Motorcycle Road Trip

Manila to Zamboanga by motorbike – 16 Day Road Trip – Philippines

Here is a quick report about a 16 day motorcycle trip in the Philippines. Starting in Catbalogan, Samar up to Manila and down to Zamboanga and back. Catbalogan, Samar to Manila is just over 800 kilometers.

Catbalogan pictured on the left.

I went up to Manila, back though Bicol to Samar (1650 kilometers), to Cebu and Negros Island.

Then the ferry from Dumaguete to Dapitan on Mindanao. Driving down to Ipil and Zamboanga, then heading north to Pagadian and Iligan. Over to Cagayan de Oro, 3 days on Camiguin Island, to Surigao, ferry to Liloan, Leyte to Tacloban and back home again in Samar.

I left around 9am to Allen on the north end of Samar Island where there is a ferry that takes you over to Luzon Island. The fare is 120 pesos and 300 pesos for the bike.

The boat was just leaving and the port officials opened the gate and
let me board before they lifted he ramp. It takes an hour or so to get
to Matnog and then it’s clear sailing.

Diving for coins – youtube video of kids at the harbor diving for coins

Cagsawa – youtube video of the ruins from a volcanic eruption

It was a beautiful night and Mt.Mayon was gorgeous. What a beautiful trip.

Quezon Province in Luzon is still rather wild. It was near midnight and I was getting tired, so I decided to rest for a few hours in those small bus waiting shelters that you see on the side of the road.

This type of camping is not recommended unless you are a bit nuts.

5am the next morning I headed down the trail but got a flat tire.

Serendipity means that things seem to just work out by chance and there was a vulcanizer less than a kilometer down the road. The friendly bloke there had his son replace the tube.

I always carry two spares in case the valve stem rips out because the tubes become unrepairable and have to be replaced. Carry an extra plug and oil for your chain too.

Changing a motorcycle tire barefoot – youtube video of guy changing my tire

In Calamba Laguna it became necessary to transfer to secondary roads because small bikes are not permitted on the expressway.

It is not that big a deal but it took 4 hours to get to Malate in Manila because a torrential rainstorm screwed up the traffic.

I didn’t have a map and it would have been difficult to use anyway.

Basically it was easier to ask other drivers for directions.

The Pension Natividad on M.H. del Pilar was a good place to rest up for 3 days before heading back. They have off street parking which is a huge plus in Manila.

The staff was preparing the decorations for Christmas and everyone was in a good mood.

Pension Natividad isn’t a bad budget place to stay if you don’t mind dorms.

I saw an old friend “Joe” that I’ve known for years from Cebu so we caught up on the latest gossip.

Robinsons Mall was nearby so I stopped in for a few Christmas presents and a new motorcycle helmet.

People did a double take when they saw a foreigner cruising down Roxas Blvd. on a habal-habal.

I never even saw a Filipino in Manila driving a province rig like this. It was a lot of fun.

Some people hate Manila and try to leave town as soon as possible but I have a good time there.

My main complaint would be that internet cafes are far and few between (because they are low revenue) no one wants to waste real estate on them.

Update - both Pension Natividad and Friendly’s have wi-fi now.

Some foreigners are fascinated with the pick up clubs in Manila, but I find the street cafes along Adriatico and by the circle to be more interesting.

Heading back to Samar was a bit of a trip because I had a passenger and 3 bags. My clutch was slipping a bit and getting me concerned.

There are some neat towns in Quezon province. Foreigners rarely travel there even though it’s not far from Manila.

Cool looking church.

That clutch on that bike was rapidly wearing away.

The linkage was just too corroded from all the water I go through in the jungles of Samar and no amount of WD-40 would loosen it up

I knew it was just a matter of time before it fell apart.

The north coast of Quezon province is undeveloped and very peaceful

I was not able to find a shop that could repair the bike so decided to try to push on to Naga. I originally wanted to go to Daet but didn’t think the bike was up to it.

Plugging along…

You don’t hear much about travel in Quezon province, because of it’s remoteness but I really love it!

Skates – small rail cars are used in Quezon province to get to the back country where there is no road.

…more rice drying in the sun.

Threshing rice on the side of the road. These guys have their set up on wheels and sub contract to the farmers along the road.

Late that night the bike limped into Naga in Bicol, 400 kilometers south of Manila. The bike was really hot and the clutch was burnt.There was a Honda dealer that had a mechanic on duty Sunday morning and he was willing to replace the disks if I would round up the parts. He installed the new discs and a new cable.

Sometimes it’s best to follow directions – as in keep distance!

Cagsawa near Mt. Mayon in southern Bicol.

The history of this place is amazing. The town was flooded by lava from a previous eruption and only the steeple of the church pokes out from the lava remnants.

Drying rice on the side of the road.

At Matnog there was a short wait and we took the next ferry to Allen. I was beat and was in the mood for a burger and fries and decided to push on to the Cobra’s Den in Calbayog.

Update – (Readers inform me that this place has since closed down).

Cal is a friendly Floridian that makes you feel at home. After a few too many beers I decided to stay there and push on to Catbalogan in the morning.

This stretch of road has been getting resurfaced but still was in rough shape.

It was good to be back home in Catbalogan. The bike did around 1650 kilometers so far so I got it ready for the next leg. Down to Cebu, Negros and Zamboanga.

Roble Shipping has a boat to Cebu City every Friday so it worked out well. You spend the night on the boat and arrive around 4am or 5am Saturday morning.

I had to wait for the LIPSE checker to show up for work so I could pay the port tax.

I saw a few friends in Moalboal and pushed on to Bato in southern Cebu. From there you can take the ferry across to Negros Island. Dumaguete is really worth a visit.

It was there that I decided to add more padding to the seat. It took two days to sew the thing together because I had to hand sew it.

After visiting Mike of Adventure Dive I got tickets to Dapitan on Mindanao. The Philippines is a bureaucratic society and they love that paperwork.

After unloading the bike at Dapitan, I buzzed down to Dipolog to get something to eat. There was a big puddle of thick blood and a motorcycle lying on it’s side. Motorcycles are dangerous anywhere – including the Philippines.

Ate at the Jolibees in Dipolog and doubled back to the Sea Breeze Hotel, a great little place between Dapitan and Dipolog.

The next day was a long one with all the checkpoints on the way to Zamboanga but we arrived around 8pm and stayed at an old favorite of mine – Atilanos Pension. If you ever stay there be sure to look at a lot of the different rooms before committing to one because there is a huge range in comfort and cleanliness between the rooms.

Zamboanga is a well established trading center for this part of the world and I stopped at the Honda dealers for an oil change. Zamboanga itself is reasonably safe but things can be tense at times.

98 percent of Mindanao is very safe – the problem is that you never know where that other 2 percent is going to be that day

After a few days I decided to head up to Ipil. I like that town for some reason, but there is absolutely nothing there to keep a traveler for long.

It is the crossroads for those heading east towards Cotabato. Things can get edgy in that area and I only went to Pagadian and then up to Iligan.

It’s a good idea to get a feel for the place from the locals before you go traipsing off into the back country.

The Kingsway Inn is the best place to stay in Iligan. It is a beautiful, secure and friendly place.

The drive to Cagayan de Oro is very comfortable. I forgot to keep track of the kilometers but it was a long ride so far. I would guess that the whole trip was around 3,500 kilometers plus a few hundred kilometers by sea.

Orange colored tricycles are everywhere!

White water rafting is catching on in the rivers around Cagayan de Oro.

The Coconut Bay Resort was offering deep discounts and it really is a nice place to stay.

I had to get a new front tire in Cagayan de Oro because it was getting too wobbly with uneven wear. It took a while to find a shop that had a 300 x 17 because they use a smaller tire in the city.

I really like to see a guy that is proud of his work and does a good job, even if it is just changing a tire. The cost was 40 pesos but I gave him a hundred because it was Christmas.

It’s fun to me to try to figure out how to get things done in a new city. You just have to be patient and not get in too big a hurry because it’s not going to do you and good anyway.

Have a look at this motorbike with 10 people on it that we saw on the way.

A ferry leaves from Balingoan on Mindanao to Camiguin Island on a regular basis. This was my next stop.

Camiguin is a small island that you can drive around in an hour. It’s peaceful and mellow and seems to be rather prosperous.

There are quite a few Europeans that have built second homes on this laid back island.

I only spent three days there. These are the impressions of some one just passing through with no real in depth understanding of the place. I do find the island to be a tad boring but some people like it that way.

There are some great back country roads to explore!

I really wish that I did a better job exploring the island, but frankly I was getting sick of riding around on that bike and needed a break.

They use a different style trike on Camiguin. These puppies actually have 4 wheels and seem be be a very tough.

The rear axle has leaf springs and can take a huge load. There are brakes on them as well.

The countryside off the main road is really cool.

The town square was lit up in Mambajao.

Merry Christmas 2008!

I took the ferry back to Balingoan and drove up to Surigao. The night ferry got me into Liloan around 3am. The trip to Tacloban was uneventful and I was back home in Samar in time for dinner.

Motorcycle Road Trip