Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Bohol and Pangao Island
Last weekend we took our first trip away over night. We travelled by ferry to Bohol island. The boat trip took about 2.5 hours and as it was pretty early in the morning, we all slept.
We arrived in Tagbilaran City where we were taken by trike to a bike rental shop. The plan was to hire scooters and ride around the island, but when we got there it turned out that they were motorbikes, and only one member of the group felt confident enough to ride them. We opted for a car instead, which it turned out was definitely the more sensible option as later on in the day the heavens opened.
Our first stop was a Tarsier sanctuary. Tarsiers are small monkey like creatures with large eyes (in fact they reminded me of the eyes of the aliens in Independence Day, which actually made them a little bit creepy...) Tarsiers are very shy, nocturnal animals, about the size of a mans fist. We walked around the forest led by our guide, who didn’t really understand a lot of the questions we asked.
We then drove on to the Chocolate Hills which are probably Bohols most famous tourist destination. They are a collection of unconnected hills, which are so named as they look like chocolate drops that have been spread across the landscape. Friends had told us not to bother going to see the hills as they were a disappointment, but we all thought that they were particularly beautiful and well worth a visit. As the weather was not particularly good it meant that there was a lot of mist between the hills which really added to the beauty of the place. It was lovely as well to have a panoramic view over the landscape, as it is the first time I had experienced this since arriving in the Philippines. Being at the hills and driving through lush forest covered hills, and past rice paddies gave me my first real feelings of being in Asia.
Whilst at the Chocolate Hills we discovered that we had a flat tyre. The boys changed it for the one in the boot, only to discover that it too was flat. As it was reaching dusk we decided that we would find a place to stay before going to do any of our other plans. We had been told that there were some great huts for hire in the forest, and that they were cheap and nearby. We decided to head for those for the night. After half an hours drive we found the path off the main road and started to drive down it, looking for a place to park. As we drove the quality of the road deteriorated dramatically and it was clearly only to be walked on. We then remembered that friends had said that you had to walk to the Nut Huts and we realised our mistake. So at this point we are stuck down a rocky path, its pitch black, and we have a car with a flat tyre and no where to turn around, and if we continue on the car is going to be stuck in a ditch. Our driver then very bravely backs the car up the entire path in the dark until he finds a turning place, which was probably about half a mile away from where we decided to retreat.
We eventually get back on the main road and aim for civilisation. We are unable to find a hotel and after driving through several villages we decide to head back for the city. As we start driving our petrol light goes on. So now we are driving in a car that had a bit of a battering on the path of doom, plus has a flat tyre and is now running out of petrol, and we are driving in the dark around a strange island we don’t know, in the rain. Oh and also did I mention that the cars headlights give out barely any light and all the windows and windscreens are tinted making it almost impossible to see out of...
We eventually get back to the city and start looking for a hotel. The first one we stop at charges rooms in 4 hour stints, we decline to stay there... we then find a great hotel. Cheap with a terrace type area.
The city itself is not particularly interesting at night. We found one restaurant that wasn’t a fast food chain, and this restaurant appeared to have the only bar in the city. We ate, and our of the group order something called Crispy Pata thinking that it was a rack of ribs. What came to the table was only be described as horrifying. It looked like a human arm with a clenched fist on it that had suffered sever burns/deep frying revealing the bones underneath sections of incinerated flesh. It did not look at all like food. If you had seen this in a morgue you would have thought that someone had suffered a truly terrible fate, or it belonged to an Egyptian mummy... it turns out that it is a deep fried pork leg, but really it should not have been consumed...
In the morning we headed back out to the hills to go zip lining. On the zip line you lay flat giving you a birds-eye view over the valley and river below. The river was stunning, with rapids and bends, and it was actually the river that Apocalypse Now was filmed on. Result! There were 2 zip-lines, one from one mountain to the other, and then one back to your starting point. It was absolutely amazing, again people had said it wasn’t that good, but they were most certainly wrong. Nothing beats feeling like a bird.
We then drove to a neighbouring small Pangao island that was connected to Bohol by a causeway. We drove across the Island to Alona Beach which was the first free beach to sit on we've found in the Philippines. White sands, palm tree lined, gorgeous. We had a swim, some lunch and then after a short stay had to get back to Bohol to drop off the car and catch the ferry home.
All in all, a great weekend adventure, but it has lead to a very tired start to the week!
We arrived in Tagbilaran City where we were taken by trike to a bike rental shop. The plan was to hire scooters and ride around the island, but when we got there it turned out that they were motorbikes, and only one member of the group felt confident enough to ride them. We opted for a car instead, which it turned out was definitely the more sensible option as later on in the day the heavens opened.
Our first stop was a Tarsier sanctuary. Tarsiers are small monkey like creatures with large eyes (in fact they reminded me of the eyes of the aliens in Independence Day, which actually made them a little bit creepy...) Tarsiers are very shy, nocturnal animals, about the size of a mans fist. We walked around the forest led by our guide, who didn’t really understand a lot of the questions we asked.
We then drove on to the Chocolate Hills which are probably Bohols most famous tourist destination. They are a collection of unconnected hills, which are so named as they look like chocolate drops that have been spread across the landscape. Friends had told us not to bother going to see the hills as they were a disappointment, but we all thought that they were particularly beautiful and well worth a visit. As the weather was not particularly good it meant that there was a lot of mist between the hills which really added to the beauty of the place. It was lovely as well to have a panoramic view over the landscape, as it is the first time I had experienced this since arriving in the Philippines. Being at the hills and driving through lush forest covered hills, and past rice paddies gave me my first real feelings of being in Asia.
Whilst at the Chocolate Hills we discovered that we had a flat tyre. The boys changed it for the one in the boot, only to discover that it too was flat. As it was reaching dusk we decided that we would find a place to stay before going to do any of our other plans. We had been told that there were some great huts for hire in the forest, and that they were cheap and nearby. We decided to head for those for the night. After half an hours drive we found the path off the main road and started to drive down it, looking for a place to park. As we drove the quality of the road deteriorated dramatically and it was clearly only to be walked on. We then remembered that friends had said that you had to walk to the Nut Huts and we realised our mistake. So at this point we are stuck down a rocky path, its pitch black, and we have a car with a flat tyre and no where to turn around, and if we continue on the car is going to be stuck in a ditch. Our driver then very bravely backs the car up the entire path in the dark until he finds a turning place, which was probably about half a mile away from where we decided to retreat.
We eventually get back on the main road and aim for civilisation. We are unable to find a hotel and after driving through several villages we decide to head back for the city. As we start driving our petrol light goes on. So now we are driving in a car that had a bit of a battering on the path of doom, plus has a flat tyre and is now running out of petrol, and we are driving in the dark around a strange island we don’t know, in the rain. Oh and also did I mention that the cars headlights give out barely any light and all the windows and windscreens are tinted making it almost impossible to see out of...
We eventually get back to the city and start looking for a hotel. The first one we stop at charges rooms in 4 hour stints, we decline to stay there... we then find a great hotel. Cheap with a terrace type area.
The city itself is not particularly interesting at night. We found one restaurant that wasn’t a fast food chain, and this restaurant appeared to have the only bar in the city. We ate, and our of the group order something called Crispy Pata thinking that it was a rack of ribs. What came to the table was only be described as horrifying. It looked like a human arm with a clenched fist on it that had suffered sever burns/deep frying revealing the bones underneath sections of incinerated flesh. It did not look at all like food. If you had seen this in a morgue you would have thought that someone had suffered a truly terrible fate, or it belonged to an Egyptian mummy... it turns out that it is a deep fried pork leg, but really it should not have been consumed...
In the morning we headed back out to the hills to go zip lining. On the zip line you lay flat giving you a birds-eye view over the valley and river below. The river was stunning, with rapids and bends, and it was actually the river that Apocalypse Now was filmed on. Result! There were 2 zip-lines, one from one mountain to the other, and then one back to your starting point. It was absolutely amazing, again people had said it wasn’t that good, but they were most certainly wrong. Nothing beats feeling like a bird.
We then drove to a neighbouring small Pangao island that was connected to Bohol by a causeway. We drove across the Island to Alona Beach which was the first free beach to sit on we've found in the Philippines. White sands, palm tree lined, gorgeous. We had a swim, some lunch and then after a short stay had to get back to Bohol to drop off the car and catch the ferry home.
All in all, a great weekend adventure, but it has lead to a very tired start to the week!
Milk, Cheese and Zeus
Honey and the Herbs, now with added Zeus
Advertising campaign for DAM MILK! DAM CHEESE!
Advertising campaign for DAM MILK! DAM CHEESE!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Scavanger Hunts and Fertilised Duck Eggs
Been a wee while since my last written post, I have been feeling particularly uninspired to write recently. Its weird how quickly life beings the norm and so therefore it feels there isn’t anything to write about.
Over the last few weeks I have been stuck in an edit suite cutting several promos of fashion shoots. I'm doing a much better job on one than another, and am battling with getting the troublesome one to get a good rhythm to the cut. So far, I am not being particularly successful.
Otherwise, Cebu is grand. Had a big rain storm during lunch. We sat at the local yacht club and waited hours for food. Restaurant service in the Philippines is far from speedy, and don’t expect to have your party served at the same time.
Last weekend we did a very successful night scavenger hunt across the city. We formed 5 teams of 6 and had to do a series of photo challenges, going to different locations or accomplishing certain tasks. It was an excellent way to spend an evening and meant we go to see some new parts of the city. One place of interest was a local market next to the supermarket that I visit regularly. I had had no idea that it existed, but it was quite the find. One of the challenges that I absolutely would not do was to eat Bulot. Bulot is a local delicacy which is a fertilised duck egg/my idea of hell. You eat the foetus bird, which as far as I’ve been told is identifiable in the egg as a bird. No thank you Captain Birdseye.
This weekend we are travelling to a new island called Bohol, we're going to be staying over night, hiring scooters and exploring. We're pretty excited, as we've been really keen to take this trip, but it kept getting pushed back and back, due to other events.
In other news Christmas music is driving me mad. Christmas is big business out here, they love it, and from the first night I arrived, which was at the start of September, I’ve been hearing Christmas tunes... oh me oh my
Over the last few weeks I have been stuck in an edit suite cutting several promos of fashion shoots. I'm doing a much better job on one than another, and am battling with getting the troublesome one to get a good rhythm to the cut. So far, I am not being particularly successful.
Otherwise, Cebu is grand. Had a big rain storm during lunch. We sat at the local yacht club and waited hours for food. Restaurant service in the Philippines is far from speedy, and don’t expect to have your party served at the same time.
Last weekend we did a very successful night scavenger hunt across the city. We formed 5 teams of 6 and had to do a series of photo challenges, going to different locations or accomplishing certain tasks. It was an excellent way to spend an evening and meant we go to see some new parts of the city. One place of interest was a local market next to the supermarket that I visit regularly. I had had no idea that it existed, but it was quite the find. One of the challenges that I absolutely would not do was to eat Bulot. Bulot is a local delicacy which is a fertilised duck egg/my idea of hell. You eat the foetus bird, which as far as I’ve been told is identifiable in the egg as a bird. No thank you Captain Birdseye.
This weekend we are travelling to a new island called Bohol, we're going to be staying over night, hiring scooters and exploring. We're pretty excited, as we've been really keen to take this trip, but it kept getting pushed back and back, due to other events.
In other news Christmas music is driving me mad. Christmas is big business out here, they love it, and from the first night I arrived, which was at the start of September, I’ve been hearing Christmas tunes... oh me oh my