Abu Dhabi Time
God has
blessed me once again by letting me see one of the most beautiful countries in
the world. The Philippines. Not only are these islands beautiful, they are full
of activities and some of the nicest people on the planet.
My neighbor, Brad, and I took off
from Dubai aboard Philippines Airlines, flying straight from Dubai to Manila.
During the 8 hour flight, there were no TVs or entertainment. We took turns
watching a movie I had downloaded and sleeping. Since it was an overnight
flight, essentially this was our first “hotel”. As soon as we landed in Manila
at 8am, we were heading out to explore.
I was able to sleep about 2-3 hours
(on and off naps). For me, going to new places gives me a bit of an adrenaline
rush, so having little sleep wasn’t an issue for me on the first day.
DAY 1 TAAL
VOLCANO / CALAMBA HOT SPRINGS RESORT
After landing, getting our luggage
and renting a car, we navigated “south” to find the Taal Volcano. Unfortunately,
the sim card I bought at the airport was a dud, and we did not have access to a
map or GPS. Also, apparently “paper road maps” are out of fashion because we
couldn’t find one anywhere. We stopped at a gas station that had wifi, just
long enough for me to load a map and screen-shot it, then we were off. Manila
is a traffic nightmare, but as soon as we found the SLEX (South Luzon
Expressway), traffic eased up and we made our way to the area of the Taal
Volcano, which was about a 1.5 hour drive from Manila. As we got into the area,
there were men just standing on the side of the road offering tours. Being the
“experienced tourists” we are, we thought we would drive past them and find our
own way. About two minutes later, we realized we were going the wrong way, as
Brad stopped to turn the car around, there was a man on a motorbike tapping on
our window. One of the guys from the corner offering the tours followed us,
knowing we would be lost. Needless to say, because of his tenacity, we decided
to take him up on the tour. He took us to a small house near a body of water,
where we boarded a boat to the small island where the volcano is. Once on the
island we decided to rent horses to take us to the top. The view at the top was
amazing and I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined the inside of the
volcano would have neon green water in it! Although the volcano is active, it
has not erupted since 1977, although scientists have been seeing signs of
unrest since 1991. At the top, there wasn’t anything happening, but out of
holes in the ground on the way up, we were able to see a small amount of smoke
coming out.
These are the boat docks, made entirely of bamboo:
Just a man and his (stubborn) horse:
Photos from the top, this one is looking back toward the water and the island we came from:
Smoke coming from some holes in the rocks:
To end this day, we made our way to
the first hotel, Sol Y Viento Hot Springs Resort. This was a really nice hotel up on a hill in
Calamba. Each room was essentially a
cabana with it’s own kitchenette and hot tub. Additionally the resort had
several pools, all kept at varying temperatures. We were able to have a nice
dinner in the restaurant where I tried Filipino Chicken Adobo, which was
fabulous. A nice dinner with a couple of drinks came out to be around $7 USD. I
knew things would be cheap there, but I think this was even cheaper than the
prices in Thailand.
At times, I did feel like we were the only ones without a shotgun or machete strapped to us:
Outside of cabana:
Hotel property:
Our in-cabana hot tub. Too hot to get into.
San Mig Beer is a Filipino beer. It's really good and cheaper than water.
DAY 2:
PAGSANJAN FALLS
We got up fairly early to get
breakfast and hit the road to Pagsanjan Falls. This was again about 1.5 hours
drive for us. Brad had read about this
place online and we wanted to check it out. We knew it was a boat trip that
went under a waterfall. We weren’t sure what else to expect. When we arrived,
we were told the trip to the waterfall about 1.5 hours there and 30 minutes
back. When they told me that, I noticed the time difference between the trip
going and coming, but I just smiled and nodded. Once we got in the water it was
apparent why. First, they put you in a
canoe with one guide paddling in the front, and another in the back. Soon, a
canoe with a motor passed by and threw a rope onto ours, which the guide tied
to our canoe. So now, we are essentially being towed behind a motored
canoe. Then we passed another canoe and
our guide threw them a rope and they tied onto us. So eventually there is a
motored canoe, towing 5 or 6 canoes in a line behind it. Well this was crazy,
but ok, it was efficient for the guides to not have to row. We were going upstream and came to a point
where the canoes untie and start rowing. This is where insanity starts. There
are areas of the river where the water is shallow and has rocks. The canoe
guides hop up and use their feet instead of their paddles, pushing off rocks on
one side, then hopping into the boat, then across to the other side to push off
rocks on that side. Back and forth, back and forth, for minutes at a time,
until the water is eventually deep enough to row again. At some points there
were huge rocks and no water, at which point these men would pick up the entire
canoe (with Brad and I in it), and carry us.
Check out the video. You can hear me saying that this is athleticism at
its finest, and I meant it. Not only that, it was all done barefoot!
Here is the waterfall. You get on a bamboo raft and they pull you under it.
Along the
way, we exited the canoe at a resting area (our guides definitely deserved it!),
so we enjoyed some drinks and very “fresh” grilled chicken. There was a man
there who commented to me that he liked my watch. He said “G-Shock? Very
Expensive? Like $200?” and I said that no it wasn’t a G-Shock. To be honest, I
had bought it at TJ MAXX about two years ago. It wasn’t in the best condition
anymore and the time begins to lag on it, so I asked him if he would like to
have it. He said yes, so I gave it to him. Later Brad told me the man only had
one eye. I’ve always known I have a problem looking at people in the face, so I
guess this proved it. I hadn’t noticed this man was missing an eye, and I spent
like 15-20 minutes talking to him. Whoops. Oh well, he enjoyed the watch.
Finally we
reached the waterfall and went under it. I was actually glad they made us wear
a helmet because the water was falling so hard it actually did hurt!
The trip
back really was only 30 minutes since it was all downstream. The guides
definitely didn’t need to work as hard.
After the
river trip, we changed clothes there and headed back to Manila to catch a
flight to our next island. On our way back we passed some farms, still doing all the work by hand and using ox-drawn plows.
In the
Philippines, all the other islands take about a 1 hour flight, and cost about
$100 round trip. The only downside is that you really can only get there from
Manila, as there are not many island-to-island flights.
We left
Manila around 11pm and arrived in Kalibo at midnight.
This is a jeepney, which is typical public transportation. You just on through and open door in the back and hop off where you need to go.
This is the Kalibo airport. Yep, that's the whole thing. Most of the small islands we visited had smiliar airports. One check in desk, one waiting room, and then you walk out to the tarmac and board the plane using steps:
More typical transportations. In some countries they call them tuk-tuks, here they call them trikes.
DAYS 3-6
BORACAY
After a
quick sleep at La Esperanza hotel in Kalibo, we went back to the airport and
boarded a bus for a 2 hour trip to the port. Once at the port, we were greeted
by a guide from our next hotel, Boracay Beach Club. We were very happy he met
us there, got our tickets, paid our port fees, and got us on a small boat to
Boracay. It was a very smooth transition. After about a 20 minute boat ride, we
made it to Boracay where the same man took us to the hotel. Our hotel was quite nice. Not a Shangri-La,
but for the money, it was super comfortable, right next to the beach, had it’s
own restaurant and bar on the beach, and included breakfasts and one free
massage with the package. During our time in Boracay, we mostly chilled by the
beach.
After the bus ride, boarding a boat to Boracay:
Boracay's beautiful white beaches:
Right next to our hotel was the Obama Grill:
One day was very interesting for me. I went out of my comfort zone and decided to go off on my own to see a friend that I know from Atlanta that lives in Boracay now. I hopped a trike by myself and the guy driving didn't speak much English. He took me to a place where he thought I was going and dropped me off. A woman walking that way was familiar with the house I was trying to go to and walked me that way and pointed to an off really steep staircase that led up to essentially what was a treehouse. I looked at her like she was crazy but then again, maybe my friend actually lived in a treehouse. So I went up the steps which literally dropped me off in a central area of a family's home. I called "helllooooo" and a little Filipino woman came out of a small door and looked rather shocked. Lucky for me she spoke good English and let me use her wifi (yes the treehouse had wifi) and her cellphone to call my friend. I was nowhere near where I was supposed to be. I really wish I had taken more pics but I think I was just so shocked about the whole situation that I just wanted to go figure out where I was supposed to be! Here is a picture of the dining area and the stairwell that led to the bedroom above.
Part 2 of my story is after a long ordeal I finally made it to see my friend. He had a beautiful house with a beautiful view. Leaving his place I once again stepped outside my comfort zone. A teenage or early 20s kid on a motorbike asked me if I needed a ride and I said yes! When I got to my hotel I asked how much I owed him and he said "whatever you want"... Can't beat that!! Here's a pic of the view from my friend's house..
Last spring break, when I was in Thailand, I made a friend named Tiger. This year in the Philippines, I met a new friend named Felix. I could swear these two could be brothers.
While in Boracay,
I had some illness after eating some pork (again), but tried to suck it up
enough to go out in the evening. There are many bars to enjoy, and some
wonderful restaurants right on the beach that feature fire twirlers.
Boracay is a
perfect vacation spot for people that really enjoy the beach, nice hotels and
restaurants, modern conveniences, and familiar places, such as Starbucks.
After
spending several days in Boracay, we had to do the reverse trip, meaning boat
ride, 2 hour bus ride to Kalibo, and hop on a plane to Manila. Due to a flight
delay, as soon as we landed in Manila we had to hustle to find a cab to take us
from one terminal to another. We checked in for our next flight with only
minutes to spare. This time the flight was a one-hour flight from Manila to
Puerto Princesa.
DAYS 7- 10
PUERTO PRINCESA
The city of
Puerto Princesa is located on the island of Palawan. Our hotel here was
beautiful! We weren’t especially close to the beach, in fact I didn’t see a
beach while we were there. Luckily, the hotel was a nice place to relax.
Several of the girls travelling with us chose to relax at the hotel or go
shopping most of the time. Brad and I, however, wanted to get out and about.
Here is our hotel, called the Aziza Resort.
Open-air lobby:
Pool area:
This is a traditional Filipino dessert called halo-halo. It was interesting, but not for me.
Little friends roaming the hotel grounds:
The main reason we came to Palawan was to see the Underground River, which is
one of the New Seven Wonders of the Natural World. We had heard (after arriving) that you had to have a permit that takes 5 days to get, so we were thinking we wouldn't be able to go after all. We found a travel agency that said they would handle it and we could go the next day, so we were happy. We didn't realize would still have to go get permits, which took 3 hours of our morning. Then we had a long van trip, then had to wait several hours to board a boat. So finally after all the hassle, we did get to go to the Underground River.
Just sitting on the dock of the bay... waiting for our number to be called to get on a boat to the Underground River:
Boats passing by:
The entrance to the Underground River:
Brad and I took another day to just let a trike driver we befriended, Marvin, take us around town.
We went to a Roman Catholic Cathedral, the local market, and the Palawan World War II Museum.
These signs are throughout the Philippines:
Catholic Cathedral:
Scenery around the area by trike:
Local Market, and yes, we were the only tourists!
Little dried fish:
Yes, a pig head on a counter:
One of the shop owners:
World War II Museum:
Our trike driver, Marvin, who took us to all these places:
Marvin also offered to take Brad and I to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Marvin struck gold with this place! It was awesome. It had a long bamboo bridge over the water to a bamboo restaurant that was above the water!
View from our table:
While eating, this guy floated by, passed out in a boat. About 45 minutes later, we saw him paddling his way back..
The final day in Puerto Princesa, Brad and I did an island-hopping excursion:
More scenery:
Horrible picture of me! But this is me venturing out to try yet another food that I had no idea what they were. A child came on our boat and sold me one. It was like a milky, icy treat in a tube and it was delicious!
Buffet lunch on the beach, also delicious!
Our boat driver took some "perspective photography" on one of the beaches:
After a few days in Puerto Princesa, it was time to fly back to Manila, then hop another plane to Bohol. We had an overnight layover in Manila for an early morning flight. We spent the afternoon and evening in Makati which is the modern area near Manila. Our hotel was right across the street from Greenbelt, which is a huge, five-part, mall-type complex. Tons of shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. We got some food and drinks for a while there and then walked to Hard Rock Café where we stayed for most of the night enjoying the live cover band.
I really wish we had another day or two in Makati. We had done a lot of traveling and spent a lot of time in remote areas, so it was refreshing to have a little time in a more modern area.
DAY 11: BOHOL
We landed in Taglibaran, on Bohol Island around 9:30am and arrived to our hotel around 10am. Our room wasn't ready yet, but since we only had one day to spend there, we dropped our luggage with the front desk and headed to out to rent a motorbike. We hit the road to head to Carmen, where the famous Chocolate Hills are. Once again, we were without a map, and paper maps are a thing of the past. After stopping several places, they directed us to a mall that had a stationary store where I was able to buy one. We hopped back on the motorbike and headed on our way. Well, 1.5 hours seeing the area with the wind on my back seemed like a great idea. I did enjoy the scenery, but OMG was my butt sore. We had to stop a couple times to stretch. We saw a lot of small towns on the way as well as went through a really cool forest. Finally we reached the Chocolate Hills.
The stairs to the top. This is maybe a 10th of them. I was winded by the time I got to the top:
The view was worth it:
After spending a little time there and getting some lunch, we got ready for the long trip back.
On the way back, we stopped to see a church that had been destroyed in an earthquake, as well as a church in a center of a small town where there were many kids gathered playing outside.
Another tricked out Jeepney:
DAY 12: TRAVEL (Boooooo!)
We woke up at 5am to get to the airport to catch our 7am flight to Manila, in order to catch a connection 3 hours later to Abu Dhabi.
I checked my phone and had an email saying our flight was CANCELLED. Not delayed: CANCELLED. With no further information. We decided to head to the airport anyway to see what was going on. Long story short, they sent a prop plane that could only seat 60 people. Thanks to Brad's "skills of persuasion", we were able to get on this flight since we had a connection.
Interesting reading material:
Brad and I both ended up with a row to ourselves on the 8 hour flight from Manila to Abu Dhabi!
I was sad to be ending this trip. I would have loved one more week there. When I arrived there, Thailand had been my favorite vacation to date. After the first couple days in the Philippines, that opinion slowly started to change. After my two weeks there, I was completely sold. Thailand may have had some really nice scenery, but what puts the Philippines at the top of my list was the people. They are so doggone friendly. All of them. For no reason. It is so refreshing to be surrounded by such friendly, positive people. Not only that, it is so affordable. I put aside a small amount of spending money for meals, activities, transportation, and souvenirs, but I wasn't able to spend it all. I came back home with money left over, which I NEVER do!I enjoyed my time there so much, I have begun applying for jobs there. I would love to go back and spend a year or two there. Only time will tell if I will get that opportunity, but I pray I do.
I have said several times that as much as I love some places, I probably would never do a repeat vacation because there are so many places in the world I still want to see. However, I may go back on my word. I might just to go back to the Philippines instead of exploring another place. The Philippines is made up of over 7,100 islands, so there would be plenty to see and do on a return trip!
