Resort Living on Idyllic Siquijor

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I forgot to mention in the last blog that one of our big regrets was not hanging around longer to coincide with the whale shark snorkelling tour. But don’t worry we'll be sure to get back one day to tick that one off the list.



Today was Suzanne's birthday, and was probably one to forget really as the entire day revolved around travelling from one place to the next, we caught the tricycle to Moalboal and from there a non-air conditioned bus down south to Bato. We then rode the ferry across to Dumaguete. We arrived at our accommodation for the night, and it wasn't at all pleasant. Although the good news was that there was no sign at all of the damage from the typhoon, and it didn't interrupt the tourist trail and infrastructure at all. Although of course we weren't pleased that there was a typhoon at all, as it was reported to destroy many lives and buildings. Our hotel for the night was Plaza Maria Luisa and was right in the middle of town. However the foyer absolutely reeked of raw chicken, and in fact we both had to dry reach a few times. We had to change rooms as well as there was no hot water in our first room.



We hit the local Internet cafe... 3 times, in order to find some accommodation in Sipilay. I forgot to mention in my last blog that our original plan was actually to head to Sugar Beach at Sipilay. However we rang around our options on Sipilay, using one of our hotel staffs mobile phones, and had absolutely no luck. Seems as though everything was booked out already. This is when we decided to change plans of attack and actually head to Siquijor instead. Not having a mobile phone really doesn't help matters when stuck trying to book accommodation. Note to self next time take an unlocked mobile phone so we can use local SIM cards.



We went to dinner in a LP recommended place called Labas to try and celebrate the last of Suzanne's birthday. Unfortunately due to the stress of the day we had and the stinky hotel foyer, we weren't all that hungry. That and we were sat right next to the kitchen with the door swinging open all the time and we had to view the quite unpleasant state of the floors in there. I managed though to order and down a chilli crab. It was quite funny at the time, they brought the live crab out to our table for us to inspect before serving it. We tried to kick on and went for some drinks at a local bar called Hayahays(?), but we just couldn't get into the swing of things. So we headed back to the hotel to be greeted by the smelly raw chicken. Just when we thought it was over an extremely loud music festival started right across the road from our hotel and went long into the early hours of the morning........ as I said a birthday to forget for poor Suz.



We awoke early the next day for our transit to Siquijor. But first we had to take care of some chores, booking accommodation in Dumaguete for the 28th at Coco Grande, and then the travel agent to book our flights from Dumaguete to Boracay on the 29th. To our delight this was all very successful. We filled up on good old McDonald's for breakfast, which seemed to be the seedy old white guys hang out with their young Filipino girl hanging off their arm. We then caught the ferry across to Siquijor.



The boat was very rough, luckily Vince had taken his tablets, and I can't recommend these enough to anyone that gets motion sickness! Even Suz had to concentrate on this trip to avoid a sneaky puke. At the harbour we were thrust into tricycle mayhem once again, with everyone vying for your business. We did a good deal for P100 to coco grove stopping firstly at coral clay. We had pre booked at coco grove from the 23rd to the 27th and then had nowhere else to stay for that last night. Coral clay was available but they wanted us to pay in full then and there, which we weren't too keen on, so instead we decided to risk it and try our luck at snagging a cancellation on that last night at coco grove. We were certainly paying the high end at coco grove, for P4200 per night, which we wouldn't if we were travelling on a budget, but we were holidaying after all. And in the end it was well worth it. The resort was beautiful, the rooms were so nice, the staff friendly, and the food was really nice and relatively inexpensive as well. Plus they had a dive shop and you could snorkel right off the beautiful white sand beach at the front of the resort.



We quickly booked 2 dives and also the Xmas eve feast. In the Philippines they seem to put a lot more importance on Xmas eve dinner than they do Xmas day itself. And it is actually a special treat for them to cook and eat spaghetti bolognaise for dinner that night. I guess because they never usually eat it, nor can afford it. The snorkelling off the beach was great although it cost p50 each as it was actually a marine park. Plenty of clown fish hiding in their reed homes. In fact two of them had small fish syndrome and tried quite ferociously to defend their territory when our fingers got a little too close to their homes or kids. We managed to entertain ourselves for hours upsetting these poor guys by getting close to them.



Our next few days at the resort were pure bliss, and so very relaxing. We read books, went for swims in the pool and beach, snorkelled, ate, had massages and drank. Each night we sat at the bar and had cocktails with such friendly bar staff. Our favourites were Joy-joy and Casanova, well so he called himself. On Xmas eve we managed to jag ourselves the last nights’ accommodation we were holding out for which was a nice surprise. The feast was great with whole suckling pig on the spit and the entertainment was locals singing and dancing. Funniest thing ever was the Siquijor song that they are so proud to sing at the end, we felt a little bad for laughing but our child within just couldn't stop ourselves. Because they have a bit of an accent, they really sounded like they were singing "stinky wh*re" as opposed to Siquijor, with such massive grins on their faces. One of those you had to be there moments, but also one that we will remember and laugh about well into our old age.



Xmas day was a bit cloudy but it didn't dampen our spirits for the dive we had planned. Diving in Asia is so much fun as they do everything for you including carrying your gear, which makes it so much more relaxing, and of course it is about a third of the price of diving in Australia. Although it is still advisable to do the routine checks of your own gear, lucky we did, as our mouth pieces on our primary regulators were so loose they needed tightening in the shop. We dove at Tubod point just near our resort. We got to see a massive sea turtle, man I Love sea turtles. We also saw porcelain crabs, so tiny, a white worm, baby eel, and a massive puffer fish. Later on the beach we had some Xmas day hermit crab racing which was a lot of fun. A special mention must go out to "pointy" for winning the day's meet. Pinky, speedy, mini, pearl, Renault, pointy junior, super mini, and greeny all did their best on the day, but their best just wasn't good enough. Worst in the field though went to peanut, anyone would have thought he was dead he was moving so slow. We have put it down to a super tight fitting shell. We finished the perfect day with a Xmas dinner and a few cocktails each. We had a great night learning some rude Filipino words from joy-joy and Casanova and another of their mates Henreich and Pogs. And in return taught them some Aussie slang. Seems like they don't get a lot of exposure to Australians over here.



The next day was raining most of the day so we filled it with lazing about in bed reading and watching movies. We also tried out some of our new words at the restaurant which the staff thought was hilarious. The staff here really do go out of their way to be friendly and make you feel welcome, we wish the Australian tourism and hospitality industry could stay here for a week to learn what good customer service should be like. Amazing that on Xmas night, the manager joy actually took the microphone and individually greeted each and everyone of her 70 guests. All this without palm cards, and she knew where every guest was from.... Again amazing to see and hear.



We really wanted to book onto the Apo island diving trip, but unfortunately the next was our last full day and was also raining, so the boat was cancelled. Another regret of not having the chance to go on this trip as it is rumoured to be in the top few diving spots in the world. Oh well, again, next time! So instead we hired a motorbike on the street outside the resort, as it is cheaper than getting it from the resort themselves. It was such a brilliant day and actually the highlight of our stay. The roads were so quiet, we managed to do the entire island circuit in one day and stop off at some remarkable places. Kagawasan beach was so remote and so beautiful, there was no one at all there to have to share it with. We stopped at the town of Siquijor and ate at LP recommended Samyz Pizza. The food was nice but a bit weird, using béchamel sauce instead of cheese. We also stopped off at beautiful Palatan beach which was a little difficult to find due to the lack of signs. It was incredible to zoom past all the locals as they yelled out hello to us every two seconds, such some life's they seem to lead but so happy and friendly.



The next day we caught the midday ferry back to Dumaguete. We checked in at coco groves sister hotel coco Grande then headed off to the super plaza for some late lunch. We found a food court where all the locals seem to eat. We were a little hesitant at first but the food was terrific, and oh so cheap. We found an Internet cafe so we could back up our photos onto Dropbox, as our camera was full, however couldn't get it working, so it was back to super plaza for Vince to find a USB stick. We had dinner that night at coco amigos Mexican, yes also owned by the coco people, and it wasn't too bad. We were up early the next day on the 29th excited to be off to catch our plane to Boracay, which we have heard so many good things about, and seen so many beautiful photos of.





V&S Travel Tips: What we learnt in these few days was the importance of having a mobile phone. This helps so much to pre book accommodation, and the best bit is that they usually don't take deposits over the phone as opposed to the Internet. So if you need to cancel at the last minute or change your mind, nothing lost. However, you also don't have any written proof that you have booked a room which can be an issue, ask them to email you the details so you at least have something as proof.

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Photos

little catapillar wrapped in a sleep sheet in Dumaguete
these silk sleep sheets keep you clean and bed bug free, plus roll up into almost nothing