San Pablo, Philippines – Hidden Lakes, Churches & a Local Legend

I wasn’t planning to come to San Pablo — it was a recommendation from one of my subscribers (cheers again, Ray!), and I’m so glad I listened. In this video, I explore the city properly for the first time. I check out the cathedral and several other churches, get caught up in colonial architecture, talk about a local legend involving a god, a stingy old woman, and a lake, and do a 7km run around Lake Sampaloc — the biggest of the seven lakes this city is famous for. Along the way, I stop off for coffee and a chicken bola-bola, visit a peaceful park with a World War II guerrilla shrine, get caught up in campaign posters of Dan Fernandez, misidentify a museum, and somehow end up calling San Pablo one of my favourite places in the Philippines so far. If you’re looking for somewhere chilled, historical, affordable, and full of surprises — give San Pablo a go. 🎥 Filmed as part of my overland journey from the Philippines to the UK (no flights!). 🏃 7km run ✅ 🧁 Pistachio cake ✅ 🗺️ Colonial weirdness ✅ I am an older backpacker travelling the world proving that backpacking is not just for the younger generation. If you would like to support my adventures: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/army057D Follow me on Instagram:   / olderbackpacker22   If you enjoyed this video, please like, comment and subscribe to the channel. #SanPabloPhilippines #BackpackingPhilippines #PhilippinesTravel2025 #SevenLakes #HiddenGemPhilippines