Arrival: 10 December 2010
Welcome to the not-so Asian Asian Archipelago in the Pacific. Here you can spend 21 days of your visa-free holiday eating different fast food each day. You could try Filipino cuisine such as beef in soy sauce, chicken in soy sauce or pork in soy sauce. There is no faster cure of fast-food fatigue.
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| Jeepeny (oh, and McD's) in Manila |
More varied is the local transport. Brett and I have relished (yes - Brett now knows what public transport is) at each opportunity we have to jump on a pimped out Jeepeny. These evolved from U.S. Army Jeeps abandoned here during WWII and now rumble along the main roads, slowing down just enough to let you jump on and squeeze onto the benches in the back while a dozen locals already squashed in there stare to their hearts content. The Jeepenys very rarely stop running, but should the driver stop for a break, it is none other than a trusty run of the mill screw-driver that will get the ignition on these beasts up and humming again.
I have also been able to convince Brett to use the LRT in Manila, where we inadvertinly embarked on the female only carraige and enjoyed a roomy and nice-smelling ride, while all the men were squashed up to the windows in the carriage behind. A lucky escape for Brett I think.
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| Pimping Traysikel on Mactan |
Not so luxurious excursions have been made by 'traysikels' (read: tricycles), where we have been bumped around on the always rough roads in the cities, small towns and provinces and have slipped and slided up mountainous passes to reach a track to the village of Batad, only accessible by a further two hour trek, surrounded by 2000 year old World Heritage listed rice terraces.
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| Batad village and rice terraces |
We have also explored the historic Spanish town of Vigan in Northern Luzon, also World Heritage listed, with a well-worn horse and cart with an equally well-worn driver.
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| Casse Crisologo, Vigan |
Not so enjoyable have been the overnight buses with arctic Air-Con, the local buses that stop every minute, delayed and re-routed flights and rat infested ferries. But all have enabled us to see some pretty amazing sights (abet much less than we hoped to have seen in our 21 days). After our epic pilgramage to Banaue, Batad and then Vigan (with a two day recovery stopover at a small resort in San Fernando.. somewhere between Manila and Vigan), we treated ourselves to four nights on the island paradise of Boracay where we proceeded to lay on the white sand, swim in the aqua-marine water, snorkel a bit, enjoy 2 - 8pm happy hour, the occasional jungle party and winge about how tough we really do have it.
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| Snorkel, snorkel |
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| White Beach, Boracay |
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| Tarsier |
Our departure from Borocay was heart-wrenching, but with promises to come back one day with friends - anyone in? - we began another epic pilgrimage to Cebu and then on the recommendation from some locals on the bus, on to Bohol, famous for 'Chocolate hills' and a small crazy primate called the Tarsier. As it rained with more pressure than any of the showers we have so far been provided with, we did not get to visit the hills that were not so chocolaty due to the rain, but did make it to get a good look at the Tarsier, who has eyes at 150 times the proportion of human eyes, and can turn its head 180 degrees in both directions without the slightest movement in the rest of its body. Funnily enough, there was a baby on the Jeepeny back to town that stared at me so much that it too looked like a Tarsier.
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| Jungle river swimming |
We now lurk on Mactan Island, waiting in keen anticipation for the German owners of our accommodation to feed their two pythons kept out the front of our room, avoiding Filipino food as if our lives depend on it, and for our flight to KL tomorrow.
Departure: 30 December 2010
