Philippines - El Nido, Palawan (Jan 19 - 23)

On Jan 19 we boarded a bus for a 6 hour ride north to the town of El Nido. 

We felt like the driver was determined to better his, or any other drivers', previous time of travel by racing at speeds up to 125 kms per hour on roads not designed for speed anywhere near this fast. On every bend of the highway he leaned away from the steering wheel, as if shifting his weight was the deciding factor in preventing the bus from rolling over! The road was not paved all the way, so ruts and potholes were common on the gravel road, and by the end your head felt like it was tossed from side to side one too many times. However, the last 10 minutes of the ride gave a glimpse of what we were about to see, and by the time we arrived it became clear why this is such a huge attraction to Filipinos and foreigners alike.

Spotted beside the road - chicken 'n rice

 One way to haul bamboo poles

The hotel we stayed at in El Nido - Marina Bay Beachfront

The view from the veranda

Settling in

Secret lagoon - we had to crawl through an opening in the rock
to get to this lagoon

The next morning we boarded a boat with 12 other tourists and 3 guides for a full-day island hopping tour. The day left us in awe! The colours of the ocean, the shapes and shades of the islands, the colours of the sea life (we snorkeled at 3 out of 5 of the islands we visited), the amazing lunch the guides barbecued while we played in the ocean, the warmth of the water, and once again the interesting people we spent the day with, all left us feeling like we were the luckiest people in the world to experience this! 

Does that rock formation remind you of anyone?

BBQ lunch the guides prepared while we played in the ocean

At one point, Olive ventured off from the rest of the group while snorkeling (rebel that she is) and discovered a coral reef teeming with colourful fish, schools of them, and when she eventually returned to the boat she excitedly recounted what she had seen, leaving me with regret that I had returned to the boat so quickly after getting a few minor jellyfish stings.

We intended to go out again on another island hopping trip (there are 4 different trips offered in El Nido) specifically to do more snorkelling, however the seas were too choppy and the trip was cancelled, so we jumped the bus back for Puerto Princesa one day early and booked an island hopping tour there. This tour also was immensely enjoyable, the colours, the company, the sealife. While snorkelling, one person in our party emptied a bag of rice which attracted swarms of colorful fish. For those who have witnessed this before, you will recall how fascinating it is to be floating with colorful fish all around you.

We would so recommend a trip to El Nido. To Ana, Media and perhaps others of my co-workers who previously lived in the Philippines, thank you for recommending this trip, we are so glad we could experience it.

The next part of our journey involves going back to Thailand from Jan 26 to Feb 4. We plan to visit the resort town of Hua Hin, a place we visited with our kids 24 years ago. 

Philippines - Puerto Princesa, Palawan (Jan 17-18)

Arrived as planned in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Jan 17. Booked a tour of the Subterranean River, a World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, for Jan 18. First part of the tour was riding a motorized boat for about 20 minutes to the mouth of the underground river, then transferred to a paddle boat for about an hour tour of the river. The river actually flows under a mountain, it is 8.2 kms long however tours only cover about the first 1.5 kms. In the dark, it was hard to avoid the head of the guide in the front of the boat so his head appears in several photos.

Mouth of the Underground River

Ready to enter

One guide sat at the front of the boat and shone a light on the rock formations, stalagmites, stalactites, bats and swiftlets while the other guide at the back of the boat rowed and provided a running commentary. It was very well presented, mixed humour with facts and pointed out numerous fascinating formations that resembled things like a nativity scene, the last supper, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, some fruit, vegetables and animals, etc. The guides repeatedly encouraged us not to look skyward and open our mouths in awe as there were thousands of bats flying and clinging to the roof of the cave and frequently water dripping from the ceiling. From our perspective, the tour was a must see. In some ways it resembled a Disney boat ride except in this case it was a natural phenomenon, well worth doing.

Every black fleck on the ceiling is a bat

Leaving the darkness, into the light

Philippines - Cebu & Siquijor (Jan 9 - 16)

On Jan 9, we caught a flight from KL to Manila and then a connecting flight to Cebu. At the Cebu airport, we were warmly welcomed by 2 family members of a co-worker of Dan's from Calgary. This connection came about after we had started making our travel plans and Dan had mentioned it at work. One co-worker, Dario, who grew up in the Philippines, suggested that we were welcome to visit their seaside family cottage on a smaller Philippine island called Siquijor. Following communication with his family members and meeting their approval, arrangements were made for us to visit.

After an overnight stay in Cebu, we set out for the island, accompanied by Frank, Dario's brother. There were 2 options of travel: 1) a direct fast ferry that should take 4 – 5 hrs, or 2) a 4-5 hr bus ride, then a 45 minute ferry, a tricycle (rickshaw) ride to another port on the other side of this island followed by another 1 hr ferry. For a couple of reasons we opted for the second option primarily due to stormy seas and the likelihood that the fast ferry would be cancelled. It turned out to be the right decision as the faster ferry was in fact cancelled and our boat was the last one for the next couple of days. The woman on the seat behind me was praying out loud for much of the trip, it could be that she practices this on a regular basis, however her body language and loud sighs whenever the boat was heaving seemed to indicate her concern about our safety. Ultimately, the trip took a lot longer than normal and the boat was re-routed so it could dock in a calmer port.

The family property is in an amazing location where some family members live year-round while others visit as often as they are able. The property has several cottages that can accommodate family and friends. There are 2 fresh water wells only meters from the sea, the beach and ocean view are spectacular, fresh seafood is readily available and the area has an abundance of fruit trees. We have seen mango, coconut, star apple, papaya, banana, and jackfruit, (there are likely others).

The property backs onto the ocean

The cottage we stayed in

We were royally hosted! Meals were prepared for us, fresh coconuts and papaya were available daily (I was given a lesson on how to handle a machete to properly cut open a coconut) and we were provided with wheels and suggestions to explore the island. 

Two step process - one to slice off a small portion to get at the juice, the second to split it in half to get at the fleshy part

Frank and his wife Lani also brought us jackfruit, star apples, dried fish and a type of sweet potato. One morning during low tide, Lani, went out in search of sea urchins and came back an hour or two later with a bucket full. She then cracked the urchin shell in two, removed any undigested seaweed and then scooped out the edible part, an orangy paste that has a slight seaweed flavour. Sound appealing?

Frank 'searchin for urchin'

Lani splitting the urchin shells

Ready to scrape out the edible part - considered a delicacy

The 'wheels' we were lent for the week to explore the island

One of several waterfalls on the island

A one hundred year old tree

Olive and I enjoyed scanning the tidal pools each time the tide went out. We saw many starfish with 5, 8 and 10 arms, sea urchins, colorful shells and small fish. We were also pleasantly surprised one night during a power outage to be able to spot fireflies. We had a great time at Siquijor spending time visiting with Dario's family and exploring the island. Particularly memorable will be a rowing trip with Frank to a secluded beach for a swim and more sea urchin gathering. Also memorable was being able to join the family in a special religious celebration called Santo Nino, in which a pig was roasted and a large feast prepared. What a privilege to have been there at this time to join in this celebration. Thanks Dario for the invitation, your family members were fabulous hosts!

Preparing to roast the pig - Coke makes the skin crispy and tasty

After 1 hour - hard work to constantly turn and ensure consistent cooking

2.5 hours later, ready to celebrate with a Feast

With Frank & Lani at the ferry dock 

Our next destination is the Philippine Island of Palawan where we plan to stay until Jan 25.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Jan 3 - 9)

Our time in KL was a little different from the past weeks. Instead of sightseeing, we pretty much stayed ‘close to home’ in order for Olive to have more concentrated time to work on her thesis. This has paid off as the last time Olive Skype’d with her advisor, her advisor expressed amazement at the progress Olive has made, great feedback to receive.

BlessingsHomestay - our home for a week in KL

Our accommodation in KL was with a Malaysian family. They have turned their home into a guesthouse called 'BlessingsHomestay'. Their house, like all the ones we saw on their street, had a remote-controlled front gate which opened into a courtyard containing numerous potted plants and a metal chair swing. It also had some lattices and trees that provided a fair degree of privacy, and a covered area with ceiling fans overtop of a large table, ideal for Olive to sit and work on her thesis and for us to enjoy our meals. We both felt a bit out of sorts in KL, not anything to do with the country or accommodation but rather a combination of dealing with some sort of virus and some fatigue after doing a lot in Singapore. Other than the day mentioned below, we did not do much beyond exploring the local neighborhood, called Bangsar, and its many eating-places. A unique aspect of this house that we will remember was a central indoor waterfall and a fishpond full of fish.

Sampling food at the Sunday Night Market

We went from booth to booth to try their foods

Lots of fried foods

The day that we did go out to do some sightseeing, we decided to splurge a bit. We jumped into a taxi for a 15 minute ride downtown, grabbed lunch (2 platefuls of chicken biriyani & 2 sprites), stopped at a barbershop so I could get a haircut (an Indian barber who used a straight razor and included a head massage with the cut), visited a dentist to get an assessment on a toothache, dropped in at a roadside shop to each get a 30 minute back, neck & shoulder massage, stopped at a pharmacy to pick up a large tube of ibuprofin cream (for our aches & pains!), enjoyed coffee and dessert at Starbucks, browsed a bookstore and bought a Sudoku puzzle book, walked through Chinatown and ordered Chinese food for supper and lunch the next day, then took the skytrain back to our place. In the evening when I added up the days expenses, the total came to the equivalant of Cdn $75 for everything!

Strolling Chinatown on a rainy afternoon

Memories of Singapore

This morning (Jan 3) we left Singapore for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and are currently on the bus enjoying the roadside varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees. Thinking about our travels so far and particularly our time in Singapore and feeling overwhelmingly grateful that we can experience all that we are, for technology that enabled us to 'visit' with so many of our family and some friends over Christmas through Skype and Facetime, for the unique opportunity to make ourselves at home (for free!) in someone else's home in exchange for taking care of their cat for 2 weeks (we are hoping to do more of this in Australia, NZ and Europe) and for the fascinating people we are meeting in our travels. We know that what we are doing is not everyone's "cup of tea" but certainly for me (Dan), this is fulfilling a dream I have had for years and so it will likely seem very repetitive when I make comments such as. .... we so enjoyed. ... we were amazed at. ... but truth is we are so totally enjoying ourselves and so grateful to God for watching over us and all those we love so that we have peace about being away for so long.

Highlights of Singapore included: 

the food options available at the hawker centres, the 3 Christmas church services that we attended, the ease of getting around the city on public transit, the cleanliness and beauty, the gardens and parks, 

 

We made good use of the swimming pool at our apartment - a great way to cool off after an outing! 

New Years Eve light show at the Marina Promenade

Big White Wishing Balls floating in the Harbor - the one we signed is out there somewhere!

and all of the attractions we were able to see (zoo, night safari, river safari, bird park, botanic garden, Sentosa Island - including the luge ride -  and the river experience).

At Jurong Bird Park

Enjoyed the Luge ride at Sentosa

We plan to be in KL until Jan 9 when we head to the Philippines.