What a holiday! Mom n Dad met us at the airport - so wonderful, thank you!
It's nice and weird to be home, tho soon enough it will be routine as tho we never left. This trip will feel as tho we read about it in a book.
The last pics here are from a deluxe toilet in the Tokyo airport! Notice u can change the temp and pressure of the bedet. (bum spray). U can also deodorize, and add toilet flushing sound effects to cover any unpleasant bodily function noises. Wonder who sells these in Canada?!
Still unable to dive, we went snorkeling in front of our resort. It was awkward stumbling out over rocks, backwards, in fins. We were treated to lots of pretty coral and anemonies at the drop off, along with schools of swirling fish - in yellows, purple and silver. The bad part was, there were also lots and lots of jellyfish. Some were electric colours that actually lit up, others had long trailing tentacles. The worst though, was the huge masses of the clear box like jellies. They stung. There was no avoiding them either. There was so many. We did see what we were lookin for though, a sea turtle! Gliding gracefully off the reef on the hunt it appeared. Remarkable.Then we bee lined for shore, avoiding the Sharp, live coral, spiney urchins, and another urchin that looked like multi coloured hedge hogs. On shore we were covered with red stings from the jellies. These faded in a few hours and no longer stung
Really too bad we couldn't Dive tho. Otherwise, lazed about: reading, swimming, having massages, etc.
Stranded in stupid Manila. Awful, stinky, city. We were composing lists of the best and worst things in Philippines earlier, this flight counts as worst. So much for dinner plans in Singapore. :( At least the people watching is good.
Finally arrived at the infamous Marina Bay Sands just before midnight. Only 5 hours late :) Wow. Singapore is a rich, lush, cityscape full of skyscrapers and wonder. Our room is larger than imagined, its easily as big as our house! The next 2 days should be fabulous!
Our resort is so lovely. Small, friendly and quiet. Yesterday and today we just kicked back, enjoying the day, being lazy.
It seems all the guests including myself love the coconut shakes. The one staff member keeps scaling trees in order to cut down precious green coconuts. God bless him. :)
I did catch a ride to the nearby town and its pharmacy, who thankfully sold me antibiotics over the counter for a lovely bladder infection I've acquired. Seems Sean and I are doomed to be ill, as he's been having gastrinol issues. This and our head colds. And, Seans one ear hasn't been right sin ice our flight to Cebu. I think it leprosy. Better commit ourselves to one of the many beautiful island institutions in the area.
Seriously tho, we are feeling better... Hopefully well enough to dive tomorrow.
I'm starting to get used to everyone calling me mum. (really its ma'am, but it sounds like mum) thank you mum, sit down mum, nice husband mum... :)
Our flights were good, quick hops, similar to Hawaiian inter-island flights. Sean got searched in Manila, but I think they just wanted to frisk him. We hired a taxi to take us the 2.5 hours to Moalboal. $50
Our resort, DaCozy seems pretty sweet. I noticed a pool in the dark from our verandah, which seems it might have a view of the sea... The staff had a bottle of bubbley waiting for us, since its our honeymoon. Aw.
Since we are sick and unable to dive, we booked an island hopping snorkel trip for tomorrow. Today we are "getting better" aka: eating, drinking, having massage, lounging in the shade by the sea... Being sick could be worse!
Tonight were planning to hire a tricycle taxi to the hot springs after dark. Hot water, cold beer, stars. Sounds good. Well find out if it stinks like feces or if bats want to dive bomb our heads... :)
Later: No feces. The bats just swooped overhead. Great success! Enroute to the hot springs we picked up some kids and gave them a ride home from school. Ages 7-12, they practiced their English on us. "whats your name", "how old are you", babies?, etc. They were cute, all dressed in ill fitting school uniforms.
Next day: The island trip was fun. We got lovely sunburns, and were fed like kings on a tiny stretch of white beach with sparking aqua waters. The snorkelling was ok. Saw more nemos, some tiny electric jelly fish, and countless others. The wreck we swam over was overshadowed by the schools of fish swirling around us looking for hand outs.
At one mangrove beach, a grey monkey jumped aboard with us and begged for food. Dirty little creatures, yuck. They give me the creeps.
Lots of Chinese tourists everywhere, as its almost Chinese new year. Makes sense that the Philippines are a hot spot to visit.
Off to Cebu island on Saturday. :)
So, as usual with travel: we hurried to check out; pack, use the facilities, and get to the pier on time. We were a little late, but so far we are still waiting an hour and a half later. :)
I forgot to tell u, Sean got 100% on his PADI final, a first for the dive shop. Clever man. There u go Fran, now Sean has his diploma! Woo hoo! :)
The ferry is just a big canoe with outriggers, and glides easily through bud swells and choppy seas. It's 530 and I think were almost at our destination. Sad story: were both feeling sore throats, meaning we may not be able to dive the famous wrecks here. Boo.
The scenery is gorgeous and we have been passing hundreds of islands, all palm fringed, white sandy beaches... It's hard to believe there are so many sunken ships below us from WW2.
We've been doing lots of dives. Sean is now certified and were taking a 7 hour boat ride to Coron island where the wreck dives are supposed to be amazing.
We've been lucky to swim with turtles, sting rays, and cute Nemos of all colours and sizes. Even a sea snake, luckily it wasn't as creepy as the ones on land! It's hard on the hair tho, all the salt and sun.
<p>Sean is finishing up the videos for the course. Can't wait to dive here.  It's another hot, sunny day in the Philippines. Last night I dreamt we messed up and flew home early by accident.  I'm blaming it on the cuttle fish I ate last night. Squid my ass. After dinner I felt all swuidgy around the edges, and was staggering around. I didn't have any booze either! Felt better in an hour. Weird tho.</p>
<p>So, no diving yet. Tried to gain access to fancy resort pool - denied. Never bother to ask permission, better to just go ahead and act as if u belong. Stupid for doing "the right thing".  Oh well. Back at our mediocre $60/night place. It's nice but not $60 in a developing country nice. At least it has a toilet complete with a seat :)</p>
<p>A 26 of coconut rum is $3, dinner can run $5 to $25 depending on the restaurant, for the same dish. Pays to shop around apparently. Other things r regulated: hour massage $12, island hopping tour $18. Weird.</p>
<p>Finished Marian keyes book, Love her! </p>
<p>Diving today! Wow. I did 3 dives while Sean did his beginner dives. I saw and swam beside turtles! Saw 4 kinds of clown fish, including Nemo. Lots of bright sea slugs and schools of anchovies that jump of the water in unison. Cool.
More diving tomorrow. :)
font color ="#000000">and</font></p>
If you've seen the movie The Beach, it is supposedly based on an island nearby.
I t is gorgeous, aqua seas, carst mountains rising straight up, palms hanging out over the golden beach.Hot, and the sun is so bright it hurts the eyes.
Sean and I had dinner on the beachside bar, all alight with fire burners and tiki torches. Sizzling squid, and garlic prawns-delicious! We enjoyed an apple beer under the stars watching the waves lap higher and higher towards our table. The live band was awesome and I normally dislike live music. Usually too loud and not my taste.
S.ean starts his PADI course tomorrow morning. I haven't decided what I'll do. Might just stroll, read and swim. My toes could use a new coat of paint...
NExt day: another bright sunny day. After breakfast we got fitted for dive gear and Sean started his course. We treated ourselves to afternoon massage followed by a swim. Sean will get back to the books and I will beach comb or read....
I had a lovely long shpiel for you about the underground river, but it is now lost in cyber space. So, here are some pictures....
<p>Not sure if our trekking post worked..</p>
<p>It was a bit of an adventure leaving the mountains. Our night bus broke down in a cloud of smoke just 2 km from where we were straNded on the way to Banaue. Another bus picked us up in an hour or so, but it was kind of a carnival atmosphere. The Locals opened up their small shops to sell us snacks and beer. They either peered from Windows or driveways at us while some cruised past loaded onto the tricycle sidecars. Funny.
Long wait from 7 am to 330 pm til our flight to Puerto Princessa. OMG, you should see our room! We missed out on the first 2 hotels we went to. This one! Lotus Garden, wow. There are ponds and waterfalls throughout the grounds. Floating rock passages through the pond to your suite! Our room is amazing! Canopy bed with chandelier, and the bathroom is outside in a private garden. You shower, per and brush your teeth out there amid the tropical garden. Love it.
Today were off to see the underground river which I think is a wonder of the world?
We decided to get the heck out of Manila, maybe a little premature... Boarded a bus at noon and we were off - 6 hour trip. I love traveling by bus sometimes. The scenery whizzing past. People with their shops selling everything: fax hoses, vulcanizing (?), fruits, carved wooden doors, wash tubs in every colour imaginable, baskets and brooms, bicycles, and many sari sari shops (small general convenience). The terrain went from urban sprawl to rice fields to mountains.
We were dropped in Bagabag after 8 long hours. Then we were informed that there is no way to Banaue from here except aT 3 am. If you stand by the road. And if the bus has room. Huh. And there are no hotels. Huh. We sat down for a.coffee to take this in and.think. 10 minutes later a mini van pulls up. It's going go Banaue - in a few hours, but were welcome to sleep in the van and we do. We arrive after midnight and our driver is able to wake up one of the hostel owners to let us in as they are all locked up. Oh sleep!
The stunning views from our restaurant balcony are of rice terraces, colourful huts perched here and there on the steep mountainside amidst the trees. Mist rises from the river crashing along below. Hanging Footbridge allows children quicker access to school across the gorge. Wow.
We hired our saviour and driver Jody to guide us to Batad. The road there is barely passable and is gouged out of rock along the face of the mountain. It is straight up or straight down. Breathtaking. The hike into the village of Batad is nice. From there we traverse the terraces to the long, steep drop to the waterfall. Swim is worth it! But now, legs are shaking jelly. We are soaked, sweaty tired and we have 2-3 hour hike All The Way Back Up. Groan. I'm sure Jody thought we would die. He was all ready teasing us about being too fat. Too fat to ride the tricycle, too fat to sit on the hanging bench... Funny from him, the pip squeek. We made it! Got back in 1 piece, showered, ate and enjoyed A beer with other travelers. :)
Awoke with a start at 7am to the rattle of jackhammers! Laid in bed practicing Tagalog counting words while Sean slept.
Our hotel is pretty cool. WWW.whiteknighthotelintramuros.com
Took a horse tour of the walled city. Love love love it. Apparently our horse was gay?
We got through Regina security with ease for once. The air Canada lady rewarded us for packing light with first class upgrades!
Ok, she didn't. We asked though. :) Seans pack was 29 lbs and mine was 20lbs. Let's see how that differs at the end.
Thank you for all the heartfelt send off calls, texts and emails. XOXO
Wow. It's midnight in Manila. Were standing in a long queue for customs. It's been good flights, just long. It's a warm 25 degrees here, which is delightful
