Blogs from Mindoro, Philippines, Asia - page 5

Halv seks var jeg oppe og klar til aa dra, og ventet paa jeepneyen som skulle ta meg til Calapan. Da svarte damen i butikken: AAhh....den gaar ikke i dag den... akkurat...glemte et oeyeblikk at jeg var i Asia! Joda...mannen (tydeligvis kun en og samme mann som kjoerer hver dag) som kjoerte Jeepneyen var syk, og dermed var det ingen andre alternativer. Det vil si: ikke noen andre enn aa bli loppet fr penger, holde seg fast og passe paa alt man eier og har, da jeg suste avgaarde i en tricycle i sidevognen paa en motorsykkel!!! Landskapet mlagde en groenn stripe og fuktigheten i luften malte ansiktet mitt mens jeg saa solen staa opp og lyset bli sterkere for hvert sekund. Alle lyder ble hoeyere, alle farger klarere, alle lukter tydeligere. Nattens regnskur hadde skylt ... read more

Apo Reef Natural Park is located in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. "It is acclaimed as the best in Asia and second largest in the world, as the diving mecca of the Philippines. It is a 34- kilometer reef, located 20 miles west of Mindoro proper, with a narrow channel running east to west, dividing this reef into two lagoon systems, north and south. Underneath, the clean waters, fine white sand and numerous corals are visible. The Apo Reef includes the fascinating bird-populated islands of Binangaan and Caois del Bajo, which have a variety of birds that can irresistibly lure birdwatchers. The surrounding waters are abundant with marine fauna and luxuriant coral growth represented by approximately 400-500 kaleidoscopic coral species. Marine life includes varieties of sharks, sting rays and manta rays." (www.tourism.gov.ph) How to get there: From ... read more

Our group of 21 departs LAX in route to a week of scuba diving in the Philippines...my first international diving adventure! We had a long trip, 15 hours to Hong Kong, 2 hour layover, 1 1/2 hours to Manila and supposedly a 2 hour bus ride to Batangas where we would then get a outrigger that takes us to our resort on the island of Mindoro...another 1 1/2 hour ride! But add to that a 3 hour delay when our bus out of Manila breaks down half to our destination! It was noonish, around 100 degrees and probably 100 % humidity on a crowded bus with no air conditioning and no breeze. Fortunately we had some FUN people that help to make a bad situation a LOT of fun! Man did we laugh! We finally arrived ... read more

Valentines is Valerie's day. Valentines day or Val’s day for short. My wife, Valerie Navarrete and I celebrated it at White Beach, Puerto Galera. This coincided with IBM Daksh, my new company’s outing the next day. I took a leave a day earlier than the team building activity to celebrate with my wife. We arrived at White Beach at around 2:30PM after a 2hour bus ride from Manila to the Batangas Pier and an hour ferry ride to Puerto Galera. We stayed at Mendelluke’s Suite - this has become my favorite due to its reasonable room rate and excellent location. A beachfront room, near Coco Aroma on the left side of the beach (facing the sea). The nicer beachfront resorts and more upscale restaurants are here. We had a casual dinner beside the beach, it was ... read more

Dag allemaal, Het is weer even geleden maar dat betekent niet dat we hebben stilgezeten... Op 4 december hebben we het vliegtuig naar Manila genomen waar we meteen begrepen hoe sommige mensen zich moeten voelen als ze met Ryanair in Brussel-Charleroi aankomen, denkende dat ze net in Brussel geland zijn. Wij dachten dat we in Manila waren, maar bleken in Angeles te zijn. Een lange busrit later konden we dan toch om 1 uur 's nachts inchecken in onze guesthouse. Eerst nog een heel laat diner naar binnenwerken en dan onze slaapzaal in. 's Morgens meteen aan de praat geraakt met Yves zijn stapelbed-onderbuur, de Tsjechische Radek die zomaar even een duikclub bleek te hebben op een prive-eiland voor de kust van Mindoro. We dachten dat die dingen alleen maar in sprookjes bestonden maar neen hoor, ... read more