My mom arrived in the Philippines last week, and her visit has taken us all over. I asked her if she would like to contribute a posting to my blog, and she gladly obliged. It is great to see the country and culture I live in through a fresh pair of eyes. Enjoy!!
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Lynn asked me to write some reflections of my visit to the Philippines. Although I don’t write as eloquently as she does, I told her I’d give it a try.
After my initial flight from Chicago to Seattle, getting on the plane for the next leg of the flight had me a little apprehensive knowing I would be in another culture when I get off. Luckily all the flights were on time and I had a group of people at the airport waiting for me at midnight. Lynn and her host family came with their catering jeepney to take me back to their home that will be my “hotel” periodically throughout the week I’m there. As Lynn gave instructions on “How to Ride a Jeepney” a few blogs earlier, I did read it, but I failed the test when I put it to use. The first thing I did when getting into their jeepney was bump my head on the ceiling of it! (Experience #1).
Lynn, as my tour guide for the week, did a great job. It sure helped to know the language and ropes on getting around. Our first day we stayed in Cebu and Lynn gave me a tour of her work site, sections of the city, and a mall. I experienced the hectic and chaotic lifestyle of a city of 2 million people through jeepney, taxi cab riding and walking, WOW!! There are people everywhere on the streets on scooters, trikes, jeepneys, taxis, cars, buses, trucks all in a hurry to get somewhere with very little order of traffic pattern. There is a center of the road, but they use it to take the next split second to pass the next vehicle they come upon. I would be dead trying to drive in this mass transit. (Experience #2) Now I understand why Lynn has not ridden her bike much since she bought it.
From hectic to calm, we spent the weekend on Bantayan Island. As we traveled there, I thought of the movie “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles” as we got there by “Taxi, Bus, Ferry, and Trike – a taxi ride to the bus station, a 3-hour bus ride, an hour ferry boat ride, and a 10-minute trike ride to our accommodations for the weekend. All this travel for less than $10 for the both of us. This was a great way to see more of the city and the countryside once we got out of the city.
Once on Bantayan Island, it was a whole different world of calm and laid back, beautiful aqua ocean, and very local culture. Two of Lynn’s friends came along and we had a hut right on the beach as accommodations. We could walk right out our door onto the beach. Pictures will say a lot but doesn’t bring out the full beauty of the aqua water. We settled in immediately with our beach clothes, Wisconsin cheese and cherry beer. See pictures of that as well. The next two days were spent like this - walk by 6:00 am, read, get wet, read, eat, get wet, sleep, read, get wet, etc. repeating throughout the day. Of course sun was included. The nearby hammock was a change of pace once in a while. We went out to eat to a few local restaurants at night. San Miguel beer was the specialty drink.
After the calmness of that island, back to Cebu for Monday night to regroup and repack for Boracay Island where we spent Tuesday through Friday. Monday night, however, we went out with her friends in Cebu. It was a nice night, but, of course, hectic in the city again. I also almost panicked when my ATM card did not work after trying 2 ATM machines. I was trying to then figure out how I would pay for the rest of the week with the dwindling cash on hand. Then one of Lynn’s friends asked if we tried an international ATM. We really didn’t know, but she told us where one was. Once trying that one, it worked. That was a relief and I learned something about ATM machines. (Experience #3).
Tuesday am we headed for Boracay Island. There again was “taxi, plane, trike, ferry, trike” to get there. It was a beautiful hour flight as Boracay is a small island off the coast of another main island north of Cebu Island. You would have to look on a map to see what I mean, but trust me, you can’t get there very directly by other transportation. We got there by noon, checked into our resort and immediately converted again to beach clothes. Very nice golf resort with private beaches even clearer and cleaner than Bantayan Island. We were off the beaten path of the main White Sand beach that attracts the vacationers to this island, but a shuttle from the resort made it easy to get to that beach.
White Sands beach has an atmosphere all its own. When the tide goes out in late afternoon, the beach transforms into dining and lounging areas, bars, and a wide walking area to stroll up and down for 2 miles. There are hotels, restaurants, and shops as far as you can see up and down. You can get sailboat rides, island boat rides, jet skis, etc. This island is also known for the best diving and snorkeling, so there are excursions for that as well. The sunset is also gorgeous as this is on the west coast of the island. Local kids are making sand art in the sand hoping for donations from the viewers. Other vendors are selling necklaces, watches, and other local crafts. Massages and tattoos are also done right on the beaches. Lynn had a 1-hour massage for just $7. What a deal. She wanted me to get a tattoo, but I declined her offer.
After my initial flight from Chicago to Seattle, getting on the plane for the next leg of the flight had me a little apprehensive knowing I would be in another culture when I get off. Luckily all the flights were on time and I had a group of people at the airport waiting for me at midnight. Lynn and her host family came with their catering jeepney to take me back to their home that will be my “hotel” periodically throughout the week I’m there. As Lynn gave instructions on “How to Ride a Jeepney” a few blogs earlier, I did read it, but I failed the test when I put it to use. The first thing I did when getting into their jeepney was bump my head on the ceiling of it! (Experience #1).
Lynn, as my tour guide for the week, did a great job. It sure helped to know the language and ropes on getting around. Our first day we stayed in Cebu and Lynn gave me a tour of her work site, sections of the city, and a mall. I experienced the hectic and chaotic lifestyle of a city of 2 million people through jeepney, taxi cab riding and walking, WOW!! There are people everywhere on the streets on scooters, trikes, jeepneys, taxis, cars, buses, trucks all in a hurry to get somewhere with very little order of traffic pattern. There is a center of the road, but they use it to take the next split second to pass the next vehicle they come upon. I would be dead trying to drive in this mass transit. (Experience #2) Now I understand why Lynn has not ridden her bike much since she bought it.
From hectic to calm, we spent the weekend on Bantayan Island. As we traveled there, I thought of the movie “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles” as we got there by “Taxi, Bus, Ferry, and Trike – a taxi ride to the bus station, a 3-hour bus ride, an hour ferry boat ride, and a 10-minute trike ride to our accommodations for the weekend. All this travel for less than $10 for the both of us. This was a great way to see more of the city and the countryside once we got out of the city.
Once on Bantayan Island, it was a whole different world of calm and laid back, beautiful aqua ocean, and very local culture. Two of Lynn’s friends came along and we had a hut right on the beach as accommodations. We could walk right out our door onto the beach. Pictures will say a lot but doesn’t bring out the full beauty of the aqua water. We settled in immediately with our beach clothes, Wisconsin cheese and cherry beer. See pictures of that as well. The next two days were spent like this - walk by 6:00 am, read, get wet, read, eat, get wet, sleep, read, get wet, etc. repeating throughout the day. Of course sun was included. The nearby hammock was a change of pace once in a while. We went out to eat to a few local restaurants at night. San Miguel beer was the specialty drink.
After the calmness of that island, back to Cebu for Monday night to regroup and repack for Boracay Island where we spent Tuesday through Friday. Monday night, however, we went out with her friends in Cebu. It was a nice night, but, of course, hectic in the city again. I also almost panicked when my ATM card did not work after trying 2 ATM machines. I was trying to then figure out how I would pay for the rest of the week with the dwindling cash on hand. Then one of Lynn’s friends asked if we tried an international ATM. We really didn’t know, but she told us where one was. Once trying that one, it worked. That was a relief and I learned something about ATM machines. (Experience #3).
Tuesday am we headed for Boracay Island. There again was “taxi, plane, trike, ferry, trike” to get there. It was a beautiful hour flight as Boracay is a small island off the coast of another main island north of Cebu Island. You would have to look on a map to see what I mean, but trust me, you can’t get there very directly by other transportation. We got there by noon, checked into our resort and immediately converted again to beach clothes. Very nice golf resort with private beaches even clearer and cleaner than Bantayan Island. We were off the beaten path of the main White Sand beach that attracts the vacationers to this island, but a shuttle from the resort made it easy to get to that beach.
White Sands beach has an atmosphere all its own. When the tide goes out in late afternoon, the beach transforms into dining and lounging areas, bars, and a wide walking area to stroll up and down for 2 miles. There are hotels, restaurants, and shops as far as you can see up and down. You can get sailboat rides, island boat rides, jet skis, etc. This island is also known for the best diving and snorkeling, so there are excursions for that as well. The sunset is also gorgeous as this is on the west coast of the island. Local kids are making sand art in the sand hoping for donations from the viewers. Other vendors are selling necklaces, watches, and other local crafts. Massages and tattoos are also done right on the beaches. Lynn had a 1-hour massage for just $7. What a deal. She wanted me to get a tattoo, but I declined her offer.
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Just one picture, enjoying the New Glarus beer and the cheddar cheese sent from home. More pictures to follow!
1 comment:
New Glsrus Beer!!! How did you get that? We are going there in July to stay with a friend. I love cherry beer!!!
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