A Happy New Year

This post starts with a warning… Cebu Pacific are a terrible airline. It’s far easier for me to list the things they got right than wrong, so here’s the list; F**k all! Excuse my language but I’m sure that gives you the idea. Sorry Mum

What a difference there is from Manila to Sydney. I went from a fairly unpopulated, clean and spacious city to the dirty, very different smelling and crowded Philippino capital. It’s not a place I’d like to stay too long and luckily we were on our way after one night. I would only ever see it as a stepping stone but one day I may try exploring it, Bangkok was far better the second time round. The best bit was meeting my mate Ryan, a strong embrace and a realisation that we’re off travelling together for a month… what was I thinking! I’m kidding, it’s going to be a pleasure to spend some time with the Bradley Cooper looking, long haired hippie. He hasn’t revelled in that comparison at all.

We headed down to Alona Beach on Panglao Island. We managed to fly straight in and it was really easy. Air Asia nails it every time! We grabbed a tricycle taxi at the airport, don’t get the taxi’s as they’re expensive and you’ll save yourself 300 pesos by taking the trikes. We chucked our bags down at Lennons Place backpackers and then checked out the town. The backpackers is decent, it’s very genuine with bunkbeds in small shack style huts. The area itself is great, the beach is lovely, plenty of food options (although a little bit pricey and no real signature dishes), there’s lots of activities to get stuck in to and many bars to grab a beer in! It’s a place that could easily suck you in for a few weeks, if it was priced lower.

We didn’t get up to much the first few days, it was mainly boozing and lying on the beach and a cliff jump. We were awaiting the smiley face of my friend Anouska, or Annie to her mates. It’s so good to be sharing her first Asia experience, that little face can be such a picture. Along with her turning up and Ryan’s friend Kev (Alan from the Hangover) already being there, we ended up with a great little quartet for New Year.

It will probably go down as the best New Year I’ve ever had, it was a belter! That’s Ryan’s Geordie slang for amazing.

Firstly we grabbed some scooters, don’t look to pay more than 400 pesos for 24hrs rental, then headed off on our journey to the Chocolate Hills. It was a decent ride out to them and along the way we stopped at a local town for a quick bite to eat. On reflection we all think we should have eaten before we decided to check out the local market. We saw all sorts, from a type of grey fish gruel to a severed cows head with flies round it and the smells… wow! It was certainly a proper Asian market experience. The worst bit was a poor pig screaming because it was strapped to a moped! It sounds funny but the noise was harrowing. Oh well, bacon for lunch I guess.

Next up was the Chocolate Hills. They are a mad natural wonder that used to be underwater and were created by the land rising, coral deposits and the erosion of limestone from rain water. They’re a great attraction and well worth a trip up to see them. It reminded us all of the Teletubbies gaff but they’re over the hill now anyway. After, we headed to see the Tarsiers (the smallest primates on the planet) and along from that, the man made forrest.

We were then ready for the big night! It was certainly that because drinking the local tequila until 0630 wasn’t by any chance a small affair. Alona beach didn’t disappoint us, it was one hell of a party and great atmosphere. Time flew really quickly and before we knew where we were, it was 0630. Such a good group of people and great bars to drink in. We left when the party was still going… We must be getting old! Annie did well with choosing this destination, we couldn’t have had a better night.

With sore heads, the next day we went to a beach called Dumaluan. It’s only a short tricycle ride from Alona beach and will set you back about 150 pesos one way. It’s well worth it as the 8-9km’s of long white sand is very quite and peaceful. It’s worth the trip out. As you can imagine our night was short and we were all in bed by 2200, ready for the next days adventure.

During in the week leading up to New Years we had planned a boat trip around some of the local islands. It was just the four of us and involved island hoping and snorkelling. Both of which were incredible! The snorkelling was amazing, the reef was huge and you couldn’t move for seeing fish and several turtles were spotted with ease. The colours were so vibrant and intense, it’s a shame none of us had an underwater camera to share the experience but so you better understand, we did see Nemo and Dory. The last stop was a short stay on The Virgin Island off Bohol. This is where we formed a boy band and as you can see by the last photo, we’re manufactured beauties! The island is a short sand spit which has only a few trees. The locals go there and set up food stalls for the tourists to try different things on the tour route. I tried my first sea urchin, it’s not going to win any culinary competitions but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be after he spooned the gloopy, fishy paste like substances into my hand, I think he rescued it with the lime juice! It was a great day out and ended superbly when on the final step to shore, after being so successful transferring all day, Annie fell in the sea with all her clothes and backpack on. It was slightly hilarious!

Rather a long post but it’s been non-stop as you can imagine. We’re catching a ferry to Cebu tomorrow and we’ll see what happens from there.

Alona Beach

New Years Eve

New Years Day and The Boat Trip