- The Philippines in bancas,
motorbikes and jeepneys
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 The bancas are the traditional wood and
bamboo trimarans Philippines usually take in order to go from
islands to islands, to go fishing or to the market. They can
be of every sizes, of every kinds, adapted to diving, to fishing,
to touring and even to luxurious cruise ! And jeepneys are jeeps
for groups, which are locally crafted and sumptuously decorated.
Each island, each village or town has its workshop and has found
its own style in decorating them.
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- Text and photos by Jean-François
Vibert
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By travelling
across the archipelago, we found that bancas and jeepneys were
the best way to move quickly and to keep in touch with nature
and populations, as colourful than varied...
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Corone : the
last frontier
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- Pandan Island : un petit
goût de paradis sur terre...
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- Palawan, the last frontier
of the Philippines a minimum of nine days.
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The journey starts with a complete feeling of strangeness in
one of the wildest island of the archipelago. The jungle there
remained untouched, heavenly beaches and a population which is
still curious about tourists
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 During
the day : from Manila
to Puerto Princessa, a one-hour flight. Visit of the astonishing
fish market. A night in Puerto. N.B : Backpackers can do this
trip by bancas, jumping from islands to islands : three to five
days of adventure !
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- From
one to two days : day-trips
by bancas and jeepneys swimming, snorkelling, trekking,
initiation to diving very cheap. Careful, the sun burns hard
these days !
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- From
two to four days : cross
by jeepney towards the west coast of the island. Make a stop
in Sabang for instance at the Bambua Resort. Walks in the
incredible St Paul S. Nat Park with its underground river,
its giant varanus and its primary forest. Swimming, excursions
in jeepneys and walks in the jungle in search of the Batak tribes
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- From
two to four days : crossing
in banca or jeepney towards El Nido. A small exotic heaven where
one can find one of the most luxurious resort of the Philippines.
Since the Asiatic crisis luxury is within anybody's arm reach,
just rush there ! N.B : It is possible to come back from there
by plane from Manila a little private airport.
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- From
two to five days : from
El Nido, go up by banca towards Coron a one-day trip
where you will be able to dive on the wrecks of the Japanese
fleet, to spend the night in one of the resorts on piles in the
middle of the water, to make treks in kayak one or several
days and even may be to watch people collect nests on the
cliffs
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- During
the day : back to Manila
thanks to a small plane which lands on from the jungle. One night
in manila very good fish restaurants
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Possible Prolongation at least four more days
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- From
two to three days : take
a banca to go towards the north a one day trip to
the heavenly Pandan island ; Dominique, a French man lives there
a lone and welcomes travellers. For diving amateurs, one or two
days on the mythical spot of Apo Reff and sea tortoises.
From one to three
days : one more day in jeepneys or bancas and you arrive
in Puerto Galera, capital city of diving, the place of mythical
parties.
During the day
: two hours in bancas and three hours bus with the
air-conditioning and here you are, back to Manila.
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From the T'Bolis to the Pacific Coast : at least four days. Thanks
to an e-mail there are many cyber cafés in Manila
your boss allows you to stay some more days ! Right towards
the south in order to meet the T'Bolis ; a more ethnical travel
but an all the more authentic one
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- During
the day : from Manila
to General Santos a two hours flight. What a surprise !
No other occidental people in the airport : here, tourism is
very little developed ; you will then have to remain on marked
ways. A cab cheap will directly drive you to the
hotel two or three hours later on the Sebu lake.
Then, a little walk on the lake at sunset.
From two to three
days : get up early in order to see pink lotus flowers. With
the guide of the hotel, go for a walk or take a jeepney
you can even take a moped to admire the seven cascades
more than thirty metres -, and villages in the neighbourhood.
Beautiful craftsmanship and a small Museum of T'Boli culture.
Nice market on Saturdays. And fascinating traditional dances
in the evening. And still no other pale faces around, you can
believe you are real explorers !
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- During
the day : bus or cab
cheap then back to Manila by plane.
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Possible Prolongation at least five more days :
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- During
the day : bus or cab
to Davao and a night there. If you enjoy luxurious places, spend
a night at the Pearl Farm, a sumptuous resort, built on the water
with traditional materials And affordable : the price of a three
stars hotel in France thanks to the Asiatic crisis. The
boss is French.
During the day
: a cab to Sirugao, and one night there.
From two to four
days : get up early and start towards the Bats Island, a
mysterious and desert island, covered with a deep jungle, an
interior lake and underground rivers. You would be able to see
hundreds of giant bats, some of them being of one-metre wide
! One night on Lajanosa, the fishermen's island. Oh, and you
are on the Pacific Ocean It really is heavenly !
During the day
: bancas to Sirugao, then plane to Manila.
But you can also go back to Manila by banca nearly one week via
Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, and Marinque !
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Trekking in the head cutters' country or motorbike journeys. Being totally enchanted by all these
marvels, you take one more week to undertake a trek in the northern
mountains or a few days drive by motorbike around Mindoro
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- It
is another face of the Philippines : twice a thousand years old terraces of rice
registered by the UNESCO tribes and walks
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- For
the journey by motorbike,
go to Manila or Puerto Galera where André, a Swiss who
has been living there for more than ten years, will take care
of everything
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Visa :
Passeport valide 6 mois après l'entrée. Visa obligatoire,
durée maxi 21 jours. Billet de retour ou de continuation.
Visa obtenu sur place pour tout séjour de moins de 21
jours.
- Vaccins : Aucun vaccin obligatoire. Informations données
à titre indicatif. Se renseigner auprès de l' Institut
Pasteur au 01 40 61 38 00
- Vaccins conseillés : Tétanos, poliomyélite,
typhoïde, hépatite B. Traitement antipaludéen
dans certaines îles.
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Circuit UCPA
Palawan Safari
- 15 jours tout compris 12900
F - Web site: www.ucpa.com
- Phone: 0 803 820 830
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- Contact sur place : Asiaventure
- Sylvain Gianni : asiaventure@attglobal.net
- Room 305, De Villa Bldg. 1153
MH del Pilar St., Ermita 1000 Manila, PHILIPPINES
Tél. 00 63 2 5237007
- Tél. 00 63 2 5266929
Fax: 00 63 2 5251811
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- © Jean François
VIBERT - Journalist and photographer - Paris -
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- Specialised in travels, extrems
sports, leisure activities, adventure trips, outdoor sports,
deserts and mountains... Trekking, ski, snowboard, mountain,
bike, sailing, scuba diving, hiking, in line skating... Texts
and pictures for the press and the web, illustration, digital
photography, reportages...
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- Journaliste photographe - Spécialiste
des voyages, des sports de glisse, des loisirs, de l'aventure,
de l'outdoor, des déserts, des montagnes. VTT, trekking,
ski, snowboard, parapente, voile, plongée sous marine,
randonnées, roller in line... Textes et photos pour la
presse et internet, illustrations, photographie numérique,
reportages...
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