Thanks Diane, and Calypso. The Philippines is a vast archipelago and it can be quite exhausting trying to explore just part of it, but the people have a friendly and helpful nature, and there's never any hint of aggression in any on the parts I visited. Everyone is so laid-back. (The only trouble-spots seem to be in the very southern islands where the Philippines army has been fighting some insurgency for many years).
It's very tiring traveling to and from the other side of the world, but I already feel quite up-for-it again! Lucy and I are putting together some "tours" which we plan to be marketing in the UK. We're currently going through achieving the accreditations required for working in the UK travel industry. Much of our trip this time was taken up with finding high quality hotels, and we had some very productive meetings. Believe me, having a clean, comfortable refuge to come home to at the end of the day is essential, and also very affordable.