We woke up early and bid farewell to Manila on our way to the very chaotic airport. We hopped on a very short Cebu Pacific flight to San Jose on the island of Mindoro.

San Jose is a really tiny airport – the baggage claim was just some guys dumping the bags from the plane onto a set of tables. After collecting our bags, we got into a tricycle (a modified motorbike with a carriage to carry more people) to the bus station.

The bus took way too many stops but the scenery was nice.

We took a quick boat ride and finally arrived at lovely Pandan Island. It is a privately owned island with only one resort on it. It’s claim to fame is being the closest accommodation to the world class scuba diving on Apo Reef.

We hung out at the bar for a welcome drink and enjoyed the awesome beach.

Our beach bungalow was a pretty simple setup – bed with mosquito net and everything was really open to the outside to let a nice breeze come in from the beach.

Since the Pandan Island resort is the only thing on the island, everything centers around it. They actually have a policy where you have to pay a flat fee (very high for the Philippines) for dinner every night. The bar area has darts and a billiard table too.