I left Cebu yesterday afternoon after a franting dash to the airport. I said goodbye to my Uncle and cousins. My time in the Philippines was fun and went to a bunch of places. There's lots more to see though, I only scratched the surface. I'll have to make it back there in a couple of years or so.
Hong Kong is a nice city. Well organized and very tourist friendly. It's pretty safe too...there doesn't seem to be a run down neighbourhood here. I arrived at the hotel in Kowloon past midnight last night so I went straight to bed.
The hotel package I purchased from the travel agent in Cebu included a half-day Hong Kong Island bus tour. I decided to go on it...it was already paid for, might as well use it. It was the typical cheesy tourist bus type thing spending 15-20 minutes at three different spots and then ending up at a jewelry store for some shopping. The tour was good enough to see some sights around Hong Kong island, saved me the trip to see them.
We went to Repulse Bay, one of the beaches around Hong Kong; the Aberdeen fishing village that has a floating restaurant and a village of house boats; and a look out point half way up the Peak.
I spent the rest of the day walking around Kowloon and checking out electronic stores and some street bazaars. I made a semi-impulse buy on a portable multi-media player. The prices of electronics are cheap here when you consider there's no tax applied on the price tags. I keep looking at digital SLRs and small laptops and calculating the price conversions. It's hard...so many potential toys !
I have pictures, but I'm mooching internet off of a coffee place here so I can't spend too much time trying to upload them.
Tomorrow I'll be doing more of the same...walking around and checking different sights around the city. The train system here is really good and at a very decent price per ride.
I think this will probably be my last post until I arrive at home in Canada in a couple of days. Internet spots are hard to find here if you can believe it. I also still have photos from the Philippines to upload...
Anyways, I'm looking forward to heading home...although I think I'm in for a shock in terms of the weather.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Pugalism of the fowl kind
I figured that I had to see some cock fighting before I leave the Philippines. It's a big betting sport over here and everywhere you go you see and hear cocks that are bred for fighting. The are a lot of arenas for the fighting and you even see it broadcast on TV sometimes.
The fighting itself is on the brutal side if you're a chicken. The fit one of the feet of the cocks with a small blade. In the process of fighting, the cocks try to get on top of one another and stab each other with their respective blades. Eventually one of them can't fight anymore because of its injuries or it dies. The winnings are split between the owners in a 70%-30% split. Obviously the owner of the winning cock gets the large end of the winnings and also takes the losing cock home for dinner.
It was an interesting experience. The crowd gets really excited at the betting stage with lots of hollering and gesturing. The two opponents show their cocks to each other to get them riled up and the people starting picking who they think is going to win. I'm not sure how it all really works but there are some bookies who aren't part of the organized betting of the arena and take bets on the side. It is gambling and there are some shady characters around so, if you're going to go leave the important valuables at home and keep everything in your front pockets.
I took a video of the whole process for one of the fights. Have a look, it seems that cock fighting can be a romantic experience for some.
Here are some pictures too. The lighting was low, I had to settle for the 400 ISO setting on my camera so they look a little fuzzy.
Betting before the fight...
The clean up station where they fix up the cocks that survived the fight:
Owners meet and agree to have their cocks fight each other beforehand.
Everybody watches in suspense as the fight goes on:
I'm sure a bunch of you were giggling as your read this. So here's a write up on the word cock, which shows up in this post 11 times.
Here's one last one. I'll leave it up to you to provide the caption for it in your comments. Try not to be too vulgar.
The fighting itself is on the brutal side if you're a chicken. The fit one of the feet of the cocks with a small blade. In the process of fighting, the cocks try to get on top of one another and stab each other with their respective blades. Eventually one of them can't fight anymore because of its injuries or it dies. The winnings are split between the owners in a 70%-30% split. Obviously the owner of the winning cock gets the large end of the winnings and also takes the losing cock home for dinner.
It was an interesting experience. The crowd gets really excited at the betting stage with lots of hollering and gesturing. The two opponents show their cocks to each other to get them riled up and the people starting picking who they think is going to win. I'm not sure how it all really works but there are some bookies who aren't part of the organized betting of the arena and take bets on the side. It is gambling and there are some shady characters around so, if you're going to go leave the important valuables at home and keep everything in your front pockets.
I took a video of the whole process for one of the fights. Have a look, it seems that cock fighting can be a romantic experience for some.
Here are some pictures too. The lighting was low, I had to settle for the 400 ISO setting on my camera so they look a little fuzzy.
Betting before the fight...
The clean up station where they fix up the cocks that survived the fight:
Owners meet and agree to have their cocks fight each other beforehand.
Everybody watches in suspense as the fight goes on:
I'm sure a bunch of you were giggling as your read this. So here's a write up on the word cock, which shows up in this post 11 times.
Here's one last one. I'll leave it up to you to provide the caption for it in your comments. Try not to be too vulgar.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Pugalism
There was an amature boxing event last night in downtown Cebu. It was in an older part of town so it wasn't the greatest neighbourhood. Some of the trainers from the gym I was working out at were fighting as well as Bidot, one of the group of my cousins' friends. There were 11 fights in total and the event started at 3pm and went until about 10pm. It was sponsored by a local cell phone company so we had to sit through some pretty annoying marketing games and other crap.
Overall it was pretty neat to see, although the gym didn't do as well as they would have hoped. Only 1 out of 5 boxers won. Bidot was in his first fight against a guy who was turning pro next month. He ran out of gas towards the end...probably a little nervous and tense. He'll be a lot better in his next fight.
I tried some of the local street food. They sell these strips of fried tempura batter. They cut them up and put them on a stick. You dip it in either a vinegar or sweet sauce. Tasty but not exactly the healthiest food.
Anyways, here are some pictures:
A couple of young featherweights...
Spectators...
Down and out...poor guy got a solid shot to the head.
The only winner from Holiday Spa...
Bidot taking a shot...
Overall it was pretty neat to see, although the gym didn't do as well as they would have hoped. Only 1 out of 5 boxers won. Bidot was in his first fight against a guy who was turning pro next month. He ran out of gas towards the end...probably a little nervous and tense. He'll be a lot better in his next fight.
I tried some of the local street food. They sell these strips of fried tempura batter. They cut them up and put them on a stick. You dip it in either a vinegar or sweet sauce. Tasty but not exactly the healthiest food.
Anyways, here are some pictures:
A couple of young featherweights...
Spectators...
Down and out...poor guy got a solid shot to the head.
The only winner from Holiday Spa...
Bidot taking a shot...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Sinulog
Here's the historical background on Sinulog. Basically, it's a 9 day buildup to a big parade and party day on the 3rd Sunday of January.
We went out the night before so we had a slow start to the day, but I managed to see some of the parade. Lots of elaborate costumes and drum and horn bands. It's a big deal here and lots of people from out of town come to see it. Here are some shots of the parade:
After the parade is over, the craziness begins. Lots of partying on the streets and people going crazy. It was pretty wild...
What's a party without a funnel ?
Craziness on the streets...
We went out the night before so we had a slow start to the day, but I managed to see some of the parade. Lots of elaborate costumes and drum and horn bands. It's a big deal here and lots of people from out of town come to see it. Here are some shots of the parade:
After the parade is over, the craziness begins. Lots of partying on the streets and people going crazy. It was pretty wild...
What's a party without a funnel ?
Craziness on the streets...
Sonic Boom
Anthony and I met up with Carla and Dida at a bar called Baseline...or Sideline don't remember exactly. There was a band showcase called Sonic Boom. Bands came in from Manila as well as some of the local bands.
The crowd was really young and I felt a little old there. The bands were pretty good for the most part, but the venue was an enclosed concrete area so some bands sounded really bad. A mix of punk and hard rock...there seems to be some angry filipino kids out there.
The crowd was really young and I felt a little old there. The bands were pretty good for the most part, but the venue was an enclosed concrete area so some bands sounded really bad. A mix of punk and hard rock...there seems to be some angry filipino kids out there.
Around Cebu
With the end of the Asean Summit and the preparation leading up to Sinulog, there were a few things going on around Cebu. I met up with an old family friend we knew from Jordan, Tita Lillibeth, her sister, and her friend Lilly. We had dinner at Cafe Laguna and then drove around to see some of the preparations for Sinulog.
The had steel shipping containers setup by the old fort as free accommodations for people coming in from out of town. It seemed weird to me...a scene from the movie "I robot" popped into my head.
We drove around trying to find parking spots, but it was pretty busy. So we decided to go check out the Miss Cebu 2007 pageant at the Waterfront hotel. Tita Lillibeth has connections with the mayor of Cebu so we were able to get in for free.
The people there were a mixed of girls, guys, and gay/drag queens/weird looking people. It was interesting to see, but a little awkward at times. It's a little unnerving to see a drag queen that's bigger than I am.
The show itself was interesting. One judge was canadian, a former miss something...don't recall her name. We missed the swimsuit part and arrived during the interview portions. There were some pithy questions such as:
"What would you do if you found out your boyfriend is having an affair with your father?"
and
"If you were a nun, what kind of underwear would you wear ?"
Anyways, here are some pictures. I had to use the ISO 400 setting on the camera so the pictures look a little fuzzy:
The had steel shipping containers setup by the old fort as free accommodations for people coming in from out of town. It seemed weird to me...a scene from the movie "I robot" popped into my head.
We drove around trying to find parking spots, but it was pretty busy. So we decided to go check out the Miss Cebu 2007 pageant at the Waterfront hotel. Tita Lillibeth has connections with the mayor of Cebu so we were able to get in for free.
The people there were a mixed of girls, guys, and gay/drag queens/weird looking people. It was interesting to see, but a little awkward at times. It's a little unnerving to see a drag queen that's bigger than I am.
The show itself was interesting. One judge was canadian, a former miss something...don't recall her name. We missed the swimsuit part and arrived during the interview portions. There were some pithy questions such as:
"What would you do if you found out your boyfriend is having an affair with your father?"
and
"If you were a nun, what kind of underwear would you wear ?"
Anyways, here are some pictures. I had to use the ISO 400 setting on the camera so the pictures look a little fuzzy:
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Puerto Galera
Jon flew up to Manila saturday night. We met up with his friend Athen his girlfriend Pip to go to Puerto Galera for a couple of days. Athen's family have a place by the water there. It was about a 4 hour trip to get there; 2 hours by car and 2 hours by ferry. Puerto Galera is a nice place...the beach isn't as nice as Boracay's, but the atmosphere is more laid back and less touristy. The weather wasn't that nice though...I seem to be unlucky when going to beachy areas...overcast weather for the third time. At least it only really rained at night.
I tried wakebaording for the first time. I doesn't seem to be my thing...I never managed to get up on the board. I tired myself out trying to hold on to the rope and never figured out how to orient the board and myself to get out of the water.
Also did a cliff jump from about a 50 ft height...I don't like heights so it was a feat for me. The climb up was ok except for the jagged rocks. I didn't like being up there so I jumped almost right away...man it looks higher when you're up there ! I didn't fully commit to the jump so I was leaning backwards when I hit the water with total lack of grace and beauty. I'm still feeling the effects of the impact. Jon took some pictures of the jump on his phone but accidentally didn't save them. He wanted me to go again but I didn't...once was enough.
There was a guy at the beach selling balut. I had to try it...it's definitely an acquired taste. Some people eat the little duckling, but I opted not to. It's got an eggy taste, but mushy...hard to explain.
We spent so much time out in the water so I didn't take any pictures of the place. The sun came out on the day we left but we went out to wakeboard again. I tried it again, but was too sore from the cliff jump to really hang on.
We did a neat thing though...submarining. You hang on the rope without a board or a ski and go flying through the water. The water gives you a good massage as you go faster...if you go fast enough you can feel your face get dragged down. It's pretty cool...you have to make sure you're in deeper water though so you don't come to an abrupt end at a rock.
We left tuesday afternoon and after spending one more night in Manila we flew back to Cebu.
I tried wakebaording for the first time. I doesn't seem to be my thing...I never managed to get up on the board. I tired myself out trying to hold on to the rope and never figured out how to orient the board and myself to get out of the water.
Also did a cliff jump from about a 50 ft height...I don't like heights so it was a feat for me. The climb up was ok except for the jagged rocks. I didn't like being up there so I jumped almost right away...man it looks higher when you're up there ! I didn't fully commit to the jump so I was leaning backwards when I hit the water with total lack of grace and beauty. I'm still feeling the effects of the impact. Jon took some pictures of the jump on his phone but accidentally didn't save them. He wanted me to go again but I didn't...once was enough.
There was a guy at the beach selling balut. I had to try it...it's definitely an acquired taste. Some people eat the little duckling, but I opted not to. It's got an eggy taste, but mushy...hard to explain.
We spent so much time out in the water so I didn't take any pictures of the place. The sun came out on the day we left but we went out to wakeboard again. I tried it again, but was too sore from the cliff jump to really hang on.
We did a neat thing though...submarining. You hang on the rope without a board or a ski and go flying through the water. The water gives you a good massage as you go faster...if you go fast enough you can feel your face get dragged down. It's pretty cool...you have to make sure you're in deeper water though so you don't come to an abrupt end at a rock.
We left tuesday afternoon and after spending one more night in Manila we flew back to Cebu.
Around Manila
Hanging about Manila was neat. It's bigger than Cebu so there's lots more to do. I spent my time hanging out with Aimee and her friend Ingle. Ingle and his brothers run a few very successful metal working businesses around the area. Ingle's shop mainly makes stainless steel hand railings for malls and other commercial buildings. Al mainly deals with steel. Louie was pretty involved with the Mall of Asia building and got the steel globe built at the front of the mall.
I got a little exercise in practicing with JP's flag football team. I put in a little time at quarterback. My arm's still good...the speed and accuracy were there. I was a little rusty at playing the position and getting the ball to the open receiver though...it's been a few years since the Mudbowl days.
We tried going to the World Pyro Olympics at the Mall of Asia, but were stuck in stop and go traffic for 3 hours before we decided to turn around and go watch a movie. If you're thinking about watching Eragon...don't bother, it's pretty bad.
I did a bit of shopping in some of the cheaper bazaar areas like Greenhills. I saw some neat t-shirts but the filipino "large" size is a little tight on me...really shows of my beer belly. I did manage to find a couple nice ones at the XL size. Clothes are pretty cheap here compared to Canada...nice jeans and shirts for about $10. Good deal...I'll probably go on a shopping spree before I leave. Will have to buy another bag to carry it all too.
Anyways...here are some pictures from around Manila.
Escalators at the Galleria mall:
A strange name for a restaurant, it seems that some clarification was needed:
I've taken to pulling out my camera when stuck in traffic at night. Here are a couple neat abstract shots:
I got a little exercise in practicing with JP's flag football team. I put in a little time at quarterback. My arm's still good...the speed and accuracy were there. I was a little rusty at playing the position and getting the ball to the open receiver though...it's been a few years since the Mudbowl days.
We tried going to the World Pyro Olympics at the Mall of Asia, but were stuck in stop and go traffic for 3 hours before we decided to turn around and go watch a movie. If you're thinking about watching Eragon...don't bother, it's pretty bad.
I did a bit of shopping in some of the cheaper bazaar areas like Greenhills. I saw some neat t-shirts but the filipino "large" size is a little tight on me...really shows of my beer belly. I did manage to find a couple nice ones at the XL size. Clothes are pretty cheap here compared to Canada...nice jeans and shirts for about $10. Good deal...I'll probably go on a shopping spree before I leave. Will have to buy another bag to carry it all too.
Anyways...here are some pictures from around Manila.
Escalators at the Galleria mall:
A strange name for a restaurant, it seems that some clarification was needed:
I've taken to pulling out my camera when stuck in traffic at night. Here are a couple neat abstract shots:
Tita Gina and San Juan, Batangas
Aimee and I borrowed JP's car and drove down to Bantangas to visit Tita Gina. Driving there was easire than I thought it would be. The map we got helped and the highways from Metro Manila are nice. We had to stop and ask for directions a couple of times, but overall we got there in about 3 hours.
Tita Gina is the youngest girl out of the 9 children in my mom's family. She stayed behind to take care of my mom's parents. She lives by herself now in San Juan. The oldest son, Tito Danding also lives there. We stopped by to say hello as well.
Communication was limited because I don't speak Tagalog and their english isn't that great, but she fed us a lot of food and we caught up a bit. We stayed there for a few hours and then went back to Manila.
Here's Tita Gina and I in front of her house:
An old family friend also stopped by to say hello, but I don't recall her name. Nice lady...she spoke to me in Tagalog and I replied in English. Somehow we understood each other and had a pleasant albeit short conversation.
Tito Danding and his wife with Tita Gina and Aimee:
And the old grammar school that my mom went to:
Tita Gina is the youngest girl out of the 9 children in my mom's family. She stayed behind to take care of my mom's parents. She lives by herself now in San Juan. The oldest son, Tito Danding also lives there. We stopped by to say hello as well.
Communication was limited because I don't speak Tagalog and their english isn't that great, but she fed us a lot of food and we caught up a bit. We stayed there for a few hours and then went back to Manila.
Here's Tita Gina and I in front of her house:
An old family friend also stopped by to say hello, but I don't recall her name. Nice lady...she spoke to me in Tagalog and I replied in English. Somehow we understood each other and had a pleasant albeit short conversation.
Tito Danding and his wife with Tita Gina and Aimee:
And the old grammar school that my mom went to:
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Back in Manila
Aimee and I flew back into Manila on Monday. The Asean summit was scheduled to be back on in Cebu and the city would have been a pain to get around due to the escorted convoys of delegates blocking up streets to get through. It was probably a good idea to get out of town for a while. It's also a good chance for me to go to Batangas in southern Luzon to visit my aunt. We'll head there tomorrow to visit her for a bit...should be about a 3 hour trip each way barring any problems getting there. Aimee's friend J.P. was nice enough to lend us his car...makes it easier.
Today we went to check out the SM Mall of Asia. The place is massive! About 390,000 square meters of shopaholic heaven. The place is easy to get lost in. I guess there's enough money around Manila to support the mall...there's definitely enough people to around to go there. A few hours of wandering around the mall was enough for me...tired me out.
Tonight we went to see a movie: Blood Diamonds. I'm not a big fan of Leonardo Dicaprio, but he was good in the movie. The story was solid and the movie was well done. I read about this issue a while ago. GNN even made a video about it (BTW, the video archive on the site is worth checking out...especially S-11 Redux). While it's good to see this movie and know the issues involved, at the end of it, girls will always want a diamond ring for their engagement. Guys will always want to get something really nice for them. There will always be a demand for diamonds. Some portion of the diamond market will always be supplied from conflict regions where people die. It's the same story with oil. The questions still remains: What can we do about it ? We the people who live in the areas of the world with the highest demand for diamonds and oil and the money to pay for the high prices ?
A little deep, I know...but I forgot to take my camera out with me today.
On another note, I've been checking out the Clustrmaps thingy in the sidebar to see where around the world people are looking at this blog. It looks like someone in northern Manitoba is checking out this blog quite a bit. I don't think I know anyone who lives up there. So if you're up for it, whomever you are, drop me line. It'd be nice to know who you are...
Today we went to check out the SM Mall of Asia. The place is massive! About 390,000 square meters of shopaholic heaven. The place is easy to get lost in. I guess there's enough money around Manila to support the mall...there's definitely enough people to around to go there. A few hours of wandering around the mall was enough for me...tired me out.
Tonight we went to see a movie: Blood Diamonds. I'm not a big fan of Leonardo Dicaprio, but he was good in the movie. The story was solid and the movie was well done. I read about this issue a while ago. GNN even made a video about it (BTW, the video archive on the site is worth checking out...especially S-11 Redux). While it's good to see this movie and know the issues involved, at the end of it, girls will always want a diamond ring for their engagement. Guys will always want to get something really nice for them. There will always be a demand for diamonds. Some portion of the diamond market will always be supplied from conflict regions where people die. It's the same story with oil. The questions still remains: What can we do about it ? We the people who live in the areas of the world with the highest demand for diamonds and oil and the money to pay for the high prices ?
A little deep, I know...but I forgot to take my camera out with me today.
On another note, I've been checking out the Clustrmaps thingy in the sidebar to see where around the world people are looking at this blog. It looks like someone in northern Manitoba is checking out this blog quite a bit. I don't think I know anyone who lives up there. So if you're up for it, whomever you are, drop me line. It'd be nice to know who you are...
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
New Year's in Boracay
Happy New Year Everybody ! I hope this year turns out even better than the last one !
After staying a night back in Cebu, I met up with Kitchie, Kate, and JR to head to Boracay for New Year's celebrations. Kim, Tala, and Abok from Davao met us there. It's one of the busiest times for Boracay and all the flights were booked so we had to take an overnight boat to Iloilo and then a van from Iloilo to Caticlan. To get to Boracay island, you have to take a bangca ferry from Caticlan to the Boracay terminal and then a tricycle to your destination. It took a long time to get there, needless to say. I think the van ride was the worst of it...tiny and uncomfortable with some really bumpy roads. I found it hard to get some sleep.
Boracay is a really cool place. The sand is white and really fine. There's a lot of variety in terms of accomodation and eating. You can stay there for a few days on a budget, or you can splurge and go big and some really fancy places. There are a lot of cool beach clubs/bars to hang out in and the beach really long so there's lots of room to park and hangout at the beach.
Unfortunately, the weather was overcast for most of the time we were there. We only saw a couple of hours or so of clear sun and it actually rained pretty hard when we left on the second.
We still had a good time, though. New year's eve was pretty crazy...lots of partying until the early morning hours. The fireworks were awesome...both sides of the beach and they lasted for a good 30-45 minutes. Here are a few pics from the night:
The way home was the opposite of the way there. This time we hired a van exclusively for us rather than wait around waiting for the commuter van to fill up. There was the option of taking the local bus back to Iloilo, but the cost was around the same for a hired van. We got lots of seating room and a non-stop ride to the pier.
At the pier back in Cebu, some of the local people from the slums come out in their little boats and beg for money from the passengers. People toss the coins and bills and they try to catch the money with their hands, catching baskets, and pieces of cloth. They even dive into the water after money that wasn't caught before it sinks too deep. It started with one boat, then a whole bunch of them followed with old women and children. I felt pretty bad for them, they seemed like a desperate lot. One of them was powered by a small diesel motor...something you'd find on a lawnmower or something. I couldn't help wondering if they ever got enough money to cover their fuel costs. They must...they wouldn't be doing it otherwise. I watched them for a while and then tought I may as well take some pictures:
After staying a night back in Cebu, I met up with Kitchie, Kate, and JR to head to Boracay for New Year's celebrations. Kim, Tala, and Abok from Davao met us there. It's one of the busiest times for Boracay and all the flights were booked so we had to take an overnight boat to Iloilo and then a van from Iloilo to Caticlan. To get to Boracay island, you have to take a bangca ferry from Caticlan to the Boracay terminal and then a tricycle to your destination. It took a long time to get there, needless to say. I think the van ride was the worst of it...tiny and uncomfortable with some really bumpy roads. I found it hard to get some sleep.
Boracay is a really cool place. The sand is white and really fine. There's a lot of variety in terms of accomodation and eating. You can stay there for a few days on a budget, or you can splurge and go big and some really fancy places. There are a lot of cool beach clubs/bars to hang out in and the beach really long so there's lots of room to park and hangout at the beach.
Unfortunately, the weather was overcast for most of the time we were there. We only saw a couple of hours or so of clear sun and it actually rained pretty hard when we left on the second.
We still had a good time, though. New year's eve was pretty crazy...lots of partying until the early morning hours. The fireworks were awesome...both sides of the beach and they lasted for a good 30-45 minutes. Here are a few pics from the night:
The way home was the opposite of the way there. This time we hired a van exclusively for us rather than wait around waiting for the commuter van to fill up. There was the option of taking the local bus back to Iloilo, but the cost was around the same for a hired van. We got lots of seating room and a non-stop ride to the pier.
At the pier back in Cebu, some of the local people from the slums come out in their little boats and beg for money from the passengers. People toss the coins and bills and they try to catch the money with their hands, catching baskets, and pieces of cloth. They even dive into the water after money that wasn't caught before it sinks too deep. It started with one boat, then a whole bunch of them followed with old women and children. I felt pretty bad for them, they seemed like a desperate lot. One of them was powered by a small diesel motor...something you'd find on a lawnmower or something. I couldn't help wondering if they ever got enough money to cover their fuel costs. They must...they wouldn't be doing it otherwise. I watched them for a while and then tought I may as well take some pictures:
Bohol
After christmas, Jon and I went over to Bohol to meet up with some friends of his from Manila. Bohol is famous for two things: the chocolate hills and some little furry animals called tarsiers.
The chocolate hills are interesting geological formations, but we didn't think it was worth driving two hours each way just to check out a bunch of hills for 10 minutes and take a picture.
We stayed at the Lost Horizon resort at Alona beach on Panglao island. A nice little place with decent rooms at a decent price. The people we met though satyed at a really nice place called Amarela. For about US$100...it's probably worth staying there, you can get the contact info here.
After staying up late the night before we traveled, we were pretty tired when we got there so we slept for a few hours right away. We had a late lunch afterwards and then rented a couple mopeds and rode into the island a bit to check out the tarsiers at the visitors centre. Cute little creatures...here are some pics:
The next day, we did a couple of dives around Balicasag island. Lots of coral, and cool fish. On the first dive, Jon said he saw a big tuna, but I missed it. On the second dive, we saw a couple big schools of Barcuda. It was awesome...I had a thought to swim in between them, but thought better of it. They are pretty dangerous animals...probably best to check them out from a distance.
We met up with the group from Manila later on that night and had dinner at a place called the Bohol Bee Farm. The food was pretty good, especially the grilled fish. Not sure what it was, but I think it was most likely Mahi Mahi. Anyways, we decided as a group to go on a dolphin watching / snorkelling bangca boat ride the next day...starting at 6am !
I got some neat shots of the sunrise while waiting for the group. Here are a couple:
Sadly, we were about an hour late leaving so we didn't see much of the dolphins. The weather was overcast and cold. The bangca boat was poorly built too and kept letting big splashes over the bow and soaking us. The group in general were pretty miserable, but Jon and I kept laughing about it...it was such a bad ride that it was funny. The snorkelling was fun though. We packed up and headed back to Cebu that evening. I decided to switch plans around and head to Boracay with some of Aimee's friends for new years.
The chocolate hills are interesting geological formations, but we didn't think it was worth driving two hours each way just to check out a bunch of hills for 10 minutes and take a picture.
We stayed at the Lost Horizon resort at Alona beach on Panglao island. A nice little place with decent rooms at a decent price. The people we met though satyed at a really nice place called Amarela. For about US$100...it's probably worth staying there, you can get the contact info here.
After staying up late the night before we traveled, we were pretty tired when we got there so we slept for a few hours right away. We had a late lunch afterwards and then rented a couple mopeds and rode into the island a bit to check out the tarsiers at the visitors centre. Cute little creatures...here are some pics:
The next day, we did a couple of dives around Balicasag island. Lots of coral, and cool fish. On the first dive, Jon said he saw a big tuna, but I missed it. On the second dive, we saw a couple big schools of Barcuda. It was awesome...I had a thought to swim in between them, but thought better of it. They are pretty dangerous animals...probably best to check them out from a distance.
We met up with the group from Manila later on that night and had dinner at a place called the Bohol Bee Farm. The food was pretty good, especially the grilled fish. Not sure what it was, but I think it was most likely Mahi Mahi. Anyways, we decided as a group to go on a dolphin watching / snorkelling bangca boat ride the next day...starting at 6am !
I got some neat shots of the sunrise while waiting for the group. Here are a couple:
Sadly, we were about an hour late leaving so we didn't see much of the dolphins. The weather was overcast and cold. The bangca boat was poorly built too and kept letting big splashes over the bow and soaking us. The group in general were pretty miserable, but Jon and I kept laughing about it...it was such a bad ride that it was funny. The snorkelling was fun though. We packed up and headed back to Cebu that evening. I decided to switch plans around and head to Boracay with some of Aimee's friends for new years.
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