Philippines - Malapascua Island

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Suzanne here...

We were sad to be leaving Bangkok, and feeling slightly flat as we left NAP Hotel. First of all Google Maps sent us down some train tracks to get to Phaya Thai, which we didn't much enjoy, especially in the dark. Also, we had a very long journey ahead of us. A 10.45pm flight to Manila, then another flight to Cebu. We'd then have to get to the bus station for a five hour bus journey up to Maya and a boat to Malapascua. Phew, all a bit much with no chance to sleep. Perhaps we should have planned to break the journey up, but as our Cebu flight landed at 6.15am it seemed that the best use of the early start was to get the whole journey done and dusted in one go.

Actually, in the end it was fine. We got a few white wines on the first flight, and flying in over Manila was stunning. We managed to find an ATM at Manila airport to withdraw some pesos. Our next flight went smoothly, we landed on time and our bags had made the transfer. My original research had shown a taxi was the only way out of Cebu airport. But another last minute look at Wikitravel revealed a new service into town called MyBus. We were undecided whether it was worthwhile. Although it would reduce the cost a bit, it would still mean a taxi from central Cebu to the North Bus Station. A bit of a faff so we'd more or less decided to just grab a taxi at the airport to save time and effort. But when we arrived there were so many people directing us to the taxi's it really put me off. I'm sure they were just being helpful but suspicious by nature, I wondered why they were so keen. As luck would have it, the first MyBus of the day (7am) was already in and due to depart in 15 minutes. At 25 pesos (40p) it was a bargain so we hopped on. We'd read it went straight into town so were quite prepared for that, but to our suprise (we were following our progress on Google Maps) it swung by the North Bus Station. An unexpected win! We rang the bell and jumped off.

As luck would have it, a bus to Maya port was about to depart. Not the air-conditioned bus we had planned to get, but what the hell!? We jumped on and for 163 pesos each (£2.60) we were on our way, all by 7.30am. The journey was long, stopping numerous times to let people on and off and taking detours. But we were on the move and after a while the radio was turned off and a power ballad playlist took over. Mr Big, Heart, Firehouse, REO Speedwagon... well we had a bit of a sing along (we were not the only ones!) and it made the journey pass much more enjoyable. We did have to put our backpacks on our laps when it got busy, but only for about an hour. Five hours later we were at Maya port.

We'd read in advance that it is impossible to arrive at Maya and not have someone try to scam you. Sure enough the advertised 100 pesos fare was suddenly 200 pesos due to a lack of other passengers. We refused and the guy reluctantly pointed us towards the ticket booth where we paid 100 each. Even then just as we were about to get on the boat another guy asked how much we'd paid, then apologised when we said 100 and told us we had to pay an additional 100 each as the boat was not full. This time we just laughed at him and replied that we'd bought our tickets and were certainly not paying any more. He said that we might end up waiting until 10pm that night for more passengers which was hilarious as there were already local passengers onboard. We said that we'd wait. Sure enough, as soon as we were on (I had a bit of a wobble on the gangplank but a nice man helped me) the boat immediately set sail. The boat was a little outrigger and the journey was slightly rough, and a little wet, but ok. The guy sailing it had to work hard to get us across the choppy waters but did a great job. The irony is we'd have been willing to tip once we saw the effort it took, but were loath to do so after the scamming attempts.

A metro, two planes, two buses and a boat and about 20 hours travelling time, but we'd managed it with relatively little hassle. Amazingly we were at our hotel for 1.30pm, much earlier than expected. We'd booked the Malapascua Garden Resort months before. The welcome was warm and friendly but initial impressions of our room were not great. The thing is, it was absolutely fine. Big enough and clean, if a little dark and a faint damp smell. But it was still a decent room, with a large balcony, and better than many rooms on our last backpacking trip. The problem is that we'd become spoiled, booking rooms above our budget, especially in Koh Chang. It was also fan rather than aircon, which worried us as it was meltingly hot. Aircon was an aditional 200 pesos a night so we decided to try and do without unless it became unbearable. We had a couple of beers on the balcony and went out to find food.

Before dinner we had drinks at The Sunset Bar. Nice enough but only one other customer. Once again, where IS everyone? We chose Ging-Ging's for dinner, wanting to try Filipino food, although we'd not heard many good reports of Filipino food (in general, not this restaurant). Well we thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a couple of chicken dishes, a couple of pork dishes, with rice. All really tasty and rich in flavour. I was all for booking to go back the next night but David wisely said we should try somewhere else. Not so wisely he insisted on another beer, but by this point it was hammering it down so it made sense to wait it out. Unfortunately it showed no signs of stopping and in the end we had to brave it. I had an umbrella but David got soaked. Once back we bumped into the lovely owner of our hotel which wasn't great as it gave David the opportunity to ask for more beer and frankly we'd had enough. Oh well.

We slept well, the fan was actually ok and the bed more comfortable than we'd first thought. By 9am it was really starting to warm up though, hotter than Thailand I'd say. Still, we couldn't just sit around all day so we grabbed a (disappointing) sandwich at Hippocampus then headed north to the lighthouse. There were lots of puddles to dodge due to the downpour the previous night. We were nearly there when the marked path seemed to disappear and the only way seemed to be through someone's garden. I didn't much fancy it, and by this point we'd attracted a group of 'helpful' children. I decided I just wanted to get away, I'm not great with kids at the best of times. Over the next few days we'd find ourselves approached by numerous children. Sometimes they were just being friendly. Others were trying to sell tat or worse begging. It's tough to see kids wearing rags and not want to help, but we're both against encouraging begging as a way of life. Far better to give to a local charity.

With the lighthouse plan a failure (we did actually see the top of it, I don't think we missed much) we needed a plan B. Luckily Google Maps showed a beach - Langob Beach - was just around the corner. This turned out to be a lovely little place, and there was even a sweet little beach bar. A nice afternoon in the end.

Back at the hotel we had to sort out a minor issue. Our room had been invaded by ants, and they were in the process of carrying away a dead gecko! It sounds grim, and I suppose it was a bit, but it was also quite interesting. Still, we didn't really fancy a room full of ants all night so had to get the staff to remove them. They were incredibly apologetic but it wasn't their fault, these things happen in a tropical climate.

That night we planned to go to a local place for dinner but the family were all sitting around the restaurant watching TV and we felt a bit awkward. So we headed back to Ging-Ging's which was very good again. As usual, beer on the balcony rounded off our night.

The next day, after a rather long lie-in, we had pizza on the beach at Angellina's (ok, certainly not amazing) then we walked along Bounty Beach. While it was nice enough we both decided we prefered Langob, so we made our way back there. By the time we arrived it was raining, which was annoying. Also, I wasn't feeling great. Not so much the amount of beer I'd had the previous night per se, but more the fact I was on Red Horse which is 6.9%. Admitedly tastier than San Miguel, but not the smartest move with hindsight. The long hot walk had exacerbated things. However the rain soon stopped and after a litre of water I felt much better, to the extent that I managed a couple of 2 for 1 margarita's on the beach. A bit odd (rather orangey) but nice and made with care and served in proper margarita glasses. David got talking to the young bar owner and discovered he'd only been open for three months. His mother owned the land and his auntie had a sandwich shop there. He wanted his own business and thought a beach bar might work and his mum agreed. They were right, it was perfect. We really wish him and his small business lots of luck.

Dinner that night was at La Isla Bonita, Filipino food again. Tasy enough, but no Ging-Ging's. We finished with some balcony beers, although this time stuck to (normal strength) San Miguel. A local dog that had been on our porch the night before, but had run away as soon as we returned, was there again. This time he started to run away, but seeing we didn't seem to mind him, warily decided to come back and join us.

The next morning we had a mission. Internet access was hit and miss but we had some flights to book for February (LAX to Bogota) and spotted only three seats were left at the current price. We'd already changed our plans once (wanted to fly straight to Brazil from LA but it was too pricey) so we didn't want to lose them. Luckily the connection lasted long enough to get them booked. It was nearly lunchtime so we decided to go to The Craic House. It was really disapointing with over fussy (to the point of irritating) service and mediocre food. Three lunches on Malapascua and three disappointments. We'd more or less seen everything so after lunch just headed back to the hotel to read, blog etc. We knew we had to steer clear of our favourite beach bar and have a 'dry' day. The next day was a travel day and who needs a hangover on a boat?

We had dinner at a beachfront resturant called Mabuhay. It was a nice outlook and the food was pretty good. Personally I still much prefered Ging-Ging's, but David thought that Mabuhay was just as good. Still resisting the beer, we sat out on our balcony anyway, reading. Our dog friend was back, not even stirring at our return by now. We had more gecko fun as David first had to remove one from the bathroom. Gecko's are everywhere and we'd never normally bother moving one. But this one was on the bathroom floor struggling to climb the tiled walls and I was worried we'd stand on him in the night. The second gecko entertainment was a small fellow who set his sights on a huge beetle, nearly as big as he was. I couldn't believe he could win, and sure enough at the very last minute he lost his nerve. Who needs TV eh? Finally, David spotted what looked like a gecko but was far too big. We ran over to have a look and it was a gecko after all, but one we've never seen before, a Tokay Gecko. They can grow up to 35cm, although this one was not quite that big, and had lost part of its tail. Still, amazing to see one.

We didn't have the best sleep, it was hot, plus we knew we had to get up early. We did get up though and to the beach for just before 9am. We'd been told that although you can get boats from Bounty Beach (where we'd been dropped off), the offical port was on the small beach on the southwest of the island (where Sunset Bar is). It seemed unlikley at first, but after a bit of a walk along the sand we spotted a group of people and a small ticket office. The tide was out so we all had to pile into a tiny motorboat (at 20 pesos each) to take us to the outrigger. This meant a bit of a wade, so it was shoes off. The journey back was much smoother than the journey out had been. At the other end it was back into a small motorboat (another 20 pesos, not that the rude, arrogent Dutch guy bothered to pay, presumably his beer money was more important than putting food on their table). I don't have great balance and struggled rather. Luckily for me David took charge of my backpack. We then had to clamber bearfoot up some rather sharp rocks, pushing past the dozens of people trying to get onto the motorboat we'd just left, which was unplesant.

Due to the little boats at each end it was a longer journey than the first time, and it was 11am when we finally got on the bus. Again, it was an ordinary fare local bus. We'd dearly have loved to have got one of the quicker airconditioned buses, but there was no sign and no schedule. We didn't fancy waiting around on the off-chance. The bus was fine again, just a long journey. At least this time they put our backpacks in the storage area, and we were soon on our way.

We enjoyed Malapascua. Most people come for the diving and as we don't dive four days was certainly long enough. Part of the charm is that it is less developed than, say, Borocay and some will hope it stays that way. If tourism is going to take off more, there are a few issues to address. I didn't like seeing the poverty, when I feel there should be enough tourist dollars to go around to improve everyones lives (not just expats). I didn't like the children begging, or the numerous stray dogs many looking uncomfortably mangy and one poor animal positively bloody. I didn't like the masses of barbed wire everywhere either, dangerous and pointless. But there were lots of good things, friendly people, some nice beaches, gorgeous views and sunsets, a couple of good places to eat. In particular the beach and beach bar at Langob were delightful and made the trip for us.

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