A quick stop on my way to Taiwan

People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip:

It was just after 5am when i was dropped into the Manila suburbs and for the first time in ages, i really didn't feel safe. With my backpack and all my valuables, i didn't want to be a sitting target and decided that i needed to get into a taxi as soon as possible, regardless of the cost. I had absolutely no clue where i was and just agreed to pay the driver 120 peso ($3) just for peace of mind. I'm sure it would have been 60-70  peso on the meter, but in these cases i think erring on the side of caution is wise!

I headed to Friendly's Guesthouse where i knew i could use the internet and just chill out for a few hours until i eventually had to head to the airport around 8.30am. I made sure i got a metered taxi this time, as i knew it would only cost around 100 peso and was therefore gobsmacked when we arrived and the fare showed nearly 500 peso on the meter! If i had not been in the Philippines for an extended period of time on my last visit, i would probably have just paid this, but in this instance, there was no way i was handing the money over. I told him i knew the fare and he was conning me and that i wasn't paying. At this point he said he'd accept 250 peso, but i told him no and he went to 200 peso. I took out 120 peso and said that this easily covered it, at which point he came down to 150 peso! I just closed the door on him and walked into the airport. I may look like a mug, but it sucks when people try to treat you like one ;)

After passing through all the security checks, it was finally time to depart the Philippines for the second time. It had only been a quick one week visit, but it had turned out to be one of the best weeks of my entire trip. This is one destination that i simply have to re-visit for a third time, there's just too many travbuddys and too many whalesharks there!