Howdee ho,
After spending enough time on the glorious island of Masbate to convince ourselves we'd practically become honorary locals, it was decided that perhaps we should venture beyond our usual stomping ground and see what this "Masbate City" place was all about. Rumour had it there were shops, traffic, people, and possibly even civilisation.
So, with absolutely no real plan whatsoever, we set off across the island for a day of aimless wandering.
Our noble steed for this grand expedition?
A Philippine tricycle.
Now before anyone starts imagining me pedalling furiously through the tropical heat on some tiny three-wheeled contraption built for preschoolers, let me stop you right there. Philippine tricycles are a marvellous invention consisting of a motorcycle with a sidecar bolted onto it by someone who clearly looked at conventional engineering and thought, "Nah... that'll do." They may not win many awards for comfort, suspension or aerodynamic efficiency, but as a way of seeing the countryside they're absolutely brilliant.
From the back of the bike you get an uninterrupted panoramic view of absolutely everything. The scenery. The villages. The wildlife. The smiling locals. The random goats. The passing buses. The children enthusiastically waving at complete strangers. Even the occasional chicken that appears to have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the concept of road safety.
Then there are the power lines.
I'm still convinced electricity in the Philippines doesn't actually travel through wires. It simply operates on optimism. Looking up at the tangled masses of cables hanging from poles resembles staring into a giant bowl of black spaghetti after someone dropped it down the back of the television cabinet. Somehow it all works. Nobody knows how. Best not to ask questions.
The trip itself is actually rather beautiful. Much of Masbate is rolling farmland, gentle hills, rice paddies, grazing cattle and enough greenery to make your eyes hurt. It's the sort of peaceful scenery that instantly makes you forget work, bills, politics, emails, social media and the fact that somebody, somewhere, is probably arguing on the internet about whether a hot dog qualifies as a sandwich.
Sadly, paradise can only last so long before reality catches up with you.
Gradually the quiet country roads gave way to more houses, more traffic, more shops and considerably more opportunities for me to annoy our incredibly patient tricycle driver.
You see, when I confidently announce, "Just one quick photo stop," seasoned travellers know exactly what that means.
It means absolutely nothing.
It translates into stopping every few hundred metres because I've spotted a bus... then a jeepney... then an old building... then an interesting street... then another jeepney because this one has different signwriting... then a market... then a tractor... then a coconut seller... then another bus... then a railway enthusiast's greatest weakness... absolutely anything that looks even remotely interesting.
By this stage our driver had probably accepted that his passenger suffered from a mild photographic addiction and there was little point fighting it.
One particularly worthwhile interruption involved what appeared to be a very long-abandoned ship quietly rusting away in a bay outside the city. Judging by its appearance, it has spent the last several years contemplating every poor life decision that eventually resulted in becoming a permanent local landmark. It certainly wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, so naturally it deserved several photographs.
By the time we finally rolled into Masbate City we'd accumulated a camera full of completely random subjects.
There are buses. Jeepneys. Tricycles. Markets. Shops. Street vendors. Churches. Boats. Buildings. Food stalls. Waterfront scenes. Interesting architecture. Everyday street life. A healthy dose of organised chaos. And probably several photographs where I can't even remember why I thought the subject was interesting in the first place.
In other words... exactly the sort of collection railway enthusiasts, transport tragics and fellow foamers absolutely love, while perfectly normal people scroll through asking, "Why on earth has he taken seventeen photos of that intersection?"
The answer, of course, is because it looked interesting.
So come along as we spend a day wandering around Masbate City. This certainly isn't one of those polished travel guides filled with luxury resorts, infinity pools and people pretending to enjoy yoga at sunrise.
Instead, it's simply a look at a real provincial Filipino city as we found it in 2025—busy, colourful, friendly, wonderfully chaotic and full of the sort of everyday scenes that rarely make it into glossy tourism brochures but are often far more interesting once you start looking.
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Giasano Mall Masbate
If you've spent any time wandering around Masbate City in search of air conditioning, food, or somewhere to escape the tropical sun before you melt into a puddle, chances are you'll eventually find yourself at the Gaisano Mall
Now, don't go expecting one of those absurdly enormous Manila shopping malls where you'll need a packed lunch, a map, and possibly a rescue helicopter to find your way back to the entrance. This is provincial Philippines, where the mall is refreshingly sensible in size and actually lets you locate the shop you're looking for without clocking up ten kilometres on your fitness tracker. Inside you'll find a supermarket, department store, plenty of little specialty shops, phone stores, fast food, coffee, ATMs, and just about everything else you suddenly realise you forgot to pack.
Like many Gaisano malls around the country, it's as much a community meeting place as it is a shopping centre. On any given day you'll find families wandering around, teenagers treating the place like their own social club, and locals escaping the oppressive Masbate humidity while pretending they came to buy something. Even if your shopping list consists solely of "cold drink" and "somewhere with functioning air conditioning," it's well worth a visit. Besides, after a day bouncing around the island on a tricycle, stepping through those automatic doors and feeling that blast of icy air is almost a religious experience.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Have often had Biggs Diner recommended to me.
Have yet to try their burgers, but man their Mango Graham dessert were fantastic.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Jollibee, the biggest fast food chain in the Philippines, and seen in many other countries.
Despite their regular ability to be always out of what you want, amazing ability to get orders wrong, or not selling stuff they actually have photos of.
Their Champ Burger is recommended though. Well, that is if you are lucky enough to find them having the items they need to make it.
Photos: Brad Peadon
Score! Tanduay 65 is the most rare to find.
But found it Gaisano.
Photo: Brad Peadon
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Masbate City Integrated Passenger Terminal
Every city has one of those places where absolutely everyone eventually ends up, whether they planned to or not. In Masbate City, that's the Integrated Passenger Terminal. It's the transport hub where buses, jeepneys, vans, tricycles, and just about anything with wheels converge in a wonderfully organised display of what initially appears to be complete chaos.
Miraculously though, everyone seems to know exactly where they're going. As a visitor, you'll probably stand there scratching your head for a minute or two, wondering how on earth this tangled mess functions, before realising that the locals have been doing this their entire lives and you're the only confused one.
The terminal is the gateway to just about every corner of Masbate Island, with services departing for towns large and small throughout the day. It's certainly not a glamorous place, but that's half the fun. The air is filled with the sounds of engines idling, conductors enthusiastically encouraging passengers aboard, and the constant chorus of tricycle drivers convinced that wherever you're going, they're the only person capable of getting you there.
If you really want to experience everyday provincial life in the Philippines, spend half an hour here. It's noisy, it's busy, it's slightly bewildering, and it's wonderfully Filipino.
Above and below.
Masbate have jeepneys that look like they have been on steroids.
Photo: Brad Peadon
CAL-7978 'Margaret'.
Kathleen Transit in the Masbate City Integratrated Passenger Terminal.
Photo: Brad Peadon
There just seems to be seriously beautiful views all over Masbate Island.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and below.
A stunning looking jeepney. Obviously very well taken care of.
Photos: Brad Peadon
EVD-867 one of the strange local jeepneys that look like the offspring of a truck and jeepney mating.
Photo: Brad Peadon
A local business at the passenger terminal.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and below.
ABG-5641 from the strangely named Baby Fing transport company..
Photo: Brad Peadon
A local stops for a photo after hopping off a jeepney.
Photo: Brad Peadon
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Nhing, Tins & Esther.
Gerry & Betty
Ukmed the trike driver.
Sunset Villa - Lantangan
Hi! My name is Naomi, and i’ve been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma in June 2026 called ALK negative ALCL. Around the world, only five countries (including Australia) have access to the advanced drugs to treat this type of cancer and going back to the Philippines will greatly decrease my fighting chance. While it is rare and aggressive, here in Australia it is treatable and curable.
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