The Philippines – Part 1

Day 01 –

That’s it, we’re in the Philippines! Outside, there’s that tropical smell we like so much but it’s also rush hour in Manila and Google maps is showing traffic jams everywhere. The taxi is our only way out of here but instead of telling the driver to drop us at our hotel, we ask to be dropped off at the nearest metro station. It’s the right call!! The short distance we cover with our taxi is endless despite our super friendly driver who creates a new lane between people, tuk-tuks and the fruit and vegetable stalls from the markets. We’re definitely not in Japan anymore. Peacefulness and order have been replaced by complete pandemonium. It’s 7pm and it’s crazy out here. There are people everywhere and our driver suggests we walk through the crowds for the last hundred meters to the station. We are all delighted to be here. The atmosphere reminds Côme of Vietnam.

After taking possession of our air-conditioned “luxury” suite (an infernal noise) with an antique bathroom (cold water and outdated broken tiles), we go out to dinner. We’re in the Korean quarter (no joke) but we’ve spotted a restaurant not far away that serves local cuisine. The perfect place to get in the mood!! Once there, a smiling man welcomes us, helps us understand the menu and guides us with our choices: barbecued pork chops and some sort of beef stew. Both Philippines specialties. It’s really good even though we don’t really know which part of the cow we’re eating… After the dinner, we take a short walk in the neighborhood and go back home. The night will be restless. We will hear every noise from the street: the karaokes, the noisy motorcycles… as if we were in the middle of it all…

Day 02 –

Today is yet another “transit” day. We are going to Cebu, an island in the south of the Philippines. We’re not staying in Manila because we’re coming back at the end of our stay here. But our flight isn’t until 6 p.m., so we have plenty of time to walk around and wander the streets of Manila. Since we’ve forgotten to send the letter to our friends from Christelle’s class, we take a first stop at the post office. Then, we head to a park. It is a very nice park. There are fortifications, beautiful trees, tombs in the fortified wall and a family of cats that is not very happy we don’t have anything to give them to eat.

Speaking of eating, we go to the local McDonald’s for lunch (Jolly bee). Doo has read on the internet that it was something to do in the Philippines. Well… you shouldn’t believe everything the internet says… it wasn’t good, not in the least… Côme, who didn’t want to eat at Jolly bee, eats at a street food cart. There, he is welcomed and treated like a real Hollywood star. On the menu: bowl of rice, soup, smiles and photos galore. Not sure the food cart owner has ever had a customer like him.

Before leaving for the airport, we rest in yet another park. This one is much less pretty. It is a large open space without much interest. Then, it’s time for us to take the metro back to the airport. We go through the metal detector (each station has one before entering the platform) and we take the prettiest train. It is overcrowded but it looks like a library. Once at the station, we decide to walk the last couple of kilometers. We head towards one of the alleys in the neighborhood where young teenagers are playing basketball. When they see us coming, they all stop and tell us with big gestures and a very clear message: “Don’t go there, you’ll be attacked (soft version)”. So we thank them, turn around and take one of the main streets instead. That could be a cool new feature in Google Maps: streets to avoid if you don’t want to be robbed, or murdered… 😅

After an hour walk, we arrive at the airport… Well, more exactly the overcrowded hangar which serves as a departure point for low-cost local planes… It’s the worst airport we’ve ever had and unfortunately we will have to wait there for 4 very very long hours without anything to eat… our flight is delayed…

Day 03 –

After a short night in Cebu city, we take a mini bus to Moalboal, a small town by the sea where we can snorkel, relax on beautiful beaches and explore beautiful waterfalls. Moalboal is not that far from Cebu but it still a 3 and a half hours drive. But the small roads we’re taking take us through nice villages and Côme points out: “There! You can see that you’re in a tropical country. It’s the jungle! Right huh?! That’s the jungle there?!?”

Once in Moalboal, we go straight to the scooter rental shop. Côme is super happy. He’s been waiting to get back on a scooter since Vietnam and he knows that’s the last place we’ll have the opportunity to ride one. We drop our belongings off at our resort hotel by the sea and set off to explore the island in search for lunch. We eventually find a nice restaurant by the nicest white sandy beach. We eat a good meal and then spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying this magnificent place. The water is good, the atmosphere is great. Locals are having barbecues on the beach, they’re playing music, some others are playing volleyball… We can see another island in the distance and then the sunset brings a mysterious atmosphere. Are we in heaven?

Day 04 –

Today the sea is very calm so we decide to go snorkeling. The corals, turtles and schools of sardines are right there where we’re staying and we can rent the equipment at our hotel. So for about 10 minutes, the three of us are having a great time. We are exploring the reef and marvel at the species of fish we’re encountering. But then Côme swallows water with his snorkel… And then it’s panic time. He doesn’t want to hear anything from us and just wants to get out of the water… We are extremely disappointed. We came to this place in the Philippines just for that. But we have no choice, after some screaming (fear for Côme and anger for us) and crying, we decide to swim back home. As we are returning the equipment, the lady in charge of the rental tells us we can come back after lunch until 4 pm, free of charge.

During lunch, we try to understand Côme’s fear and elevate it. We try to focus on the great time we had prior to the panic and the many fishes we could see. Côme ends up agreeing to go back to the water (only if we’re not going to the “big hole”, that’s what he calls the deeper part of the sea). In the beginning, everything is going really well. We’re having a great time in the water. We swim for a good 5 minutes with a magnificent turtle. We swim with Nemo and his daddy but they quickly say goodbye. We will see fishes of all sizes, shapes and colors: a very funny looking fish, a water snake, a deep blue starfish, a baby jellyfish and we’ll even have the chance to swim right next to the famous schools of sardines. But then, Côme will start to freak out again even though he’s lying on Doo’s back… And once again there will be nothing we can do. This time though we enjoyed it much more and saw many more things so we go home, tired but happy we were able to spend these unforgettable moments in the middle of the sublime seabed. We are also proud of our Côme who for some time fought his fear. Two days from now, we will go back snorkeling, without Côme this time. He will prefer to stay with the lady from the rentals and draw there. We will find him after our swim with a smile, a few sweets and groomed with two beautiful braids…

These first few days in the Philippines, Côme:
Did not understand: why there were graves in the wall.
Learnt: that one could find a cemetery inside of a wall.
Loved: to land on an island.

Julia:
Did not understand: why they were taking our temperature before getting into a park.
Learnt: that most people are catholic in the Philippines.
Loved: the warm welcome from everyone as well as snorkeling.

Doo:
Did not understand: why Jolly bee was on the list of things to do in the Philippines.
Learnt: that Jolly bee was discusting.
Loved: swimming with the turtle.