Blogs from Cebu, Philippines, Asia - page 24

from negros i decided to head to cebu island. here there is some famed diving spots and cebu city (the second largest city in the philippines). my first stop was to the town of moalboal. there is not really any notable beaches there, expect for white beach in the north, but the diving was the reason to go. they have several marine sanctuaries there, one even named saavedra reef. saavedra is my surname, so that was reason enough for me to go. the marine life there was great. i was able to see turtles, sea snakes, even some small sharks at deeper depths. unfortunately the water was a little dirty with small particles, so the pictures didn't come out very clear. at least some came out. i was even able to scare some of the local ... read more

Hey you all I am in Cebu until tommorow morning. Tommorow we fly off to Boracay, I am so excited. The last few days are definitely the cool down period since we have been so frantic running around traveling all over the place. Today we went to Bohol and went on an eco-tour. Eco-tourism is basically tourism set up that is sustainable with no detrimental effects or strains on the environment. We went to a river where the community has set up a community based developmental protection system that seeks to protect the river and succesfully run an eco-tourist venue. This place was really neat. Much of the day was spent traveling as we were taking ferries to and from the island. Our day started at 5 am and we got back around 6. It was ... read more

Home sweet…home? Well, I suppose I am no longer homeless. I have finally found an apartment in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district at the footsteps of some of the world’s finest shopping centers with shanty towns crammed between. On my 300-meter walk home from the Skytrain I encounter anything from discount portable DVD players for sale, to miniature Buddhist temples, multiple 7-11 shops and five-ton elephants strolling down the sidewalk. It’s the chaotic melting pot of East meets West and old meets news. And it’s home! No sooner did I move into my new home, however, did I take off for the homeland: the Philippines. It was definitely nice to be somewhere that I know the language. My mom was visiting Thailand before heading to the Philippines again so I decided to hop on over ... read more

firstly, i will give you a brief background about myself......i am ricky, from cebu.....i was teaching in USC when i first heard that i was accepted for a study grant in the Netherlands....so in August 1998, for the first time in my life, i set foot in a foreign country.....i stayed there for 2 years to complete my MSc in Biochemical Engineering in Delft Technical University..... To make the story shorter, it was a school-house-school scenario for the first year until i began to assimilate into the dutch society....i made friends (enemies too..hahaha) and maybe the whole Filipino community...... When i finished my MSc, i had to go back to USC to return service.....but the urge to seek for greener pasture was more overwhelming than returning service.....I left again in November 2001.......but this time in Maastricht, ... read more

It seems you've been getting a few emails from me lately - sorry about that! A website flaw it seems. Final 'photo catchup' this time. A few more photos, this time for my days down on Bohol and Bantayan Islands. Once again, enjoy. Keep enjoying yourselves, Simon x... read more