The crowds may flock to Cebu, but amid this tropical yet contradictory Asian paradise that comprises over 7,000 islands, much more is to be had off the Philippines’ beaten paths. For The Nanjinger, the more ramshackle the shanty town, the better.

人群可能會湧向宿務，但在這個由7000多個島嶼組成的熱帶但矛盾的亞洲天堂中，還有更多的地方要遠離菲律賓的人跡罕至。 对于南京人来说，棚户区越阐铮，越好。

And to call a stick a stick, it just takes too long to get to Cebu. So when a Nanjing friend mentioned they had invested in a Chinese dive lodge, just an hour’s boat ride from Manila, we more than sat up and took notice.

把一根棍子称为棍子，去宿务需要很长时间。 因此，当一位南京朋友提到他们投资了一家从马尼拉乘船一小时的中国潜水小屋时，我们坐起来注意到了。

Except that was a lie. So it came to be that, after the aforementioned boat ride, from Batangas City, which was, in turn, after a 2 hour bus ride (quick by Philippine standards) from Manila, we found ourselves in the backwater of Puerto Galera, the village/town of Sabang to be exact.

除了那是个谎言。 因此，在上述乘船旅行后，从巴丹加斯市出发，反過來，在乘坐2小时的巴士（按照菲律宾的标准），我们发现自己在加莱拉港的背水中，准确地说，是萨邦的村庄/城镇。

Many go to the Philippines to avail themselves of diver certification, and Puerto Galera is no exception, where PADI regulations are also happily and strictly adhered to. Local guides feature over 50 recommended dive sites; from caves and wrecks to exotic marine life, the vicinity certainly has what it takes to keep a finned human happy for days on end. The fact that its beach-front strip of dive lodges is interlaced with western bars and restaurants, some of which open 24 hours, is testament to the plentitude of potential hedonism. In Puerto Galera, this starts at 5pm, the second the dive lodges close.

许多人去菲律宾是为了获得潜水员认证，加莱拉港也不例外，那里也愉快地严格遵守PADI的规定。 当地导游推荐了50多个潜水点；从洞穴和沉船到异国情调的海洋生物，附近肯定有让有鳍动物开心好几天的东西。 其海滨潜水小屋与西式酒吧和餐厅交织在一起，其中一些24小时营业，这证明了潜在的享乐主义。 在加莱拉港，下午5点开始，潜水小屋关门。

Yet, this would be to belie some of the other surprises that await in this dichotomy of an island world. For it was amid the mud, sand, chaos and general disregard for road safety that we sampled western cuisine far superior to that on the whole available in all of Nanjing; outstanding pizza by the Italians themselves in Bella Napoli (no relative to its Nanjing namesake), washed down with a glass of homemade, and complimentary, house wine. Then there was Hemingway’s Bistrot, an odd name for an Austrian diner, but who cares when tucking into schnitzel, beachside?

然而，这将与岛屿世界的二分法中等待的其他一些惊喜相提并反。 因为正是在泥泞、沙子、混乱和普遍忽视道路安全的情况下，我们品尝了远优于整个南京的西方美食；意大利人在Bella Napoli（与南京同名没有关系）的出色披萨，用一杯自制的免费自制葡萄酒冲洗干净。 然后是海明威的小酒馆，对于一家奥地利餐厅来说，这是一个奇怪的名字，但谁在乎在海滩边吃炸肉排呢？

Then, as the skies darkened on 24 December, local children marauded the village in gangs, belting out “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for all their lungs could manage, ever hopeful that we would emerge to press some Pesos into their hands.

然后，当12月24日天空变暗时，当地儿童成群伙掠夺村庄，大声疾呼“我们祝你圣诞快乐”，尽全力，一直希望我们能出来把一些比索塞到他们手中。

At this point we should have perhaps been forewarned, for we were to return the following day to Manila. We mistakenly watched the skies for the storms that come and go at this time of year that may have also prevented our sea-born departure, when we should have been checking the local holiday schedule. Christmas is a big deal in the Philippines; whereas our boatmen were ready to sail, not a bus was to be had on the other side.

在这一点上，我们也许应该得到警告，因为我们第二天要返回马尼拉。 我們錯誤地观察了天空，看看每年的這個時候來來去去的風暴，這些風暴也可能阻止了我們海上出生的出發，而我們應該查看當地的假期時間表。 圣诞节在菲律宾是件大事；虽然我们的船伕已经准备好启航了，但另一边却没有公交车。

With a flight from Manila back to Nanjing set to soar into the skies with us on board before 8am the following day, there was but one choice; Air Juan.

第二天上午8点前，一架从马尼拉返回南京的航班将与我们一起飞向天空，我们只有一个选择；胡安航空。

With their somewhat obvious, but well-earned strap line, “Travel in Style”, Air Juan serves the Philippine islands with scheduled and charter services designed to take you from the nation’s capital direct to your beach resort.

凭借他们有些明显但当之無可及的“时尚旅行”，Air Juan为菲律宾群岛提供定期和包机服务，旨在将您从国家首都直接带到您的海滩度假村。

As a big aviation buff, I’ve frankly never had a better Christmas present than sitting directly behind the pilot of a Cessna Grand Caravan Seaplane as we took off from the waters off our beach; next stop downtown Manila.

作为一个航空爱好者，坦率地说，当我们从海滩的水域起飞时，我从未收到过比坐在塞斯纳大篷车水上飞机飞行员身后更好的圣诞礼物；下一站是马尼拉市中心。

But we would first have to get to the airport, one where check in is a shady spot under a random palm, and the departure lounge a beach saloon through which goats randomly meander.

但我们首先必须去机场，在那里办理登机手续的地方是一个随机的棕榈树下的阴凉处，出发休息室是海滩沙龙，山羊随意蜿蜒穿过。

On one final death-defying, knuckle-raising ride in a shiny Philippine Tuk Tuk (no, they are not blinged beyond all belief; they’re merely made of stainless steel, on account it rains most days), our first glimpse of a dotted white line in a week had us questioning the very definition of the word “civilisation”. For international headlines aside, those in this run-down corner of the world appear far more alive and happy than many in the rat race of eastern China’s 21st century.

在最后一次乘坐闪亮的菲律宾嘟嘟车（不，它们并不令人难以置信地闪耀；它们只是由不锈钢制成，因为大多数日子都在下雨），我们一周内第一次看到一条虚线，让我们质疑“文明”一词的定义。 撇開國際頭條新聞不談，那些在世界這個破舊角落的人似乎比21世紀中國東部老鼠賽跑中的許多人更活潑、更快樂。