture, well if you're a Catholic you can go to church, what else is there?

Or you can fly over the remains of Pinatubo, go to the Dolphin Park in the bay, or go and see a load of bored tigers in the tiger park.

What does make it different is the fact that every single girl speaks very good English, but stay away from discussing religion!

 :Smile:

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## MissTraveller

> but stay away from discussing religion!


Why's that? 



> Had great trips to philippines, mostly down at PG where the diving is awesome, PG has a reasonable night life (kinda touchingly naive for the most part) - reasonable accomadation and a fairly laid back feel.


What is pg? do you have any recommendations on dive centers/places that you went to? 

I hope to visit next year or the year after.

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## MissTraveller

> I'll be in Oman until July. I hope to be getting fitter and do a few dives here in preparation. Supposed to be some nice and easy diving from Muscat; I just wanna do some very easy refresher diving


I read that there are some decent dives in Oman. Have you been?

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## Scottish Gary

> Originally Posted by Scottish Gary
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
> ...


 Is the public transport suitable or is it a taxi job?

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## beerlaodrinker

Theres a couple of bus services run from angeles (bar area) to subic and back daily, the swagman bus is one of them,  large bus and beer available on board, you can reserve a seat from any hotel in angeles usually they will pick you up from the hotel that sold you the ticket ,  its called Fly the bus,  Google swagman hotels philippines and you will find there schedule, they also do manila angeles /return  bus runs daily as well . couple of hundred pesos from memory

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## Davis Knowlton

^I've used Swagman any number of times between Manila-Angeles. Cold beer, on time, good drivers.

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## beerlaodrinker

^ The swagman have been in business in the philippines for donkeys years, They run a tight ship i reckon, personnaly i use them for the transport options and the food in there hotels isnt bad either for aussie orientated tucker, There are better options for hotels though, swaggy rooms are a bit grungy and over priced, especially the manila one, Cater more for the first time tourist who needs his hand held for a while ,

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## katie23

To the OP:

If you want a bit of culture, and you're already in Subic or Angeles, you may want to go to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. It's a quaint, little town/city, and a UNESCO protected site. I just don't know how many hours it would take from Subic to Vigan. If you go to Vigan, taste the rice cake, it's famous there.  But then I don't know if you'd like it, since Flip tastes are a bit different. lol And yes, I eat balut.  :Razz:  

If you're in the Manila area, then you can go to Intramuros for some culture.  A bit same-same, but different.  :Smile:  Intramuros is near the Malate/Ermita area, where there are lots of bars & girlies.  There's a big mall (Robinson's Ermita) and there are decent hotels too. For beaches in the islands, you can choose among Palawan, Puerto Galera, Batangas (Davis' area), Boracay, Guimaras, Cebu.  I don't know about the nightlife or girlie bars in the places with beaches.  The guys here in TD know better.  :Smile:

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## stickmansucks

Crazy, going there for culture when so many storm and landslides to enjoy :-)

Also, my first target would be to find Nigel girlfriends who look so kind <3

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## threadstone

Another good place to visit in the Philippines is Cagayan de Oro City "The City of Golden Friendship".  In here, you have the opportunity to experience *white river rafting*, its the only place here in the Philippines that offers a excellent rafting site.  People in this place are friendly.  Come and Experience.

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## SandMike

Please allow me to hijack the thread for a minute 

Bettyboo / MissTraveller

It's been a while since I was there, but ...

Diving in Oman is Awesome ... it's Indian Ocean crossed with the Red Sea, There's Fahal island, about 20 minutes off Muscat, where there's everything from 5m coral reefs to 50m small wrecks, and around the coast to the South, rock walls with stunning fish and coral growth. No idea about dive shops, but google tells me that there are PADI dive shops there. I was there to do a BSAC diving exam, with the club at PDO.

Hijack over, thanks guys

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