Philippines Part 2: Moal Boal & Boracay

The Big Two-One - Wednesday, Feb 17

Wednesday was my birthday - the big two-one.  I'll just mention quickly how anticlimactic this is. After many years idolizing this birthday, it turns out to not really matter in my current situation. I'm still really excited to celebrate it in such an awesome location in the Philippines with some awesome people, but I think I'll have to have another celebration when I can recognize my freedom back at home (read: Gab, you owe me mad drinks).

By the time we got to the jeepney at Alona it was only 10 minutes from departing, so we couldn't have a sit-down breakfast. No worries, thanks to the street-side fruit sellers. Mango is my new favorite fruit and I don't foresee having any better mangos in my life than now. To take advantage, I've been eating about 2-3 everyday, and they are super cheap (2 for about $0.50) and super ripe and delicious.

After a fairly comfortable jeepney ride to Tagbilaran we got to the ferry terminal only to find out that the 9:30 ferry was for a different company than the one we had bought our round trip tickets for a few days earlier. Oh well, that why they have a seating area I guess.

Intellectual update: I finished the Krugman book and would highly recommend it. It goes through the history of severe recessions and depressions in the last year and shows how, basically, as humans, we have the ability to view and understand history, learn from it, but almost refuse to practice it's teachings. Also, for me personally, it had some solid overviews of the Asian financial crisis, which I had little knowledge about. Plus, Krugman is a really smart guy whose writing is clear and insightful.  The next book I’m starting is called Good To Great by Jim Collins.

After another restful ferry ride we arrived in Cebu City proper. This place is bustling but pretty disheveled. I'm glad we decided not to stay in downtown Cebu after all. Our next stop was to meet up with Jesse and Josh in a "nearby" beach/dive town called Moal Boal. To get there we took a chartered van (read: sardine can) for 100p per head on a 3-hour ride. Of course, with all of our bags etc the driver had no sympathy but to fill the van to the brim. With 7 people already in the back area where we were, he tried to fit another, not realizing that just because it was built for 8 Filipinos, that doesn't translate to 8 westerners, or 8 westerners with luggage – especially with three pretty large guys. We ended up splitting the fare for the would-be eighth person, and remained scrunched, but alive.

We met a really nice Filipino girl in the back with us. At age 16 she was in her first year of college, in an accelerated program in nursing, which she would then continue for her MD for - get this - ten more years. I think there can be no complainers after hearing that. She is having her school paid for by her eldest sister, who immigrated to Chicago to be a chemical engineer.

After the customary tricycle ride (side-carriage attached to a motorbike, a little less comfortable than a tuk tuk) we arrived at the Backpackers Lodge, which is jut what it sounds like.

(In Cebu - note the posters in the background)

(Tricycle from a tricycle)

(Some of them have fun sayings on the front)

(That's the back seat, and yes that's someone sitting on the back of the attached motorbike with his hand in the window)

(No bullshitting here)

I'm always very interested in hearing about these places from the owner and how they ended up in the Philippines, and what it's been like running a business here. This guy was a German who had married a Filipino and would come back for diving and eventually started a restaurant that he later converted into a hostel. He saw the need for a budget place, and didn't want to beat around the bush with the name. Much respect for that, and our room was pretty good too - 5 beds for 1200 per night. Thus translates to about $5 US.

After settling in we immediately got food, and my birthday night began promptly at 6pm. Two liters of Red Horse later, and a few split between the others, everyone was ready to party. So, we did what would be expected and started by buying our own bottles ad mixing drinks for a while sitting around a table overlooking the ocean. Then my camera got hijacked and I started ordering birthday shots from any bar thy would let me. The rest is history.... history that I would have to scroll through pictures (which I didn't take) to understand.

(Mhmmmm, dinner)

(First beer of the day, 7% as usual)

(One of the many shots)

(Who's happy it's his birthday?? - THAT GUY!)

(Second location, apparently sitting next to the ocean was a good choice for me)

(Cheers to number ??)

(One of the funnier pics from the night that I can show you - we made friends quickly)

(At this point, I took the tequila shot wrong - lime then salt - bad move)

(I'm told I was cracking up when this happened)

(You can guess where this is going...I'll spare you)

(No mercy - I didn't even have my socks on either)

Boracay – Feb 18-20

The next morning was yet another early wakeup as Josh, Jesse and I left for Boracay at around 9. This of course, was an hour later than expected, but at this point I can acknowledge, though not accept, their chronic disorganization. The travel to Boracay involved the van to Cebu, then a taxi to the airport to fly to Caticlan on a 45 min prop plane. My favorite part is having to shift people around the plane to get that balance just right.

Caticlan is a tiny airport, or rather, one big room. The first thing I noted when I got off the plane was a “sponsored by some politician” poster. Pork politics is truly universal. After “customs” some "tour guide" started helping us out. Apparently they are a free service offered by the Boracay tourism office. This woman explained how we had to pay certain terminal and environmental fees and then a fixed rate tricycle to the ferry (God I hate terminal fees). Of course, she wouldn't have offered the information that we could have walked there in about two minutes, but as she said "you didn't ask if you could walk". I'm always a little skeptical of these types for their inherent desire to rip tourists off. Next stop was the delightfully short ferry ride from Caticlan to Boracay. After we got off we were swarmed, as usual, for taxis, sailing trips and the like, but we had to find a hostel first. Luckily there was another "friend" from the tourist office to help us find a place. This one seemed just as shady and unreliable, but in retrospect was successful.

He brought us on a tricycle to a place owned by some relative that we got a pretty large room with queen beds for all of us for just 1000p per night - a vey good deal for the overpriced Boracay. And with only a 3-minute walk to the beach, who could argue?

We set down our things and made the rest of the day last on the beach, called White Beach, for obvious reasons. This is a much more hopping and lively area than the beaches in Panglao, and more beautiful than Alona. Most hotels are right on the drag with accompanying restaurants and bars, along with an infinite number of people selling fruit shakes, pearls, sunglasses, scuba diving etc. After about 10 minutes, their incessant nagging got on my nerves. Case in point - guy trying to sell sunglasses to people already wearing them.

Josh and Jesse walked around trying to find some other CUHK people who were here - pretty small world I guess - and I checked out SCUBA pricing. By collusion I think, all the operations offered the same price for the same places with rental etc. I decided I'd go the next day (Friday) and Jesse and Josh could come snorkel (as the Discover SCUBA class was quite pricey). We went back to our room, cleaned up and had some pretty authentic Filipino dinner of meat stew with rice and noodles. My only disappointment with the Filipino food has been that they tend to serve things (like meat) lukewarm rather than hot. Not my favorite.

(Market by our hostel - Holiday Homes)

(Vendors on the beach-walk)

After that we caroused the beach stopping in bars to enjoy the ubiquitous 2-for-1 specials while making our way down to he major club / bar area about a mile down from our hostel on the beach. We sat and chatted with two Taiwanese girls, one of which teaches English and was thus a lot more talkative. In true Joyce Novick style we were able to talk about a lot of the hot button issues like Taiwanese identity and the political situation with China. The night got really popping around 1, at which point Jesse and I called it a lame night and went home, exhausted after our long day or travel and sunning.

(These guys make ridiculous sand sculptures up and down the beach, changing every day)

(Pretty big)

(Fire spinners - I learned about shutter speed)

(I'm impressed by this each time I see it)

(...and other celebrations ? - and it's a Pancake House - just a bunch of awesome things)

(Mini-ferris wheel at D'Mall)

(Coco Mangas - a local bar)

(Had to take a picture of this)

At about 5:30 Josh runs through the door panting and hobbling. I assume he's about to throw up and look away. Then he starts talking about how he got beat up and I start to pay attention. According to him, he had asked a couple guys directions to our hostel and they helped him until suddenly they decided to sucker punch him from behind and chase him to our hostel. The main gate was closed so he had to jump a small fence and run to our room, still thinking he was being chased. Minutes later there was a knocking on our door. We all freaked out and were silent as we assumed it was his pursuers. Then Josh started frantically calling numbers in the Lonely Planet book, which is fantastic by the way, until his SIM card ran out of minutes. I finally got through to him that nothing could be done now and we'd settle it in the morning.

We started moving around 11am and went to the front desk, which also functions as a bar – convenient, I know. We explained the situation and found out that the security guard, who Josh said he hadn’t seen, had heard Josh run in and was the one who knocked on our door. Well that helped to solve the safety issue, and Josh settled on just switching rooms as opposed to hotels.

We grabbed some lunch at the beach and then settled in on some lounge chairs. Soon enough it was time to head over to the SCUBA place and get set up. While they only did one tank at a time it was pretty cheap - about $30 for the dive and rentals. It's times like these when I'm so happy to be certified – not because I can SCUBA dive without hassle, but because I can simply walk up off the beach, tell them my name, they look it up in the computer, and I’m ready to go – simply wonderful. The dive was really great. Only a quick trip on the boat directly from the beach and we were diving a 60-foot wall in no time. It was nice to not go so deep so you could conserve air and stay down longer. Highlights: a couple eels, the rainbow fish, a turtle, a few blowfish and some beautifully colored and textures coral. That's always been the most impressive part for me –great plains of coral that stretch on forever, completely unbeknownst to the majority of humans. After surfacing, I realized that SCUBA is as amazing every time as it was the first time.

We got off the boat and sown the rest of the afternoon hopping from one restaurant to the other enjoying some snacks. Then we enjoyed another magnificent sunset and made the move back to Holiday Homes to shower and nap before going out for a nice big dinner and party later.

(Sunset on the White Beach)

Dinner was more typical Filipino food, and then we started taking some 2-for-1’s.  After that, we walked around the area of shops called D’Mall.  There, we stumbled upon a bar called Hobbit House.  Seeing the large beer menu that they boasted outside, we took a seat.  Little did we realize that they took the word “hobbit” pretty seriously, and the entire wait staff were midgets.  This was a little alarming at first, and I felt more awkward than usual being the tall guy in the room.  However, I rationalized quickly that, even for them, this would be a good picture to take, because I was just so huge, especially compared to any normal-sized Filipino.  I hope to get that picture soon from Jesse.  While expensive, it was nice to pay a little bit more and get a couple Sam Adams and Amstels to start the night.

Next up, we went to Coco Mangas Bar, a hotspot for tourists and locals, which was pretty crazy.  We have started the tradition of making it someone’s birthday every night to take advantage of the free drinks and general jubilation that comes with it.  Afterwards, to a nearby bar (passing by The Obama Grill) where we enjoyed our own cheap vodka and Coke.  Lastly, we ended the night (though for many hours) at Summer Place – a wild venue on the beach, where literally everyone ends up – it’s like the Bear’s Den of Boracay, minus the food, and with a lot more prostitutes.  Basically just a scene and later into the night, a hot mess.  We got back around 5 and called it a night.

The next day was shortened – waking up at 1, eating lunch, and chilling on the beach until 3 when we left on our trek back to Hong Kong.  This involved yet another 2-hour cramped van ride to the not-so-nearby airport in Kalibo, to fly to Manila, sleep, and fly to Hong Kong.

(Our $5/night room in Holiday Homes - yup, those are kings)

(White Beach)

(Lot's of sailing and windsurfing here)

(Beach-walk during the day - note proximity to ocean)

(Great backdrop)

(Jesse, always pensive)

(Every direction you look, you are pleased)

(Our last moments - cool reflection in the sunglasses)

The only thing that is worth talking about is why I don’t have any pictures of the local money, something I like to show, and keep for posterity. Unfortunately, the Filipino government was insistent on not letting that happen.  At the Manila International Airport, as I was about to go through security, happily carrying one of each major bill (500, 100, 50, 20) I was stopped for a terminal fee.  The highest one I had seen thus far was 200 at the Cebu airport to Caticlan, so I expected to pay something like that, even though the previous Manila flight to Cebu only had a 50p fee.  This one, 750p.  Completely broke my bank, as of course, a modern airport wouldn’t accept credit card.  This left a mildly sour taste in my mouth.

Final Thoughts – Blogs, Philippines, Travel and Life

First of all, if you’ve read this far (in one or two sittings), send me an email, and I’ll send you something to make you smile – you’re a champ.  This took me a really long time to write, and being my life I was a little more interested than you must’ve been reading it.  Please let me know what types of stuff to keep out and what to augment for my next one so that I can get more people reading this.  Seriuosly though, I am much obliged and appreciate your commitment to my blog.

I have really enjoyed writing this blog, and the challenge it provides me.  I find myself trying more and different things, talking to more people, so that I can have interesting things to talk about here, and keep good memories for myself.  Plus, there is the challenge for me to continue to publish, and give you all something to read.  For every time I write my blog, there are 10 times when I procrastinate it.  I hope to reduce this, and write more in the future.

Now for some final thoughts on the Philippines, and travel thus far in general…

The Philippines were AWESOME.  I had such an excellent time with once again some excellent people.  I’m really glad that I was able to spend time with my Thailand group for as long as I did, because they are some great travel partners.  I’m grateful to have made a new friend in Toni, who is truly one of the most genuine and interesting people I’ve met.  I’m also really happy that I was able to meet and communicate with many local Filipinos.  I got to hear their views on the local political situation, and the recent political violence (spurred by the national government).  Seeing and hearing the stories of international entrepreneurs who have come to see this paradise, and stayed. I admire them for their courage to jump off the beaten path and create their own.

The best part about this traveling for me has been meeting a lot of people doing interesting and courageous things. Like quitting your job to take a 15-month bike trip across the world like Tim. Or vacationing in the Philippines so much that you decide to setup shop and run a successful and useful hostel in the middle of the Bohol jungle. It makes me excited and ever-more confident that I will do something like this one day. Really, how much time is there to do these things? A lot, I think. But what makes the difference is that we’re afraid to shake up the status quo. To go against the "better judgment" and do something different. This is what I think the abroad experience brings – a different look on what’s important to life.  Is it climbing the ladder, or building your own ladder?  I think it’s the latter, and I wake up every day knowing the I need to choose that route before I lose the tools or the will to do it.

As always, comments (here or to me personally) are welcome and encouraged.