About 8km down from EBC, at 5200m elevation, there are two hotels across from Rongpu Monastery, the highest monastery in the world (those monks are a hardy lot!).
First we checked the Tibetan Guesthouse. Rooms all w/o bath and power were basic and had heavy bedsize pads to weigh you down and keep you warm. There was a full view of Everest from each room, but I was frightened of the wind that whistled in thru the windows and blew the curtains around. The rate was 25Y/person.
Next we checked a new 3-storey Chinese hotel which employed Tibetans. Room all w/o bath had carpet, heavy bedsize pads with nice bedspreads, high ceilings and desk with mirror. There was a full view of Everest from each room and the windows seemed to have a better seal. We asked the rate…. 200Y/person!!! I was outraged!! Especially because I had heard about the toilets. I forced the receptionist up the stairs with me to look at the toilets. I pointed to the shit piled high in each of the new porcelain squat toilets. The staff explained that there was no water. Do you have a shovel, I asked. Then a male staff pushed me aside and locked the door to the room, thereby keeping everyone from the toilets!
The other foreigners staying at the hotel seemed fine with the situation. I wasn't. I sat in the reception area and struggled. My need for feelings of warmth and comfort eventually overruled my outrage at being held hostage. And fortunately, somewhere during all this the price came down to 100Y/person. I gave in.
We checked in. The room had a TV, but the electric socket was on the other side of the room. The carpets had never been vacuumed. The bedside console controlling the lights and TV was not connected to the lights or TV. The only heat in this building at the base of Everest was on the second floor in the common area – it came from a wood stove fuelled by goat pellets, around which all the Tibetans sat, leaving no room for the hotel guests.
As for the toilet, you could go outside into the biting wind or you could rig something in the room. We discovered the next morning that the trash pail had a leak – oh well.
We woke up the next morning to thick clouds, so there were no views of Everest. We got out of bed, put our clothes on over our bed clothes and got back under the covers, where we stayed until one of us was brave enough to go out and find our driver to tell him that we wanted to leave sooner rather than later.
Hotel: Zhu Feng View and Admire Floor
Rating: Worst hotel in the world
27.3.05
Tibet Photos
On the morning of day 2 (March 16) in Lhasa I knew there was something not right in the air when I became far too upset when I couldn't get any info on where I could shower.
We were staying at the Banak Shol, a Tibetan hotel and old meditaton retreat. Rooms without bath were half the price of rooms with bath. During check-in I was shown where the showers were, but on this morning the doors were locked and the receptionist would only wave generally in the direction of the courtyard when I tried to ask where I could shower. So I stood in the sun, in the courtyard, and pouted... holding my laundry. Laundry is a free service offered at the Banak Shol. Bonus - cuz it would be nice to have a break from washing my clothes. But I was sure the receptionist had said laundry could be turned in at 8:30, but today I was told to wait until 9:30. When the laundry lady showed up she said she wouldn't do socks - bummer!
Chris was finally able to find out where to shower and so off I went. However, there was absolutely no cold water, only scalding hot water - this was a first! I discovered it was far easier to take a cold shower than a hot one. I poured a small puddle of very hot water into the tub, splashed a few parts and that was that.
This was the day we would explore the Barkhor Kora - Lhasa's most interesting pilgrimage circuit. It is the spiritual heart of Lhasa and the main commercial district for Tibetans. The whole circuit is lined with stalls selling absolutely everything a Tibetan or tourist might want.
We attracted crowds whenever we stopped at a stall to bargain... and bargaining was brutal! A vendor might start at 160Y and I would offer an opening price of 10Y - so it takes a long, long time to get them down to a price I will even consider accepting. I wasn't buying much.
About 2/3 of the way around the kora I looked down and froze. The zippered pocket that held my camera was open ... and empty. Was I seeing correctly? I was stunned. I checked all my pockets, even though I knew my camera wouldn't be there. I looked up at the crowds walking by. The bargaining stopped.
My camera was gone and there was nothing that could be done. I was scared, angry and very sad.
Here I am in a Buddhist region where Buddha teaches that detachment from material possessions lessens the suffering that desire brings. I realized how attached I had become to my camera. I learned from the Philippines that my pics help me remember the fantastic experiences I'm having and having the camera is a great way to interact with people. But more than my camera, I wanted my pics back. We had been in China a little over a week and I had taken over 60 pics.
I've recovered from the loss. It took a few days to get over the urge to pull out my camera every time I saw a good photo op. And fortunately I have a travel mate with a camera to record the trip.
And the shock hasn't ruined my experience of Tibet, as I had feared it might. In fact, I have been trying to think of how to describe a smile that is bigger and more powerful than a smile.
More than I enjoyed visiting the Potala or Everest, my favorite activity here has been walking the koras. If there's a kora, I want to walk it. I like to spin the prayer wheels and listen to the prayer flags whipping in the wind.
But most I love to say tashi de lay (hello, altho I'm sure the direct translation is something far richer) to the little old ladies walking the circuits. I spy one and then tashi de lay I say... and then their beautiful weathered and wrinkled faces explode as they beam back at me with almost toothless smiles, tashi de lay, and giggling. It makes my entire body smile. I'm addicted. I can't get enough of that feeling. What will be left of Tibet when they are gone?
I'll be back in China in a couple of days. I'll buy another camera and start snapping away again.
Om mani padme hum
We were staying at the Banak Shol, a Tibetan hotel and old meditaton retreat. Rooms without bath were half the price of rooms with bath. During check-in I was shown where the showers were, but on this morning the doors were locked and the receptionist would only wave generally in the direction of the courtyard when I tried to ask where I could shower. So I stood in the sun, in the courtyard, and pouted... holding my laundry. Laundry is a free service offered at the Banak Shol. Bonus - cuz it would be nice to have a break from washing my clothes. But I was sure the receptionist had said laundry could be turned in at 8:30, but today I was told to wait until 9:30. When the laundry lady showed up she said she wouldn't do socks - bummer!
Chris was finally able to find out where to shower and so off I went. However, there was absolutely no cold water, only scalding hot water - this was a first! I discovered it was far easier to take a cold shower than a hot one. I poured a small puddle of very hot water into the tub, splashed a few parts and that was that.
This was the day we would explore the Barkhor Kora - Lhasa's most interesting pilgrimage circuit. It is the spiritual heart of Lhasa and the main commercial district for Tibetans. The whole circuit is lined with stalls selling absolutely everything a Tibetan or tourist might want.
We attracted crowds whenever we stopped at a stall to bargain... and bargaining was brutal! A vendor might start at 160Y and I would offer an opening price of 10Y - so it takes a long, long time to get them down to a price I will even consider accepting. I wasn't buying much.
About 2/3 of the way around the kora I looked down and froze. The zippered pocket that held my camera was open ... and empty. Was I seeing correctly? I was stunned. I checked all my pockets, even though I knew my camera wouldn't be there. I looked up at the crowds walking by. The bargaining stopped.
My camera was gone and there was nothing that could be done. I was scared, angry and very sad.
Here I am in a Buddhist region where Buddha teaches that detachment from material possessions lessens the suffering that desire brings. I realized how attached I had become to my camera. I learned from the Philippines that my pics help me remember the fantastic experiences I'm having and having the camera is a great way to interact with people. But more than my camera, I wanted my pics back. We had been in China a little over a week and I had taken over 60 pics.
I've recovered from the loss. It took a few days to get over the urge to pull out my camera every time I saw a good photo op. And fortunately I have a travel mate with a camera to record the trip.
And the shock hasn't ruined my experience of Tibet, as I had feared it might. In fact, I have been trying to think of how to describe a smile that is bigger and more powerful than a smile.
More than I enjoyed visiting the Potala or Everest, my favorite activity here has been walking the koras. If there's a kora, I want to walk it. I like to spin the prayer wheels and listen to the prayer flags whipping in the wind.
But most I love to say tashi de lay (hello, altho I'm sure the direct translation is something far richer) to the little old ladies walking the circuits. I spy one and then tashi de lay I say... and then their beautiful weathered and wrinkled faces explode as they beam back at me with almost toothless smiles, tashi de lay, and giggling. It makes my entire body smile. I'm addicted. I can't get enough of that feeling. What will be left of Tibet when they are gone?
I'll be back in China in a couple of days. I'll buy another camera and start snapping away again.
Om mani padme hum
Om mani padme hum
Om mani padme hum
20.3.05
Sunday: wake up early to tour the Potala
In a city where Amway occupies one of the largest buildings it's easy to forget where you are. Girls are wearing heels and leather and jeans, all the roads are paved and clean, and there's not a thing you can't buy here. There are more outdoor gear/clothing shops here than in Calgary! Hint: if you are coming this way don't bring anything more than what you are wearing - you can get it all here, good quality and cheap.
Fortunately, McDo's and Starbucks haven't arrived and I was glad to see that the sidewalk in front of the Potala wasn't lined with souvenir and hot dog stands.
We have gotten as high as 4200m and I seem to be acclimatizing well. I just need to remember to walk more slowly and breathe more deeply. But I haven't been sleeping much.
Last night while I was trying to sleep I composed a brilliant (of course) blog. Too bad I didn't get up and write it down, cuz now it's gone.
Now I'm off to try to get some sleep tonight. We're heading off early in the morning on a 6 day jeep trip to Everest Base Camp. We replied to a note on the bulletin board last Tuesday - Jim and Maeve, a Brit/Irish couple, had organized jeep and driver and were looking to share costs. Everything is organized and we're ready to go.
I'm expecting cold, few showers and some interesting road. I'm excited!
Fortunately, McDo's and Starbucks haven't arrived and I was glad to see that the sidewalk in front of the Potala wasn't lined with souvenir and hot dog stands.
We have gotten as high as 4200m and I seem to be acclimatizing well. I just need to remember to walk more slowly and breathe more deeply. But I haven't been sleeping much.
Last night while I was trying to sleep I composed a brilliant (of course) blog. Too bad I didn't get up and write it down, cuz now it's gone.
Now I'm off to try to get some sleep tonight. We're heading off early in the morning on a 6 day jeep trip to Everest Base Camp. We replied to a note on the bulletin board last Tuesday - Jim and Maeve, a Brit/Irish couple, had organized jeep and driver and were looking to share costs. Everything is organized and we're ready to go.
I'm expecting cold, few showers and some interesting road. I'm excited!
10.3.05
China!!
Monday - received a 3 month Visa
Tuesday - we set off on the train to Lo Wu, the town just before the border. Then we crossed over. Mr. T. Law checked me out of Hong Kong and another serious looking guy checked me into China. Never before have I felt so much like I was going in. And now here I am.
Spent the first night in Shenzhen, in a youth hostel in the middle of numerous theme lands... and we spent the evening browsing thru Wal-Mart!! Yes, very weird, but bought some cheap food for the next phase... a 25 hour train journey to Kunming. STUNNING scenery the entire route.
Sitting in the French Cafe having a Tsing Tao beer on the free internet so don't want to be too greedy. Just want to say all is well... oh and the food, this is looking like it will be a very tasty and exciting experience.
So much to see and do, so little time.
'til next time... and please send me news from the outside as I think the likelihood of getting it here is slim!
Tuesday - we set off on the train to Lo Wu, the town just before the border. Then we crossed over. Mr. T. Law checked me out of Hong Kong and another serious looking guy checked me into China. Never before have I felt so much like I was going in. And now here I am.
Spent the first night in Shenzhen, in a youth hostel in the middle of numerous theme lands... and we spent the evening browsing thru Wal-Mart!! Yes, very weird, but bought some cheap food for the next phase... a 25 hour train journey to Kunming. STUNNING scenery the entire route.
Sitting in the French Cafe having a Tsing Tao beer on the free internet so don't want to be too greedy. Just want to say all is well... oh and the food, this is looking like it will be a very tasty and exciting experience.
So much to see and do, so little time.
'til next time... and please send me news from the outside as I think the likelihood of getting it here is slim!
4.3.05
Need a haircut?
As every female knows, a good haircut is hard to find. Well, I've been very lucky since arriving in this part of the world.
While in Taiwan I was feeling frumpy and so went in search of a fix. I was very fortunate to get a good short cut by a 40 yr old guy named Here. He spoke perfect English, once taught styling in Hong Kong, and has cut hair for many foreigners. We got along fabulously and I walked away with a big smile.
Today, I was again feeling in need of a fix of some kind. As I was malling at Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Centre, I noticed an empty salon with a male stylist who had a great cut. I went inside and told him so and asked if he could help me. My hair was washed, my head massaged and I was lead to a very comfortable black leather armchair. As he started snipping, his assistant brought me a good cup of coffee (in a country where instant Nescafe is the norm), and then she massaged my arms and hands. After, she hovered about and whisked away hairs as they fell to my face. Others in the salon came by to make sure I was happy... and I was. I got another great cut. I asked for their calling card. My stylist was Kurt, the assistant was Tanya. Then I read the words under Pranav, the name of the salon... Male Spa. Perhaps that explains my experience there.
I walked away with a big smile.
While in Taiwan I was feeling frumpy and so went in search of a fix. I was very fortunate to get a good short cut by a 40 yr old guy named Here. He spoke perfect English, once taught styling in Hong Kong, and has cut hair for many foreigners. We got along fabulously and I walked away with a big smile.
Today, I was again feeling in need of a fix of some kind. As I was malling at Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Centre, I noticed an empty salon with a male stylist who had a great cut. I went inside and told him so and asked if he could help me. My hair was washed, my head massaged and I was lead to a very comfortable black leather armchair. As he started snipping, his assistant brought me a good cup of coffee (in a country where instant Nescafe is the norm), and then she massaged my arms and hands. After, she hovered about and whisked away hairs as they fell to my face. Others in the salon came by to make sure I was happy... and I was. I got another great cut. I asked for their calling card. My stylist was Kurt, the assistant was Tanya. Then I read the words under Pranav, the name of the salon... Male Spa. Perhaps that explains my experience there.
I walked away with a big smile.
2.3.05
Most Memorable Mentionables
Sketchy Accommodation
- Gloria DeCastro’s – Taal Lake, Luzon – expensive for a creepy little room at 500P, but run by a cute (sly) old lady
- Bicolana Hotel & Restaurant – Allen, Samar – but for 200P you can’t really complain, and it was run by cut little old ladies
Room with a View
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort run by Fred and Wilma, San Joaquin, Panay – rice terraces
- Nuts Huts Resort run by Chris and Rita, Loboc, Bohol – jungle/river view
- Simons Inn, Batad, Ifugao - a view of the village of Batad in the rice terraces, declared the 8th Wonder of the World by UNESCO
Beach
- Aninuan, Puerto Gallera, Mindoro
Boat Ride
- Ferry from Manila to Romblon Town – 13 hrs on a listing ferry, 1st class = bunk in a room with 60 people, air con and mat, rather than on deck with 300 people, no mat or air con
- Looc, Tablas to Boracay Island – very old boat in very rough water for 2.5 hours, was glad to be alive when we stepped ashore
- Bohol to Bato, Leyte – 3 hrs on a deck fitted with mats for lounging, very comfortable
- Ormoc, Leyte to Camotes Islands – a 1 hr trip became a 3 hr milk run. It started at 8 a.m. with the peanut seller singing karaoke, and by 9 a.m. the guys were guzzling beer and belting out tunes such as You Make Me Feel Brand New and anything by Air Supply
Bus/Jeepney Ride
- Baguio - bus up into and down out of, stunning mountain scenery
- Suyo to Cervantes - they told us it couldn't be done, that it was dangerous. Stunning scenery over Bessing Pass at 5200 ft, in a jeepney - 41 km, 2.5 hrs
Walk
- Batad to Campulo to Banaue - terrace and mountain trekking, 20+ km. The only way into and out of the villages of Batad and Campulo is on foot, so no wonder the price of a cola sky rockets to 30P from its usual 10P!
Cheapest Internet
- Ormoc, Leyte – 15P/hr
Bakery
- Dumagete, Negros – real cinnamon buns, real cookies
- Silay, Negros – guappa/guava pie – YUM!
Turo Turo (Filipino Eatery)
- Dumagete, Negros (Chinese influenced)
Filipino Food Favourites
- Lumpia – spring rolls
- Goto – congee with chopped intestines fried up in garlic and ginger, a great breakfast for 10P
- Lomi – great tasting noodle/veg/meat soup
- Filipino breakfasts – tapsilog (beef), tocinolog (pork), chicksilog (chicken), etcilog …. with a fried egg and rice
- Fruits – mango, pineapple, jackfruit, star apple, guiyabano, pomello
- Bibinga – moist, sweet rice cake
- Garlic rice
- Coconut jam – a very delish sweet brown spread
- Empanadas in Vigan
- Oyok - deep fried shrimp omelettes in Vigan - yum!!
Ice Cream
- Jollibees Cheese Crunch Twirl Cone for 12P - but we gave up on Jollibees, the competition that MacDonalds can not beat in this country, because twice we have gone to get a cone and they had no cones!!! They could only offer us a cup - how does that happen??
Street Snacks
- BBQ banana on a stick rolled in sugar or syrup
- Peanut brittle
- Garlic roasted spicy peanuts
- Choco Crinkle cookies
- Banana wrapped in a crepe
Freaky Food
- Balut – duck embryo hard boiled egg
- Adidas – chicken feet
- Crickets - a plate of spicy, crunchy crickets, not bad
- Frogs - first time for me
- BBQ just too freaky to try: intestines, fat chunks, one day old chicks, chicken heads (seems that no parts are wasted, but where is the meat on a chicken head?)
Morning Coffee Café
- New New City Café, Silay, Negros - cheap coffee and we got to watch the cops take a criminal down right outside the door!
Meals
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort, San Joaquin, Panay – fried chicken and chips, goulash, huge salad and huge breakfast
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros – buffet dinners of sashimi, fajitas and Thai curry
- Italian restaurant, Talipanan Beach Resort, Mindoro – calzone, penne and great music
- Lloyd’s Eatery, Poro, Camotes Island – although the sign on the building led us to believe we were entering an eatery, we were introduced to a family playing cards at the kitchen table; they looked into their fridge to see what they could put together to feed us; we didn’t linger after we ate
Sunsets
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros
- Islanders Paradise Beach Resort, Sandugan Point, Siquijor Island
- White Beach, Mindoro
- Manila Bay
He/Shes
- Bars at White Beach
- Family Pension, Iloilo, Panay
Closed Facilites (always discovered after considerable effort!)
- Whitewater Kayaking Inn, Tibiao, Panay
- Fortuna Pension, Silay, Negros
- Palanunitan San Silay Restaurant, Silay, Negros
- Calalinan Beach Gardan Resort, Siquijor
- Cheng Sian Café & snack Haus, Lazi, Siquijor
Motorcycle Journeys
- Sibuyan Island – island circuit trip (would you call that a road?), my ass was so sore at the end of the day I almost couldn’t remove myself from the bike
- Siquijor Island – around and over island trip, good roads thru lush mountain, jungle and seaside scenery
- Bohol Island – a bike so bad the ride was the roughest yet, and ran outta gas twice (gauges never work so it’s always a guessing game)
- Camotes Island – remote, rural jungle towns, very pleasant, leaving one town there was a sign Thank You for Living
Disappointments
- Mambucal Mountain Resort, Negros – where’s the bubbling mud?
- Boracay Island – described as the most beautiful beach in the world, but where was the sun?
- Kiwi Dive Resort – for so many reasons, so we didn’t stay
- Filipino bakeries – Filipinos like their breads white and sweet; many cookies, but just different shapes of the same bland flavour; although there are things that look like chocolate I have accepted that there is no real chocolate
- Laura’s Shop, German Community, Sibuyan Island – after a rough bike ride we were dreaming of a lunch of German food, but had to settle for Filipino food and conversation with Hans
- Silay, Negros – closed, closed and closed! Not at all what the guide book suggested.
- Philippine National Railway - runs no longer. There was a derailment a few months ago and it seems that the track is being salvaged by the locals....
- Mount Pinatubo - the Pinatubo Tourist Office was not able to give us information on how to get there, and since we were trying to find it during our last week in the Philippines, we lost the steam and enthusiasm to try further - oh well.
Jeepney Notes
- “The traditional recipe for the jeepney, a uniquely Philippine concoction, is as follows: take on ex-US Army jeep, put two benches in the back with enough room for about 12 people, paint it every colour of the rainbow, add badges, horns, aerials, air fresheners, icons, lots of mirrors, a tape deck that plays only Philippine pop, a chrome horse (or a whole herd of them) and anything else you can think of. Then stuff 20 passengers on those benches, add four in front, hang a few more off the roof and drive like a maniac.” LP
- Manila – best graphics and slogans
- Jeepneys plying the Bacolod to Silay, Negros route – worst music (hits from the 50s & 60s)
- Districts between Miagao and Iloilo, Panay – modern new vehicles with perfect paint jobs
- Siquijor Island – squashed mini versions of the original
- Tacloban, Leyte – the most gawdy, colourful, fantastically decorated
- Baguio - with doors and windows, perhaps because it is chilly up in the mountains
- God Bless Our Trip!!
Things that made me laugh
- After a very disappointing dinner of a very fatty deep fried porkchop and rice (the only thing offered at the only restaurant in town), walking back to our pension past a Sari Sari (tiny store), Chris asked “Are you full? Do you want a tin of corned beef?” Where else could a person be tempted by such an offer?
- During a rest stop on a very rough motorcycle ride and giddy from the beating my body was taking on the bike, I bust into a hysterical fit of laughter when Chris asked “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?” We’ve learned that just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you can. Passing thru many a town we see funerias, chainsaw repair and vulcanizing shops, but you need God’s help to find an eatery. And the many, many bakeries provide only tasteless filler for the stomach.
- Watching chickens skid across the road as you speed up on them with the horn honking
- Filipinos love to pose when they see the camera, then they thank us for taking their picture
- the kids pose by framing their chin with their thumb and forefinger - I think it's a GQ thing
- how I jumped up on the bed like a girl the first time I had an experience with a flying cockroach - now I just announce that there is a cockroach that needs to be taken care of
Things that make me go hmmm….
- Cheese flavoured ice cream
- Karaoke – morning, day and night, it seems to be a need as strong as food and water
- Philippine Government Tourism Department
- Beer that is cheaper than water
- Government service
- “Child Friendly” schools
- “Clean and Green” and WOW (War on Waste) campaigns
- GMA Cares billboards (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)
- Dayglo pink hotdogs for breakfast
- Fried chicken with spaghetti and rice combo fast food meals
- I now use ketchup on everything for added flavour
- Road sign seen only once: Warning – Defective Pavement Ahead
- "all you can eat buffet" but you pay a penalty if you leave anything on your plate, good idea huh?
- absolutely NOTHING is sign posted, making it very difficult to visit points of interest as advertised by the Philippine Tourism Department. This is the Philippine way as a Filipina explained to us, shaking her head.
- banana ketchup (it is red too)
Filipino Musical Favorites
- Bread
- Air Supply
- ABBA
- Kenny Rogers (country music is very popular up north, never heard any down south)
Most People Seen on a Motorcycle
- 5 adults – all on one seat!
Islands in the Philippines
- 7100+
Islands Visited
- 17
100 Pesos = Cdn $2.50
Honourable Mention
- the people of the Philippines - the friendliest people I have ever met; they always have a smile or a greeting for you
God Bless the Philippines
- Gloria DeCastro’s – Taal Lake, Luzon – expensive for a creepy little room at 500P, but run by a cute (sly) old lady
- Bicolana Hotel & Restaurant – Allen, Samar – but for 200P you can’t really complain, and it was run by cut little old ladies
Room with a View
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort run by Fred and Wilma, San Joaquin, Panay – rice terraces
- Nuts Huts Resort run by Chris and Rita, Loboc, Bohol – jungle/river view
- Simons Inn, Batad, Ifugao - a view of the village of Batad in the rice terraces, declared the 8th Wonder of the World by UNESCO
Beach
- Aninuan, Puerto Gallera, Mindoro
Boat Ride
- Ferry from Manila to Romblon Town – 13 hrs on a listing ferry, 1st class = bunk in a room with 60 people, air con and mat, rather than on deck with 300 people, no mat or air con
- Looc, Tablas to Boracay Island – very old boat in very rough water for 2.5 hours, was glad to be alive when we stepped ashore
- Bohol to Bato, Leyte – 3 hrs on a deck fitted with mats for lounging, very comfortable
- Ormoc, Leyte to Camotes Islands – a 1 hr trip became a 3 hr milk run. It started at 8 a.m. with the peanut seller singing karaoke, and by 9 a.m. the guys were guzzling beer and belting out tunes such as You Make Me Feel Brand New and anything by Air Supply
Bus/Jeepney Ride
- Baguio - bus up into and down out of, stunning mountain scenery
- Suyo to Cervantes - they told us it couldn't be done, that it was dangerous. Stunning scenery over Bessing Pass at 5200 ft, in a jeepney - 41 km, 2.5 hrs
Walk
- Batad to Campulo to Banaue - terrace and mountain trekking, 20+ km. The only way into and out of the villages of Batad and Campulo is on foot, so no wonder the price of a cola sky rockets to 30P from its usual 10P!
Cheapest Internet
- Ormoc, Leyte – 15P/hr
Bakery
- Dumagete, Negros – real cinnamon buns, real cookies
- Silay, Negros – guappa/guava pie – YUM!
Turo Turo (Filipino Eatery)
- Dumagete, Negros (Chinese influenced)
Filipino Food Favourites
- Lumpia – spring rolls
- Goto – congee with chopped intestines fried up in garlic and ginger, a great breakfast for 10P
- Lomi – great tasting noodle/veg/meat soup
- Filipino breakfasts – tapsilog (beef), tocinolog (pork), chicksilog (chicken), etcilog …. with a fried egg and rice
- Fruits – mango, pineapple, jackfruit, star apple, guiyabano, pomello
- Bibinga – moist, sweet rice cake
- Garlic rice
- Coconut jam – a very delish sweet brown spread
- Empanadas in Vigan
- Oyok - deep fried shrimp omelettes in Vigan - yum!!
Ice Cream
- Jollibees Cheese Crunch Twirl Cone for 12P - but we gave up on Jollibees, the competition that MacDonalds can not beat in this country, because twice we have gone to get a cone and they had no cones!!! They could only offer us a cup - how does that happen??
Street Snacks
- BBQ banana on a stick rolled in sugar or syrup
- Peanut brittle
- Garlic roasted spicy peanuts
- Choco Crinkle cookies
- Banana wrapped in a crepe
Freaky Food
- Balut – duck embryo hard boiled egg
- Adidas – chicken feet
- Crickets - a plate of spicy, crunchy crickets, not bad
- Frogs - first time for me
- BBQ just too freaky to try: intestines, fat chunks, one day old chicks, chicken heads (seems that no parts are wasted, but where is the meat on a chicken head?)
Morning Coffee Café
- New New City Café, Silay, Negros - cheap coffee and we got to watch the cops take a criminal down right outside the door!
Meals
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort, San Joaquin, Panay – fried chicken and chips, goulash, huge salad and huge breakfast
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros – buffet dinners of sashimi, fajitas and Thai curry
- Italian restaurant, Talipanan Beach Resort, Mindoro – calzone, penne and great music
- Lloyd’s Eatery, Poro, Camotes Island – although the sign on the building led us to believe we were entering an eatery, we were introduced to a family playing cards at the kitchen table; they looked into their fridge to see what they could put together to feed us; we didn’t linger after we ate
Sunsets
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros
- Islanders Paradise Beach Resort, Sandugan Point, Siquijor Island
- White Beach, Mindoro
- Manila Bay
He/Shes
- Bars at White Beach
- Family Pension, Iloilo, Panay
Closed Facilites (always discovered after considerable effort!)
- Whitewater Kayaking Inn, Tibiao, Panay
- Fortuna Pension, Silay, Negros
- Palanunitan San Silay Restaurant, Silay, Negros
- Calalinan Beach Gardan Resort, Siquijor
- Cheng Sian Café & snack Haus, Lazi, Siquijor
Motorcycle Journeys
- Sibuyan Island – island circuit trip (would you call that a road?), my ass was so sore at the end of the day I almost couldn’t remove myself from the bike
- Siquijor Island – around and over island trip, good roads thru lush mountain, jungle and seaside scenery
- Bohol Island – a bike so bad the ride was the roughest yet, and ran outta gas twice (gauges never work so it’s always a guessing game)
- Camotes Island – remote, rural jungle towns, very pleasant, leaving one town there was a sign Thank You for Living
Disappointments
- Mambucal Mountain Resort, Negros – where’s the bubbling mud?
- Boracay Island – described as the most beautiful beach in the world, but where was the sun?
- Kiwi Dive Resort – for so many reasons, so we didn’t stay
- Filipino bakeries – Filipinos like their breads white and sweet; many cookies, but just different shapes of the same bland flavour; although there are things that look like chocolate I have accepted that there is no real chocolate
- Laura’s Shop, German Community, Sibuyan Island – after a rough bike ride we were dreaming of a lunch of German food, but had to settle for Filipino food and conversation with Hans
- Silay, Negros – closed, closed and closed! Not at all what the guide book suggested.
- Philippine National Railway - runs no longer. There was a derailment a few months ago and it seems that the track is being salvaged by the locals....
- Mount Pinatubo - the Pinatubo Tourist Office was not able to give us information on how to get there, and since we were trying to find it during our last week in the Philippines, we lost the steam and enthusiasm to try further - oh well.
Jeepney Notes
- “The traditional recipe for the jeepney, a uniquely Philippine concoction, is as follows: take on ex-US Army jeep, put two benches in the back with enough room for about 12 people, paint it every colour of the rainbow, add badges, horns, aerials, air fresheners, icons, lots of mirrors, a tape deck that plays only Philippine pop, a chrome horse (or a whole herd of them) and anything else you can think of. Then stuff 20 passengers on those benches, add four in front, hang a few more off the roof and drive like a maniac.” LP
- Manila – best graphics and slogans
- Jeepneys plying the Bacolod to Silay, Negros route – worst music (hits from the 50s & 60s)
- Districts between Miagao and Iloilo, Panay – modern new vehicles with perfect paint jobs
- Siquijor Island – squashed mini versions of the original
- Tacloban, Leyte – the most gawdy, colourful, fantastically decorated
- Baguio - with doors and windows, perhaps because it is chilly up in the mountains
- God Bless Our Trip!!
Things that made me laugh
- After a very disappointing dinner of a very fatty deep fried porkchop and rice (the only thing offered at the only restaurant in town), walking back to our pension past a Sari Sari (tiny store), Chris asked “Are you full? Do you want a tin of corned beef?” Where else could a person be tempted by such an offer?
- During a rest stop on a very rough motorcycle ride and giddy from the beating my body was taking on the bike, I bust into a hysterical fit of laughter when Chris asked “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?” We’ve learned that just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you can. Passing thru many a town we see funerias, chainsaw repair and vulcanizing shops, but you need God’s help to find an eatery. And the many, many bakeries provide only tasteless filler for the stomach.
- Watching chickens skid across the road as you speed up on them with the horn honking
- Filipinos love to pose when they see the camera, then they thank us for taking their picture
- the kids pose by framing their chin with their thumb and forefinger - I think it's a GQ thing
- how I jumped up on the bed like a girl the first time I had an experience with a flying cockroach - now I just announce that there is a cockroach that needs to be taken care of
Things that make me go hmmm….
- Cheese flavoured ice cream
- Karaoke – morning, day and night, it seems to be a need as strong as food and water
- Philippine Government Tourism Department
- Beer that is cheaper than water
- Government service
- “Child Friendly” schools
- “Clean and Green” and WOW (War on Waste) campaigns
- GMA Cares billboards (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)
- Dayglo pink hotdogs for breakfast
- Fried chicken with spaghetti and rice combo fast food meals
- I now use ketchup on everything for added flavour
- Road sign seen only once: Warning – Defective Pavement Ahead
- "all you can eat buffet" but you pay a penalty if you leave anything on your plate, good idea huh?
- absolutely NOTHING is sign posted, making it very difficult to visit points of interest as advertised by the Philippine Tourism Department. This is the Philippine way as a Filipina explained to us, shaking her head.
- banana ketchup (it is red too)
Filipino Musical Favorites
- Bread
- Air Supply
- ABBA
- Kenny Rogers (country music is very popular up north, never heard any down south)
Most People Seen on a Motorcycle
- 5 adults – all on one seat!
Islands in the Philippines
- 7100+
Islands Visited
- 17
100 Pesos = Cdn $2.50
Honourable Mention
- the people of the Philippines - the friendliest people I have ever met; they always have a smile or a greeting for you
God Bless the Philippines
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