Philippines

Our arrival in the Philippines had an auspicious air as we were greeted with a personal driver; the first and likely last time either of us will be so welcomed. The driver was compliments of Priti’s long-time friend Collette and her husband Joe. Priti went to junior high and high school with Collette but they hadn’t seen each other since 1996.The long awaited reunion would have to wait another two hours to go 30 miles as we sat in traffic heading into the center of Manila. Traffic in Asia, and especially Manila, is not for the faint of heart; although, as Joe would inform us, it is “controlled chaos,” to us uninitiated Westerners there was nothing controlled about it. Lane markings, if present, were ignored; horns were constantly blaring and could signal a number of warnings but mostly meant “get out of my way,” and the bigger vehicle always had the right of way. The most common were jeepneys, which are basically old army jeeps that have been modified to fit two benches in the back and had anything from the Virgin Mary to the Chicago Bulls painted on the outside. As much as we tried to tune out, we were still stressed out just being chauffeured and couldn’t imagine having to drive everyday there.

After catching up with Collette and Joe, and meeting their wonderful daughter Sky, our royal treatment continued as we were taken to the 24^th floor to our very own fully furnished 2-bedroom 2 ½ bathroom condo with a balcony and AC. This place, by far, was the nicest at which we have stayed during our travels. We also were privileged to the services of their two Yayas (nannies) Remia and Wang, who cooked us meals and even did our laundry. Ah, the good life in the Philippines. Of course, this was in stark contrast with the dilapidated metal shacks we passed on the way from airport, where the river bank served as their bathroom and their only source of running water.

During our few days in Manila, we couldn’t help but visit the Mega Mall, which was close by to our residence. The mall has 5 or 6 floors, several “wings”, an ice skating rink, a few cinemas and stations in their public train system. We found ourselves lost at several points. After picking up some supplies at the SM store we were disgusted to learn that they fire most of their employees after five months in order to avoid paying them higher wages which are required by law after that tenure. Perhaps that’s why no one could tell us where to find shampoo, even though at every turn there were three employees looking over our shoulders. We wondered if SM was owned by Wal-Mart? We also visited Intramuros which is the oldest section of Manila and had old monuments and churches in the Spanish style. We learned about the history of the Philippines and how she has struggled for independence, including the importance of Dr. Jose Rizal who, upon his execution in 1897, became a national martyr and for many he is now considered a saint. On the way back, we braved a jeepney ride. Since there wasn’t any glass for the windows, we had to inhale the exhaust from all the other vehicles. Nonetheless, it was an interesting ride, as people got on and off from the back, including the hawkers selling individual cigarettes for a couple pesos ($.05). Although we spent several days in Manila, we recommend that those traveling to the Philippines get out of the capital city as quickly as possible. Despite its lack of appeal, the variety of food in Manila is very satisfying, especially if you have a sweet tooth. It seems that they add sugar to everything, even mayonnaise! And for those ice tea lovers, be warned that it is so sweet that your teeth tingle.

Our escape from the city came when the weekend rolled around and we headed with our hosts toward the provincial town of Tagaytay...at the snail pace of 15mph. Yet when we reached the countryside, we could breathe the difference; the air was clean and you could hear the crickets chirping at night. The roosters woke us up in the morning along with the neighborhood's stray dogs. Although we’d heard the rumor that dog is part of the Philippine cuisine, we never saw it on a menu. From Tagaytay we ventured to Lake Taal which is a lake within a volcano within a lake (within a volcano within a lake….). Very post-modern. We took a small outrigger, a traditional boat, from the larger lake to the volcano and hired horses to trek to the rim of the volcano which overlooked a crater lake. Although we went “horseback riding,” some of these horses were so small that the staff called them “goats” in Tagalog (the Filipino language). At the top of the volcano, we enjoyed some buka or fresh coconut milk through straws and even scooped out the fleshy coconut meat...yum.

Our day of goatback riding was followed by a trip to Anilao, where Jason and Joe went diving Colette is an avid diver but had to abstain since she is pregnant (!) so the girls had fun hanging out all day while the boys dived. Then, we endured the traffic back to Manila where we learned that a “terrorist bomb” had gone off at Glorietta Mall, another mega mall, where Colette’s mom has a store. Later, the news reported that it wasn’t a bomb but fuel stores at the ground level exploded, but this was unconfirmed by the time we left. This unfortunate news was followed by some more bad news; Joe’s sister, who lives near San Diego, lost her house in the devastating wild fires. Thankfully no one was hurt. We ended up going to Glorietta the following day to purchase our onward flights to Palawan. Although we were unable to see the spot of the explosion the acrid air was suffocating and likely toxic. Incredibly, the place was packed, as if nothing extraordinary had happened. On the way back from the mall, we got to experience the joys of Manila's public transport at rush hour. We had to wait as full trains passed by and when we finally got on, we were packed in so tight we couldn't move. And, as was true throughout our stay in the Philippines, Jason was a full head taller than everyone else.

On our last night out, we visited the Hobbit House which employs only “short people” with the exception of the bartender who has to be able to see above the bar. While there, we listened to the headliner Rheena (mistakenly introduced as “Sheena”) who tried to imitate Shakira but without the stage presence and hip shakes. Apparently this was her moment to shine as she was so nervous that she had to use notes to remember to thank her parents. Fortunately for her we were in the back so she couldn’t hear our laughter.

Our next destination was the remote islands of Palawan. We boarded the cozy charter plane that had a maximum capacity of 22, including the pilots who were visible from our seats and within arms length of the front row passengers. The propellers were loud and the ride was beautiful as we flew over hundreds of the 7000 islands that comprise the Philippines in the blue and turquoise water. We arrived at El Nido, whose tiny airport consisted of four wooden posts and a thatched roof and whose runway doubles as the road to the airport. Thus, we had to wait for our airplane to take off with a new set of passengers before Giselle, Colette’s younger sister, and her husband, Mik, picked us up. Mik’s grandfather, former mayor of El Nido, was ill and had asked Mik to take over the family business, the Marina Garden Cottage Resort. From our oceanside cottage, we could hear and see the gentle waves hitting the beach. There is no better way to fall asleep than to the sound of ocean waves. The town of El Nido was not very commercialized, although the markings of development are starting to creep in. There were no hawkers asking you if you need transport or to buy a cheap souvenir. Dozens of children played on the beaches, and some of them skim boarded, which entails running with the board and dropping it down to skim the waves. Normal surfing is impossible because the waves are way too small. Mik’s younger brother Johan and his friends were in the process of creating skimboards for some of the local kids. The beach has a small port which is too tiny for large boats so you get a nice view of the traditional outrigger boats, one of which had been built in the 1940s! Electricity is available only between noon and 4 pm and then again from about 6 pm to 6 am. The roosters and pigs act as a natural alarm clock and a loud horn sounds at 9:45 pm sharp, warning the children that curfew is in fifteen minutes. In addition to all of this, the island is surrounded by hundreds of other lush granite islands. Although the island is peaceful, we found entertainment on our first night, at a restaurant that served the best steaks we’ve eaten since leaving the States. Some locals played live Filipino folk music by Freddie Aguilar and others and Jason even joined in on a homemade bongo drum.

Unfortunately, it rained all through the following day; however, we hung out with our hosts and had many good laughs and Jason and Johan introduced each other to lots of new music. Mik was always willing to share his extensive knowledge of marine wildlife, among other things. Did you know that sharks and manta rays can have offspring? (at least in Mik’s world they can, haha).

The next day, we awoke to menacing looking grey skies. However, after some reassurance from our tour guide Bamboo that the seas would be calm, the four of us, sans Johan who had to “work”, hopped onto the outrigger to go island hopping. We started off in the boat and passed by “Helicopter” Island which we all agreed looked more like a dinosaur than a chopper. When we reached the small lagoon on Miniloc Island, we were happy that Bamboo’s instinct was correct and the rain was gone, leaving us to bask in the sun. This pattern of the sun following us to each destination would persist throughout the day. We got into the water and had been warned about stonefish which are painful and look like coral. Sure enough, within minutes, Bamboo found one and pointed it out to us. We then swam through a small cave opening in the water to a small lagoon which was enclosed by granite walls mixed with lush tropical flora. The water in the lagoon was a mixture of warm ocean water and cold spring water. Under water, we could hear the crackles of the spring water entering the lagoon. We swam through the lagoon to an area where there was an even smaller enclosed area. The water was much colder here and we learned that spiders (even great big hairy ones) can swim. Our next stop was the Big Lagoon on the other side of Miniloc Island which had an entrance just big enough for the boat to get through. Due to millennia of erosion, the granite cliffs had very interesting formations, and Bamboo showed us the most famous ones, including Batman and the Virgin Mary. We then went to the tiny Simizu Island for some snorkeling, where Bamboo caught a puffer fish and we played with it before it waddled away. Bamboo found a secluded and deserted beach at which his assistant BBQ’d pork and fish. After lunch, we proceeded to Snake “Island” which was in actuality just a curving sand bank that connects two islands during low tide. Apparently the official island designator was padding the stats on that one. Then we went to Cudugnon Cave, the entrance of which was tiny, so Bamboo helped us climb through. Although it smelled like bat droppings, the colors were fascinating and changed depending on which way the sun hit the walls. Our final stop of the day was Seven Commando Beach for some more superb snorkelling.

A couple days later the same group (plus Johan) went to see some more islands (there are usually 3 tours but Bamboo combined them into 2 for us). Whereas the first time we went out, the threatening skies proved harmless, this time was the opposite and the rain seemed to follow us around all day. Despite the rain, we enjoyed the misty views and snorkeling, although we all had to endure jellyfish stinging us at one of the spots. While driving through the Tapuitan Straight, we stopped at a church which stood alone on the island without any other establishments. We learned that this church has only one service per year in May. It was set against the green background and above it were granite cliffs. We then went snorkeling at another site where Bamboo, being a conservationist, was angry that the coral was mostly dead due to dynamite fishing even though he'd recently seen it alive. Sadly, even though dynamite fishing is illegal, it still happens in areas not designated (and thus protected) as national parks. This second day of island hopping also included a barbeque lunch at our very own beach. Jason was adventurous enough to eat pork face, including the ear and snout. Priti opted for the fish. Bamboo then took us to the Secret Beach, which was hidden behind huge granite stones and not listed on the maps, meaning we once again had the place to ourselves. Although it had been raining earlier, the water was crystal clear and we could see the sand waves at the bottom. And then all of a sudden, we saw baby black-tipped reef sharks dart across the water with acceleration that seemed impossible. Then, even more incredibly, they made a 270-degree turn without slowing down. After arriving back at the Marina Garden Cottage resort wet and tired, we learned that our flight the following day from El Nido to Basuanga, another island in Palawan, was cancelled. We decided to think about our travel options over a steak dinner but were disappointed to learn that they were out of steak. The thing about Palawan island is that it is so remote that if one place doesn’t have a food item, like beef, that means all the restaurants and stores don’t have it either and won’t until the next shipment. We figured bad things happen in threes – the rain, the cancelled flight, and no delicious steak for dinner.

The following day was the most gorgeous day thus far at El Nido; not a cloud in the sky and totally calm water. We kayaked to a small island called Cadlao that was a few kilometers from El Nido beach. Our own private island – well at least for the afternoon. We basked in the sun and snorkeled around half of it since it was pretty small. The coral was beautiful and untouched since tour groups do not go snorkeling here (they figure it’s too close to El Nido beach to charge people.) While snorkeling, we came across a school of six or seven dark silver/grey barracudas. We hovered, keeping our distance and waiting for them to move along, but they just stayed there, essentially warning us that we were on their turf. Even though we’d been diving with sharks, this was the first time that underwater animals had a truly menacing presence, and when Priti saw one open its jaw and show off its sharp teeth, she ended the snorkeling excursion. No one wants to be a meal for barracuda. During the evening, before dinner we tried chicken intestine from a local vendor. The top part tasted like gizzard but by the end it tasted more like liver...yuk. Luckily another vendor had fried bananas to get rid of the bitter aftertaste. Later, we enjoyed a candlelit dinner with our hosts in their courtyard. Then we moved to the restaurant next door to enjoy desert and more snacks on the beach with the waves crashing literally at our feet.

Our time in Palawan sadly had come to an end and the next day, we lounged on a large outrigger for eight and half hours to Coron, which is well-known for its numerous wreck dives, mostly Japanese ships from WWII. Coron itself is a city built on the water with each building elevated on strong wooden posts. The passageways between homes are rickety bamboo bridges that seemed barely able to withstand our weight. Priti had another go at diving and Jason again fed the addiction he had acquired in Fiji. The coral was the most pristine and colorful that Jason had seen thus far diving and the wrecks were something to behold. Jason even got to go inside (i.e., penetrate) one of the wrecks at a depth of about 30 meters. It was a bit scary but exhilirating to look up and not see sunlight. Also, the bubbles would get trapped in various spots so once they surfaced they continued to see bubbles as if there were ghost divers still underwater. After enjoying a full day of diving, our all-too-brief stay on Coron was done. The next day we were off to Manila which was spent, strangely, at a local cemetery for All Soul's (or Saint's) Day, where we saw thousands of families honoring their deceased relatives by hanging out at their grave sites, lighting candles, and feasting on food. Similar to when we arrived, the contrast between the rich and poor Filipinos was eye-opening; whereas some families relaxed in compounds, others lit effegies in vacant fields littered with debris. We were the only tourists there and thus got some interesting looks from the locals, both positive and negative. We joined in the festivities by sampling some skewered meats and sweets from the street vendors. And onward we go to Thailand where the feasting will continue.