I'm doing a 4/5 week trip to South Korea > Phillipines > Hong Kong next year - thinking of a 14/12/4 day split in the same order. Any tips/recommendations would be greatly appreciated - particularly for SK & Phillipines. Massive foodie and love a mix of hiking/shopping/relaxing.
Re: Philippines, i went in 2016! El Nido, on Palawan, is a great spot where you can take boat trips among the most stunning lagoons. I’ve travelled a fair bit across Asia and it really blew me away. There are beautiful beaches too. The island of Coron right by Palawan has more of the same lovely boat day tours. I spent a few days on both but El Nido is probably nicer. (Just to note, it’s a 5 hour car ride from the main island airport, unless you fly into the teeny local airport - I think the flights are infrequent/expensive)
I found Manila a total bust im afraid. The traffic seemed to be a constant standstill, plus the typical city humidity & warnings of pickpockets. It’s inevitable to stay there as a way to get elsewhere but it didn’t leave a great impression. There’s an amazing gay club I went to, possibly it was named O Bar? On Google maps it looks the same but I’m not 100%. I also visited the shoe museum (!) of Imelda Marcos’ shoes. It was a bit surreal but something unique to do in the city. I also found the Chinese cemetery quite moving, but the person I was with was totally indifferent ddd.
Boracay is known for its stunning white beaches and tourist-esque scene. Among travellers it wasn’t spoken of that well, but I thought it was lovely.
Travelling between islands can be cumbersome and we had a
lot of rain when we went; probably every day. Such a beautiful place to visit though, I have very fond memories.