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Published: April 20th 2006
Richard and Nev
I'm not sure what they were celbrating at 4am with ciggar's but it seemes like a good idea at the time I'm sure!Hello again all!
There are new subscribers that are people we have only recently met (hello!) and some new subscribers that should have been on here the whole time and have a lot of reading to do to catch up - sorry Charlie and Ben!
A large part of travelling seems to be waiting around. Waiting for planes, trains, buses, accommodation availability etc. etc. and we seem to have become far more patient for it (don't have a choice really as you'd go mad otherwise!).
Our previous journal entry ended with us in Luala Lumpur where we had a good night of drinking until 4:30 am with Clare and Nev from UK. The next night we spent the night in the airport as a 7am flight meant getting up early and we weren't prepared to waste a massive spending of GBP4.00 on another nights accommodation that wouldn't have been fully used. Richard found us a comfortable spot behind some desks that hadn't had their construction completed and had a not too bad few hours sleep! That's another thing I've learnt to do! I used to be a very light sleeper and anything and everything would stop me from
Amber and Clare
I want Clare's hair! She had it relaxed whilst in the Philippines and it's goooorgeous!!! sleeping or wake me up. Now I've found that if you are truley tired you can sleep anywhere and with any distraction!
So, here we are now in the Philippines where I am, for once, taller than everyone else! It's great and the people are very friendly.
Here's what we've been up to:
Manila
We have been told by everybody we've met that has been to Philippines to avoid Manila as is a huge city with more cars and bikes than people. We met a very nice lady on the plane called Veron, a business woman in Manila, who helped us get our bus and then insisted on getting a taxi with us to drop us in a "good" area before insisting on paying the fare. We were dropped in the Business section which was way out of our price range for accommodation (we avaerage out at about GBP6.00 a night for the two of us) and we had to pay nearly GBP30.00 a night for two nights stay before our flight to Cebu. It was a nice hotel and a good area with lots of shops and coffe bars. I brought a pair of shorts for
Homeless!
Sleeping on the floor of KL airport. 76p. Bargain!
The fumes of the city were so bad that I had difficulty in breathing and black boogies when I blew my nose! Yuck!
Cebu
Another flight brought us to Cebu too late to reach Malapascua Island and so we stayed a night in a grotty hotel and set off the next morning for a 4 hour bus journey which was like a party bus with Housed up versions of Bananarama and various 80's tunes. It was actually rather fun although I had a bag of baby chics squeaking at me from the next seat!
Malapascua
We got a "Banca" boat to Malapascua which is a normal little wooden boat with bamboo legs that rest on the water giving the appearance of a water skater insect. We booked into another little hut where the electricity is only on 6pm to 12pm and after that you lose all light and the much needed fan. The nights were very hot and rather uncomfortable but the beach beautiful albeit rather overcrowded with Banca boats.
We met an English imaciated drunk who introduces himself as "Captain Jeff" and stated that he ran excursions to the other islands (no way I
No cracking jokes about bombs!
A sign in most boat ports and airports. was getting on a boat with this guy!). He then proceeded to tell us that he has been on the Island for 3 years hiding from a dodgy business deal in Malaysia and has been away from England for about 7 years. He told us he didn't like England anymore as last time he went back an Indian taxi driver tried to charge him so much "In MY country!!!". He said various other things that annoyed me until I simply got up and left the table. I wanted to point out that the taxi driver he disliked so much was at least paying taxes etc. whereas "Captian moron" had been bumming around on a beach drinking beer for 7 years...........anyone know how I can shop him in to Immigration??
There were the usual pigs and chickens kept where we were staying. One night there were 3 piggies, the next morning I got woken by squealing, several hours later a big skewered pig was carried past and a few more hours after that we were invited to "Thanksgiving dinner" of, you guesses it, Pork and pig intestines!!! Philippino's love their food and find it very offensive if you refuse what
Lilly and Julia
Our friends in Malapascua. They liked to entertain us with making towers out of empty water bottles etc. you are offered. So we ate the intestines and smiled! Was actually not too bad!
After four nights in Malapascua, and much sunbathing and meeting the locals, we left and returned to Cebu. This accommodation contained more locals to meet. We called him Mr Jinx. A mouse! He liked to watch us from his various hidey holes and would occasionaly run across the floor for attention. We preferred Mr Jinx to the usual cockroaches and big rats.
Bohol
Panglao Island, Alona Beach
Alona Beach is the beach to goto if you are on a budget as the accommodation is affordable although still slightly more than usual as is Easter week or "Holy Week" as it is called here. Started our stay in "Peter's House" where you get cheaper rates if you dive. Richard did a dive and I joined the boat journey for some snorkeling as my ears are still a bit useless. The water was rather choppy and we made our way in the little boat over to the big diving boat and then had to jump from one to the other. This was no easy task as the bigger boat was considerably higher than the smaller
boat and both were rising and falling at quite a height and speed. Richard was to go first but I wasn't really paying attention and was manning the sandwiches we'd brought for our lunch when I heard a great big SPLASH and a lot if yelling and looked up and...."Where'd Richard go?". He'd fallen between the two boats, which were still knifing up and down, and came up hand above head (to protect the head on surfacing" and one fully clothed and rather soaked Richard was hauled out of the water. He was fine of course but insisted that he "would have been fine if they hadn't tried to help me on!"..........uh huh!
But here's the thing with the above story. When Richard came up he was smiiling! You may have noticed from the photo's that Richard smiles rather a lot now! He's decided that he likes "all this smiling business". Me too!
We took a boad back over to Tagbilaran, the main town of Bohol, and checking into a hotel we went off to visit the Chocolate Hills of Bohol! They were originally called the "Carmen Hills" as are in Carmen town, but an American came to
Malapascua
Thanksgiving dinner visit quite some time ago and stated that the hills look like the Hershey Kisses Chocolate drops (very popular in USA) and so the hills were renamed the "Chocolate Hills" as in April - June the grass on the hills completely dries and turns all the hills completely brown. They go on for miles and there are over 1500 of them!
We also got to visit the Tarsier monkeys. They are very small adorable nocturnal monkeys that have HUGE eyes to allow as much light in as possible to allow them to see in the dark. Unfortunately, whilst I was thrilled to get so close, these monkeys are captured monkeys from the nearby jungle and are completely blind in daylight. We felt sorry for them clinging to their branches and squeaking in fright at all these people poking and making noise around them when they can't see a darn thing! We also came aross a spider bigger than my hand...ew.
We are currently in Dumaguette on the Island of Negros and tonight will be going back to Cebu (again) by overnight ferry before catching a flight to Palawan to do some serious island hoping which we will fill
Panglao
Alona Beach you in on next time!
Should anyone ever come to Dumaguette in search of accommodation, here is some advice....
DO NOT STAY AT DUMAGUETTE PENSION HOUSE! This is one of one's reccommended in the Rough Guide. We booked in and, as is the case in some places, were asked to pay for the night's stay in advance. We got a double aircon room with cable TV as was an OK price at 450 pisos (just under GBP 5.00). However, we soon discovered that the aircon did not work, the TV has only one channel (oh but it is a cable channel!), the sink does not have running water and when you turn on the shower the filth from the floor rises up and you wind up dirtier than when you started! The cockroaches LOVED the place though and liked to run up the walls, across the bed etc. I had an electric fan vrought in and aksed for the "fan room" cheaper rate and therefore some money back but was told I'd need to speak to the manager. A Chinese woman appeared, yelled a lot and waved her arms about before exiting the building and not returning. The
staff said at first that the Chinese lady was the manager, then they said she was the daughter of the manager...then "she can not help she is only wife of manager"....WHAT!?? Richard got shown another room and they opened the door to a room witha disco outside the window and a large cockroach on the bed and said "how about this one sir?" Richard pointed at the cockroach and asked if "do we get him free or do we have to pay extra?". The manager never returned and we had a terrible nights stay.
However, if you want GREAT ACCOMMODATION in Dumaguette, stay at Avenue Park Hotel. We got a double room for 495 Pisos, Aircon that so good you could use the room as a storage freezer, TV with so many channels that I got a blister on my thumb and really lovely staff! The shower and toilet cubicles are shared but splut between men and women and kept very clean. I even got given a robe to wear inbetween our room and the shower! Best place EVER!
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Rach
non-member comment
Hello!
You two look far too brown and far too slim for my liking! The pictures are fantastic and Amber you keep everyone in raining England very amused with your writing! Miss you both. Rach xx