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Published: April 11th 2014
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Two simple facts to rest on...if you haven't been to a place, how can you speak about it....and...to become a good diver...you first need to dive...
It's Songkran school Holidays in Thailand...Songkran being the Thai New year...everybody is on holidays, the country shut down...well, that's for Bangkok, because the resorts are packed...and the prices high...high...high...
So we moved for two weeks to the Philippines...and guess what, it's also Easter Holidays...the places are packed...and the prices are...you guess...high...high...high...
But I do my homework, and I booked most of our flights and nights back in November 2013. I write nights are we have decided to go solid backpacking...so proper hotels it won't be this time.
Next point, Leslie may have over 50 dives logged and a pretty good diver at it....Tiffany is now just certified, and for her to be a good diver before she reached her 20th logged dive...she needs to dive...dive...dive...preferably in easy places where we can work on her buoyancy! So the Philippines it will be.
I dive few years ago Tubbataha, and the place remain easily in my top 10 dive places. Than few
years ago, Leslie did his first bubble maker in El Nido, a pretty gorgeous place. This time, our first stop is Sabang, next to Puerto Galera on Mindoro Island. This is one of the easiest spot to reach from Manila. We first took a first crap low cost flight from Bangkok to Manila on Cebu Pacific...more on them on our last Philippines blog. Than it was a short taxi ride to the center for Manila in Ermita to catch the early morning bus to Batangas. It's 150 minutes on a bus, followed by just over an our on a local boat before we reached Sabang.
I have few friends who have come in the past to Sabang....heard few things...between good macro diving, and slightly sleazy place. So shall we start with the diving...or the crowd?!? Let's be fair to the place, and start with the diving. Diving here is cheap...23usd a dive won't kill us. There is...macro...and macro....let say that they have a lot of nudibranches...nice healthy soft coral...and ok visibility...but beside this...not much to write about the place. Do not forget, I do acknowldege, I'm solid spoiled!
The diving was entertaining, but as
always, simply look at my ten best pictures, and you will find the place, slightly average. We dived with Rick from Frontier Scuba. Serious, so serious that Leslie couldn't dive below 21 meters, but that's ok. He put us into Angelyn's next door. Not sure we can call the place an hotel, but it was clean, with nice food and nice staff...and yes, for what is was, it was dirt cheap...suddenly Thailand does look expensive.
We enjoyed some nice food...not much of the local one, as it was never my favorite one. How many thai restaurants around the world...how many philippinos ones, easy to understand my point. But still, the food is pretty nice, really cheap...and we don't even speak of the price of the beer...1.1usd, nothing beats that...no wine this week!
Than there is the crowd...I feel sad for the locals...and kept a very close look on Tiffany. Western men from 45 to 65...single or in group of pathetic single guys. If you know Asia well, the same kind of guys you meet in certain bars in Wanchai...not for me, not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. But here, after the diving, they find
what they are looking for on land. I was happy we had a television in the room, and after early dinner...we were early back to the room. Luckily for us, Angelyn's seem to be the only place that attracts families...there was one family beside us...and couples...as a man and lady from the same background...you will understand!
Beside those men looking for fishes...and young girls after sunset...there was the 20% of Asian...mainly Chinese...the next future of diving in Asia...no comment...
So we did Sabang, we will not come back, but at least in the future, I will have an informed view of the place.
Next stop...no more sleazy, or something slightly different...another highlight of the Philippines...another place I'm glad to finally see, meaning...seen, done...no need to come back any time soon!
If you don't experience, how can you speak about it...we are living it....fully!
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liliram
liliram
You were here!
Tried to do catch up and now just learned you were here while I was in Sydney. Your kids have grown! Cheers