Philippines Highlights

Ba hala na refers to the national philosophy, somewhere between no worries and so it goes. Or all things shall pass and in the meantime life is to be lived.

Brenda and I were reviewing the highlights of the tour so far (remember the bus from hell?). Some fellow travelers had asked us once that very question. We fumbled the ball in a big way in a pathetic attempt to enumerate for them a list of sights, towns and adventures we experienced and in desperation we milked blood from a stone with platitudes of generalities: the lovely scenery, the easy traveling, the lack of foreigners (true conversation killers when actually talking to other travelers) and the wonderful and friendly Filipinos (honest (signs say “be honest even if others are not”), simple (if not parochial), complacent (good enuf), loud (HEY! HI Joe!), ever helpful (over there…there…take a tricycle actually…400 pesos…). In order to reaffirm and never forget (again), here is a list:

Sketchy Accommodation
- Gloria DeCastro’s – Taal Lake, Luzon – 500P, but run by a cute (sly) old lady
- Bicolana Hotel & Restaurant – Allen, Samar – but for 200P you can’t really complain, and it was run by cut little old ladies

Room with a View
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort run by Fred and Wilma, San Joaquin, Panay – rice terraces
- Nuts Huts run by Chris and Rita, Loboc, Bohol – jungle/river view
- Simons Inn, Batad, Ifugao - a view of the village of Batad in the rice terraces, declared the 8th Wonder of the World by UNESCO

Beach
- Aninuan, Puerto Gallera, Mindoro

Boat Ride
- Ferry from Manila to Romblon Town – 13 hrs on a listing ferry, 1st class = bunk in a room with 60 people, air con and mat, rather than on deck with 300 people, no mat or air con
- Looc, Tablas to Boracay Island – very old boat in very rough water for 2.5 hours, was glad to be alive when we stepped ashore
- Bohol to Bato, Leyte – 3 hrs on a deck fitted with mats for lounging, very comfortable
- Ormoc, Leyte to Camotes Islands – a 1 hr trip became a 3 hr milk run. It started at 8 a.m. with the peanut seller singing karaoke, and by 9 a.m. the guys were guzzling beer and belting out tunes such as You Make Me Feel Brand New and anything by Air Supply

Bus/Jeepney Ride
- Baguio - bus up into and down out of, stunning mountain scenery
- Suyo to Cervantes - they told us it couldn't be done, that it was dangerous. Stunning scenery over Bessing Pass at 5200 ft, in a jeepney - 41 km, 2.5 hrs

Walk
- Batad to Campulo to Banaue - terrace and mountain trekking, 20+ km. The only way into and out of the villages of Batad and Campulo is on foot, so no wonder the price of a cola sky rockets to 30P from its usual 10P!

Cheapest Internet
- Ormoc, Leyte – 15P/hr

Bakery
- Dumagete, Negros – real cinnamon buns, real cookies
- Silay, Negros – guappa/guava pie – YUM!

Turo Turo (Filipino Eatery)- Dumagete, Negros (Chinese influenced)

Filipino Food Favourites
- Lumpia – spring rolls
- Goto – congee with chopped intestines fried up in garlic and ginger, a great breakfast for 10P
- Lomi – great tasting noodle/veg/meat soup
- Filipino breakfasts – tapsilog (beef), tocinolog (pork), chicksilog (chicken), etcilog …. with a fried egg and rice
- fruits – mango, pineapple, jackfruit, star apple, guiyabano, pomello
- Bibinga – moist, sweet rice cake
- garlic rice
- coconut jam – a very delish sweet brown spread
- Empanadas in Vigan
- Oyok - deep fried shrimp omelettes in Vigan - yum!!
- Vigan longanisa

Ice Cream
- Selecta Quesa Real, or Choco-peanut on a stick 10P
- Jollibees Cheese Crunch Twirl Cone for 12P - but we gave up on Jollibees, the competition that MacDonalds can not beat in this country, because twice we have gone to get a cone and they had no cones!!! They could only offer us a cup - how does that happen??

Street Snacks
- BBQ banana on a stick rolled in sugar or syrup
- Peanut brittle
- Garlic roasted spicy peanuts
- Choco Crinkle cookies
- Banana wrapped in a crepe


Freaky Food
- Balut – duck embryo hard boiled egg
- Adidas – chicken feet
- Frog Adobo (whole frog!)
- Stir-fried Crickets in vinegar (mmmm crunchy)
- BBQ 2-day-old chicks on a stick (3 for 15 pesos...deal!)
- BBQ just too freaky to try: intestines, fat chunks, one day old chicks, chicken heads (seems that no parts are wasted, but where is the meat on a chicken head?)

Morning Coffee Café
- New New City Café, Silay, Negros

Meals
- San Bernadino Mountain Resort, San Joaquin, Panay – fried chicken and chips, goulash, huge salad and huge breakfast
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros – buffet dinners of sashimi, fajitas and Thai curry
- Italian restaurant, Talipanan Beach Resort, Mindoro – calzone, penne and great music
- Lloyd’s Eatery – although the sign on the building led us to believe we were entering an eatery, we were introduced to a family playing majong at the kitchen table; they looked into their fridge to see what they could put together to feed us; we didn’t linger

Sunsets
- Kookoos Nest Resort, Tambobo Bay, Negros
- Islanders Paradise Beach Resort, Sandugan Point, Siquijor Island
- White Beach, Mindoro
- Manila Bay

He/Shes
- Bars at White Beach
- Family Pension, Iloilo, Panay

Closed Facilites
– always discovered after considerable effort!
- Whitewater Kayaking Inn, Tibiao, Panay
- Fortuna Pension, Silay, Negros
- Palanunitan San Silay Restaurant, Silay, Negros
- Calalinan Beach Gardan Resort, Siquijor
- Cheng Sian Café & snack Haus, Lazi, Siquijor

Motorcycle Journeys
- Sibuyan Island – island circuit trip (would you call that a road?), my ass was so sore at the end of the day I almost couldn’t remove myself from the bike
- Siquijor Island – around and over island trip, good roads thru lush mountain, jungle and seaside scenery
- Bohol Island – a bike so bad the ride was the roughest yet, and ran outta gas twice (gauges never work so it’s always a guessing game) only pushed for 2 km!!
- Camotes Island – remote, rural jungle towns, very pleasant, leaving one town there was a sign Thank You for Living

Disappointments
- Mambucal Mountain Resort, Negros – where’s the bubbling mud?
- Boracay Island – described as the most beautiful beach in the world, but where was the sun?
- Kiwi Dive Resort – for so many reasons, so we didn’t stay
- Filipino bakeries – Filipinos like their breads white and sweet; many cookies, but just different shapes of the same bland flavour; although there are things that look like chocolate I have accepted that there is no real chocolate
- Laura’s Shop, German Community, Sibuyan Island – after a rough bike ride we were dreaming of a lunch of German food, but had to settle for Filipino food and conversation with Hans
- Silay – closed, closed and closed! Not at all what the guide book suggested.
- Philippine National Railway - runs no longer. There was a derailment a few months ago and it seems that the track is being salvaged by the locals....
- Mount Pinatubo - the Pinatubo Tourist Office was not able to give us information on how to get there, and since we were trying to find it during our last week in the Philippines, we lost the steam and enthusiasm to try further - oh well.

Jeepney Notes
- “The traditional recipe for the jeepney, a uniquely Philippine concoction, is as follows: take on ex-US Army jeep, put two benches in the back with enough room for about 12 people, paint it every colour of the rainbow, add badges, horns, aerials, air fresheners, icons, lots of mirrors, a tape deck that plays only Philippine pop, a chrome horse (or a whole herd of them) and anything else you can think of. Then stuff 20 passengers on those benches, add four in front, hang a few more off the roof and drive like a maniac.” LP
- Manila – best graphics and slogans
- Jeepneys plying the Bacolod to Silay, Negros route – worst music (hits from the 50s & 60s)
- Districts between Miagao and Iloilo, Panay – modern new vehicles with perfect paint jobs
- Siquijor Island – squashed mini versions of the original
- Tacloban, Leyte – the most gawdy, colourful, fantastically decorated
- Baguio - with doors and windows, perhaps because it is chilly up in the mountains
- God Bless Our Trip!!

Things that make me laugh
- Watching chickens skid across the road as you speed up on them with the horn honking
- Being cajoled into another tricycle ride...when I am dismounting from a tricycle. Ya sure buddy.
- Kids asking for photograph then posing with thumb and forefinger encircled chin.
- Folks agreeing to being photographed then THANKING me for taking their picture (?)

Things that make me go hmmm….
- Cheese flavoured ice cream
- Karaoke – morning, day and night, it seems to be a need as strong as food and water
- Philippine Government Tourism Department
- Beer that is cheaper than water
- Government service
- “Child Friendly” schools
- “Clean and Green” and WOW (War on Waste) campaigns
- GMA Cares billboards (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)
- Dayglo pink hotdogs for breakfast
- Fried chicken with spaghetti and rice combo fast food meals
- ketchup on everything for added FLAVOR
- Road sign seen ONCE – Warning – Defective Pavement Ahead
- "all you can eat buffet" but you pay a penalty if you leave anything on your plate, good idea huh?
- absolutely NOTHING is sign posted, making it very difficult to visit points of interest as advertised by the Philippine Tourism Department. This is the Philippine way as a Filipina explained to us, shaking her head.
- banana ketchup (it is red too)

Filipino Musical Favorites
- Bread
- Air Supply
- ABBA
- Kenny Rogers (country music is very popular up north, never heard any down south)


Most People Seen on a Motorcycle
- 5 adults – all on the seat!

Islands Visited
- 17

Honourable Mention
- the people of the Philippines - the friendliest people I have ever met; they always have a smile or a greeting for you

100 Pesos = Cdn $2.50