Philippines
Time to embark on a new adventure! A vivid, hospitable and culturally eye-opening country called, the Philippines. Roughly 5 centuries ago, Spanish explorers once owned the Philippines for nearly 300 years and was later owned by America on and off. This very Catholic country, located in the western Pacific Ocean consists of 7,641 islands. With a current population of 112 million people and 170 spoken languages. With this new adventure on the list, Zach and I headed on a 6 hour flight to the Philippines.
First landing in Mactan for one night, I was met with a certain familiarity of my past travels to other South Asian countries. Driving through the populated slums of Mactan we spent one night at the lovely Solea Mactan resort. ($150AUD)
Considered a more high end accommodation.
The following day we hired a local driver named Anthony (aged 42). Anthony drove us 6 hours north, through the rolling hills and vast farm lands of Cebu island, ending at the Maya port terminal. There we met our bamboo constructed ferry boat headed to the beautiful island of Malapascua.
Framed with white sandy beaches, lined with palm trees, Malapascua is a small neighbouring island just north of Cebu. Here we stayed at Mabuhay dive resort. A budget accommodation, somewhat of a 2 bedroom beach shack with a wet-room, located directly on the beach for 3 nights ($150AUD). The first night we walked around the tiny rundown neighbourhood exploring the small intertwining streets. We eventually discovered a local Fish Market where we ate at the lovely market stall called, ChrisLee. Here the fresh fish is caught daily and cooked to your liking. We ate here the following two nights and left with bellies full, a smile on our faces and a gratuity for the lovely staff. Grilled squid, squid adobo (in squid ink), BBQ red snapper, lobster and sea grapes salad were some of the things we ate at this market.
The following morning we woke up early to meet Ken, our Dive Master. We boarded another bamboo constructed vessel that took us 60 minutes out to sea. Here was the location to what was described as an underwater island, a cleaning station home to the very famous Thresher Shark.
Led by Ken, Zach and I dove twice. Two, 45 minute dives, at 30 meters deep. As we followed the circumference of this underwater cleaning station we were pleased to see the various underwater life. Fire coral, breeds of star fish, octopi, lion fish, clown fish, fan coral, just to name a few we saw. Within a matter of minutes we were blessed to witness the famously majestic Thresher Shark. Several feet in length, big eyes, small teeth, with an iridescent like reflection to their body. These whimsical creatures would circle around us in curiosity waving their elongated tails like ribbons under water. Unlike the bull sharks I dove with in Fiji, I felt a sense of calmness. Which came to my surprise considering one particular Thresher Shark and I came face to face. It was so close, that I could make out the fine details in its eye. After that once in a life time experience, we headed back for lunch and a quick snorkel from our local beach at Mabuhay resort.
Snorkelling off the beaches here are fairly beautiful in itself. So nice! that we planned the following day to explore the northern side of the island. Zach and I managed to find locals who gave us a lift on their motorbikes ($1AUD each). At a relatively speedy pace the motor bikers drove us through the narrow dirt roads, between the local villages to “White Sandy Beach”. Located on the northern side of the island, we walked around numerous bays, abandoned rundown hotels over looking white-powdery sand beaches and vibrantly turquoise blue ocean. We snorkelled at an empty beach around hundreds of clown fish, sea anemone and corals. Before heading back, we stopped for lunch, bought ice cream for the local children and eventually motorbiked back to the less local side of the island.
Later that evening we hung out amongst locals, 5 sisters and a brother who own multiple businesses on the island. We drank beer at their new business and threw playful banter and humorous wit back’n forth. It was Ash-Wednesday, a religious holiday so they all had the sign of the cross drawn with ash on their foreheads. Considering we’re gay and unreligious ourselves we felt nothing but love and warmth in their presence. Same as we did from the “ChrisLee” fish market girls, which we ate at one last time before leaving Malapascua.
After reuniting with driver Anthony we made our way back to Cebu City. Mistakenly, we misplaced our booking and had to rebook giving us an extra day here in Cebu City and Cities are where you see it all.
I personally don’t mind experiencing how people TRULY live, especially in third world countries led by corrupt governments. It can give certain people a sense of reality, a much needed wake up call of what the world is truly like. Here we created our own personalized sightseeing itinerary. We ventured through the hectic slums, dog shit and maggots on some streets, squatters and child beggars demanding money. Greeted at every doorway by security holding assault weapons, graffiti and make shift homes. Homes built of crumbling concrete, wire, aluminum siding and hope. Tondo, being the largest slum with roughly 650,000 residents. Sounds scary! But even the poorest people smile and say hello when you walk past. Children as young as 4 years old will say things like, “hello sir! give me money”. However it’s best not to in these cases because children attract children and before you know it you’ll be followed by a group of children who hustle.
We walked all day through the city, visiting monuments like, Magellans Cross(1521), Spanish Fort San Pedro(1565), a local Catholic Church and others. The carbon monoxide filled streets were overbearing at times that we took a break headed to SM-Shopping mall. Philippines’ 3rd largest shopping center in the country. We spent the remainder of our time loitering the local shops and indulging in a Michelin Star, top 10 in the world restaurant called, Din Tai Fung ($53AUD). The food was some of the best I’ve had this year!
The next day we made our way to the main port of Cebu. Here we organized and met our 2 hour ferry ride to our third island of the voyage Bohol and Panglao. Upon arrival and the chaos of our bag retrieval, we made it to Hayahay beach resort. Located on Alona beach in Panglao, this resort is small, clean and right on the beach. Here we spent 3 nights($70AUD). With quiet mornings and bustling night life, Alona beach is where we managed to catch some rest and relaxation. Other than a handful of full body massages($3AUD) and endless foodie experiences. We booked two scuba dives just off the beach, one morning dive and a night dive ($90AUD). For scuba dive lovers this beach is home to a large coral wall located 50 meters from the shoreline with all kinds of caves, gorges and sea-life. During the day we saw a turtle and some clown fish but night time was a different story. Night dives are always best to visibly see the true colours of aquatic life and witness unforeseen species that don’t present themselves during the day. Here we explored this wall and its nooks and crannies. We got up close and personal with banded pipe fish, collector sea urchin, banded coral shrimp, yellow lipped sea krait, juvenile midnight snapper, sea snakes, sea cucumber, feather stars, Loch’s chromodoris, anemone hermit crab, Lion fish, lots of colourful nudie branch, scorpion fish, anemone crabs, red snapper, blow fish, razor fish, baby squid. Just to name a few…
After our stay here we met a tuk-tuk (tri-cab) driver who drove us one hour north to our next accommodation in Loboc. Stefanie-Grace is a bohemian, hippie inn located directly on the Loboc River. Tucked away in the rainforest, this is truly an artsy greenhouse and visually pleasing accommodation for mosaic lovers. Here we spent 2 nights accommodation($260AUD). Upon arrival we explored the small local town and what it had to offer. Bridges over scenic river, lush rainforest and bird life. Loboc is home to a unesco heritage listed sight, one of the oldest churches of Bohol island, St. Peter’s Parish (Loboc church). The following 48hours after were action packed with adventure.
Zach and I booked a two day tour around Bohol and some of its natural wonders ($120AUD). We met the tour bus and headed up mountain along a winding road called, “chicken intestine road.” Filipino’s really have a way with naming things. We eventually ended up at the enchanting man-made forest called, “Mahogany Forest.” Used for building homes and structures with its sturdy red wood. Mahogany Forest has now been left as a tourist attraction. It’s ancient over grown trees reaching 50 meters tall and casting shadows on the winding streets. After stopping to take it all in, we continued up the mountain to Tarsier sanctuary. Tarsiers are know as the world’s smallest primate, growing no more than 3-6 inches in length. Native to Bohol island, Tarsiers can move their heads 180 degrees which is rather useful considering their very large eyes can only point straight. They are nocturnal animals that use their ears to navigate each meal, meals consisting of bugs and critters through the night. By day they hide amongst the shadows of the trees in areas they mark with their urine. We had to be silent and respectful of their territory because noise can cause these cute little buggers to become suicidal. That’s right! Being held and loud noises can cause such major anxiety in Tarsier species. When provoked they’ll bang their heads against a tree until committing suicide. A bit sad and dramatic if you ask me.
After observing the world’s smallest monkey we walked next door to a natural wonder, the Guwaon Cave. With helmets on our heads and flash lights in hand we dipped, ducked and dove around the dark narrow passages of these caves. Caves consisting of very large pointed stalactites that took nearly 1000 years to naturally form. Glistening light from our flash lights sparkled off the natural white stone as we managed to squeeze our way out from the cave. Our final stop at the highest point was at Bohol islands famous attraction, the Chocolate Hills. Once a massive coral formation below sea level, these unique mountains were eventually formed by interference of the tectonic plates along the equator. The area being prone to earthquakes has caused roughly 760 steep rolling hills packed tightly together and span out as far as the eye can see. During a specific time of year the plant life on these hills dry up causing them to turn brown. Hence how they’ve come to be known as, “the Chocolate Hills” of Bohol island. We ended the day back in Loboc with our tour group. Before saying, “goodbye” we indulged in a buffet, surprised with entertainment on this must-do attraction, the Loboc River ferry. These wooden river boats can roughly hold 30-50 people and hosts a cultural buffet. Seafood, curries, jack fruit, fish paste, noodles and local deserts were some of the menu’s items. We even had another boat park parallel to ours where local woman in traditional attire preformed a dance in front of our ferry. Zach was the first to put his fork down from eating, jump boats and learn the local dance. Leaping from side to side avoiding the snapping bamboo, like some torturous version of double-dutch (jump rope). We ended the day on a high and called it an early night before our final day in Loboc.
Our final day we booked a more active and adventurous excursion. We spent the day exploring the waterfalls of Bohol island. Zach and I jumped in a tuk-tuk and met our next tour at a small market in Loay. Upon meeting two Spanish girls, an Italian family of three and two Hungarian guys. Zach, the gang and I ventured up to the mountains to meet our two waterfall exploring tour guides Ryan(27) and Ken(22). First on the list was the beautiful Dam Agan Falls then ipo falls. Approaching the falls you can hear the flowing water in the distance. On arrival was a large mint blue oasis, water so blue it almost hurt your eyes to look at. We swam, cliff jumped and then eventually swam up stream. From there we scaled rocks and swam in circuits of river that led to the second set of falls. We finished the day at one last waterfall equally blue and with a great rope swing that we all took advantage of. 22year old Ken certainly pushed the daredevil out in me to climb up waterfalls, cliff jump and what not. He also nicknamed me “father” for the day because his father has the same name as I.
After a nice day with my “son” Ken, the following day we travelled by tuk-tuk, ferry-boat and car to eventually check in to our final destination. The Mark resort for a total of 4 nights ($700AUD). Without checking into it Zach must’ve not seen on the website that this hotel caters specifically to Korean and Japanese people wanting to learn scuba diving. Many Korean and Japanese don’t speak English in the slightest so Zach and I laughed feeling like a minority here. For example, when trying to book a final dive here two companies denied us on account of not being able to speak the language. Eating at the hotel and everyday interactions were as if we were the ignored, oppressed, overweight white couple. Zach was even questioned in being American even though he’s very much Australian. We would order Korean food at the lovely hotel restaurant and catch side eye from Korean tourists. Probably checking out the lacking skill set of our chop stick use. They’d see what we ordered and if we enjoyed it. It was truly hilarious and the resort itself was great! In fact the food was so good, I’d rather stay there than any best western that caters to certain westernized palette.
We met a Japanese scuba guide named Hama, who’s my age and could speak some English. Enough to take us scuba diving one last time and not put our lives at risk. We did two dives at a coral wall on Olong island. We swam through caves, saw octopi and so much more. Dive instructor Hama made models of us. We had couples photos feeding bread to fish underwater, making heart signs for the camera and capturing dive moments along the coral wall. I assume since not many white people book this Japanese dive company Hama used us as a photo marketing opportunity for LGBTQI scuba diving community.
Sadly our last 2 days were spent bed-written. Between my ear infection, jellyfish stings, our gastro, zachs back injury and some weird finger rash. We decided to just stay in the room mainly. Zach would go for a morning strolls and escorted me to a back-alley doctor’s office for antibiotics. Feeling like a couple battered travel veterans of the Philippines, we are currently on our over night flight back to Straya mate!. It might feel like the Philippines beat us but I can assure we lived it up and made the most of it. I look forward to visiting again one day but as we descend into Brisbane, I look forward to REALLY good coffee.