So here's the deal. Internet had been really spotty in Palawan so I couldn't update consistently, hence the long winded stuff you'd gotten. I apologize as reading over it I realized how crappily written those entries truly were. So, no more line items for everything that went on in the day. Rather, I'll just jot down highlights and memories.
Palawan
After day 1 and 2, day 3 had the Honda Bay in store. Bad part was that I woke up with a burning throat, post-nasal drip, and a bit of congestion. I popped a Mucinex and was off to the BEST PART OF OUR VACATION thus far.
After renting a water proof case for Courtney's camera and a few snorkels, we boarded a boat and went to the 1st of 3 destinations on our tour. It was this floating bamboo structure that didn't look too impressive as we approached. But beneath the water was this incredible coral reef with all sorts of fishes. We took tons of pictures beneath the waves and really just tried to take everything in. Breathtaking.
Back on the boat and off to the next destination, this time a white sand beach with plenty of swimming and lunch. Swam with the fishes a bit more and was able to stretch out and properly swim without a life jacket. I forgot how much more buoyant one becomes in salt water. Oh, and how salty it is. I mean, I know it's supposed to be salty (it's the bleeding OCEAN for godsakes) but jeez.
Our last destination was another beach and more swimming. This time the sand was fine and soft like baby powder. There was a little section in a clearing of palm trees where you could get massages. We went back into the water and this time fed the fishes with some bread. Suddenly, we were surrounded by schools of all kinds of fish life: blue ones, striped ones, little ones with pointing noses. They were even eating the bread out of my hands. Crazy.
Honda Bay was incredible. It was the one part of our trip thus far that I would DEFINITELY do again. In a heartbeat.
We had one day of rest in Palawan which we had intended on spending at the pool. Instead, Courtney and I spent in our room, the both of us feeling under the weather, much to the chagrin of my sister. Oh well, on to...
Cebu
The hotel in Cebu was nice if a bit on the older side. Didn't matter too much since we weren't staying in Cebu for very long.
CJ and I took Courtney to my family's hometown of Naga, to the house where we spent parts of our childhood. It was a bit sad to see the place so rundown as it was about 20 years old without anyone living in it for the last 7 or so. But still, you could see the potential in the place. Courtney did too. She wanted to see how much it would cost to renovate the place. We might just look into it as it would be kind of a waste to lose the place.
Other than the visit to Naga, we did a lot of shopping. That part of the trip was definitely a complete 180 from our Palawan trip. A bit more upscale but not as upscale as our next destination...
Manila
Our hotel in Manila is the nicest of the three we've been to. Courtney actually said that besides the hotels she's worked in, this one is the classiest ones she's ever stayed in. And I would be inclined to agree.
Got in in the evening and decided to get some grub. Of all places, we end up at Outback Steakhouse. All the way to the Philippines, and we end up at Outback. I think by this time we were all getting a bit home sick and wanted a taste of home.
Today is more shopping and possibly some massages and pampering at the spa. Haven't fully committed. The cool part is that our hotel is literally across the street from TWO MALLS. The bad side? Super-Typhoon Juan might be passing through Manila. Might. Praying that it doesn't.
Until next time...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Philippines: Day 2
We had a wake up call due at 6am. I, however, was awake at 4am since I wasn’t adjusted to the time difference yet. I spent the morning on the internet blogging about the previous day, which I am hoping you all have read.
The complimentary breakfast was impressive. It was buffet style with omelettes, pancakes, Filipino sausage, and fried fish. Yes. Fried fish. Traditional for these parts. We all loaded up on the food, excited for our plans for the day: The Underground River. Breakfast was leisurely, listening to The Eagles’ greatest hits for the umpteenth time. For some reason, that disc is playing every time we go to the restaurant.
If you’ve seen the episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where he went to the Philippines, you’ll be familiar with The Underground River. Our ride there was bumpy, with the driver going as fast as he could over windy roads with steep drops. Holding onto breakfast was definitely a challenge. The scenery was incredible, with the van taking multiple stops to take pictures. I’d almost forgotten what the color green was since it is near impossible to find in Vegas. But here it was in abundance, crowding into your view from all sides.
After an hour and a half in the perilous van, we got to the wharf. We had our first encounter with a “native” bathroom, that is, one that doesn’t have toilet paper. Confusing to say the least. After a bit of a wait, we boarded our little boat that would ferry us to the Underground River.
The water was crystal blue and clear enough to see the coral underneath. After about 20 minutes, we rounded a bend and there was this pristine beach. The boat pushes up on the shore, we disembark into warm water, and we wait for the tour.
So the Underground River is kind of crazy. It’s about 8 kilometers long with about 4.3 of it actually navigable. But that would take about 4 hours each way. We took a truncated route that covered about 1.5 km. And let me tell you, that was enough. The cave is pitch dark. The only light is by this one searchlight at the head of the boat that one of the passengers uses. The boat is piloted by one tour guide is somehow navigates through the cave from the back of the boat while also pointing out all of the formations. Pretty crazy stuff.
In addition to the encroaching darkness that threatened to swallow you whole, there was also the constant threat of bats flying around you. Not that we really had anything to worry about as they were insect eating bats and most of them were asleep. But still, the sound of their cries and the flapping of their wings sent the creepy crawlies down my back every time. Plus, there was always the off chance that they would poop on you. And really, who wants that?
Was the Underground River Adventure worth it? Absolutely. It is an amazing feat of nature. I am glad that I have the memories of traveling down its dark maze with Courtney and CJ. Do I ever have to do it again? Not really. Once in a lifetime is enough, methinks.
After the river, we got back on the boats and got ferried to a small beach where we were having lunch. Again, trés cool. Looked like a beach straight out of Lost, except without the threat of those pesky Others to ruin the fun. Lunch consisted of grilled pork and chicken adobo, a vegetable stir fry, and coconut milk drunk from a baby coconut. For reals. Sitting on the beach with a coconut with a straw in it. How island is that?
After lunch, it was back to the hotel. Amazingly, the weather held out though the entire adventure and lunch and it started raining on our way back. Of course, this meant that the already perilous drive was made 10x scarier. But we all made it back to the hotel in one piece, though with one of us having to stop the van to lose our lunch. And it wasn’t me!
Once we got back, the rain had let up a bit and we decided to hop in the pool. Again, The Eagles filled the air. We just enjoyed the water and the serenity of our surroundings. As Courtney put it, “Yeah, this certainly does not suck.” Amen to that.
We decided to try a restaurant in town for dinner. Kinabuchs Grills and Bar came highly recommended by both our tour guides so it seemed in easy bet. CJ had the tuna sashimi and the sizzling shrimp platter. Courtney had the lumpia shanghai and the chicken fingers. I had the lechon kawali and the sizzling beef platter. All in all the meal was tasty. Courtney was surprised as her chicken was not of the fingers variety but rather had bones in them. She did, however, like the lumpia.
Unfortunately, my head had started feeling congested, as it had in the previous weeks before. It had felt like I’d been fighting a cold on my last two weeks of work before vacation and I think the combination of the days events and the jet lag finally took its toll. That, and the greasy fattiness of the lechon kawali did not agree with me and the fine meal made its way out of me. Yes, I threw up this time.
Well, that ended Day 2 of the Palawan leg of our vacation. Day 3 involves an adventure island hopping in Honda Bay!
The complimentary breakfast was impressive. It was buffet style with omelettes, pancakes, Filipino sausage, and fried fish. Yes. Fried fish. Traditional for these parts. We all loaded up on the food, excited for our plans for the day: The Underground River. Breakfast was leisurely, listening to The Eagles’ greatest hits for the umpteenth time. For some reason, that disc is playing every time we go to the restaurant.
If you’ve seen the episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where he went to the Philippines, you’ll be familiar with The Underground River. Our ride there was bumpy, with the driver going as fast as he could over windy roads with steep drops. Holding onto breakfast was definitely a challenge. The scenery was incredible, with the van taking multiple stops to take pictures. I’d almost forgotten what the color green was since it is near impossible to find in Vegas. But here it was in abundance, crowding into your view from all sides.
After an hour and a half in the perilous van, we got to the wharf. We had our first encounter with a “native” bathroom, that is, one that doesn’t have toilet paper. Confusing to say the least. After a bit of a wait, we boarded our little boat that would ferry us to the Underground River.
The water was crystal blue and clear enough to see the coral underneath. After about 20 minutes, we rounded a bend and there was this pristine beach. The boat pushes up on the shore, we disembark into warm water, and we wait for the tour.
So the Underground River is kind of crazy. It’s about 8 kilometers long with about 4.3 of it actually navigable. But that would take about 4 hours each way. We took a truncated route that covered about 1.5 km. And let me tell you, that was enough. The cave is pitch dark. The only light is by this one searchlight at the head of the boat that one of the passengers uses. The boat is piloted by one tour guide is somehow navigates through the cave from the back of the boat while also pointing out all of the formations. Pretty crazy stuff.
In addition to the encroaching darkness that threatened to swallow you whole, there was also the constant threat of bats flying around you. Not that we really had anything to worry about as they were insect eating bats and most of them were asleep. But still, the sound of their cries and the flapping of their wings sent the creepy crawlies down my back every time. Plus, there was always the off chance that they would poop on you. And really, who wants that?
Was the Underground River Adventure worth it? Absolutely. It is an amazing feat of nature. I am glad that I have the memories of traveling down its dark maze with Courtney and CJ. Do I ever have to do it again? Not really. Once in a lifetime is enough, methinks.
After the river, we got back on the boats and got ferried to a small beach where we were having lunch. Again, trés cool. Looked like a beach straight out of Lost, except without the threat of those pesky Others to ruin the fun. Lunch consisted of grilled pork and chicken adobo, a vegetable stir fry, and coconut milk drunk from a baby coconut. For reals. Sitting on the beach with a coconut with a straw in it. How island is that?
After lunch, it was back to the hotel. Amazingly, the weather held out though the entire adventure and lunch and it started raining on our way back. Of course, this meant that the already perilous drive was made 10x scarier. But we all made it back to the hotel in one piece, though with one of us having to stop the van to lose our lunch. And it wasn’t me!
Once we got back, the rain had let up a bit and we decided to hop in the pool. Again, The Eagles filled the air. We just enjoyed the water and the serenity of our surroundings. As Courtney put it, “Yeah, this certainly does not suck.” Amen to that.
We decided to try a restaurant in town for dinner. Kinabuchs Grills and Bar came highly recommended by both our tour guides so it seemed in easy bet. CJ had the tuna sashimi and the sizzling shrimp platter. Courtney had the lumpia shanghai and the chicken fingers. I had the lechon kawali and the sizzling beef platter. All in all the meal was tasty. Courtney was surprised as her chicken was not of the fingers variety but rather had bones in them. She did, however, like the lumpia.
Unfortunately, my head had started feeling congested, as it had in the previous weeks before. It had felt like I’d been fighting a cold on my last two weeks of work before vacation and I think the combination of the days events and the jet lag finally took its toll. That, and the greasy fattiness of the lechon kawali did not agree with me and the fine meal made its way out of me. Yes, I threw up this time.
Well, that ended Day 2 of the Palawan leg of our vacation. Day 3 involves an adventure island hopping in Honda Bay!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Philippines: Day 1
First off, let me continue from my last entry. In Canada, we get on the plane, right? So far so good, right? The plane starts taxiing down the runway. We're getting ready to take off. Suddenly, the pilot comes on the PA and says that one of the passengers is not feeling well and we need to go back to the gate. So we do.
We wait until Paramedics come in and give her the whole once over. Blood pressure, thermometer, the whole nine. Determination? Really high blood pressure. Which will only go up as the plane climbs in altitude. Not a good sign at all. But the paramedics can't tell her to get off the phone as "technically" she is ok. "Just great." I'm thinking, flashes of my dad's episode the last time I was on a trans-Pacific flight start playing in my head. Fortunately, the big wigs with the Airlines tells her, in so many words, that she needs to get off the plane, and this plane needs to get off the ground.
So total time lost? About 1 hour. Fantastic. Add another hour on the plane to an already 13 hour flight. So anyway, once she's off the plane, we start over again with the taxiing and finally, LIFT OFF.
We get a little bit of dinner that tasted pretty good for real food, let alone airplane food. First movie on the trip: Twilight Eclipse, much to Courtney's pleasure. I pop in a Tylenol PM and knock out. For people flying on long trips, I strongly recommend doing this as it helps you sleep and also passes time. I slept for about 8 hours so only had 5 to really contend with. Woke up, had breakfast, then sat out the last 4 hours til we touched ground.
Manila was a bit of a blur. Got our transfer stuff, hit customs, then basically got on another plane. Pretty soon, we were in our destination: Palawan.
Our hotel is a bit on the rustic side. It's on the beach. No AC in the lobby and the hallways. Giant windows allow a good bit of airflow through the place, with fans providing back up. We check in and they present us with iced orange juice and a cold hand towel to refresh us. So cool.
The room is pretty standard. Two queen beds. Bathroom. Flat screen. But most importantly, AC. The beds are comfortable enough and the view is fantastic. We look right out onto the beach and the ocean. It looks like paradise here.
We got some lunch at the little restaurant on the property. Overall, the food was great. I had some fried chicken, my sister the grilled shrimp skewers, and Courtney had this chicken in a mushroom and dijon sauce. It tasted incredible. After that, we took a shower and got ready for our tour. I might do a restaurant review later on in the week.
First stop on the tour was this Politicians ranch. The view overlooked the city and the countryside. It had begun raining at this point so things had cooled down but surprisingly the rain didn't mar the view at all. You could still see miles away.
Next stop was this combination penal/farming colony. Talk about odd. Palawan is all about progressive thinking, particularly on ecological matters. So they have made this prison that has this huge farmland attached where the inmates actually work the farm. They also recycle plastic and styrofoam from the local fastfood places to make souvenirs, which they sell at a gift shop. All inmates get stipends from this work that they in turn send to their families. Kind of cool.
After that was the crocodile farm. Saw all kinds of freshwater and saltwater crocs. The highlight of the place? Taking pictures holding a baby crocodile. I didn't know that they would be so warm and soft. It was really expecting something rough, scaly, and cold to the touch. We got a bunch of cool pics of both me and Courtney with the baby croc. CJ was too chicken to actually hold the thing so bleh.
We then drove through the city with a stop at this old Cathedral. By that time, we were pretty exhausted and hungry so we just went back to the hotel. The rain had stopped so we lounged in the pool for a while. Got up to take another shower then back down to dinner at the hotel restaurant. After that, bed time. Hitting the sack never felt so good.
Tomorrow is our adventure to the underground river. Can't wait for that!
We wait until Paramedics come in and give her the whole once over. Blood pressure, thermometer, the whole nine. Determination? Really high blood pressure. Which will only go up as the plane climbs in altitude. Not a good sign at all. But the paramedics can't tell her to get off the phone as "technically" she is ok. "Just great." I'm thinking, flashes of my dad's episode the last time I was on a trans-Pacific flight start playing in my head. Fortunately, the big wigs with the Airlines tells her, in so many words, that she needs to get off the plane, and this plane needs to get off the ground.
So total time lost? About 1 hour. Fantastic. Add another hour on the plane to an already 13 hour flight. So anyway, once she's off the plane, we start over again with the taxiing and finally, LIFT OFF.
We get a little bit of dinner that tasted pretty good for real food, let alone airplane food. First movie on the trip: Twilight Eclipse, much to Courtney's pleasure. I pop in a Tylenol PM and knock out. For people flying on long trips, I strongly recommend doing this as it helps you sleep and also passes time. I slept for about 8 hours so only had 5 to really contend with. Woke up, had breakfast, then sat out the last 4 hours til we touched ground.
Manila was a bit of a blur. Got our transfer stuff, hit customs, then basically got on another plane. Pretty soon, we were in our destination: Palawan.
Our hotel is a bit on the rustic side. It's on the beach. No AC in the lobby and the hallways. Giant windows allow a good bit of airflow through the place, with fans providing back up. We check in and they present us with iced orange juice and a cold hand towel to refresh us. So cool.
The room is pretty standard. Two queen beds. Bathroom. Flat screen. But most importantly, AC. The beds are comfortable enough and the view is fantastic. We look right out onto the beach and the ocean. It looks like paradise here.
We got some lunch at the little restaurant on the property. Overall, the food was great. I had some fried chicken, my sister the grilled shrimp skewers, and Courtney had this chicken in a mushroom and dijon sauce. It tasted incredible. After that, we took a shower and got ready for our tour. I might do a restaurant review later on in the week.
First stop on the tour was this Politicians ranch. The view overlooked the city and the countryside. It had begun raining at this point so things had cooled down but surprisingly the rain didn't mar the view at all. You could still see miles away.
Next stop was this combination penal/farming colony. Talk about odd. Palawan is all about progressive thinking, particularly on ecological matters. So they have made this prison that has this huge farmland attached where the inmates actually work the farm. They also recycle plastic and styrofoam from the local fastfood places to make souvenirs, which they sell at a gift shop. All inmates get stipends from this work that they in turn send to their families. Kind of cool.
After that was the crocodile farm. Saw all kinds of freshwater and saltwater crocs. The highlight of the place? Taking pictures holding a baby crocodile. I didn't know that they would be so warm and soft. It was really expecting something rough, scaly, and cold to the touch. We got a bunch of cool pics of both me and Courtney with the baby croc. CJ was too chicken to actually hold the thing so bleh.
We then drove through the city with a stop at this old Cathedral. By that time, we were pretty exhausted and hungry so we just went back to the hotel. The rain had stopped so we lounged in the pool for a while. Got up to take another shower then back down to dinner at the hotel restaurant. After that, bed time. Hitting the sack never felt so good.
Tomorrow is our adventure to the underground river. Can't wait for that!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Vacation: Day 1
Today is a travel day. As such there is not much to report. I am feeling extremely exhausted. The last couple weeks at work were the very definition of killer. Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't just collapse. But that's ok since I've got a LONG plane ride ahead of me.
Dropped the dogs off at the Pet Hotel at around 1pm. As always, it was a sad affair. It's really getting harder and harder to part with the little critters. Courtney and I love them so.
After that, finished packing, mom picked us up, said goodbye to my dad and made our way to the airport.
Walking to the ticket counter, this dude was being escorted out by a cop. He starts screaming, "Don't you hurt me! I'm cooperating!" Making a total scene. It was bananas!
Of course, as per our luck, the ticketing agent we get is the new girl. She was nice and everything but it was her third day and she wasn't quite sure how to navigate through the menus. To make matters worse, we had to complicate things with an additional transfer that was booked by different means. Of course.
Plane ride to Vancouver was fairly uneventful. Read some stuff in GQ about tailoring your suit and finding the perfect tie. Tried to play Megaman Zero only to have it hand me my ass. Then settled on the USA Today Crossword Challenge, only to have it, too, hand me my ass. Fortunately, by that time, we were descending into the land of maple leaves and Tim Horton's. And this holding tank.
Now just the wait to get back on the plane and on to the long leg of our trip. Next time I blog will be in the Philippines!
Dropped the dogs off at the Pet Hotel at around 1pm. As always, it was a sad affair. It's really getting harder and harder to part with the little critters. Courtney and I love them so.
After that, finished packing, mom picked us up, said goodbye to my dad and made our way to the airport.
Walking to the ticket counter, this dude was being escorted out by a cop. He starts screaming, "Don't you hurt me! I'm cooperating!" Making a total scene. It was bananas!
Of course, as per our luck, the ticketing agent we get is the new girl. She was nice and everything but it was her third day and she wasn't quite sure how to navigate through the menus. To make matters worse, we had to complicate things with an additional transfer that was booked by different means. Of course.
Plane ride to Vancouver was fairly uneventful. Read some stuff in GQ about tailoring your suit and finding the perfect tie. Tried to play Megaman Zero only to have it hand me my ass. Then settled on the USA Today Crossword Challenge, only to have it, too, hand me my ass. Fortunately, by that time, we were descending into the land of maple leaves and Tim Horton's. And this holding tank.
Now just the wait to get back on the plane and on to the long leg of our trip. Next time I blog will be in the Philippines!
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