Tita's, Tito, ate and kuya's,
Para mahinto ang pedophile na groupo, ilalagay ko lang itong dalawang larawan.
Ipapadala ko sa iyo ang ibong copya sa ibang araw.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Friday, 8 June 2007
Pinoy travels: Manila
Well, this picture pretty much sums up my perception of Manila. Hot, blistering sun beating down on you, filtered through a tangle of old, worn buildings, through very busy streets.Having said that though, there are some really interesting places to see....I just never had enough time to see them this time round.
What I did see though was pretty cool, before I met up with my family:
Manila bay, view from Mall of Asia
Rizal Park
Great food
Busy LRT
...................Sunset on Roxas Blvd, Manila bayThursday, 7 June 2007
Pinoy travels: Camiguin -Panglao -Bohol -Cebu
06May- 13may07
Melinda drove Jon, Elayne and I in her super-cool Owner Jeepney to the port to catch our overnight ferry. I have to admit that during the process of buying the economy ticket and walking to the vessel in the still, dimly lit night was met with quiet trepidation, as I've never 
actually travelled on a boat over night before and have heard dreadful sinking stories prior to this point. Thank goodness for Jon and Elayne who had prior experience on sleeper ferries.
The trip was awesome! It was a smooth run and really pleasant sleeping with a gentle sea breeze. Got to enjoy the sun rise over the Bohol Sea.....
.....before arriving in Cebu harbour.
Jon and Elayne convinced me that there are more relaxed, interesting places to go in the surrounding area other than Cebu City. So, that morning I decided to go to Panglao, a small island adjacent to Bohol, seperated only by a couple of bridges.
This meant a 2hour fast boat ride to Tagbilaran -the main city of Bohol.
Cebu being one of the major sea gateways of the Philippines has an enormous port. The next pier isn't just 200meters away - it can be 2kms away! So of course, I arrive in pier 2 and was told the vessels that leave for Tagbilaran depart from pier 1, only to get there and be told that I need to go to pier 3. I made sure my tricycle driver earnt his fare - poor thing.
Ok, so ferry ride to Tagbilaran....
....and made my way by taxi to Panglao. Sadly, time got away from me when I realised I had no photos of where I stayed -Bohol Divers Resort. My room was right up the back of the grounds, but the resort was on the beach, and as the name suggests, it had diving fascilities.
We went scubadiving around Balicasag -a small island not far from Panglao. I went with a group of experienced divers so this "intro" diver was left to her own divices for a while to snorkel around the island which was awesome! It was a good group, met some interesting people.
Next set of pics are from a day trip around Bohol.
Tagbilaran cathederal. Original state. Never been renovated.
Famous Chocolate hills. They really are round and scattered all around! Aparently they were formed after the sea receeded -mainly calcite deposits so thats why there's hardly any vegetation on top of the hills.
Kids helping to bring in the cash. Lunch river cruise on Lomboc river
Native Tarsier
Also went to Hinagdanan Cave on Panglao before going to Tagbilaran for a ferry back to Cebu City.
Melinda drove Jon, Elayne and I in her super-cool Owner Jeepney to the port to catch our overnight ferry. I have to admit that during the process of buying the economy ticket and walking to the vessel in the still, dimly lit night was met with quiet trepidation, as I've never 
actually travelled on a boat over night before and have heard dreadful sinking stories prior to this point. Thank goodness for Jon and Elayne who had prior experience on sleeper ferries.
The trip was awesome! It was a smooth run and really pleasant sleeping with a gentle sea breeze. Got to enjoy the sun rise over the Bohol Sea.....
.....before arriving in Cebu harbour.Jon and Elayne convinced me that there are more relaxed, interesting places to go in the surrounding area other than Cebu City. So, that morning I decided to go to Panglao, a small island adjacent to Bohol, seperated only by a couple of bridges.
This meant a 2hour fast boat ride to Tagbilaran -the main city of Bohol.
Cebu being one of the major sea gateways of the Philippines has an enormous port. The next pier isn't just 200meters away - it can be 2kms away! So of course, I arrive in pier 2 and was told the vessels that leave for Tagbilaran depart from pier 1, only to get there and be told that I need to go to pier 3. I made sure my tricycle driver earnt his fare - poor thing.
Ok, so ferry ride to Tagbilaran....
....and made my way by taxi to Panglao. Sadly, time got away from me when I realised I had no photos of where I stayed -Bohol Divers Resort. My room was right up the back of the grounds, but the resort was on the beach, and as the name suggests, it had diving fascilities.
We went scubadiving around Balicasag -a small island not far from Panglao. I went with a group of experienced divers so this "intro" diver was left to her own divices for a while to snorkel around the island which was awesome! It was a good group, met some interesting people.Next set of pics are from a day trip around Bohol.
Tagbilaran cathederal. Original state. Never been renovated.
Famous Chocolate hills. They really are round and scattered all around! Aparently they were formed after the sea receeded -mainly calcite deposits so thats why there's hardly any vegetation on top of the hills.Kids helping to bring in the cash. Lunch river cruise on Lomboc riverNative Tarsier Also went to Hinagdanan Cave on Panglao before going to Tagbilaran for a ferry back to Cebu City.
Had a couple of days in Cebu and visited Carbon Markets,
and Casa Gorordo Museum as well as taking in the city vibe
...before taking off for Manila
Pinoy travels: Davao -Cagayan De Oro -Camiguin
02May-06May07
I've had a very relaxed attitude to this trip from the word go. There has been a very basic outline of what I've wanted to see and do and I've let the “how” and “when” take care of itself, sometimes not deciding on the next destination until that morning.
Anyway, it was a slow start to my last day in Davao. Ran a few errands, said goodbye to Mr Cool and eventually got going to make my way to Ecoland terminal to catch a bus to Cagayan De Oro.
I was initially going to get an overnight bus, however was persuaded to travel during the day. This suggestion was taken and I was treated with the most spectacular scenery. The countryside between Davao and Cagayan de Oro is amazing. The bus meandered through the mountains, driving by plantations and small rice fields. The evergreen hills and cliff-faces cut an imposing view on the landscape. One could also see the local villages, most homes or makeshift shacks were made of bamboo with thatch roofs, and some with rusty corregated roofing on a house which seemed to have been built by someone with a very bad spirit level and a nack for improvisation. Villagers were of course getting on with their everyday lives – people minding their livestock whilst perched on their hammocks. People putting the washing out on the line, or in this instance the highway roadside railing. People manning their stores, grandparents sitting just outside the dwelling looking weather-worn but relaxed and watching the day pass by whilst the grand kids play around them. I was travelling in a bus which had it's airconditioning turned up to arctic conditions and wished that a) the bus ride was more smoother b) the bus window was cleaner, and c) that I was more alert. All of he above hindered me from being pro-active and as a result I've got no photos of the trip to Cagayan :-(
6 and a bit hours later I arrived in Cagayan. Not much to say really. I stayed (at the Grand City Hotel) – I ate (at a local street eatery) – and I left. Aside from a quick browse through some shops and time at an internet cafe I didn't do much else as this was only ever a stopover to get to Camiguin.
The (crammed) minibus trip to Balingoan was scenic, with the drive at times hugging the coastline and slowly revealing the island of Camiguin.
Approaching Mahinog, the main port on Camiguin from Balingoan. The ferry takes approximately 1hour
Enigmata treehouse - literally! I stayed at this cheap backpackers but moved on after one night as it was a bit far away from the main town and White island.
The next few days I stayed at Jasmine's By The Sea. Melinda is the owner/manager and was very friendly and helpful. I got along with her and her staff really well. She helped organise a day drip around the island with Rollie on a motor bike for 
me. It's about 67km round trip -not including the distance on the off beaten tracks. I later went out to a village "disco" with Rollie, Mimmie and her mum Minda, which was really fun.
Keeping the ball rolling , I also met a British couple at Jasmine's. Turns out we lived in the same area in London NW3 but they in a different suburb on the Northern Line. A much more mature couple than I, but very young at heart, I got a slight reprimanding for being "anti 
Northern (tube) Line". They relayed great stories from their previous travels, also ended up being my travelling companions from Camiguin to Cebu City, and they took great interest in where I was going and gave helpful, sound advise for my next destination.
Sunset on White island, a sand bar on the coast of Camiguin
Some sites on Camiguin:
The sunken cemetery, caused by a nearby volcano erupting and changing the surrounding land
The current church build within the Catarman church ruins, destroyed by Mount Vulcan eruption
Soda cold water spring pool
Santo Nino cold springs pool
Laguna fish pen for lunch
Katibawasan falls
Philvolcs observatory station
Ardent hot springs. 3 cascading pools, with the maximum temp of the last pool being 38degrees . I swam in all four spring pools today, it was awesome.
My "crazy dancing" partners-in-crime Mimi and Rollie
And just relaxed in the evening before the Poms and I head to the port to catch the overnight ferry to Cebu.
I've had a very relaxed attitude to this trip from the word go. There has been a very basic outline of what I've wanted to see and do and I've let the “how” and “when” take care of itself, sometimes not deciding on the next destination until that morning.
Anyway, it was a slow start to my last day in Davao. Ran a few errands, said goodbye to Mr Cool and eventually got going to make my way to Ecoland terminal to catch a bus to Cagayan De Oro.
I was initially going to get an overnight bus, however was persuaded to travel during the day. This suggestion was taken and I was treated with the most spectacular scenery. The countryside between Davao and Cagayan de Oro is amazing. The bus meandered through the mountains, driving by plantations and small rice fields. The evergreen hills and cliff-faces cut an imposing view on the landscape. One could also see the local villages, most homes or makeshift shacks were made of bamboo with thatch roofs, and some with rusty corregated roofing on a house which seemed to have been built by someone with a very bad spirit level and a nack for improvisation. Villagers were of course getting on with their everyday lives – people minding their livestock whilst perched on their hammocks. People putting the washing out on the line, or in this instance the highway roadside railing. People manning their stores, grandparents sitting just outside the dwelling looking weather-worn but relaxed and watching the day pass by whilst the grand kids play around them. I was travelling in a bus which had it's airconditioning turned up to arctic conditions and wished that a) the bus ride was more smoother b) the bus window was cleaner, and c) that I was more alert. All of he above hindered me from being pro-active and as a result I've got no photos of the trip to Cagayan :-(
6 and a bit hours later I arrived in Cagayan. Not much to say really. I stayed (at the Grand City Hotel) – I ate (at a local street eatery) – and I left. Aside from a quick browse through some shops and time at an internet cafe I didn't do much else as this was only ever a stopover to get to Camiguin.
The (crammed) minibus trip to Balingoan was scenic, with the drive at times hugging the coastline and slowly revealing the island of Camiguin.
Approaching Mahinog, the main port on Camiguin from Balingoan. The ferry takes approximately 1hour
Enigmata treehouse - literally! I stayed at this cheap backpackers but moved on after one night as it was a bit far away from the main town and White island.
The next few days I stayed at Jasmine's By The Sea. Melinda is the owner/manager and was very friendly and helpful. I got along with her and her staff really well. She helped organise a day drip around the island with Rollie on a motor bike for 
me. It's about 67km round trip -not including the distance on the off beaten tracks. I later went out to a village "disco" with Rollie, Mimmie and her mum Minda, which was really fun.
Keeping the ball rolling , I also met a British couple at Jasmine's. Turns out we lived in the same area in London NW3 but they in a different suburb on the Northern Line. A much more mature couple than I, but very young at heart, I got a slight reprimanding for being "anti 
Northern (tube) Line". They relayed great stories from their previous travels, also ended up being my travelling companions from Camiguin to Cebu City, and they took great interest in where I was going and gave helpful, sound advise for my next destination.
Sunset on White island, a sand bar on the coast of Camiguin
Some sites on Camiguin:
The sunken cemetery, caused by a nearby volcano erupting and changing the surrounding land
The current church build within the Catarman church ruins, destroyed by Mount Vulcan eruption
Soda cold water spring pool
Santo Nino cold springs pool
Laguna fish pen for lunch
Katibawasan falls
Philvolcs observatory station
Ardent hot springs. 3 cascading pools, with the maximum temp of the last pool being 38degrees . I swam in all four spring pools today, it was awesome.
My "crazy dancing" partners-in-crime Mimi and Rollie
And just relaxed in the evening before the Poms and I head to the port to catch the overnight ferry to Cebu.
Friday, 4 May 2007
Dagging in Davao
27Apr-02May07
The flight from Singapore to Davao via Cebu would be one of the most uncomfortable flights I've ever taken. Cebu Pacificair service wasn't actually too bad, but my flight delayed and departed 12.55am, I was unlucky enough to get allocated the only seat on the plane which didn't recline, and then somehow I was late for my connecting flight to Davao! The damn immigration queue was sooo slow. My name was announced and the airport porter and I were legging it through the terminal to get to the plane on time!
My mate "Mr Cool" was waiting for me at the airport. It takes a while for people to comprehend here that I've come to visit him, not the other way around.
I have to say that Davao has been a complete surprise. A lot of the cities in the Philippines has worn infrustructure and poorly finished work. There is an unkept feel to them as if to say 'well, we've been living in third world conditions for a while now so what's it gonna matter if that corner of the wall is nailed up or not!'. You also expect people in the cities to have a degree of deceit and corruption from anyone you meet. However Davao has a warmer feel to it. A friendliness which you don't get in Manila. Davao isn't exactly saintly, but it still has a degree of innocence and more patient atmosphere which the bigger cities lost long ago.
A great pity that most countries severely discourage travel to Mindanao because of militia activities in a very small corner of the province. because one misses out on fantastic aspects of the Philippines. This city may have been dangerous once but not anymore. I actually didn't realise that my travel insurance doesn't cover me travelling here until I got here.....oh well.
After not having any sleep on the flight over, my first day was pretty much a write off. I just dagged around James' place and had a good nap before heading out on the town.
As expected, I had to keep up with “Jimmy time” ie dag by day, disco by night. But he was a complete gentleman (albeit with a roaming eye on the locals) and a great host.
* Food here is so cheap that eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner is sustainable (for people with pounds and dollars of course, it's a different story for local wage earners).
* We went out to some bars and clubs. Bar 183 tends to be the favourite for Mr Cool and his mates.
* Oh yeah, another great thing about having international mates is that you get to meet their mates, and so the circle goes on.
* We showed up at a rock concert showcasing local talent which was to raise money for a cancer organisation
* Got out to see local surrounds, sometimes by accident!
This is BBQ Boss, one of the many eateries attended. This night was with Aires as well.
The next set of photos are at Paradise resort on Samal Island. We were going to "Paradise beach" expecting to just take local transport, arrive, and the beach would be around the corner.
It was an unexpect turn of events to arrive, walk around the corner, be told to take a ferry, eventually figuring out that we're being taken to Samal Island where "Paradise resort" is located
Buko and mango drink...yummmm!
Went back to Samal a second time and stayed overnight at Punta Del Sol. A very quiet place. The motorcycle ride to the resort was one of the more eventful moments. I particularly liked my motorcycle driver - Dexter as everything he did he ran past me....the normal order of the world.
And as previously mentioned, meeting your friend's friends friends
Rory, Jo, Moi, J
Legendary Dannis
During the day's sightseeing via St Pedro's Cathederal, I witnessed protests in the centre of town. Apparently a usual thing every 1May bank holiday. St Pedro's Cathederal by the way, would be one of the ugliest holy buildings I have seen in my entire life!
Anyway, also attended a christening of baby Aurora. I nice Filippino experience to cap off the day with Dannis.
Can't forget about the host though. Late night supper with Jimmy and a last drink before heading off to my next destination
The flight from Singapore to Davao via Cebu would be one of the most uncomfortable flights I've ever taken. Cebu Pacificair service wasn't actually too bad, but my flight delayed and departed 12.55am, I was unlucky enough to get allocated the only seat on the plane which didn't recline, and then somehow I was late for my connecting flight to Davao! The damn immigration queue was sooo slow. My name was announced and the airport porter and I were legging it through the terminal to get to the plane on time!
My mate "Mr Cool" was waiting for me at the airport. It takes a while for people to comprehend here that I've come to visit him, not the other way around.I have to say that Davao has been a complete surprise. A lot of the cities in the Philippines has worn infrustructure and poorly finished work. There is an unkept feel to them as if to say 'well, we've been living in third world conditions for a while now so what's it gonna matter if that corner of the wall is nailed up or not!'. You also expect people in the cities to have a degree of deceit and corruption from anyone you meet. However Davao has a warmer feel to it. A friendliness which you don't get in Manila. Davao isn't exactly saintly, but it still has a degree of innocence and more patient atmosphere which the bigger cities lost long ago.
A great pity that most countries severely discourage travel to Mindanao because of militia activities in a very small corner of the province. because one misses out on fantastic aspects of the Philippines. This city may have been dangerous once but not anymore. I actually didn't realise that my travel insurance doesn't cover me travelling here until I got here.....oh well.
After not having any sleep on the flight over, my first day was pretty much a write off. I just dagged around James' place and had a good nap before heading out on the town.
As expected, I had to keep up with “Jimmy time” ie dag by day, disco by night. But he was a complete gentleman (albeit with a roaming eye on the locals) and a great host.
* Food here is so cheap that eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner is sustainable (for people with pounds and dollars of course, it's a different story for local wage earners).
* We went out to some bars and clubs. Bar 183 tends to be the favourite for Mr Cool and his mates.
* Oh yeah, another great thing about having international mates is that you get to meet their mates, and so the circle goes on.
* We showed up at a rock concert showcasing local talent which was to raise money for a cancer organisation
* Got out to see local surrounds, sometimes by accident!
This is BBQ Boss, one of the many eateries attended. This night was with Aires as well.The next set of photos are at Paradise resort on Samal Island. We were going to "Paradise beach" expecting to just take local transport, arrive, and the beach would be around the corner.
It was an unexpect turn of events to arrive, walk around the corner, be told to take a ferry, eventually figuring out that we're being taken to Samal Island where "Paradise resort" is located
Buko and mango drink...yummmm!
Went back to Samal a second time and stayed overnight at Punta Del Sol. A very quiet place. The motorcycle ride to the resort was one of the more eventful moments. I particularly liked my motorcycle driver - Dexter as everything he did he ran past me....the normal order of the world.
And as previously mentioned, meeting your friend's friends friends
Rory, Jo, Moi, J
Legendary Dannis
During the day's sightseeing via St Pedro's Cathederal, I witnessed protests in the centre of town. Apparently a usual thing every 1May bank holiday. St Pedro's Cathederal by the way, would be one of the ugliest holy buildings I have seen in my entire life!
Anyway, also attended a christening of baby Aurora. I nice Filippino experience to cap off the day with Dannis.
Can't forget about the host though. Late night supper with Jimmy and a last drink before heading off to my next destination
Click here for more photos.
