Roused by my hideous alarm at 5:15AM I bowled out of bed excited at what was ahead of me, a swim with the biggest fish in the world, the whale shark! Saving breakfast for later myself, Chels, Alex and Rose bundled into the back of a small, open topped lorry and sat down on the floor holding onto the sides as though they would save us in a crash. When we got into Oslob it was already very busy and people were easing their sleepy faces into their snorkelling mas...

We awoke this morning to thunder that sounded as though a rhinoceros was taking out a personal grievance on a garage door. The sound was colossal and swirling rain lashing the side of our 'room' reminded me fondly of my soggy Wales. Our 'room' is a concrete box with no windows and an air conditioning system that has the force of a two year old blowing out their birthday candles. I'm afraid that I can't complain too much however as it's my fault that we're here. ...

Eating pancakes full of cheesy goodness was a grand way to start the day - who knew that syrup, cheese and batter would work so well? After our wander around the city, taking in its immaculate golf course, my ear infection from snorkelling too deep in Fiji finally caught up with me. I found myself bed ridden for the day and slept until four in the afternoon. I awoke feeling un-refreshed and slightly sluggish. I got myself a toastie and a cup of coffee from a lo...

With a flight from Nadi at 23:45 to Singapore 06:20 to Manila 9:30 we did a lot of travelling with a lot of time zone jumping; when I boarded my flight in Singapore I was on my last legs and went out like a light on the flight. Stepping out of Manila Airport didn't bring the wave of heat that I had expected. The temperature was mild with a slightly smoggy sky. As we meandered through the city's skyscrapers to our hostel I was intrigued to see that Filipinos are...