Sun on the beach and rain in the city

Following my adventures in Sagada I headed to the pristine beach of Boracay. I had been told again and again that it was one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and I figured it to be the perfect place to end my travels in the Philippines. So after a night bus to Manila from Baguio, I hopped on an early morning flight to Boracay, leaving the rain behind for beautiful blue skies and sun.

I didn't do much while I was there other than lie on the beach reading, napping and drinking fresh fruit shakes. The beach is about 4km long and I wandered up and down parts of it at times, but that was the extent of my activity during the day. In the evening I walked around to take in the entertainment and activities at the various restaurants, each vying for my patronage. Some offered drinking challenges, others performers.

There were also many Mongolian buffets. I passed on those, figuring that I'd get better Mongolian food when I'm in Mongolia in just over a week. As much as Boracay wanted me to drink my face off and party well into the night, I actually found the whole place to be quiet and relaxing. During the day I was able to lie on a smoke-free and litter-free beach (something of a novelty in the Philippines). And at night I enjoyed the drinks, entertainment and fellow tourists' company for awhile, but was able to retreat to my hotel at the quiet end of the beach at Station 3 for a peaceful night's sleep. All in all a perfect end to the Philippines and a great way to recharge me for the rest of the trip.

On Monday night I flew back to Hong Kong and back into the rain. With nothing much else to do I wandered around a few malls yesterday morning and somehow happened upon the grand opening of a luxury supermarket. There, the friendly staff fed me lunch with free samples of cake, fruit, pasta, chocolate covered ginger, sake, a freshly prepared mocha, green tea, and more!

In the afternoon I went for afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel. Since Hong Kong was a British territory for so long, it has picked up many Britishisms, including afternoon tea. My Mom and I have a tradition of going for afternoon tea at a fancy hotel whenever we are travelling. I convinced her that since it was raining and I had nothing else to do, but was a poor backpacker on a budget she should treat me to afternoon tea. I must say it is one of the better afternoon teas I've ever been to with tasty sandwiches, pretty decent scones and rich desserts. Thanks, Mom!

Last night I went for a drink at a swanky oyster bar on the 28th floor overlooking the Hong Kong skyline.

I spent two hours nursing my glass of wine, staring at the city lights and chatting with the man shucking oysters who was very concerned that I was going to be killed in a tiny mall in Beijing. Yes, specifically in a small mall. Big ones would be ok and on the street I would be fine, but within the tiny malls murderers away. I told him that I would stay safe and not visit sketchy malls, but he didn't seem convinced.

And on that note....I am off to Beijing this afternoon. I have a 23 hour train ride ahead of me, but hopefully it will be a nice way to see some parts of China. Tomorrow evening my friend (and classmate), Mercedes, arrives from Canada to join me for the rest of the trip. It will be very exciting to see a familiar face!

Caving and hanging coffins

Yesterday I visited another town in the Cordillera mountains, Sagada. This town is known for its spectacular caves and a tradition of hanging coffins. It is also has a reputation as a sleepy town that is not overwhelmed by tourists. This may be due to the fact that it is a very bumpy ride up a tortuous mountain "road" that likely dissuades some from visiting. To get up to Sagada I took a one hour jeepney ride from the town of Bontoc. When I went to board the jeepney, a group of friendly girls suggested that I ride on the roof with them. I figured, why not. It was a much more interesting ride - I could actually see the scenery. And as we were driving so slowly up the mountain it wasn't scary at all. The only downside was when it started to rain and the jeepney below was full so we were forced to stay on the roof. Luckily a friendly person below threw up a tarp and we used that to keep ourselves dry for the quick shower.

 

Once in Sagada I joined the girls to hike to some of the hanging coffins. It is a town (or maybe area) tradition that stems from the idea that putting a coffin on the side of a cliff is less suffocating and brings the deceased closer to Heaven. Some of the coffins are quite old, but some are from recent years. Apparently to hang the coffin, they construct scaffolding and hoist it up somehow before drilling holes into the limestone.

After seeing the coffins we went caving in the Sumaguing Cave system. This was quite the experience. Again, my balance and the grip of my shoes (this time flip flops as we were going to get very wet) were tested. I spent most of the time crawling around like an ape trying to keep my balance by staying as close as possible to the ground. At one point towards the end we were given an option of going through a section which would get us very wet. I figured why not, as by that point I was already covered in mud (containing bat droppings) and partially wet anyway. It was somewhat frightening wading through the water that came up to at least my waist, hoping the bottom didn't drop off suddenly. It was also quite scary descending the slippery, water covered rocks, hoping the guides knew what they were talking about when they told me where to put my feet. On the way up we had to climb a rope up the face of a giant rock (sort of like rappelling in reverse). It was a nervewracking experience, but the rock formations were spectacular and it was a fun adventure activity.

Today I took a very (very) bumpy bus to Baguio. The highway was again quite tortuous, twisting and turning alongside the side of the Cordillera mountains. The driver's heavy foot did not help matters. It was a very long 6 hour ride. Tonight I'm taking a bus down to Manila, and tomorrow I'm heading back to the beach for a couple of days rest before I fly back to Hong Kong. I can't believe my time in the Philippines is almost over!

Trekking along rice terraces

Yesterday I finished a three day trek through the Ifugao rice terraces surrounding the tiny village of Banaue in Northern Luzon. I hiked from village to village in the mountains alongside spectacular terraced rice paddies.

My guide had one rule for the trek: "No viewing while walking. Because if you view while you walk, you will trip and fall." And tripping and falling on this trek meant either falling into the muddy leech-filled rice paddy on one side, or down 3-10m to the rice paddy, stream or who knows what else on the other side of the 30cm wide uneven ledge on which I was walking.

Even with careful concentration I still managed at one point to fall over the ledge and had to grab on to the side to prevent myself from dropping all the way down. In the process of trying to grab me, my guide also fell over the side. It took a few minutes to drag ourselves back up. Luckily I escaped with nothing more than a very large bruise. I spent the rest of the 3 days leaning to one side, away from the dropoff, deciding that if I were to fall again I'd rather it be into the level rice paddy rather than down the dropoff to serious injury.

The hike itself was something of an eye opener regarding rice. I knew that rice was grown in rice paddies and had seen photos of them before, but had never given much thought to where the rice grains themselves come from. If I'd been forced to guess, I would have said that they were part of the root. Turns out that rice plants are much like wheat, and the rice grains are the fruit of the plant, growing out of the shoots.

I finished the trek exhausted, but satisfied. The scenery was spectacular and it was an amazing way of seeing the terraces and visiting smaller villages I likely would not have reached otherwise. Here's a photo of me at the end of the trek waiting for our ride back to Banaue where we started.

Today I journeyed to another mountain town, Sagada where I went caving and saw hanging coffins. More about that soon!

Animal Planet

Yesterday I went for a hike in the Rajah Sikatuna National Park. This is an area in the interior of Bohol Island. To get there I took a 1.5h bus ride (to travel the 40km) to the village of Bilar. From there I hopped on a motorbike to reach the park entrance. Upon dropping me off, my driver pointed to a man in a worn out tshirt, shorts and flip flops standing beside the locked visitor information building. My driver told me "that's my cousin. He will take care of you." At this point my driver took off and the cousin started howling like a maniac. It was then that I started to become concerned, wondering what I had gotten myself into. Alone in an isolated forest with a man who was crying out for no apparent reason who did not appear to be associated with the national park.

Turns out he was howling to attract the monkeys and he does work for the park, he just isn't required to wear any sort of uniform. Pretty soon a troop of monkeys had descended on us and I was feeding them bananas.

He then guided me through a small area of the park. We saw a flying lemur sleeping in a tree, some frogs, lizards and just before stepping on it, my guide noticed a poisonous Philippines Cobra lying on our path (this is now my second close encounter with a poisonous snake in less than a week).

Towards the end of our hike we visited a cave with many bats hanging from the roof. It was quite creepy to look back at the entrance to the cave and see a bat's silhouette flying away. Even creepier was having one fly what seemed to be cms away from my face. While we were in the cave that it started to pour rain. Part of me thought it made more sense to wait out the rain where it was dry. And then more bats flew past me and I changed my mind. The thought of one of them flying into my head was more than enough to get me out of there.

While hiking around I found it amusing that it was only me, in my expensive hiking boots, who was slipping on the wet pathway, while my guide in his flip flops was constantly turning back to help me over the more treacherous areas. I'll say it was his experience and knowledge of the trails along with my usual clumsiness that made the difference.

Later that afternoon I went to visit the Tarsier Sanctuary. These are the smallest primates in the world - so small in fact that they are about the size of my palm. They can turn their heads 180 degrees in either direction and their eyes are proportionally 150x larger than humans'. The sanctuary was established to help protect these endangered animals, and also to give visitors a sustainable method of seeing these creatures. Sadly, in the past people would catch them and keep them in cages and then charge tourists to take photos with the tarsiers. In this setting, a tarsier will die within a year and risks being crushed by careless hands. Now, in the sanctuary, it is possible to guarantee a sighting of them in their natural environment, all while promoting their protection.

To give an idea of their size, my finger was pretty well right next to the tarsier.

To get to the sanctuary I took a jeepney, the Philippines' version of a city bus (or if you've been to east Africa, a better analogy is a dala dala). They are basically extended jeeps that cram as many people as possible into their backs. They first came about after WWII when locals started using US military jeeps left behind as a means of transporting people around. The basic shape stuck, although now with an extended rear area.

Many motorbike drivers were trying to insist that I needed them to drive me as the sanctuary was very far from the main road and the jeepney wouldn't bring me all the way in. I insisted that I was ok walking however far it was, especially considering that my return trip on the jeepney was about 1/5 the cost of a motobike ride. Also it turns out that the sanctuary was about 600m from the road, a distance I am perfectly capable of walking on my own (shocking, I know). However, after leaving the sanctuary I was starting to regret my decision. I had waited over an hour for a jeepney to arrive. The sun would be setting soon and I was starting to wonder if I would have to walk a few kilometers along the highway to the nearest town and hire someone to drive me back into the city from there. Had I hired a motorbike he would have waited for me at the centre while I went in. Luckily, my patience paid off and a jeepney finally arrived and brought me back problem free.

I've now moved on to Alona Beach and will be diving again tomorrow. Sadly, it's been pouring rain all day. But that won't matter too much tomorrow when I'm 20m below the surface!

Partial pressures in the Philippines

Note: I wanted to add photos, but when I tried uploading the first one I spent about 40 minutes attempting to upload it only to notice that the progress bar was actually regressing halfway through the upload. I don't know how that is even possible, but alas it is. So there will be no photos again.

I think only horror can describe the feeling that overcame me when the following appeared on a video I was required to watch for my SCUBA certification.

This was supposed to be a photo, but instead I'll tell you what I saw: pO2 = 0.21 atm

I did not come to the Philippines to re-learn respirology.

Fortunately, that was the only downside to my diving course. Well that and the fact that after six dives with the company “Thresher Shark Divers” I saw no thresher sharks. Malapascua Island is the only place in the world where these sharks are seen on a regular basis. Sadly, not regular enough for me to see them.

I did, however, see all sorts of amazing fish, coral and even a blue striped poisonous sea snake swimming under me that I almost missed as I was so absorbed in another fish nearby. It was only when my instructor, Ronny, grabbed my arm and pointed down that I noticed it slithering through the water below me.

I had a great time with Ronny and my diving buddy, Tony, who was training to become a Divemaster. In three days plus one morning dive I obtained my open water and enriched air certifications, and also completed a deep water adventure dive, allowing me to dive down to 30m. It made for some busy, but fun and satisfying days. My last night on the island I had two congratulatory “Shark Bite” shots. These three-layered shots are given to anyone completing a certification with the company. The silver layer represents the shark’s skin, the blue layer symbolizes the water and the red is for the blood (hopefully never seen!). I had a great time with Thresher Shark Divers and am excited to try out some more dive spots around the Philippines before I go.

My last day on the island was spent relaxing after an early morning dive. I walked around, read on the beach and drank fresh mango juice. Not a bad way to spend a day.

***

Yesterday, I arrived in Tagbilaran, the capital of the island and province of Bohol. My dining location for dinner was something unexpected.

Again, supposed to be a photo here, but pretend you are looking at a cheesy TexMex restaurant.

You may be asking yourself, why did Carolyn choose to go to a Montana’s ripoff while on vacation? Well that’s because this is actually a pretty cool restaurant. The Garden Café is run by the Bohol Foundation for the Deaf and Disabled. It employs mostly deaf and hearing impaired waiters and staff. To order, you phone down to the kitchen where an employee who can hear puts in your order. There is also someone who can hear working as a greeter. Otherwise, all communication is non-verbal. The menu comes with some rudimentary sign language to help. The food was actually pretty decent and it was nice to know that the profits go to support the foundation. 

Under the Sea

On Wednesday I was faced with a dilemma: what is there to do in the Philippines when the forecast for the entire country reads rain? This nation is filled with stunning beaches and spectacular hikes through the mountains. It is host to the "eighth wonder of the world," the Banaue Rice Terraces. And I am excited to see all of these outdoor sites. Unfortunately, I am hoping to see them in the sun. So on Wednesday when I woke up to torrential downpours I looked at the forecast (this being the rainy season, I wasn't sure how long the showers would last). The entire country seemed to be covered in rain and would be (according to the always accurate meteorologists) for the next 3-4 days. I decided to change my plans and do the one thing where it didn't matter what the weather was outside. I wouldn't be on land. I would be under the sea.

Two years ago in Zanzibar I completed a discover dive. In these dives anyone is able to go underwater with an instructor to get a taste for diving. I fell in love with the experience, and since then I have been itching to get my SCUBA certification. The Philippines seemed like an ideal location - full of spectacular dive sites, and  high quality diving centres. I chose to come to the Thresher Dive Centre on Malapascua Island for the 3 day open water diver course.

And I think I picked the right place to visit. While other parts of the country are still covered in rain, today I saw nothing but sun. Even though rain wouldn't ruin this course, it does make everything all the more enjoyable. Unfortunately, I spent the morning inside a classroom learning the theory behind basic diving skills while outside the sun shone over blue skies. Luckily, this afternoon I was outside trying out some new skills in a shallow bay. I learned essential techniques such as what to do should my breathing regulator fall out of my mask, how to reach the surface in the unlikely event I run out of air and how to float buoyantly below the surface of the water. Tomorrow, I will be trying these out in the first two of my four open water dives mandatory for the completion of the course.

I've really been enjoying the course so far, but I'm especially anticipating finishing and having the opportunity to explore the nearby dive sites and, hopefully, see some thresher sharks.

My journey to Malapascua Island was an adventure in itself. Upon deciding to head south to this tiny island off the coast of the larger island of Cebu, I booked a last minute ticket from Manila to Cebu. The total cost for this one hour flight booked a few hours before takeoff? Approximately 60 CAD. Flights here are unbelievably inexpensive. And the aircraft are brand new Boeing airplanes with extremely friendly staff. If only flights in Canada were so affordable.

Upon my arrival to Cebu airport I hopped in a cab. The security guard working at the taxi stand handed me a piece of paper with instructions to call and report my cab driver should he violate any of a long list of offences. I'm pretty sure my driver violated most of them. He at first claimed the meter was broken and tried to charge me an exorbitant amount. I insisted he turn on the meter (which he eventually agreed to - miraculous how quickly the meter healed itself) and the journey cost half of what he had originally tried to charge me. The journey into the city was one of my most treacherous cab experiences ever. The driver found spaces for the car that I don't think anyone realized were there. Or if there wasn't a place for him to weave his car through, he made space by both honking on his horn (nothing new there) or flashing his high beams to annoy cars in front and encourage them to get out of his way as he was coming whether they liked it or not (I have never before seen someone use high beams for this reason). If there was a motorbike in the next lane, he forced it out of the way, and if there was no one in the oncoming lane of traffic, he would veer out into it to pass cars in front of him who dared to stay there. It was with relief (and tense muscles) that he finally pulled into my hostel.

The rest of the journey to the island involved another cab ride, a 4 hour bus ride and a bangka (small boat) journey across the water. Not quite as exciting, but still adventures.

I'm very happy to be here now and look forward to a few more days under the water and on the beach.

From Hong Kong to Manila

On Monday I flew from Hong Kong to Manila. I must say, it was one of the smoothest check in experiences I have ever had. I walked right up to the airline counter to check in, and waited under a minute to pass through security and clear customs. Aside from a lack of Western breakfast options, it was a pretty good airport experience.

Manila is worlds away from Hong Kong. Or, I should specify that the Manila I have seen is worlds away from the Hong Kong I saw. I specifically chose to avoid the area of Makati, a pristine highly developed city within the municipality of Manila. I’d imagine it to be quite similar to Hong Kong. But, the rest of the city is a world apart.

No one follows traffic signals, buildings everywhere are in disrepair and there’s garbage floating in the water (actually, that’s the same as HK).

But, the people seem exceptionally friendly and everyone is eager to say hello. I will never understand the joy locals get in saying hi to the white girl. The smiles on children’s faces when I give them a high five are equivalent to those I would likely see if I had passed out heaps of candy instead.

Tomorrow I’m heading off to either the beach or the mountains. I still have yet to decide. They both sound exceptionally appealing and will provide some relief to the inhumane heat and humidity (even the locals are saying it’s hot at 38C+)

Note: Posting photos to the last entry just about broke the internet, so I skipped them here, but I promise I'll put more up soon.

MACAU!!!!

On Saturday I visited the Special Administrative Region of Macau, an hour jetboat ride from Hong Kong.

The Lonely Planet promised that although it was known for its casinos, it offered other sites and areas of interest to explore. Macau was a Portugese colony for many years and so is filled with European-style architecture. And it was something of a novelty to walk around an area that would not be out of place in any European town, aside from the fact that every sign was written in Cantonese.

But far more spectacular were the casinos. I have never seen anything so completely over the top.

It really was like an Asian Vegas, complete with:

Garish displays of wealth (these were 1kg gold bars set in the floor)

Dance shows (the good ones were inside the actual casinos where I was not allowed to take photos, but this one in a hotel lobby was an interpretive dance set to “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls)

Fountains set to music (at times with flames!!!)

And miniature versions of world landmarks

After wandering around the many, many casinos, I finally decided to try my luck on the 2cent slots (don’t forget, 1 CAD is equivalent to almost 8 HKD). I quickly lost the 30 HKD I inserted, thinking how easy it would be to get sucked in. Every time I placed my wager, a tiny part of me almost believed I would hit the jackpot and win. Luckily, my self control prevailed, and I walked away short less than 10 CAD.

Skyscrapers, lights, and a very big Buddha

I spent Thursday exploring the city. Near to where I am staying in Tsim Sha Tsui is an upscale area full of designer stores and fancy malls (and interesting statues)

Nathan Road (on which I am staying) is full of photography stores, malls, jewelers and men on the street trying to sell me "fake watches and purses" (at least they are honest about it). It seems everywhere I turn there is a store, a restaurant or someone trying to sell me something. Like no other city I've visited, Hong Kong is replete with places to spend one's money.

It's also full of buildings (to house and provide office space for the seven million people who live here). There are more skyscrapers in this city than any other in the world. And due to the limited area on Hong Kong Island (on which many of the citizens live and work) the buildings are packed as close as possible.

Yesterday, I went to visit the Big Buddha which was only completed in 1993 - I figured much earlier. The statue is situated on Lantau Island in the tiny village of Ngong Ping (although to be honest, the village moreso seemed to be a clustering of tourist shops). Apparently this is the largest Buddha statue in the world. As I have never before seen a Buddha statue in person, I have nothing to compare it to, but I found it to be quite spectacular. Although full of tourists, the whole area seemed quite peaceful. It was compelling watching the followers pray to Buddha and light incense in offering. In many ways it was quite similar to how Christians worship.

From Ngong Ping I took a bus down to the village of Mui Wo. I strolled along the beach, at first enjoying watching the locals fish, children play and the tourists tan.

But then, with my feet in the water, I slowly realized that what I at first thought were bits of seaweed, was instead garbage. Empty chip bags, papers and hotel soap wrappers. And then a few steps later, a used syringe and needle. With that I quickly put on my shoes and walked over to take the ferry back to Hong Kong Island.

There, I took a funicular up to The Peak, a viewpoint overlooking Hong Kong. As I rode up, the buildings appeared to be sticking out at 45 degree angles to the window of our tram, so steep was the ascent. Sadly, the funicular was travelling too fast to get a good shot.

The view on top was amazing, especially at night with the buildings all lit up. This city must not be terribly concerned with conserving energy, and the environmentally-minded side of me cringes at all the unnecessary lights. But, I cannot deny that the site is spectacular and wouldn't be the same if the city was darkened.

Today I am off to Macao, most notably known as a gambling mecca for Asia, but also a unique area to explore, and a separate "Special Administrative Region of China."

Hello Hong Kong!

Goodbye Kingston...

Hello Hong Kong!

The 15 hour flight was painfully long - at about 6h in, I realized we had flown the approximate time it takes to get to England, yet there were still 9 hours ahead. But I made it and now it's time to start exploring the city!