Blogs from Bantayan, Cebu, Philippines, Asia - page 2

As hoped in our last blog we've just arrived at the internet cafe directly from the beach. Unfortunately Hannes experienced some problems with his snorkelling mask but we both felt better after a few shakes (coconut, banana/rhum and mango). Not a bad day on the whole. The ferry trip from Manila to Cebu was comfortable but not that exciting. We did, however, finally hear some of the infamous karaoke. The Filipinos were actually quite good at it which in Sweden wouldn't be fair to the audience since they wouldn't have anything to laugh at. In the Philippines the karaoke singer is deeply respected and we've even heard of a german tourist being threatened with a beating for laughing at the performer... When we after 22 hours on the ferry finally arrived in Cebu we quickly found ... read more

I'm just relaxing at Bantayan at the moment. It's low season so there was pretty much just me on the beach for a quite a long time. Unfortunately, the sand wasn't as nice as the picture--it never is. Lots of shell bits. I saw a baby jellyfish. I think it's the first time I've ever seen a jelly fish. It was so small--pretty dark coloured though. I've never seen a jellyfish but I assumed that that is what is was...hm...Anyways, it was all on its own near the shore. Perhaps it was dead. I have no idea. I thought about touching it to see but decided it wasn't worth the risk. Lots of reading done. Just picking any random book off the resort shelf that was in English. Most are German. I find that odd.... read more

Looking Back: Bantayan Island - Dec. 1996. After Christmas of 1996, my friends and I planned an out of town trip. This was to be the first of the many trips we'll be having. Our first stop was Cebu City, we stayed at my uncle's place. My cousins were our tour guide. the first few days we visited, the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills; Magellan's Cross across the Sto. Nino Shrine; a beach in Mactan. The food is inexpensive and local cuisine was superb. We took a fast ferry, Oceanjet 2 of Socor Shipping Lines to Sta. Fe, Bantayan. It is an island north of Cebu mainland. The fare was 300pesos/person and we left the port of Cebu at 5:30am. It was about 3 hours fast ferry ride. When we got to Sta. Fe, there ... read more