Thanks goodness for the Chinese New Year!
Nothing makes me happy like a 4 day weekend.
CT and I decided to head to the Philippines since neither of us had ever been there, flights were a reasonable price and distance, and it wasn't the full on rainy season there. Our usual deciding factors.
According to my Lonely Planet, the Philippines has everything that could make a stellar vacation. Stunning trekking through mountains and rice terraces in the north (which have gained fame as an unofficial "8th world wonder"), gorgeous world-class white sand beaches, surfing, white water, mountain biking, interesting little towns, remote islands, kite boarding, and on and on and on. Unfortunately it is all incredibly spread out and you'd be much better served by 4 weeks rather than 4 days.
We took a red-eye into Manila, and were hoping to head straight to Mt. Pinatubo to do that as a day trip before heading back to the Manila airport that night for the quick jaunt to Boracay. Unfortunately we learned the day before that the gates to Mt Pinatubo close at 8AM and we would not have time to arrive by then. Dumb rule if you ask me. So, we killed a day in Manila. It has a horrible reputation, but compared to Jakarta it seemed downright lovely.
In the morning we went to the Salcedo Community Market in Makati, which aside from animals on spits, was excellent. Eating is apparently quite the pastime in the Philippines, so we figured it appropriate to start off our trip with a focus on food. As far as I can tell, food in the Philippines is known for two main things - being very heavy with meat, and being loaded with sugar. Even things that really should not be sweet. There is apparently a good reason you don't find many philippine restaurants elsewhere in the world. (No offense to my friends from the Philippines! : )
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| I could not eat meat that looks like it has been tortured. I do not understand the appeal of this. |
In the afternoon we explored historic Intramuros by horse and buggy.
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| We were feeling pretty lazy after forgoing sleep in favor of an inexpensive red-eye flight. |
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| A trademark jeepney. Not as colorful as apparently once was the norm. |
The rest of the time was spent in Boracay.
To be honest, I was expecting to be a bit disappointed in Boracay, fearing it might be overhyped like Phuket. It was nothing like Phuket. This place is fantastic!
The island is only about 1 km in width, but considerably more in length. So you can easily walk back and forth between the famous White Beach on one side and the kiteboarder haven of Bulabog Beach on the other. White Beach is stunningly beautiful, and is lined with a pedestrian path of shops and beachfront bars and restaurants. Bulabog is not as beautiful since there is a lot of vegetation, however it is a kiteboarding and windsurfing mecca, so nobody cares. The entire beach is filled with kites. I took 2 days of lessons and absolutely loved it! Can't wait to try it again.
If you can get a few weeks off, go to the Philippines. Definitely one of my favorites so far.
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| Of all the various 3-wheeled modes of transit you find in Southeast Asia, my favorite so far is the Philippines tricycle. These come in both motor- and pedal-powered versions. |
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| Bulabog Beach on the first cloudy evening. The rest of the time it was gorgeous, but I was too busy learning how to kiteboard to take any pics. |
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| These are the largest shrimp I have ever seen. |
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| As part of my "try as many new things as possible each week" campaign, I sampled cheese and avocado ice cream. Not a fan. |
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| Ah, paradise. |
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| Chicken intestines, anyone? |
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| Beachfront evening |
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| Life is rough |
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| This might be the bluest, clearest water yet! |
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| I watched these two people cover every exposed inch of skin in sand and then roll around and play dead for about an hour. There were a million beach chairs about five feet away. Sometimes I don't get people. |
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| The sky as seen from my lounge chair. |
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| Even the airport has a nice view. Bye-bye for now Boracay. |
