Here we are in the Philippines

                                        Known for it’s boast of 7107 islands or is that ferry rides!

                                                     7107 isla upang galugarin ang

one of the many boats - ferries between the many islands

      
We started 8 months ago in a country that started with a P (Portugal) and now 26 countries later we are finishing off with a country starting with a P (Philippines). You wouldn’t realize how much I want to make that a double ll in their name. But none of the other countries started with a P not that we used every letter of the alphabet though.

    On planning the trip a year ago we aimed to finish this trip with lots of ocean and white sandy beaches, they didn’t have to be real white just nice sandy beaches before hitting the white ice cold stuff of our winter!!  I do have to admit it gets hard to chill out after a while. (baugh hum bug ey!) Our first stop here after Cebu (a big city) was Sipalay with Sugar Beach, a boat ride away – a to die for area but after 4 days we were ready to move – rather than just sit on the butt or swim.

of course at the beach you have sunsets

sorry alittle slanted but really deaths do happen from falling coconuts

drying cocnut meat beside the road

one of the other hotels on Sugar Beach

    Not much area to hike and therefore pretty limited in activity. We did find the riptides interesting though, floated for a couple of minute and we found ourselves 75 meters further out in the ocean, thinking our next stop would be Australia. ( this required a little bit of adrenaline rush to swim back in to shore).  Next stop was Siquijor island for more beach but with the availability of a motorbike. This island didn’t even have a petrol station and only sold gas out of pop bottles. They must teach their young very early not to drink out of a coke bottle or else.

beach - sunset - what can I say - beautiful!!

    This island is 72 kms circumference with a few roads crossing over  through the middle. We did over 600kms and I don’t think we left a road untraveled unless it petered out to nothing but a cow track and the tires weren’t that good to risk a flat tire! Believe it or not sometimes it is good to turn back.  Hard convincing Russell though ( I know you all though I was the impossible one!!) then we ferried over to  another island called Bohol – certainly more touristy and more crowded. The claim to fame here are the Chocolate Hills – more so in the dry summer than the wet season (for obvious reasons).

Chocolate Hills like numerous bumps on a log

overall view of the hills

 Read here we are still getting caught in the heavy downpours ( monsoons) and we thought the rainy season would be over here - WRONG. The Chocolate Hills  legend has it they were caused by two giants throwing rocks at each other as they fought over a woman!  Do know when we tried to climb up one it was very slippery with marble size and shaped rocks that rolled you back each step of the way. While in the hills we stopped at a Tarsier Sanctuary.

jr is only about 3-4- inches big

biggest Tarsier yet!

 They are the smallest primate – up to 6 inches in length but with huge eyes as they are nocturnal. They do not do well in captivity as people end up keeping them awake all day (they are nocturnal) and they become sleep deprived and usually die within a year or so. Now I feel  guilty for going to see them! The tourists we seen couldn’t stop poking them and using a flash which they were told not to do. Think of those big eyes and a flash going off right in their face. They only have one offspring a year with a 6 month pregnancy, and we only  saw 3 to 4 inch ones. With doing the motorbike riding it’s a good thing we have a few months off at home and can forget all the new bad habits we have picked up. But will find it strange not to wave and say hi to all along the roadside!! It will be quite a tame ride!

these butterflies mate for 24 hours before all the eggs (100 - 150 eggs are fertilized)  what do you think Viagra or Cialis

I think they might be angel wings

    We have noticed that the Philippines as the Indonesians think it is good luck to have a cat in the household. They either break the tail or cut off the tail, thinking it will keep the cat around. I would have thought not likely but I am not a cat. Also we think there is even more white males with filipino  girls, now I realize some are married but many are their guides (well….) but many more couples than the other S. E. Asian countries.  Have also had to use more deet here than elsewhere although I don’t believe there is malaria on these 4 islands that we did, but there is dengue fever and I don’t want that either.

Jeepneys - common transport beside the tricycle

coconut transport or people

    Having a tough time finding Russell a sweater here – somehow he is not quite the right size and he only has t-shirts and sandals to arrive home to -20C and snow. It may warm up a little but not that much. Although I went looking for shoes as well, thinking that my 8 ½ size isn’t that big well I was too big for ladies and not big enough for mens – another words no shoes. Thank gosh my coat from Bangkok has arrived at Suzanne’s so most of me will be warm. I do wonder where the expats go for their stuff or must do a lot of ordering through the internet.

Russell starting to do his ski patrol first aid studying = the course starts the day he arrives home

get ready mate

   Well that is it for this trip going home to COLD – YUK,   SNOW – YES, home cooking with lots of salads,8+ months of restaurant food where the menus start looking surprisingly similar, my own bed and pillow, visiting family and friends. I am sure there are many changes in our 5 grandchildren and all those hugs and kisses through skype just aren’t the same as real ones which will be FANTASTIC!!!  Although little Sasha trying to climb through the computer to find Gramma is priceless!

cock farm for the cock fights also a A I farm

fights usually twice a week = whenever you see a large group of males look for the fight

oops! water lines in the gutter numerous and going in all directions

but it works for them

making of a cocnut Xmas tree - coconuts are good for everything - right!

couldn't believe the Xmas lights and tunes starting the beginning of November  already

Thanks for following along on our quest of the Silk road and other adventures.  Who knows where the next quest will be. But for now it will be home in BC Canada for 2012!!! Afterall I made Russell a promise!! Therefore no litros of beer or wine for a bit - our tans will fade quickly as the snow continues to fall, many meters worth I hope but memories will last especially if I do some scrapbooking!

Russell and Sylvia

Hi from Indonesia

  Where are you going? Do you have a ticket?

Kemana kamu akan pergi? Apakah Anda memiliki tiket?

    After saying cheerio to all our new friends from the truck we left Singapore a day later than everyone else. With Singapore slings at Raffles and the brunch at the Hyatt we thought we should actually spend a day touring Singapore before flying to Kuta, Bali. We couldn’t believe how busy Kuta was now compared to almost 10 years ago. It seems like night and day difference now. It was actually quite hard to even recognize some of our favorite areas. Now we are here on the shoulder season and not the low season BUT STILL!!!  Building happening everywhere! Our second day here there was an earthquake. The ground just started wobbling and rumbling – the walls on our hotel spread apart and then closed up again. We couldn’t figure it out and then the locals all started yelling and running out to the middle of the hotel parking lot – so we did the same!! We didn’t yell and scream though, just headed to a clearing. Then came the second tremor. We all stood and looked at each other and wondered what next? It recorded at 6.1 on the scale and quite a few were injured but only one death that we were aware of. Our first and hopefully our last of experiencing one! And that was nothing compared to Japan!!

   With Kuta so busy we decided enough and got on a plane to Flores.

sunset from Labuanbajo was beautiful but the town - not so much

fishing boat on Flores - can dry the fish on the side nettings

Our objective was to see the Komodo Dragons, as we missed them last trip. We thought it would just be a small plane but we were wrong. I guess it is more of a bus with many different stops to many different islands. Landing in Labuanbajo on Flores was quite a surprise for us. It didn’t have the beaches and what it did have was just a garbage dump – not really seeing the tourist side yet!! WE originally thought we would explore more of the island but with what we were seeing WHY?? I guess after 6 ½ months of travelling we just wanted chill out time- relaxing on a beach etc. We decided on a 2 night boat ride along with 30 others to see the komodo dragons on Rinca Island.

Russell calls it my cruise ship

the sail boat I really wanted for the cruise

at the entrance to the National Park on Rinca Island

We got there early in the morning – so the dragons were nice and active. The two guides carried sturdy pronged sticks, one walking in front and one at the end of the line. The guide also told us that if a tourist was bitten – he would be charged and put in jail. When the dragon starts to salivate it means he is looking at a food source – so a slight warning signal. When the one we were taking lots of pictures of started to drool we were out of there.!!!!  Their bite with the enzymes and bacteria will kill a water buffalo in 2 days, a human in 7 days (if no medical help). The female lays 20-50 eggs, buries them in the ground and for the first 3 months guards them, then with the rainy season the ground hardens and the smell disappears and the eggs incubate a further 6 months. When the dragons first hatch they climb the nearest tree for protection from adult dragons and other predators. They will stay in the trees till they are too big to climb – nails get too long, bigger than 1 ½ meters, and ready to prey on bigger animals than insects. They can actually run up to 18 km an hour and are found mainly  on Rinca (over 1300) and Komodo Islands (have the largest ones),and are the only living dinosaurs alive today.

Komodo Dragon - up to 150 kgs

look at those claws - no wonder adults can't climg trees

On the boat we also stopped and snorkeled many times and walked into a water waterfall – felt nice and cool for swimming. Had a great time on the boat and met some neat people. We started to run into these new mates in the next couple of stops – nice to share a bintang (beer)  and a meal with. After the boat we splurged and did a four star hotel – on the beach and got some western pampering – infact we even stayed a little longer than first thought we would. Worth every dime honey!!.

beach at four star hotel Senggiggi

view from poolout to the ocean

dishes made from banana leaves - classy!!

     Next we went to Gili Trawangan on Lombok. We remembered it as quite laid back, beach around the island – can snorkel anywhere etc. There must have been at least another 100 hotels – homestays built in the 10 years and the beach was now crowded with extra places to stay. The island is only maybe 6 kms around. Still had our R&R here, tried a different spot for supper on the beach everynight with Happy Hour of course. Even hit a pub to catch the last of the World Cup Rugby games. Of course we were cheering for the All Blacks (New Zealand) but in the final game the rivalry with the French was pretty fierce. Of course our group just cheered louder!!

snorkeling in the blue waters of Gili Trawangan

the boat that didn't make it

    It was time to move along and when we found a hotel with the balcony facing the bay and easy access to motorbikes , we knew we had to stay there. Imagine our surprise riding down the road with a noisy horn beeping away at us. We both said *&^&^& pass us buddy!!! It was Sandra and Keith (English couple from the truck). Well what a nice reunion. We knew they were on Bali, leaving Borneo behind. Just didn’t expect them yet! It had only been 2 weeks since we parted but was so great to see them again. Spent the next day catching up and stuff – me eating all Keith’s cheese because we hadn’t seen any yet (he always finds it first! – but neither of us found wine!) they were on their way to meet their first granddaughter Darcie, in Australia while we fly on to the Philippines.

one of the many wet season rains - got caught on the motorbike - YUK

rice paddies still appeal - touring with the bike

found a wood carver

  To those back home no one did Hallowe’en here!!  Definitely ready to move on and out of the rainy season hopefully the Philippines will be drier as they are finishing the wet season.

all the beaches and Indonesian Islands for an idyllic holiday

Last country before home, stay tuned for the Phillipines.