In my previous blog I forgot to mention something that kind of echoed my sentiment. On Ko Chang, I ran into rachel (swiss) who I had hung out with a bit at various places along the myanmar trail with her other swiss friend. She was getting ready to head to that more deserted part of the island. we chatted a bit about how crazy ko chang was and how we missed myanmar. She said when she checked out the person at the guesthouse didn't say have a good voyage/ask her how her stay was/say thank you/or even say goodbye. rachel said she left with a few tears b/c of this. They would never let that happen in myanmar. she greatly missed the hospitality.
Well, I'm in the philippines and loving it. Got into manila around 4:30am asked about a bus to donsol and was rushed right onto a bus so I didn't get a chance for breakfast, get much money (the airport atm would only give 1000pesos (us20), or anything. That's ok b/c I have seen manila with my parents and brother before and it's just a city.
The philippines is great b/c I truly think the people are much more friendly than the thais, the food is incredibly cheap (1 dollar for a cheap meail in thailand 30-50cents here in non touristy areas), the fruit is insanely cheap, everything. the country is much more lush and rural and less touristic. I haven't been to true southern thailand so I can't compare there beauty yet.
I got on the bus to go to legazpi (to get to donsol). nice hot and sweaty open air bus. it's cool b/c people would get on selling food or wares for a mile then jump off, so there was never a lack of food. I started to get a bit worried on the bus since I had only taken out 20 dollars and spend 8 on the bus that I would run out of money. I had forgotten our atm issues the last time in the philippines. the small and rural islands don't have atms and often the one atm in the big city is offline and if online only lets you take out a little bit. so i was thinking as I was heading to a rural area I might have trouble. Ended up being a no issue though as naga had some atms. The bus ride was gorgeous: over palm and banana covered mountains, through villages with thatched huts, through narrow valleys with emerald rice paddies, and along the turquoise coast. About 10 hours into the bus ride as it was getting dark, the bus stopped at naga. it was still 2+ hours to legazpi, but I decided to be spontaneous and just hopped off the bus. this town has several univerisities, so I figured it would be happening...and it was. An awesome night market and lots of students just hanging around. I hadn't eaten on the bus worrying about the atm issue and paying for a hotel, so i was hungry after finding an atm. ate lots, and I mean LOTS of food at the market, but it call cost me 2.50. For that much this is what I got: a bag of pili nuts (famous around here), a bag of peanuts, pork on a stick, a chicken and rice curry dish, an icecream, a mango shake, 3 mangos, a huge bushel of bananas (more than a dozen), a pineapple (i didn't eat all the fruit but saved it for breakfast), 2 of these weird fried egg almost tempura style I'd never seen, and a coconut drink. THis morning I finally had some good bread at a bakery for 10 cents. no good break in thailnd or burma. I stayed at a very nice place: A/C, cable tv with 98 channels and 5 movie channels (first time I've had tv), a private bathroom and shower, a towel, and flush toilet. all for 6 bucks! And the internet is 30 cents an hour compared to the 3 bucks an hour on ko chang. And the people are much nicer here than on ko chang. everyone wanting to talk to me or say hi as I walked through the market. Just like I remembered from the last time I was here, the filipino girls are fascinated with americans. they are so friendly and always come up for a greeting. These two near where I was eating sent this little girl about 8 name christine (nickname cookie) to me. "are you single" yes. big smile and she ran over to the two older girls and gave them hi fives. I couldn't help but giggle. By the time the night was over 8 girls had given me their cell phone numbers. Haha, if only it was that easy in america. Buy some mangoes...get a number...buy a coconut...get a number...peel a banana...get a number. watched the bourne identity last night on the tube and the 1st half of the michigan/michigan st b-ball game (what's basketball again??).
This morning i originally was going to head off to this remote peninsula but I slept in a bit tired from sleeping on hammocks and beaches where you wake up with the sun but party at the beach till at least 1am and an overnight flight. THat's ok b/c I like Naga's vibe (and I have to admit the tv at night is a nice small mercy), i needed to catch up on some internet issues. it's amazing how unfortunately tied to this thing you get with credit card bills, bookings, etc. and the food here is great at the market. I met a nice filipino man who worked at an outdoor shop. I had hoped to rent camping stuff to camp on the beach on this remote peninsula but he didn't have it at the moment as the summer starts here in march (one of the only issues with my sudden decision to flee to the philippines along with the fact that mango season isn't until april), but he could hook me up with a homestay for 8 bucks which isn't too bad! and he told me how to get there and also gave me some ideas for nice waterfall hikes in this area and hotsprings. I also went into a mall here. the philipines, like america, love their malls...and I love them too, just for the food. cheap icecream, food, and all the crazy 12 in 1 dvd's you can buy. In the mall you can get burgers (which you begin to crave every now and then) for 30 cents as compared to 3 dollars in thailand (burgers are surprisingly expesive in asia especially since we are used to the dollar menu) rice and noodle dishes are what are cheap here! Also back in a catholic dominated country, so I went to mass tonight...in english no less. (typical tropical church with lizards and birds flying around and the best seats not in the front, away from the babies or near the exit (if you're that kind of catholic), but by the fans) that's one of the other nice things about the philippines that makes travel easier than mainland asia. they use the roman alphabet so you can always point to a name on a map or book and they can read it. in thailand, say you want to go to ko chang, you can't point to the word ko chang on a map or a book b/c they can't read it. and any signs on stores or what not we can't read. here even though tagalog is their main language, it uses roman letters so you can learn words for like toilet by sight. thai symbols are impossible. but also b/c the philippines was an american and spanish colony, they speak english very well, in fact it's one of their national language and spanish is incorporated in their native language. their numbers for example are spanish.
oh, and why the sudden impulse to go to the philippines when I already had a loas visa. I was a little lonely/fed up with the tourists and style in south thailand and mr. lucas stringfield was eloping in the philippines, so there is a good chance I'll hook up with him. I also have a second cousin travelling here.
riding in the filipino bus yesterday I was kind of thinking and smiling at how the modes of transportation in the 3 countries I have been to seemed to have evolved to meet the personality of the people and country, yet are so much the same. ANalagous to say how a jaguar, mtn lion, lion, leapoard, and tiger are all similar in evolution, but a bit different having evolved on different continents.
To understand this, there are 3 basic types of transport in asia: long haul (taken care of by busses): medium haul (across cities, between small towns taken care of by say SUV sized vehicles) and short haul (within towns taken care). They all share the taxi and motorbike in common with the modernity of the vehicle depending on the wealth of the country, but it's the other modes that are interesting.
long haul: thailand has huge fancy tourist busses and the public busses are also nice with reclining seats, usually aircon. the busses all have pictures of the king inside and the tv plays music videos or thai comedys. the bus system is very fast and efficient. in the PI, the busses are very colorful, people are chattering about inside, there are pictures of Jesus and Mary everywhere. the tv plays karaoke and videoke (both are EXTREMELY popular in the PI) and the people sing along. The busses are semi comfortable, no a/c generally and decently efficient. In Burma the busses can barely be considered moving vehicles. Obviously no ac, incredibly uncomfortable, often sitting on fish, onions, live chickens, whatever and not a seat. Dust streams in and people smoke inside. The tvs (yes some have tvs) play monks chanting at high volumes all night long. The busses are incredibly unreliable, often break down, always late, and often have flat tires
medium hall: thailand has the saungtheuw. An often modern pickup truck with benches in the back for sitting and a rack on top for gear. Efficient, but nothing special about them. The PI has the jeepney (I assume left over from wars or the millitary when the americans occupied). It's a long jeep, really cool and exotic looking with benches in the back. people are jammed in and hang from the outside and on top. They are very colorful and often have nice paintings on them of religious scenes or cartoons or the something random and they have bold letters saying Love is good, or blessed mary, or be happy or similar. Myanmar has old pickup trucks somewhat similar to thailand, but much older and people are crammed inside and crammed on top and the whole thing is so waited down it's amazing it moves. they also have mini pickups from the japanese in wwII.
short haul: Thailand has the notorious Tuk Tuk. noisy, colorful 3 wheeled motorcycle type thing. the driver is up front and then there is a spot for 2 or 3 to sit comfortably. they drive recklessly through traffic and always attempt to rip off tourists and are always hassling them for a ride. The philippines has the trike. a motorized motorcycle type thing. the driver sits on a motorcycle and 1-3 passengers sit in a side car that is nearly full enclosed. They are also very colorful. Burma has the tricycle. human powered bike with a side car that fits 1-2 people. the drivers are typically old and passengers have to walk up hills or over bridges due to the human natured vehicle power (unless of course it was lance armstrong or bro driving). horse drawn carts are also used.
just extended my visa today. most countries charge 30 bucks for a month visa while the philippines gives you 21 days free. but that's not enough so I extended my visa another month, which is kinda expensive 65 bucks, but worth it b/c it's such a great place. just on my way to get the visa, I stopped at a store to get a 80 cent 2 foot long dog and a chicken carbonara and coke for a dollar (I had been craving some italian food). it's nice to eat at some fast food type places here like chowking and the jollib b/c fastfood in thailand like mcdonalds and bk are too expensive. A nice man sat next to me and started talking. He was a landscaper and invited me for dinner. Tomorrow I'md heading off to caramoan peninsula an apparently gorgeous place and he said he'd take me there if he didn't have to work and that they have great marlin there japanese style (assumed to be sashimi?) Even though it was a short walk he drove me to the immigration office and gave me his cell and home phone numbers in case I had a problem. the gals at the immigration office were very nice. Not the stiff, all business, and slightly mean people I'm used to. Very friendly, giving me tips on where to go, looking at my passport asking about places I've been before, specifically peru, and just laughing a lot. I had to go to a copy place to get copies of my passport and when I got in there they all burst out singing and laughing. So many people smile and say hi to you hear. Walking to the church having a mango shake, the university was getting out. all the girls were smiling and saying hi and hello and getting my name that I felt like brad pitt or something (or perhaps chris sherman at yale!!)
ok...out to go enjoy some more filipino food!!! and then the coast
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