some 700 kilometres south east of the country s capital manila. named after a native mangrove, the island became famous for its surfing scene, considered the best in the philippines. but the main draw for many is siargao s largely unspoilt natural environment. and when you are zipping around on a bike it s easy to see how stunning this place is. in 2019 siargao was voted the best island in asia, and was dubbed the next bali, with plans for further development on the horizon. in december 2021, everything changed. category 5 super typhoon odette hit the island off guard,
yeah, still when it rains hard, it is like going again, so that was my really really, very traumatic experience. in some ways, life after odette was the worst part. the island was completely cut off, and supplies ran out fast. so were you here during odette, typhoon odette? i was here during odette. probably the worst experience of my life. there wasn t any power, there wasn t any water, and so for the first few weeks we were just eating whatever was left over in our fridges. i mean, hoping that it wouldn t spoil. and at a certain point i realised that the fishermen weren t going out
named after a native mangrove, the island became famous for its surfing scene, considered the best in the philippines. but the main draw for many is siargao s largely unspoilt natural environment. and when you are zipping around on a bike it s easy to see how stunning this place is. in 2019 siargao was voted the best island in asia, and was dubbed the next bali, with plans for further development on the horizon. in december 2021, everything changed. category 5 super typhoon odette hit the island off guard,