Makati and the shopping malls. Philippines Spring Festival 2024

Having recovered from the chaos of the bus trip from hell, we settled into Makati. 

Manila is made up of about 5 or 6 different areas, all of which have completely different feels and styles to them. We chose Makati as it is described as the best area for people new to Manila. It's also the nicest and cleanest area as it is the financial hub of the city. All the banks, embassies and international headquarters are in this areas so there is a lot of money. As a result, it's very pretty but had a very 'picture perfect' and manicured look. To me, it looked like so many other financial districts of other Asian countries. I could ahem been in Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong and they all would have looked the same. It was fine, but as a city, I did not take to Makati. 

We did however, have some of the best food of the whole trip. As luck would have it, the old red light district which has now been cleaned up and turned into a food night time area, was only a ten minute walk from our hotel. The focus of our trip became what to eat next as opposed to what to do or what to see.  

Our battle plan was to consult youtube "what to eat in Makati" videos and we made notes. Notes which we then followed. 

As I said, there really wasn't too much to do in Makati so wandering about became walking between shopping malls and restaurants, however we managed. 

One of the days we went to the science center and joined the kids having a great time watching dancing robots and 3D videos about space and earthquakes. The science center wasn't big but we still had a good time. Actually this day was Eddy's birthday so I spent a long time trying to make a birthday video in front of the dinosaur but had to keep starting again because of the endless announcements. 

Tagaytay part 2: Philippines Spring Festival 2024.

Once we had seen the volcano there really wasn't much else to do in Tagaytay. We spent a long time in restaurants and bars with amazing views, and beer of course. Sadly the town is not pedestrian friendly so wandering about has a treacherous feel when you're on the side of main roads with cars and lorries speeding past at a few centimeters distance. 

Dan found a small theme park like place that he wanted to visit so we made our way over to 'Sky Ranch' a small theme park perched on the top of a cliff. 

We found ourselves in a serious of long queues that were all very confusing. Basically entrance is very cheap, less than 2 pound per person, but then you pay for each ride separately. Each one costing about 2 pound so it has potential to mount up. It didn't, we weren't too fussed about most of them but did go on a pirate ship, naturally, and the ferris wheel. Again, naturally. I think we might have been the only people in the park without kids. Most rides were designed for small children so we were a little too old. Theme parks really aren't my thing but the wheel gave us the most beautiful views of the lake and the volcano so I was happy. 

Outside the park, we found a very nice large craft beer place where we got comfy for a few hours. Just as we were leaving the staff took us and a few other tables of customers on a tour of the brewing operations which we thought was  really nice touch.  

Other than the park, we couldn't really find much to do in the tiny town of Tagaytay. We had some amazing food, tasty beers and met some very friendly people. All in all a very chilled trip. 

Next stop Makati, Manila. We got the bus, which turned out to be a fairly horrific experience. I don't do well traveling anyway so being in a hot, cramped, uncomfortable bus for four hours was my idea of hell. We were finally thrown off the bus on the side of a highway thing near Manila airport. We stopped in a KFC so I could calm down before getting a grab to our hotel in town. 

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Tagaytay and Taal volcano. Philippines Spring Festival 2024

Originally Dan and my plan was to land as close time was as possible and then just meet in the airport terminal of the last to arrive. Naturally the universe had other plans and Dan's flight was delayed but quite a bit. I landed at T4 and had to try to get to T3 to meet him. Luckily there is no bus or passenger transfer system in place to get between the terminals, (according to one Taxi guy, it went away with COVID and hasn't come back yet) so I had to wait for a taxi to drive me the 1km to the other terminal. It wasn't possible to walk as it is all closed off to anything except cars. 

Finally getting to the right terminal, I found somewhere to sit and waited for Dan to get through customs and immigration. It took hours! 

Paperwork complete, we found a driver to get us to Tagaytay which we had read was between a 2 and 3 hour drive. Luckily, it was decent roads and not too difficult. We got to our hotel about 11pm and wandered off to find a quick beer to wash off the events of the day. 

We discovered our hotel was basically on the side of a main road with nothing on it. about a 15 minute walk away was a 711, so we stopped and got some beers and just stood outside until a very friendly police office told us off. We suspect he was just bored as there were other people doing the same. 

Our reason for coming here was the volcano. Taal Volcano which sits in the middle of a large lake. In 2020 it erupted and so since then you have no been able to get onto the island and climb the volcano itself as it is still too dangerous. So we had to settle for a boat trip around it instead. 

We were out walking when one of the tuktuk guys approached us and told us he would take us to the boat trip area. We had no information on this area so were very much winging it and agreed. we drove down to the lake for what seemed like hours. In actual fact, it was about half an hour but being thrown about in the back of a tuktuk does make time slow considerably. 

Once at the bottom he took us straight to a boat rental place and we were presented with a massive stack of options. In the end, we decided to do the whole tour, a 2 hour boat ride, complete with our own personal  guide. It worked out quite expensive but this because there were only two of us, the boat could have held 6 easily. 

Ruins of houses that were once 50+ meters from the water's edge

We went all around the volcano, seeing the remains of houses and villages, many schools and churches. he showed us how much the island has sank and the luxury houses that were now abandoned, too dangerous to live in. 

From the back of the island we could see steam rising from the crater as well as the lava tracks on the back. It was beautiful and I actually really enjoyed pottering about the lake for a few hours. Our guide was very knowledgable and chatty. 

It's a shame it's not possible to hike to the top anymore but safety is a fair enough reason when dealing with a volcano I suppose. 

On the way back, we went past the Tilapia farms and were lucky enough to see people feeding the fish. The water boiled with the amount of hungry fish jumping about to get their lunch. I thought it was fantastic, Dan was less impressed. 

El Nido and the beaches of joy. Philippines Spring Festival 2024

From Cebu, El Nido is a short hour and a half flight on a tiny tiny plane. It had propellors and not much else. 

I landed into El Nido very grateful to be back on the ground after a hideously nerve-racking flight but it was all fine. 

My hotel was only a 20 minute tuktuk from the airport as I was staying in the closest area and probably the biggest, not sure, didn't make it too far away from the beach. I really didn't have enough time to actually do much in this trip. It was more of a taster for a future return journey (Spring Festival 2025, already decided) so I wasn't in too much of a panic to see things, especially as I am still in the first part of my long epic trip. 

My hotel had the most amazing view but was a slightly disappointing place in every other respect. It's always a little sad to see nice hotels that use aren't being looked after so well, whole place just felt tired and a little run down. But like I say, look that this view! 

The area around the hotel wasn't big but had a very tourist hotspot feel to it. Lots of pizza and pasta restaurants and a very tasty Thai place. Again, not worried about rushing about, I chilled in bars, cafes and restaurants and read my book. On one occasion, I walked to the other end of the town and sat with a beer, ordered food, then realized I forgot my wallet and had to run back. I offered to leave all sorts with them as a deposit, but the manager thought it was hilarious and said he didn't mind at all. Said I could just come back later if I wanted, but I didn't feel right doing that, went and got my wallet anyway. 

I spent three days thoroughly chilled and relaxed before getting back on the tiny tiny plane to meet Dan in Manilla. Our planes were landing within an hour of each other so in theory meeting up should have been quite simple and easy. Let's see how the universe messes that one up for us. 

Oslob and the sharks! Philippines Spring festival 2024

 

Now time for one of my all time bucket list items!!! Diving with whale sharks. 

Oslob on Cebu Island is one of only two places in the world where you can reliably swim with sharks. The other is in Mexico I think. 

From where I was staying it was about a 20 minute tuktuk ride to the beach area where the sharks come for their breakfast. I was lucky that I wanted to dive and not snorkel so I skipped the ling lines of people being taken out in the boats. We got suited up and after a very fast safety refresher we walked pasted everyone waiting for their boats ( a very gratifying experience) and my 40 minute dive began. We had to swim out about 40 meters and stayed in quite shallow water, less than 20 minutes at deepest. 

My dive buddy Ming took control of the camera and that left me on my own to just enjoy and float about with these 'gentle giants'. 

I was underneath a lot of people snorkeling so it was quite difficult to resist the urge to grab their feet, but I did. Just. 

We swam with 4 in total but not at the same time. I believe they have a complicated ticketing and waiting system same as the divers. 

Just amazing!!!

I smiled for about 3 days after that one. There is little more to say, just amazing!  The whole reason I came to Cebu and to the Philippines actually. Once in a lifetime and truly unbelievable. 

Oslob, Philippines Spring Festival 2024

Spring Festival has arrived and finally international travel is not only possible but quite reasonable again. So time to get back on the bucket list and start enjoying a world outside China again. 

To the Philippines!!!

This trip became a long and shattering one with bouncing between multiple countries and people. In just over three weeks I did 3 countries, 2 reunions, 8 flights and a whole lot of chatting and eating. 

The first part I was on my own for a week. In the second week I met Dan (Taiwan, friend from Kunming) but given our long trips to get to the Philippines, he wasn't so keen on traveling about during the trip. I knew that part of my trip was going to be more of a chilled city break so I decided to hit the islands and beaches on my own. Even though I live by the sea nowadays, I still love going to the coast. 

My first stop was Oslob which is about a 3-4 hour drive from Cebu. I landed late night and so just got a driver to my hotel. I wasn't aware of it at the time but he managed that drive in just under 2 hours. Rollercoaster and scary would be an understatement. I crashed out and woke up to a hell of a view! 

The first day I'm in a place I like to just pick a direction and walk. I walked all along the coast into the 'town' which was more of a few houses, a 711 and a market. Most people come here on a day trip from Cebu city for the sharks, so someone actually staying in the area is a bit unusual. 

I sampled my first Filipino food, Sesig (picture) and calamari. The lady handed me a menu but it didn't really clarify anything so I asked three school aged kids wat they thought I should try and I trusted them. Didn't disappoint. 

The water here is just so blue, it's like nothing I have ever seen before and just stunning. 

Tomorrow morning is an early one for the sharks, which is basically my whole reasons for being here. 

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai: Christmas 2023

Now that international travel is back on the cards, it's really hard not to get out the country every chance I get. As we get a Xmas holiday in my school, this was no exception. 

I booked into a snazzy hotel in Chiang Mai and set off for a few days of chilled relaxing. The winter semester is intense. From the second week in October straight through to Christmas is just non stop with chaos at work, including Midterms and annoyingly preparation for finals and parents. This year we are very lucky to have an English fair to prepare for too. Just Yay! 

Anyway, the last time I was in Chiang Mai (with Dan in the summer) we stayed in a fantastic hotel, which was sadly booked. So I booked the one next door. Also very nice and well located in the center of the old town. 

I have been to Chiang Mai many times so touristy sight seeing is not a priority. 5 days is therefore too long. So I planned a trip to nearby Chiang Rai famed for its temples. I booked into a beautiful looking garden inn thing and set off on the three hour drive. 

The hotel was indeed beautiful but so quiet. It turned out to be way out of town, next to the university, which was handy but closed as it was the holidays. 

The staff were amazing and so friendly. By the time I arrived, the kitchen had closed but they went and cooked me something anyway and refused to let me pay for it. 

Chiang Rai is all about the temples. So many temples. Just so many temples! I saw three, White, Blue and Black. Some helpful soul color coded them so that the tourists can keep track of where they have been. My hotel was a long way north of the city so I started at the furthest away and name my way back. 

The white temple is more of an art installation than an actual temple. It is stunning but there is no information on site. What I know, I found out after the fact on google. Turns out in the 1970's the temple was a bit of a mess and no-one could really afford to repair it. So a local artist paid for it himself with the intention of making the local area a bit of a meditation retreat. I think that plan has gone slightly sideways as it was packed with people taking pictures and making videos. It's a very cool place but like I say, packed. I got there about mid morning so I dread to think how busy it gets later. 

Once you arrive and go through the very complicated ticket gates, you get the only full view of the temple. Like I say, it is very pretty. 

From there you walk over the bridge with creepy hands trying to drag you to hell (I assume, not sure) and basically follow a trail through a series of rooms that get progressively stranger. By the end, it's hard to take it all in. It sounds silly but it really is too white and shiny. At one point there were mirrors too. 

From the white temple I got in a shuttle bus to the Blue temple. This one is free and actually seems to be a functioning and in use temple. There were still loads of people here but less pictures and video makers which made things a little less intense. 

I stopped in a small cafe across the street and had something to eat while chatting to a couple on an epic round the world cruise. 9 months on a ship! 

From the blue, I went to my last of the day, the Black Temple. Again this is not so much a temple as an art gallery. There was a small market street outside selling cool T-shirts and leather goods. Overall just much more chilled and relaxed. 

I found a seat and watched the world go by for a bit before walking back to my hotel and another very quiet night in the world's most romantic hotel. 

I got to listen to monkeys fighting outside this this though so some entertainment was on hand.