ESCAPE FROM MANILA

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Our escape from Manilla was a trip to Taal volcano for a few days. We had spent ages trying to contact hotels, but none of them had bothered to get back to us. People told us that it's a popular destination for both locals and tourists, therefore it was advisable to book in advance, but we decided to take a chance and get the bus anyway.

We left most of our things in a locker at the hotel and packed a small bag each to take with us – it was so nice to be travelling light for once. We boarded the bus and paid our 85peso (£1.20) for the 2 hour journey. Where could you get to on a bus in the UK for £1.20!? The bus soon filled up with passengers, packages and food and drink sellers. Andy hadn’t had breakfast so bought a rather dodgy looking burger with a rather unusual orange sauce – he's much braver than me!

Transport in Asia is very different to back home. There are no fixed bus stops so when you want the bus to stop you just tap a coin on the metal grab rail that runs along the ceiling. This came in quite handy for dropping us near the hotel, but it can be quite frustrating when the bus has to stop every few metres because people cant be bothered to walk.

We were expecting to arrive in a busy place with lots of no vacancy signs, but when we walked into the first hotel we were surprised to find we were the only guests. The staff were so happy to see us that we were given a short tour and were told to pick any room we wanted – not so happy that they would knock any money off the price of the room though!

After dropping our bags in the room we went for a walk to check out the views of the volcano. Most of the road was taken up with large houses which sadly block the view – although I can imagine their view is stunning. We came across Josephine's restaurant which advertised the best views around so we popped in for a drink. The views did not disappoint. We took a table outside and marvelled at how much things can change in just a two hour journey. Just a few hours ago we were fighting through the traffic, heat and crowds of Manila and now we were enjoying a pleasant breeze and a beer while looking over a volcano. The volcano itself is quite small, but quite unusual. It has an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island.


After a few drinks we wandered back towards the hotel to find somewhere for dinner. We did our usual thing - found a place full of locals and headed straight for it. There were lots of outside tables in open sided huts with lovely views over the lake, but all the locals had chosen to sit inside rammed together. We got the best table and sat down looking pleased with ourselves. We ordered our dinner and were sat admiring the view when our peace was suddenly interrupted. A musical trio appeared out of nowhere and stood at the end of our table to serenade us. The music was quite good and to be fair it must be quite an effort lugging a double bass around, but I feel quite uncomfortable in situations like this. Do you look at them, do you carry on what you were doing before they arrived, I am not really up on serenading etiquette. When they finished and asked us if we had any requests we passed them a few pesos and shook our heads relieved that they were disappearing to find some other victims.

When dinner arrived it was huge, so huge that just the sight of it put me off a little, but the portions were no match for Andy who did a good job of polishing off both plates.

The following morning we checked out after breakfast. We wanted to get a different view of the volcano and hoped that if we went to Talisay at the bottom of the hill we would be able to get a boat trip to see the volcano up close and personal.

The journey down was interesting. Tricycles in this neck of the woods are not made for anyone over 5' 5”. Andy scrunched himself up and looked rather uncomfortable as we drove at great speed down a very bumpy mostly rubble road for 15km.

When we arrived I unfolded Andy and levered him out of the tricycle, we then walked down a small hill to our chosen resort. They were having a lot of building work done, but the next resort wasn’t for miles and this one had a pool so we checked in anyway – once again we were the only guests.

We enquired about the boat trip to the volcano, but were told that it would not be possible as they were currently on a level 2 alert – was this why the entire place was like a ghost town? With our boat trip plans dashed we were left with very little to do. We had quickly exhausted all other options with a walk around the local vicinity and a dip in the pool. There were some lovely huts overlooking the lake so we enjoyed a few relaxing beers and the view.

We had to order dinner by 5pm as the restaurant was closing. It was a little early for us, but we had already had a look around and there was nothing else for miles. We chose to eat our dinner outside in the hut which turned out to be a mistake. We were soon joined by about 6 cats and kittens who were all begging for food, trying to jump on the table and making the most awful noise.

We couldn't find any staff to clear our plates so we did a runner to our room while the crazy cats (not a passing jazz band) pounced on to the table and ripped our left overs apart all over the table.

After breakfast in the nippa hut by the lake we checked out and made our way to the jeepney pick up point. We were a little early so expected to wait, but the wait we had was longer than planned due to a lack of customers to fill up the jeepney. Eventually the driver told us that we could go if we all agreed to pay a little more. After a little haggling we all agreed on a price and were on our way, but whether we would make it would be another thing.

The jeepney was not without its issues. Before setting off we noticed the driver pouring lots water into a funnel he had rigged up near the drivers door. We hadn’t got very far up the hill when he produced another bottle of water and started to pour as we moved. This wasn't looking good, we were obviously leaking water at a fair old rate. In fact if you looked out the back you could see the trail of water through the plumes of smoke we left behind us as we chugged up the hill. The filling continued regularly throughout the journey and although the jeepney really struggled somehow we made it to the top.

Because of all the waiting around for the jeepney to leave we were late for our bus. The next one didn’t leave for an hour so we were left wondering what to do. Just then another bus approached from a different company. As I mentioned before you don’t have to be at a bus stop to catch the bus, so we waved our hand, stopped the bus and took our seats.

We were pleased to find a film showing on the bus. It had already started, but it didn’t matter as we had seen it before. We were soon to see it an extra time because just before the end the dvd jumped back to the beginning and we watched the same thing again. We still didn’t get to see the end as we had to get off before it finished.

We had a bit of shopping to do before making our way back to the hotel, but Andy was struggling because he still couldn’t shake off the dreaded man flu. I knew it must have been bad as he didn’t even want to spend any time looking around the local supermarket – anyone who has travelled with Andy knows that he normally likes to spend an annoyingly long time looking at all the strange local grocery items.

We went back to the hotel and he couldn’t even manage a beer – this must be serious I thought. I sent him to bed while I stayed up and tried to find some accommodation for our next destination.

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