Hi Christine
Hope you are doing very good and getting super stoked about the trip that is starting in a few hours for you. I’m happy you decided to join this trip and look forward to meeting you. I also hope this e-mail reaches you in time. Sorry for sending this onto you a little late. I'm excited for making some new friends and sharing some of the great experiences in amazing places with you and the others.
My name is Bertus (a tricky one for some of you Canadians to pronounce), and I am the random South African Free and Easy guy that will be taking you around the Philippines in June. I have been with Free and Easy for a while and so far I’ve missed only one of our trips here so you are in relatively capable hands
I got back to Manila today and just wanted to give you some important details about our journey coming up.
The trip in The Philippines was designed as a backpacker experience, and is definitely a level 2 Free and Easy trip. Don’t get me wrong, we are not gonna send you into the wilderness with a Zippo and pliers and ask you to survive for 40 days. We are just getting back to the roots of why we all love to travel. Passing school children staring at you as if they just saw a ghost (or white person for the first time), and then suddenly breaks into a giggle and start waving at you as if they want to break their little hands off their wrists. Sharing conversations with older Filipinos over a round of Ginebra (a gin like liquor that costs around a dollar a bottle). Breathtaking hikes through the mountains and rice fields of the mountainous regions of Northern Luzon. Taking in some of the best underwater scenery in the world and singing some nights away in karaoke ‘Cafés’, sharing lots of laughs with Filipinos and our Free and Easy family. And… as I think I don't wanna give it all away, I also realize that I cannot even come close to giving you an idea of what to expect!
Making our way throughout the islands will involve all sorts of random means of transportation. There are often ferries between the major islands, but we typically want to go beyond those 'obvious' destinations, so we'll be making use of all sorts of boats, buses, planes, jeepneys, tricycles and taxis. We'll be doing a lot of actual traveling throughout the trip, but being on the move is often where you really experience the best of the Philippines. Foreigners are far less common in the Philippines compared to some other destinations, so we will get to see a Filipino way of life that has barely changed in many generations.
To make your journey just a little more comfortable and enjoyable at times I want to advise you on a few finer details. For one thing I hope you like hiking! Right at the beginning of the trip we venture up to the Northern Mountains of the Philippines and there is an opportunity for an incredible 2-day trek. I want to mention this for two reasons.
Firstly I recommend that you bring a good pair of shoes or quality hiking/sports sandals. I would say proper hiking/sports sandals would be sufficient but I leave that to you to decide. If you don’t have any you will be able to pick some up in Manila before we leave.
Secondly, the summer weather is great at the moment but it does get cooler at higher altitudes so bring at least one warmish, long sleeved shirt which would also come in handy battling the freezing air-con on some Philippine buses and ferries.
Oh…and that reminds me of another thing to recommend - we'll be taking a night bus up North and back to Manila so having ear plugs (they will come in handy on loud boats too), an eye mask and one of those u-shaped blow up neck pillows would make sleep that much easier. Again, if you don't have some of this already, you can pick it up in Manila at a good price.
You will be arriving to the Philippines on June 11th at 9:35am, but the trip will begin officially when some arrive on Thursday June 10th and the trip ends late night on July 18th when the group flight departs from Cebu City. I will supply you with a full itinerary and a guide book as soon as you hit Manila. You fly out on the July 19th and Andreas is booking your flight from Cebu to Manila as we speak to get you here well in time for your outbound flight.
As for other reminders:
-- if you are a student or even have a student id from the past few years that could pass as valid, bring it along, and it could save you/us some cash along the trip.
Also, prior to landing in the Philippines, you are given an arrival card to fill out and give to immigration, you will be asked to 'Provide an address in the Philippines', and so you could use the following:
Friendly’s Guest House
1750 Adriatico St.
Malate, Manila
There is another question on the arrivals card about 'Are you traveling on a package tour?' yes___ no___
….and to make life simple, we are responding 'NO' to that question.
This is more for situations where the whole group is arriving together. Also, we prefer to call this group, 'a large group of friends', rather than a group tour.
If you don't have a visa for the Philippines, don’t stress it. They will stamp you in for 21 days at immigration on arrival. Sometimes (not often) they will give you 59 days so definitely ask if they can. If you only get the 21 days we will help you to get it extended to 59 days at an immigration office near youJ.
Please make sure that you have a paper copy of your flight tickets (inbound and outbound) when you go to the airport. When you arrive in the Philippines, you are required to show proof of your outbound/return ticket. If you don't have it, it will be a huge pain finding a way to print one off just to get through immigration.
Once you have cleared immigration, picked up your bag and go through customs (nothing to declare), you will exit and pass over one street, go down the ramp on your right and cross another street. That is where I will be waiting for you. I will be the tallest, whitest guy with dread locks in the waiting area so it'll be easy to spot me. They don't allow people into the terminal without a flight ticket so that's why I’ll be waiting there.
That should be all of it but let me know if you have any questions… I’ll be happy to answer them!!
The time is real close and I'm looking forward to get this show on the road (literally and metaphorically typing) and make our ways to all these fantastic adventures that await us!
See you soon – Have a safe flight!
Bertus
Philippines Mobile: +63 (0) 92 6711 8394
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