Chicago 03/04 - ???

Sweet (?) Home Chicago

I learned many things about myself on this journey. One of them is that the perfect temperature for me is a humid 30 degrees Celcius. What is up with this cold and dreary weather here? How can anyone breathe with this dry air? My skin feels like it is going to flake right off.  Coming back to a concrete jungle from a tropical one is pretty rough. It was raining and cold when we stepped off the plane. There seems to be concrete everywhere and everything looks gloomy and gray. We can't seem to adjust to the time change as easily as we did the opposite way. We can't sleep at night and force ourselves to stay awake all day. All the problems of everyday life are still here. They have been waiting patiently for our return. Thankfully we still have some time to readjust before getting back to work. More good news is that our little one bedroom apartment now seems like a palace. I feel like we live in the lap of luxury. Our car, which before seemed on the old and junky side, seems brand new. Everything is so clean and our bed is so comfortable. We were also reunited with our kitties who have settled back into their old way of life. They had a nice little vacation themselves and almost didn't want to come home as much as us.

The trip was hard in many ways. It was difficult to get used to the discomforts of travel, stressful when things didn't work out, we were sick for most of India and made a bunch of mistakes. But mostly, it was exciting, fun, and everyday was a new adventure. Yeah, it sucks being back. But, I feel very fortunate that we have the means to do this kind of trip and actually decided to go and do it. It was definitely one of the best things I have ever done. Most people in the places we visited have never left their home town, much less traveled halfway across the world. That is what stands out most from our trip...how incredibly fortunate we are. I feel that I see the world in a different way and I hope that will not fade as I assimilate back into my old way of life. And if it does....that may mean its time for the next trip.

San Juan 02/24 - 02/03

Gorgeous sunsets and surfing at San Juan.

We arrived to San Fernando in the late afternoon once again in search of accommodation and found a basement room at a hotel at the edge of the tiny seaside town. It sounded bad and was a bit dumpy, but it was cheap and literally right by the sea. It had small windows and the surf would break right up at the room so it felt like we were sleeping in a ship. We rented a motorbike and drove around San Juan, the next town over, inspecting the resorts in the area and the following morning we made our move Asian style. We made a human/backpack sandwich on the motorbike – Peter sat in front with a small backpack on his chest and a large backpack on his back, then I sat behind him with my own backpack on my back and another bag hanging off my shoulder. We've seen entire families on one motorbike. One family even managed to get a dog on there. So, we were proud to tackle another form of Asian travel.

Once we settled down the vagabonding urge invaded our minds...so much to see, so many places to go. We vowed to stay at least 2 more nights, unsure if that would actually work out as we have been moving roughly every 3 days for the last three months. We've been to about 35 different places in the last 90 days and have gotten very used to being on the road. But, we began to relax. San Juan may not be as picturesque as some of the beaches we've encountered, but it has a great vibe. We were in the “resort” area which means there are a handful of small hotels with board rentals along the beach as well as some fisherman shacks. Over the weekend, the sea was packed with crowds from Manila, but once the weekenders went home, we were only two of the six tourists at our hotel. The weather was perfect, the sunsets were gorgeous and the surfing was awesome. After two days of learning to surf our plans went from an 8 hour bus trip up to Sagada (mountain cliffs with coffins hanging off them) with more trips to Bontoc and Banaue (famous rice terraces) to a trip to Baguio (mountain town with good food and music) and then Kabayan (mountain area with famous mummies in caves). Then we thought that maybe we would just make it to Baguio. But, we just couldn't get ourselves to leave. I was a perfect and relaxing end to a very hectic trip. We sat around watching the locals surf like pros and made our own daily attempts at surfing. We also drank plenty of beer as we went through the stages of accepting the inevitable dreaded return home. We met some friends to hang out with and even went to a local beach party. I am proud to say that I am no longer a karaoke virgin. Oh yes, it will certainly be very rough transition back home. I am already crying.

After walking the urine filled streets of India, the beaches
of Thailand, and the malls of Singapore....my Teva sandals
actually fell apart on me.  It must have been a sign that it is
time to take a break.  The second sole fell off on our trip back to Manila.

Can you see me in this picture?

Waiting for the perfect wave on a calm day.

Here it comes...paddle hard.

Finally!  A wave worthy of my surfing talents.

Another calm day.  Where are those damn waves.

This is the final picture before the wave wiped me out.
The sea can be quite treacherous.

Here I am with all my boards.

Here I am with my friends.

View from our hotel.  The bed was super hard and uncomfortable
and the bathroom was stinky.  All the more reasons to stay outside.

The karaoke master thinks our new friends, Courtney and
Mike from Canada, are pretty cool, eh?  Fer sure.

Courtney and I singing "Livin on a Prayer".

Some of the best surfers were the eight year old boys
that were tearing up the waves.

The beach on our final morning where I sat and cried.

Most amazing sunsets.

Camiguin to Manila 02/22 – 02/23

Balut looks so normal from the outside.

 I've been searching for the elusive “balut” for about a week now. I was told that it's sold on the street in the evening and that it is absolutely delicious. However, a fellow traveler also told me that I should be prepared to throw up. Well, I finally found it last night at a night market in Manila (that's right, we are back in Manila). It looks like a regular boiled egg, but what you find inside is well past the yolk stage. I couldn't figure out how to eat it at first and some friendly vendor lady had to show me the way while a small audience gathered to see what my reaction would be. Judging from their laughter I think they got the show that they wanted. Balut may be a delicacy to the Filipinos but I just could not get past the mental block that I was eating a partially formed fetus. It even had some hair on it. I took a bite, but was unable to put the whole thing in my mouth. We also tried some hard boiled eggs covered in an orange coating and deep fried then seasoned with vinegar. This dish was delicious. But then we made the mistake of getting what we thought was fried chicken on a stick which really turned out to be intestines (I think).

Manila night market along Roxas Blvd.  At one point all
the vendors started running away at once.  I guess the
police showed up and they aren't officially allowed to sell their goods.

So after leaving Camiguin in clouds and drizzle we made our way to Surigao. It all went so smoothly. From Mambajao we took a minivan to the pier and just made it onto the ferry, from the ferry we just made it onto a bus to Butuan and then right onto another bus to Surigao. We were headed here because our final destination was to be Siargao island, the surfer island of the Philippines where I was to show off my moves amongst the countries best surfers. The buses we took were devoid of any tourists. We were indeed traveling just like the locals. The highlight was when one man got on with a chicken in a bag. He had a live chicken in a plastic grocery bag. The head was sticking out and there were two holes for the legs to stick out as well. It was a very useful contraption because you can easily transport your chicken and then when you let it loose the bag can function as a raincoat.

Worries began to invade our minds because throughout the entire ride it was pouring rain. We even had to drive through flooded streets. So, when we got to Surigao in the evening we contemplated if we should go on to the island at all. We first searched for hotel accommodation and found that the two most decent looking hotels were full. How could that be in this little rinky dink town? Well, apparently that evening was prom and the town square as well as all the restaurants were packed with teenagers dressed in formal wear. It was a strange sight and I am sad that I didn't have my camera at hand. We almost took a room at a pension house resembling a crack house with huge roaches and no seat on the toilet (recommended by Lonely Planet by the way), but after some persistence we were able to locate a dumpy but clean and decent place. Whew! After checking the weather forecast and finding out in a hidden section at the back of our travel guide that it is rain season on this side of the archipelago, we decided to board a plane instead of the ferry. That's how we made it back to Manila and are now headed North to explore a bit of Luzon. Somehow we made it onto a really nice bus with enormous reclining seats like those in first class on an airplane.  

Camiguin 02/20 – 02/21

Arrival to Camiguin Island.

We departed from our hotel in Taglibaran much earlier than we needed, boarded a tricycle for the bus station, and got right onto a bus headed to Jagna, the port town where a ferry was to take us to Camiguin. Everything was going so smoothly until I remembered that I left our passports in the safe deposit box of our hotel. Luckily we were barely out of the bus station when the horrifying thought dawned on me. The driver was just pulling out, so I got up, made a ruckus and headed out the door. We hailed another tricycle, this one didn't know where our hotel was. So we tried to direct him the best we could and actually made it back to the bus station in about fifteen minutes. There we were presented by two options. We could take a bus that was to depart at 11 am or we could take a minivan that was only slightly more expensive but was waiting around to fill up with people. We opted for the bus because 1) it was more roomy and had open windows and 2) it had a scheduled departure time. After sitting on the bus until about 10 minutes past 11:00, my panic mode set it. Why wasn't the bus moving? The minivan had already left and was probably faster than the enormous bus. I asked the driver and now he was telling me that he would leave at 11:30. Apparently, he was trying to fill the bus up and the 11:00 departure time was only an estimate. After three months of travel I am still not able to let go of a rigid schedule. How can I be sure that the driver would actually leave at 11:30? He had lied to me once already. So, off we went. I yanked our backpacks off the bus and proceeded towards the minivan where the minivan-wallah was making fun of us but seemed happy to take us on anyway. Here we again sat for a while watching as the bus departed and I had a little mental breakdown wondering if we would indeed make our ferry. We did make it just in time. The driver drove like a maniac and we almost smashed into another car along the way while Peter and I argued about how crazy I get when schedules don't work out as planned. I've had a few breakdowns already. 

In the Jeepney.

The ferry ride was very bumpy and quite fun as we hit many large waves. We arrived to Camiguin in the late afternoon and took a Jeepney to Mambajao on which we met several nice people who told us that our noses were long and pointy. The ride was fun until the driver ran over a dog and just kept on going as it wriggled and wailed on the street behind us. The horror and noise reminded me of India. We stayed at a hotel in downtown Mambajao, the place to be on the island as it has several streets, a market, and a karaoke machine at the restaurant in our hotel where locals wailed day and night. We were also surprised to learn that we would be staying in the Mickey Mouse room which was, of course, completely decorated in a Mickey Mouse theme. The plan was to stay on this island for several days. Camiguin is tiny, and made up entirely of volcanoes, one of which is live. There are constant rain clouds at the volcano peaks and the beaches are made up of black volcanic debris. It is certainly off the tourist trail as there were only a few stray hippies and older men with young Filipino wives that we encountered. It was quite nice because we felt like we were staying in a real Filipino town rather than a tourist area where people are constantly hassling you to buy something. People were very friendly, several individuals told me with pride about how safe their little island was, and even tried to help us out and gave us advice without wanting anything in return. The following day we rented a motorbike, this one was more of a dirt bike/motorcycle and was a bit more challenging than the scooters we were used to because it was not automatic. We explored the beaches, visited the waterfalls, and swam in the hot springs. We visited pretty much everything there was to visit on the island in one day.

Volcanic beach.

Volcano in the distance is covered in clouds.

This is the airport.  No wonder there are no flights.

Downtown Mambajao - view of volcano from  our hotel.

Bad-ass motorbike - not ours!

The stations of the cross are a huge crowd draw during
religious holidays.  People gather from miles around to
make the journey to the stations carved into the volcano.

This sunken cemetery apparently went
under after the volcano erupted killing
thousands of people.

Hot Springs.  The water is heated by
the volcano.

Village along the slopes of the volcano.

We seem to have become quite the vagabonds because the following day we figured it was time to move on. We came, we saw, and other than climbing the live volcano itself (we contemplated this but decided against it because of the constant rain at the peak and the steep, long hike to the top) there was nothing left to do except....relax?

This little doggy has his sea legs.

Bohol 02/18 – 02/19

 

After much contemplation and discussion, we reassured ourselves that we could not physically see everything in the Philippines and finally made a decision as to where to go next. Man, it was a tough one. No matter where we go, it seems we can't go wrong. The fretting comes from missing out on all the other areas we don't have time to explore. We could have easily stayed on the island of Luzon, which is where Manila is located, and gone to see rice terraces, caves, mountain, volcanoes and still had time to hit up some islands and gone surfing. I really wish we had two more months to do the Philippines justice. But, because we were still a bit wary from our Sapa experience and the forecast looked rainy and foggy up in the Cordilleras (northern Luzon mountains) we decided to head south, a bit off the tourist circuit, and hit up a few islands with some less famous mountains and volcanoes packed into a small area. First stop was Bohol island.

After a short plane ride to Cebu City, we hopped on a ferry to Tagbilaran on Bohol. The ferry was very strange. We had to put our luggage through security like at the airport. They played a move (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) after a short prayer on the television and snacks were dispensed just like on a plane.

We finally made it onto the island after dark and headed to our hotel of choice only to find out that they only had an “executive suite” available which was a bit out of our price range. Ugh. After much squabbling, we decided to take it because the nearby accommodations were too scary looking. The following morning we searched for another hotel, but apparently Tagbilaran is home to some of the crummiest hotels. We had actually made it to the most decent one and were excited to learn that we would be able to downgrade to a regular room for our second night. Also, the food at this place must have been prepared by some secret master chef because we had the best soup and most delicious chicken and pork adobo, a typical dish of marinated meat in vinegar and garlic

Having sorted out all the annoyances of travel, we headed out to Bohol's Chocolate Hills. It was a good two hour drive out to the hills, but through some of the most beautiful rural settings. We passed through villages, rice fields, forests, and hills. The Chocolate Hills are a sea of almost identical hills formed from the uplift of ancient coral deposits. They're called Chocolate because they turn brown in the dry season. The drive was definitely worthwhile as the hills were amazing. They kind of looked like a grassy, green moonscape.

Forested road to the Chocolate Hills.

On the way back I practiced riding the motorbike since the country side was almost completely deserted. Peter is usually the one who drives because I am too scared of traffic. We also stopped at the Tarsier Research and Development Center to see Tarsiers in their native habitat. An endangered species, the Tarsier is a cute and cuddly primate with huge eyes. It's much smaller than I had expected, about the size of my fist. I wanted to give it hugs and kisses, but apparently they don't like that, their bones can be easily broken if you pick them up, and they have very sharp little teeth which they like to bite with.

The Tarsier.

Rice fields and lush tropical foliage.

Water Buffalo.

Friends from the road.  As usual in SE Asia,
safety is of utmost importance.

Tagbilaran traffic as seen from our motorbike.

The Bohol rickshaw is a motorbike with an added seat that is
extremely small, barely enough space for two,
plus a cover.  They look like a funny little cars
and each has a special message like "In God We Trust"
or "Glory to the Son of God" and "I Love God Above All".