SpudsInternational

Here's a summary of the trip since the whale sharks. I'll spare the flowery language and get right to the point.
Singapore was good fun. Stayed in a great hostel, partied hard into the wee hours (it being a Saturday night an' all) as well as tasting some of the delights of Indian cuisine in Little India and dragonfruit shakes of Chinatown. Heading back there in a few weeks so gonna check out the hotel where the Singapore Sling, a famous cocktail, was invented and maybe have one or two!

From Singapore then it was on to Kuta on Bali. 'A Surfer's Paradise'...maybe, but the beach was really dirty and the streets were full of hecklers grabbing you by the arm to come in to their shops. That said though it was a good party town.

After Kuta we went to Ubud, a great centre for Balinese culture and art. Checked out the monkey forest which was good fun. It's a haven for cheeky monkeys that hang out around old temples. While we were there a few of them stole a water bottle off a woman who freaked out as they surrounded her and made a right big ruckus. I didn't see it but was quite funny I heard!

After Ubud we went to a place called Amed and snorkelled above the Liberty wreck, a sunken US warship from World War II. That was spectacular to say the least. We were swimming above 10 or more metres of water. Underneath us walked divers and the big bubbles that rose from their air tanks were just as impressive as the shoal of jackfish that surrounded us and the wreck. The water was crystal clear so we could see for hundreds of metres all around. Who needs magic mushrooms?

After Ubud it was a quick pitstop in Sengigi in a dodgy homestay before we were off again for the Gili islands. That morning, as I opened the window shutter in towards the room, something quite large jumped off , brushed my shoulder and scurried past in the direction of my backpack. I had to zip it up then, bring it outside and empty the contents in the hope that whatever it was broke free. But nothing came out of the bag....

The Gili islands were a lot of fun. The beach was really good, nice white sand and clear turquoise water. We saw sea turtles when we wnet snorkelling! The locals are a pleasant humoured bunch (and are high from magic mushrooms it seems a lot of the time!) and we ate both great restaurant and street food. I'm a big fan of Chicken Satay which I found out is actually an Indonesian dish.

From the Gilis then I took a boat trip to see the Kimodo dragons. This may well have been my favourite part of the trip so far. On the way to Kimodo and Rinca Island, where their primary habitat is, we snorkelled, hiked, fished and spotted nature. There were just 7 guests on the boat along with the 5 crew members. I saw fish all the colours of the rainbow, water bison cooling down in their mudpools, an actual whirlpool in the sea (like a giant version of when a sink is unplugged!), 'flying foxes' or giant rust coloured bats swooping overhead, dolphins and whales swimming near the boat, Kimodo dragons charging at us, as pipe fish (which are like sea horses but longer) and blue and white striped sea snakes!

The boat trip finished in a harbour town called Labuanbajo on the island of Flores. We went for a drink on a hilltop restaurant where we saw a spectacular view of the harbour, panoramic view of the horizon and an absolutely surreal sunset. Got some beers then and headed back to the boat where we drank with the crew. There was the main guy who ran the boat and the other four were young lads from a small local island. They had never really interacted with Western women before so were bit shy. But after some Arak (a local spirit made from palm leaves) they mellowed out and even though they didn't speak much English and we didn't speak Bahai Indonesian we managed to have great craic!

Next day I booked a flight from a local travel agency but as they didn't accept credit cards I had to go to an ATM. But I didn't walk...I got a lift on the back of a motorbike with a local. That was good fun bombing around the town, a western fluzey on the back of the bike with the wind blowing in my hair. Haha!

This morning then I had to get a 'bemo' which is a local form of public transport, like a minivan, to the airport. It was a school bemo though so the driver had to do a round of the schools and all the students were laughing away at me. Once they were all dropped off the driver suggested I marry him (second marraige proposal in two days. Yeah! ) and then put Queen's "I Want to Break Free' on full blast on his stereo. Great fun! I gave him a Q magazine with a featured article on Queen when he dropped me off and he was delighted with it. Made my day....

Wednesday 23rd February

We left Borocay and headed for a place called Sugar beach via ferry from Iloilo to Bacolod and bus to Sipilay city. We arrived in Sipilay after 11pm at night and had planned to go to Sugar Beach straightaway which we thought was nearby. It turned out, after a local man informed us, that we had to take a further pump boat to get there in the morning as all trips had stopped by then. He showed us the way to a guesthouse (during this time we thought he was just another local who was eager to get our business) but they were full. The next thing a squad car arrived and he told us he was a police officer and that we could get a lift to another guesthouse with them! He said that Sipilay would be a bit dangerous at night to be walking around so I was glad to get their help and it saved on taxi fares too!

Thursday 24th february

Got a pump boat out to Sugar Beach. We booked in to a place called Sulu Sunset, a really relaxed set up with individual outdoor huts and lofts and a large bar/restaurant beach hut. The place was so secluded there was hardly a soul on the beach. We headed off in the afternoon to walk to another beach on the island and from there would snorkel back to where Sulu Sunset was.We walked on a path through plenty of jungle area where potential critters of creepy varieties lay above and below the growth and past many of the local's houses which are like thatched huts built on stilts (which I presume keeps out the flood waters in rainy season). Once we got to that beach we entered the water to snorkel back. When we turned a corner at one of the shoreline cliffs we saw that it wasn't our beach but just more cliffs. AT this point we were in really deep water (about 10 metres) and too far away from Sulu Sunset beach to swim (we would have made it but couldn't take the chance) so decided to turn back. If we had kept going or gotten into any difficulty there were no lifeguards to help out and besides the water was exactly the right level of murkiness where one would expect a shark to emerge! We made the right decision.

Friday 25th February

We set off on the road again to Dumaguete where we planned to catch a ferry from there to Apo island, a natural reservation full of interesting wildlife. One we got there however there were no ferries leaving until the next evening. Due to a lack of time (we had to be in Donsal by Sunday or Monday to go swimming with whale sharks! See below) we just ended up staying in Dumaguete in a hostel called Harold's Mansion. It was a bit stressful after the relaxed vibe of Sugar Beach but I think that was due to the anti-malaria tablets i've to take every Friday. I was feeling dizzy and irritable after them and the girls who shared our dorm with us did not help that in the slightest..I won't even bother writing what happened as I won't waste your time or mine on the wallies. You can ask me in person if you're that interested!

Saturday and Sunday 26th and 27th February

These two days are a haze of travelling by bus, plane and mini-van in order to get to Donsol. We had 0-little hours of sleep and were delirious and cranky by the time we got to our hostel called the Shoreline. I conked out around 8pm and woke up at 10am the next day!

Monday 28th February

Checked out the town of Donsal. Each and every one of the locals said hello to us so it felt like we were saying hello for a few hours. We went to a local eatery in the evening where we sat outside in a small separate roofed area until a giant beetle flew around our heads, flew into my hair and then onto my dinner plate. After some girlie screams the waiter came to our rescue and pushed him off it. We regained our composure before the cretaure decided to do a few more rotations around our heads and succeeded in freaking us out totally. We ran inside to the more sheltered tables. Two of the girls ordered a dessert then called a 'Hohla Hohla special'. It arrived out consisting of flavoured ice, fruit, gello pieces, red beans and grated cheese on top. Uuugh! I don't think the Filippinos are famed for their desserts for some reason.

Tuesday Ist March

Today was the highlight of my travels so far. We went swimming with whale sharks!!! We registered at 7 30 in the morning with the local tourist centre where they send out many boats of 6 people along with a crew and guide so we could swim with these beautiful creatures. We set out and after arund 20 minutes or so in the sea a shark was spotted and our guide gave us the signal to jump into the water. He pointed down in the direction the whale shark was coming. With my snorkel mask and flippers on I looked down into the ocean and low and behold there was a whale shark swimming about 2 metres below me and I was one metre in front of it. I let out a bit of an underwater scream and started swimming along with it. My god it was incredible. It was so scary even though these rare creatures are harmless. It was huge and the water we were in was so deep. It was so thrilling......to be continued

19th February

Flew out of Manila to Caticlan from where I took a pump boat across to Borocay island. Once the boat arrived at the port there I met my friend Katie and we took a trike to Bora Bora Hostel in Station 3 of White Beach, the 3 kilometres or so of beautiful coconut tree lined turquoise water beach.

Our hostel was just a 5 minute walk from there so once my bags were unloaded off we went to soak up some much needed rays and vitamin D ( I had come from a very cold and dreary Winter in South Korea). All sorts of bars, restaurants and shopping malls line the beach behind the coconut trees. What makes Borocay really pleasant and different to other holiday resorts (well European ones anyway) is that it isn't too tacky or commercial. The restaurant workers, masseuses, boatmen and other workers on the strip who ask for your custom will leave you alone once you say 'no thanks' compared to other holiday destinations where tauts feels like harassers. Also most of the shops, bars etc along here blend in nicely with the beach and don't stick out like gaudy sore thumbs. The beach itself is really clean and well kept and is never crowded. For all these reasons i'd definitely recommend Borocay as a holiday destination. Because we are backpacking we couldn't spend every night in a different restaurant and cruise the bar and nightclub scene as we needed to keep an eye on our budget.

However (well we weren't going to stay in every night!) the girls I was meeting decided that my arrival would be a good excuse to go out for a meal and treat ourselves. We enjoyed a BBQ fish platter at a beach front restaurant and then ended up going to a bar for a cocktail with two guys we had met at the restaurant. From there we tried a nightclub called CocoBana's in Station 1. This nightclub was really seedy. We sat next to a table of 50-60 something year old Western men and this is where the seedy part comes in: accompanying them were young Filipino prostitutes, none of whom were older than 21, gyrating in every conceivable manner on and around the ol' sods. The Chinese have a name for this sort of man that translates as 'weird uncle'.

It seems everywhere you go here you're likely to run into a couple with a much older Western man and a much younger native woman. I'm sure some of them are happy but I've seen some miserable looking pairs too. I think the age gap and cultural differences are major problems once the novelty of having a youthful young bride (for him) and not having to think about financial difficulties (for her) wears off. Also I can't help but think that many of these men desire the women here because many of them are physically childlike which appeals to a more sinister desire within them.

Monday 21st February

After a day on the beach we checked out the Red Pirates Bar at the end of Station 3 to check out times for renting a boat to go snorkeling the next day. The bar was really cool. It was like a beach hut but with a high roof that had strong wooden rafters. There were big wooden stools at the counter, the seat part being a whole slice of a trunk of some large tree or another. Sea and ocean faring bits and bobs like model ships and old lanterns lined the bar's roof and walls and some cats crawled lazily around the tables and counter top sniffing at drinks. The atmosphere was very laid back. The owner said we could rent a boat the next day from 4 until 7, a perfect time to see the sunset and catch some snorkeling time without getting too burned by the sun.

Tuesday 22nd February

We set out on the 'Red Pirate' pump boat along with the two Filippino lads who manned it. They were good craic and cheeky fellows too with their rude jokes and chat up lines to the girls. There was one older guy of about 28 and a younger lad of 19 or 20 both of whom looked like real pirates. They weren't exactly wearing eye patches and hooks for hands! They just had that look of devilment about them and the weather beaten complexions that sailors get. They cracked open a bottle of rum (as all professional pirates do!) and we cheered to a wonderful holiday.
The boat itself was small and we had to sit on rope seats that extended out from the body of the boat to the pump bars on either side. During the course of the sailing we had to crawl from one side to the other in order for the main guy to steer using the way our weight was distributed. It was tough work but good fun! After a while then we stopped for some snorkeling. I saw some really colorful fish mostly in purple, blue, yellow and black and white colours. This was a treat as I had never swam in tropical waters before.

I spent an edgy evening and freaky night in Manila on my own. After getting a taxi with a very curious driver “Are you married? Have you got a boyfriend? Where is he?” etc I was dropped off at Manila International Youth Hostel. Just from the last few weeks here it seems the Filipino men are quite cheeky and forward in their advances but will leave you alone if that is your wish. They are very courteous and just from my observation seem to be just as mannerly to their women folk. An example of this being when we got a pump boat from one island to another and the captain lifted each woman individually out of the boat and a few metres onto the shore so that they wouldn't wet their feet. He didn't lift us Westerners though mind. We were all at least a stone or two heavier than the local women!

The hostel itself was a bit dingy and antiquated and in a bad area of Manila. I went out to find an internet cafe as there was no in-house internet available. I found all eyes were on me walking through the streets which were dirty and lined with shoddy old buildings. The evening was dark by then and the roads hectic with trike (motorbikes with a further carriage for passengers attached) drivers looking for punters as well as beggar children running up to me asking for money and some sketchy looking groups of young men congregating outside of betting offices and bars. An elderly man and woman sitting outside of a food stall saw that I was looking for something and pointed me in the direction of an internet cafe. They were very helpful and I had my first taste of how friendly and helpful many of the people here are. There are of course the tricksters who will do anything possible to earn an extra buck. A few days ago a taxi driver told us that a coffee in the Philippines cost 100 pesos. We had arrived back to Manila on a domestic flight from another island but he had thought it was our first time in the country. When we told him we'd only pay 80 pesos to take us somewhere that had cost this before he pulled the coffee trick saying that this fare price was way too low. He quickly shut up when we told him we were in the Philippines for a few weeks already.

After the internet cafe it was straight back to the hostel via a 7-11 for some snacks for the night. It seems nearly every establishment here in the larger towns and cities where goods could be stolen has a security guard. The chap in this one offered me a basket “would you like a basket mam?”. All of the people address each other as 'Mam' or 'Sir', like you'd see in a Western movie.

After getting back to the hostel I settled down to watching some Filipino TV. Most of their shows are in English or a mixture of both languages in which they swing back and forth. When the Filipinos speak English it sounds like a blend of American, Latino and Jamaican accents. They'll end a sentence usually with a higher intonation which makes me want to do a bad 'totally tropical man' Jamaican accent. Anyway......the most striking/disturbing TV commercials were for skin whiteners which are very popular here. Whiter skin it seems is more prized here and is seen as more beautiful by many. The grass is always greener....I'd love to have darker skin. Maybe their desire for paler skin will be reversed after they've seen my pasty self parading the streets and beaches.

The highlight of my TV viewing was a drama series about vampires complete with a heavy metal soundtrack and horrendous special effects. It was absolutely fantastic and entertaining and I applaud the creators on making it so as I presume they had little budget to work with. There was one scene where a werewolf was attacking a human. The werewolf was cartoon animated but it was superimposed onto the film and the actor had to pretend there was something really there although there wasn't (which wasn't very convincing). It made the scene hilarious. I would say there were fits of laughter in households all over the country at this point. The people here are 'good craic' as we'd say in Ireland. They're humorous and very funny I find...especially after coming from South Korea where public behaviour is more uptight and strangers don't share many jokes. On a later bus journey from Bacolad to Iloilo some drunk made some comment (at my expense of course) after he tried to sit beside me but I was reluctant to let him. All of the surrounding passengers had a good laugh together and even though it wasn't in my favour I was still impressed by their sociability.

Back in my hostel room just as I was getting sleepy and ready to turn off the TV I heard a large scurrying sound coming from the ceiling. Something non human had scuttled above from one end of the room to the other in a matter of seconds. I shot up out of the bed and stood listening. It did it again. After summing up what had happened I realized there were rats under the floorboards in the room above. I listened again...if it wasn't rats that were separated by just a centimeter of floorboard it was a violent poltergiest that haunted the room because of some terrible murder in the past. Oh how the mind works sometimes! I banged on the ceiling with a shoe and the noise stopped. Whatever it was I had frightened the thing for the time being. The next morning I looked outside and saw that there wasn't in fact another floor above but a corrugated tin roof. No wonder the noise from whatever animal it was was so loud. Still freaky though!