For this return to southeast Asia, we each invested in a filtered water bottle to try and cut down on all the purchasing of plastic water bottles. They weren't cheap, but Troy did some math and estimated that we could potentially save around $300 CAD over our 5 months by using our own bottles instead, in addition to the obvious bonus of cutting way down on our plastic use. Interestingly enough, we have found that a lot of places in the islands here have water coolers for you to fill your bottle for free or for about 0.25 a refill. This has felt like a huge luxury as we are admittedly chronically dehydrated either through laziness or cheapness by not buying enough bottled water to drink. So here at our little hostel in Bantayan, we blissfully consume free, drinkable water all day long, while giving our bottle filter a break for awhile. There seems to also be a lot of conscious action being taken around the islands to find creative ways to use all of the waste that is massively accumulating. People slice through water bottles to form flower pots, create wind chimes and other decorative items out of wrappers, and are filling bottles with garbage to help form and insulate concrete walls. It's inspiring and uplifting, and a reminder that with all the resources and money we have at home, there's no reason why we can't be implementing more diverse options to deal with all of our mess too!

We chose well for our Bantayan Island accommodation and ended up being just a few minutes walk from the beach, as well as all island amenities. We met some great fellow tourists at our place and hired a boat for the day to take us to the stunning Virgin Island, about 45 minutes away. This quiet island is clearly gearing up to take on some increased tourism and so we felt lucky to be able to have it almost to ourselves. And this is what several people have said to us while in the Philippines; that it has the feel of what Thailand had 30 years ago. Having obviously never been in Thailand 30 years ago we can't say for sure, but despite being clearly on tourists' radar, the Philippines for us is definitely retaining its laid-back, unspoilt vibe, and we hope that it stays that way!