Winter break in the states revolves around Christmas and New Years, but in Taiwan winter break happens during Chinese new year. The last week of classes at Principal consisted of loads of coloring pages and teaching the children about the Chinese new year. The last day was 'party time' where students brought in treats to share with the class. It was an easy last week to say the least.
As soon as the last bell rang on Friday at 6:10 p.m. I was out the door and preparing last minute things for my two week vacation in the Philippines. After a warm shower, an hour nap, and eating all the food left in my fridge, I was on my way to the airport to catch my flight.
Saturday morning at 1:35 a.m. I flew south of Taipei to the beautiful tropical islands of the Philippines. Not wasting any time in the big city of Manila, I flew straight to Caticlan at 6 a.m. The flight was only an hour long and as soon I arrived their were loads of locals wanting me to take their tricycle to the pier, which was a short distance away. Once at the pier you must pay the terminal fee 75 peso, environmental fee 100 peso and the boat ticket 25 peso (total of $5 USD). There is no airport directly on Boracay island, so you need to take a 10 minute ferry ride from Caticlan to Boracay.
It's been said that Boracay has one of the top 10 beaches in the world and now after going there I can see why.
The white sand beach reminds me of a picture one would find on a postcard; beautiful white sand and transparent blue water. The white sand beach, divided into three sections, section 1, 2 and 3 has a spot for everyone. Section 1 has high end resorts, section 2 is the most popular area with the outdoor mall, loads of restaurants and many bars and clubs, and section 3 is the quietest. Many people don't know that Boracay has 12 other beaches besides the famous white beach. Puka beach, located in the north of Boracay, makes for a quieter day at the beach. The 30 minute tricycle ride gives you a whole new perspective of the island. You will find run down houses and children eating from trash cans. It's a bit surreal to see considering many tourist don't move from the high end white beach. The sunsets on Puka beach will take your breath away.
It has the most stunning sunset, unlike anything you've seen before. I spent three full days and three nights in Boracay enjoying the beautiful beaches, fresh mango shakes, and crazy nightlife. Boracay is rated as the number one destination in the Philippines for nightlife. In my opinion, Boracay is worth seeing, but if you don't like touristy spots and intense nightlife I would recommend going to a more quieter island. Boracay is also best to go with your spouse or with a group of friends. I don't suggest going on your own, there are better places to go to if you're traveling solo.
Each time you enter or leave the port you need to pay the terminal and environmental fee. Luckily nothing in the Philippines costs that much. I took a van from the port to l loilo, south part of Panay island, for 350 peso ($8.5 USD). Luckily the van dropped us off at the mall, in which, I could exchange money. Malls, I found, have the best exchange rate. 1 USD is about 40.8 Philippine peso. You will be lucky if you find a place that exchanges at a rate of 4.5 per 1 USD. At the mall, I could take a shuttle bus to the airport for 70 peso (less than $2 USD).
My next destination was Cebu city, second biggest city in the Philippines. The flight from l loilo was only 45 minutes long to Cebu. Once at the airport you will need to take a cab to Cebu city, which is about 40 minute ride. In the morning, I took the 9 a.m. ferry to Bohol. The ferry was 500 peso one way ($12.5 USD), but you can get it for less. Round trip costs 800 pesos. Only two hours ferry ride. At the pier there will be many locals trying to convince you to ride their tricycle. I made the mistake and payed for a tricycle to my hostel about 40 minutes away. I should have walked 10 minutes to the mall where I could take a jeepney for $1 USD to my hostel. The hostel I stayed at was called "Nipa Huts" located in the town of Loboc. It was the most beautiful hostel I've seen, right near the loboc river. The rooms are made of bamboo and are surrounded by tropical grounds.
I really enjoyed my time at Nipa for it's beautiful accommodation and friendly guests.
My first day in Bohol, after taking a refreshing shower and eating a filipino lunch, I went off on my day adventure. I waited for the bus to take me to the famous Tarsier sanctuary. As the bus was approaching I could see the bus filled with people. There was a man hanging off from the side of the door and people's arms out the window. As I stepped on the bus, I looked around at the people. I quickly noticed the dirt on many of the locals faces and clothes. I was standing right in front of the door as there were no where to sit. People had squeezed into all the seats and many were standing just like me. Right next to me, there was a man holding a baby and a girl sitting beside him. His wife was standing on the other side of me. I continued to look around at the people. They all were smiling at me in the warmest smiles I have ever felt. I looked into the man holding the baby's eyes and started playing with the baby. The wife just stood there smiling at me. In a matter of moments, tears filled my eyes and began rolling down my cheeks. I didn't feel sad, but culture shock just hit me. As I was looking at the people that had nothing, but at the same time had everything, I couldn't help but become emotional. I don't get culture shock very often after traveling so often; I can count the number of times on my hands. I've been wanting to go to a third world country for so many years, but just haven't had that chance. It was in that moment on the bus that I knew how important it was to do the things you feel in your heart you must do. During the bus ride, there were very little exchange of words just the biggest smiles. The words that were exchanged were how beautiful I was and the man asked me to join him and his family for lunch at his house. I refused the offer. As I was leaving I told the man what a beautiful family he had. Those 20 minutes on the bus are going to stay with me the rest of my life; I'm certain that feeling will never fade from my heart.
The bus dropped me off at the Tarsier sanctuary. Tarsier's are the smallest primates in the world.
Bohol has the smallest ones in the world, but their are others Tarsier in Asia. The entrance fee was cheap only 50 peso ($1.25 USD). It was already late into the day, so I decided to take my time at the Tarsier's and not rush to another attraction. There were many staff members helping navigate were you should go along the path and helping take pictures for you. There were 11 Tarsier in the sanctuary. It was so neat to see the small monkey's so close. I enjoy talking with the employees; they were all very friendly. They told me, the demand was so high to work there that every 5 months a new batch of employees come in. Most people take about twenty minutes to go through, but I took an hour! Afterwards, one of the staff members showed me where he and most of his family lived, within walking distance from the Tarsier. He showed me around the village and even took a look into his house. I was very appreciative of the opportunity to see inside his home and met his family. On my way back to the hostel, I stopped to talk with some kids that were playing with bricks and sand at the market nearby. The kids were asking me all sorts of questions: what's your favorite color, my sisters names, my birthday, if I had a boyfriend, etc. All they wanted was to be my friend. They brought me some plastic bubbles you can blow up using your mouth, so I could play with them.
This day, not only because of the bus ride experience, but all the moments I was interacting with the locals made such a lasting memory. I quickly learned how warm and friendly the Filipinos are. Just by looking at the Filipinos, they give you a big smile. :)
The following day, I went to the famous chocolate hills. It was rainy in the morning, so my day started a bit later in the afternoon once again. At the chocolate hills you could climb the 214 steps to the top of the observatory.
Some claim that there are 1268 hills. The hills are mostly uniform in shape and between 30 and 50 meters high. The hills are covered with grass and after the dry season, turns chocolate brown, in which the name comes from. Near the chocolate hills is the town of Cameron where I spent the late afternoon walking around the market. I had plans to check out the butterfly garden, but due to the local bus schedule I didn't make it in time. Back at the hostel, I met some new travelers. We all enjoyed each others company and exchanged stories. I decided that night after hearing so many stories about swimming with the whale sharks that I wanted to try it as well. So, I checked out of the hostel the next day and headed back to Cebu to take a 2 1/2 hour bus to Oslob early the following morning.
Before taking the ferry back to Cebu, I wanted to check out a few waterfalls. But, once again it was rainy. I decided because of the weather it wouldn't be as pleasant and the trails to the waterfalls would be muddy. Instead, I walked around the city of Tagbiliaran and took the ferry back late in the day.
That night I stayed at the sister hostel of Nipa Huts. I was expecting an extravagant hostel like Nipa, but then was reminded Cebu was a big city and not a jungle. ;)
One can only swim with the whale sharks from early morning to 12:30 in the afternoon. Therefore, I left my hostel early to ride the bus, which in fact, happened to take 3 1/2 hours to Oslob, located in the south of Cebu island. I made it just in time to swim with the sharks before the resort closed. I had my own private boat and guide. Before they allow you to go into the water, everyone had to go threw a brief orientation for basic policies. Afterwards, the boat man rowed the boat away from the shoreline. He stopped the boat not far from the shore and took my camera, so he could take pictures of me while I was in the water. Surprisingly, I wasn't afraid at all to swim with the whale sharks. I jumped into the water, put on my snorkel and enjoy the 14 sharks swimming around me.
It was a fun experience! I feel so thankful to have heard about it through so many people; I'm glad I didn't miss it. Due to government regulations, you are only allowed to swim with the whale sharks for 30 minutes.
Since the return trip to Oslob would take approximately 7 hours, I wanted to make a full day trip out of it. So afterwards, I started walking to a waterfall I heard about from the travelers I had met in Bohol. While, I was walking I met a girl on the side of the road. She had just got off the bus from selling tortas (like a muffin). I asked her, if I was walking in the right direction to the waterfall. She quickly nodded yes and said, "Your going to walk there? It's far!" I shook my head yes. She said, "It's so far! You should take a bus. After I refused to take the bus. She asked, "Your by yourself? You don't have any friend?" I told her I was traveling alone and my friends didn't come with me to the Philippines. She didn't want me to be alone; and said she would be my friend and walk me to the waterfalls. Her and I walked together to the trailhead of the falls. At the beginning of the path, we met a family that was walking up the steep hill to their house. We all insanely became friends and the group of us walked 3 km up the steep hill to the falls. We all had a great time together taking pictures and playing in the falls.
The falls were so pretty located in a lush area. They become my second favorite waterfalls, after Iguazu falls in South America. It was hard leaving the family we had met as our paths will probably never cross again. I gave them each a big hug and told them how much I enjoyed the afternoon together. The mom had tears in her eyes and I told her not to cry. I said, "I will always remember this moment and how much fun I had sharing it with someone." The young girl and I continued down the hill to the main road. I told her I wanted to buy her dinner. Her and I went to the town of Oslob and had dinner. After, she showed me her house and gave me a sweater I could wear on the bus; she was worried I would be chilly going back. I thanked her again for joining me on the walk to the falls. It was a wonderful day!
In the morning, I took a cab to the Cebu international airport to fly to Puerto Princesta, Palawan. I arrived a little before 3 p.m., an hour later than planned due to the delay. I went straight to Nieves house, a couch surfer. Jessie, my friend from Hualien, stayed with her while she was in the Philippines just a few weeks before I arrived. I spent the afternoon with Nieves, her boyfriend and other kids from her village.
In the evening, we went to the local market to buy fresh fish and vegetables for dinner; her boyfriend cooked us a curry dish! At the market, we also bought a snack -- fresh coconut! I don't recall ever eating a fresh coconut, so I was very excited. It didn't taste like much for sure not as sweet as the coconut shreds you buy from the grocery store. Once we finished drinking the juice, the lady opened the coconut with a machete and we could eat the inside. It had a jelly like texture and again it didn't have much flavor to it. Around 10 p.m. a group of 5 Filipino CSers from Manila came; Nieves was also hosting them. They were all very pleasant to talk with.
At 6 a.m. we all left on a small tour bus for a day trip to St. Paul's underground river. It's located in the town of Sabang, about a 2.5 hour drive from Puerto Princesta. In 2006, the underground river was rated as the new seven wonders of nature. This river is the longest navigated underground river in the world. Due to its popularity there is a permit you must get before entering the park. The permit is very difficult to get and you must apply at least a month beforehand as they only allow 900 people to enter a day. The time I went online to buy my ticket, they had temporarily closed it. I usually never book a tour, but it was my only option if I wanted to see the underground river. Nieves help me book a tour and it worked out really well. The tour guide picked myself and the 5 other Filipinos CSers at the road by Nieves home in the morning. We picked a few others up at their hotels and then drove to the underground river. You can't actually drive to the beginning of the underground river, you either need to take a boat or hike about 2 hours. The driver dropped us off where we could take the boat. Our guide did all the paperwork for us and we waited patiently until our permit time was called. The boat was about 20 minutes. Once we got off the boat, we walked a short distance in the forest to the entrance of the cave. There, we again waited for our number to be called. There were many people at the attraction. However, everything was well organized, it was quite a production. Once our number was called, we all loaded the boat that seated 12 people. Our boat man pointed things out along the way. I heard the man who discovered the underground river was an English man. He thought the cave looked like St. Paul's cathedral in England, in which the name came from. We saw stunning stalactites and rocks that looked like Jesus and alters. It was an impressive cave and very enjoyable. The total ride was 45 minutes.
Afterwards, we took the boat back to where we started and had a nice buffet lunch nearby. The lunch was included in the tour. It was was a tasty lunch that overlooked the water. It was a pleasant afternoon. We were all tired after lunch and most of us slept in the van on the way home. About a half hour into the ride back, we stopped at an adventure park. We all got of the van, but none of us decided to try any of it. So, we all went back in the van twenty minutes later. The tour was from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. We all hung out at Nieves home and enjoyed the night in.
I had heard El Nido, north of Puerto Princesta, had no accommodations because of the Chinese new year. I had tried calling a few places in the van on the way to the underground river, but everything was booked. Since I planned to spend my last 5 days in El Nido I decided to take a gabble, go there, and try to find somewhere to sleep. I wanted to take the earliest bus to arrive in El Nido in the afternoon, in time to look around at accommodations after people had checked out that day. I planned to take the 8 a.m. bus, but I couldn't get a tricycle on the side of the road. Every tric had kids going to school and adults going to work. I got desperate and asked a man on a moterbike to take me to the bus terminal. He unfortunately didn't have a helmet on, so he could only take me a short distance to the main road. At the main road he helped me get a tricycle, but by the time I arrived at the bus station it was 8:10! I was upset I missed the bus : / The next bus wasn't leaving for another 2 hours. So, I walked around the market, had breakfast, bought a few things at the supermarket and waited around for the 10 a.m. bus. The journey was 6 hours long and was far from a smooth ride. Half of the road was not paved. Someone would think at how often the buses and cars use the road that it would be paved. We arrived at 4 p.m. and right away I searched for somewhere to sleep. I wrote down a name of a place that someone in Bohol told me about, Bunakiz. It didn't take me too long to find the place. I was hoping Bunakiz would have an available room, but unfortunately they didn't. I tried talking with the owners, in hope, they could give me a bed. They said, "Circle around the town and look for a place, if you can't find anything come back to us." After 1 hour of looking through the entire town of El Nido, I found nothing! Everywhere had a sign saying, "No rooms available!" I couldn't believe in a small touristy town of El Nido, 120 accommodations, everything was filled. The owners of Bunakiz were an old Filipino couple. I had told them I found nothing. They felt bad I was all alone and had no where to sleep. They were very nice to me and said, "I could sleep in their nieces bed." I was so grateful!
Before going to sleep, I walked around the town and along the beach for awhile.
As I was walking back, I saw a group of four, two boys and two girls, and immediately I could tell they were trying to find an accommodation. Right away, I wanted to help them after my experience that afternoon. The group was from Sweden and were about my age. Jakob had just finished up his studies in Hong Kong and his girlfriend met him in the Philippines to travel together as well as their friend Michael and Josefin. Michael is originally from the Philippines, but grow up in Sweden where they all met. We all immediately formed a connection. It took about two hours until we found a hotel! We were so relieved when we found something. They all felt so thankful and wanted to buy me a drink to show their appreciation for my help. We had a fun time together drinking at this cute restaurant on the beach and enjoying each others company even though we were all dead tired.
In the morning, the owner had told me a room opened up! I was super excited to have a place to sleep in this busy town. I didn't want to move my things because I was running late for my island hopping tour that started at 9 p.m. I had told her I will get my keys when I return in the evening and gave her permission to move my bag into my room. El Nido, less popular destination than Boracay, has recently become a big tourist area. Since 2007, when the underground river received the title, New Seven Wonders of Nature, El Nido has attracted many international and local tourist. The big attraction in El Nido is Island Hopping. There are 5 different tour packages tour A, B, C, D, and E, however, no one really goes on E. The most popular are: tour A and C. Each tour comes with a buffet lunch. My first day, I went on tour A. Tour A includes a small and big lagoon, secret lagoon, Shimizu island, intalula island and 7 commando beach. The group from Sweden was going to join me for the tour, but the couple wasn't feeling too well and wanted to take it easy. It would of been fun to do together, but I had a nice day regardless. On the tour boat was about 10 people. One couple in their late 20s, not married, happened to be a Jewish. They were very nice and I enjoyed talking with them throughout the day. Our first stop on the tour was swimming in the small lagoon followed by the big lagoon. The small lagoon had a cool cave you could swim in. For lunch, we stopped at the shimizu island. Lunch included: assorted seafood (fish, crab, lobster), pork, avocado dip and fresh fruit (watermelon, mango and bananas). The food was outstanding! So fresh and tasty. The mango's in the Philippines were the best I've ever tasted.
We came back around 5 p.m. In need of a shower, I headed back to my room. The owner was happy to see me and escorted me to my room. As soon as she opened the door to my room my jaw dropped. I told the lady, my friends had said this was a hostel. This was definitely not one. It had a double bed with a shower. I asked her how much it was and the price was double what I expected. I said to her, "I'm not going to be able to afford staying here." I only had a few days left in the Philippines and had just enough money to last me the rest of my trip. Not knowing exactly what I was going to do. She left me to think about it. After contemplating for awhile, I decided to take a shower because I really needed one to rinse all the sand off my body. While I was taking a shower, I kept hearing a knock at my door. Finally, I opened the door and the owner said, "there was a man downstairs wanting my room". I could tell she was nervous I might leave and she wouldn't get the money for the room. I went downstairs. The man was from Spain in his early 30s. I told him briefly the story about the room. I said, "I know we don't know each other, but would you want to share the room with me. It's a double bed and we could split the cost of the room." He looked at me and understood the situation. He was desperate and said, "sure why not. I could do that".
It's crazy the things you do when you're desperate. I wouldn't normally do something like this, but I was on my own in a foreign country. He also really needed a room and it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Everything worked out well. He was a nice man. That night we got dinner and walked around the town/beach. The next day, we both wanted to enjoy a full day by the beach. We went together to a beach nearby about an hour walk from the town. The beach was less populated and was the best place to view the sunset.
In the evening, we went for dinner. I had chicken curry for like the 10th time. I love the curry in the Philippines. :)
The next morning, he left to his next destination and I went on my second island hopping tour, tour B. Instead of the lagoons this tour included: cudognon and cathedral cave, snake island where you could hike a short distance to the top, pengulasian island, and Ipil beach. Our first stop was snorkeling by one of the islands. As I was snorkeling I could see box jellyfish all around me. I never seen so many jellyfish before. I tried not to pay too much attention to it and enjoy the coral and fish. Luckily, no one got stung! We made our way to snake island
and then cudognon cave where we had lunch. While the boat captain and guide prepared lunch, we checked out the cave! It was so cool!
We finished the day by another snorkel session at pinagbuyutan island, snapping a few pictures at cathedral cave and then enjoying some time at Ipil beach. Island hopping is really enjoyable and a nice way to spend the day. There are many tour groups you can sign up with and each company costs the same amount. You can either sign up with a company the night before or go early that morning and reserve your spot. All the tour groups are located right in the town.
My last day in the Philippines I decided to take it easy and enjoy the day. I slept in, took a shower, checked out of the hotel and then treated myself to a nice lunch. After lunch, I got a 1 hr full body message. Message's are very cheap in the Philippines. Mine happened to cost 400 ($10 USD), but you could get one for as low as $5 USD I heard in Manila. As I was buying a mango shake after my message, I met three travelers. The three boys were very nice and invited me to join them for the day. We tried to find out how to get to these waterfalls, but everyone had said the falls were dried up right now. As we were thinking what to do, we bummed into the group I had met from Sweden the first night I was in El Nido. I was so excited to finally connect with them again. I had tried calling one of their cell numbers a few times, but just couldn't reach them the times I found a phone to call. All eight of us, ended up going to the beach I went two days before. It was a great afternoon and in the evening we all went for dinner. We ate at a place where they had live music; the group from Sweden knew the singer from an overnight boat trip they went on and wanted to watch her sing. It was a great day all around and was hard saying goodbye to the group. The last bus departing El Nido to Puerto Princesta was 10 p.m. and the bus was packed going back!
We arrived in Puerto Princesta at 4 a.m. I hung out with some study abroad students studying in Hong Kong, we were on the same bus, until my flight at 9:00 a.m. We tried to watch the sunset over the water, but ended up seeing only a fraction of it. Once the sun came up, the students went to McDonald's to relax for awhile since they were tried and then eat some breakfast. I was really in the mood for some pancakes, so we departed ways and I found a breakfast place five minute walking distance from the airport.
I got to the airport and my flight was delayed 3 hours! The reschedule time was not until 12 p.m. which meant I would miss my connecting flight in Manila at 12:50 p.m. I got to say this.. Zestair is the worst airlines I've ever seen. They basically said to me they would try to help me make my flight in Manila. But, after 40 minutes of waiting patiently for them to figure out a way to get me to Manila they said they couldn't do anything. They wanted to switch me to another airlines, but all other airlines were overbooked for their morning flights. They even showed me in their terms and conditions, they are only responsible for getting their customers from point A to point B, not point B to point C. I was so mad. I wasn't going to give up though. So, I personally went to talk to CEBU Pacific and thankfully got myself a seat on their 10 am flight without any charge. But, had to basically take Zestair by the hand over to CEBU Pacific to talk to them about the situation. It was a crazy and frustrating morning to say the least. There were about 15 people at the counter for Zestair all on their cell phones, talking with each other and laughing. They didn't care one once about my flight or that I needed to get to Taipei for work on Monday even though they said they would do everything they could. Well, they didn't. If it weren't for me going over to talking to the other airlines nothing would of happened. Absolutely crazy.
Back in Taipei, the environment changed drastically. No longer were people smiling at you as soon as you looked at them. I was hearing Chinese all around me as the Taiwanese went about their business. I always liked Taiwan and felt the people were friendly and helpful, however, after experiencing the Filipino culture I had a new perspective on Taiwan especially the Taiwanese.
I had a great trip to the Philippines and respect the culture. The Philippines to me was a bit like Croatia -- off the beaten track and a destination I had a desire to go. Both are starting to become a bit more popular and by no time will be the next big hot spot. It's possible that one day I might even want to travel back to the Philippines. :)
