Philippines-BYOTP

My friend Angela's brother was going to be in the Philippines for 4 months doing an internship for school.  He asked if Angela wanted to fly out the week he was done and he would show her around.  She asked if I wanted to join, and that was a no brainer.  We planned to go Dec 2 through Dec 9 of 2016.

I was ready to go.  Brady told us that we were going to be moving around a lot so it'd be best if we used a backpack for our stuff instead of a suitcase.  Thankfully my friend let me  borrow his.  As is tradition, it needed a name.  We were about to get real close over the next week.  He shall be named Bumble Bee....like the transformer.

Since I had just moved to Phoenix and she still lived in SLC, we took separate flights and met in LA the night of Dec 2.  We flew to the Philippines early the next morning.  We needed a hotel for the night in LA, and since we were literally just sleeping there and then leaving early the next morning, I found one cheap and close to the airport.  It was SKETCH!  The bathroom was disgusting and I refused to shower there, so I was not able to follow my one rule of travel.  Angela's house had been out of hot water for a couple days, so there wasn't enough soap scum and mold in the world that was going to keep her from a hot shower...or 2.  The next morning, we woke up to a lady outside yelling, "I don't have your money!" over and over again.  I half expected to hear a gunshot, but thankfully the fight died down.  Like I said, sketch all around. 

Our flight from LA to Shanghai was 14 hours long.  Thankfully they give you a lot of movie selections on the movie.  Then we had a 6 hour layover in Shanghai.  With the length of flight and time zone changes, we landed in Shanghai in the later evening ad throughout the night, so it was very low key and not a lot of people.  First thing we tried to find was water.  On long flights, you don't get nearly as much water as you do when you are living through out an ordinary 14 hr day, nor do you want to get up and use the bathroom too much, so we were pretty parched.  We finally found a water dispenser and the options were warm or hot.  Odd.  The airport was so cold that we got warm water and figured it would cool down with time.  That airport was freezing!!  Like a naive fool, I assumed that since I was flying from Phoenix (hot weather, even in December) and going to Philippines (even hotter weather) that I didn't need a jacket or warm clothes.  I was wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, and I didn't have much room in Bumble Bee to begin with, let alone room for a jacket and long pants.  Room was of the essence.  I was so cold in that airport and probably looked so pathetic trying to lie down on a couple seats to get some rest and curled up in a ball shivering.  Actually, I know I looked pathetic because a sweet lady came over and asked me if I wanted one of her extra blankets.  Apparently she always keeps them from the airplanes for moments such as this.  I was so grateful and didn't even consider playing the "No, I'm fine.  That's your blanket.  I'm ok," game.  Finally felt warmth again and it felt oh so good.  Finally our time game to leave that ice box and hop on our final flight from Shanghai to Philippines, which was 3 hrs.  

We landed in Manila around 3-4 AM local time on Dec 5.  We lost a day with the timezone changes and spent a whole day traveling.  On the way back, we would gain a day back due to timezone changes.  Brady was waiting for us after we got our checked bags and we went to find a taxi.  He was fluent in Tagalog because he served his mission in Philippines, so he was talking to all the drivers to find the prices.  He kept asking them if their meters worked.  Apparently most airport taxi drivers don't turn on their meters so they can charge a flat rate and rip off tourists.  Brady finally found one whose meter worked so we hopped in.  After a couple minutes of driving, Brady and the driver started arguing.  Apparently the driver was trying to rip us off so when they couldn't resolve it, the driver pulled over and let us out...on a road...not near any taxi pickups....but we eventually found another one and made it to the pickup place where we would pick up one of Brady's roommates and 2 of their friends.  We then drove 2 hours to our first destination, which were some waterfalls we were going to hike.  At this point, my body is so out of sync it doesn't know if it's tired, hungry, dehydrated, etc.  We pull up to a gas station and Brady turns to us and says, "you'll want to use the bathrooms here.  Oh and by the way, they don't use toilet paper in the Philippines "  Both of our mouths drop, "They don't use toilet paper?!  What do they use?!"  "Some bathrooms have buckets of water and some have a sprayer you spray yourself with."  The other boys chime in, "Oh yeah we don't like toilet paper anymore.  We love the sprayers."  I ask, "Well after you spray yourself off, what do you dry yourself with?"  "nothing.  You just air dry."  Angela and I are in shock.  Not because they don't use toilet paper.  We get that.  Not all countries do.  Mainly in shock because Brady prepped Angela for months prior to our trip repeatedly saying, "don't forget sunscreen.  The sun's really strong our here.  Did I mention don't forget sunscreen?"  He could have at least slipped in, "oh, and by the way, bring your own TP or tissue pouches."  Angela and I went in to face our first Filipino bathroom experience.  The two friends who came with us were native Filipino girls.  Super sweet.  I go into the stall, relieve my bladder, and try the sprayer thing.  Like any rookie, my aim is a bit off, so I spray water everywhere, including the toilet seat.  I am so embarrassed that I try to talk to the 2 girls waiting for a turn and I'm saying, "hey.  Hey girls.  I just sprayed the seat.  What do I do?  It looks like I peed on it."  Crickets.  I hear no response, so I just come out.  Turns out they don't speak English, so quite honestly, who knows what they thought happened in there. 

We drive some more and make it to the first waterfall.  Did I mention it was HOT?  Very, very humid.  The type of humid that makes you sweat for no apparent reason.  Angela and I are still in our airport clothes so we need to change.  There is a bathroom at the top of the hike so we go to change in there. My first world high maintenance side really came out at this point.  The bathroom had no toilet seat, just the toilet that you usually see when you raise the toilet seat...ya know, the boy's toilet seat when they pee.  There was no toilet paper.  There was an empty bucket, which I'm assuming usually had water in it.  Thankfully Angela had 2 tissues left in her tissue pouch and spared one for me.  We used the bathroom one final time and changed into our swimsuits and shorts.

We began the hike down to the first waterfall.  I was sweating like a dog.  Thirsty.  Not much water on hand..poor planning on my part.  The landscape was beautiful!  So much green!

There were parts that were too steep to hike so we had to repel down these medal, ladder, chute things.   Well, as many Filipino men would point out through out our trip, I am bigger than the average Filipino.  I scraped my shins and knees a couple times on the repel down.  

We make it down the river and it's beautiful!  It had been raining lightly the whole time so there was a mist everywhere, which made it even more beautiful.

We made it to the waterfall.  It's name was Cavanti Falls.

They had us sit on that Tom Sawyer looking raft boat and they would paddle us up to and then directly under and through the waterfall.  Sounds like an adventure and I was so hot that I was dying to get wet.

Once we got through the waterfall there was a little cave that we could swim and climb in.

I don't know if this video will work but it's of us going through the waterfall.

The original plan was to hike down to Cavanti Falls and then ride a raft boat down the river through the ravine and our driver would be down there to pick us up.  Because of all the rain, the river waters were too high so it was too dangerous to raft down.  We had to hike back up.  That was rough!  My body was not having it.  I think the combination of sleep deprivation, dehydration from little water and sweating out what little was in me, and the steepness of the hike, I was not feeling well at all.  I kept getting light headed and needing to stop.  Thankfully, everyone was so patient and understanding.  They stopped as much as I needed to.  We finally made it up and went to a gas station to get water and a little food in our blood streams.  After sitting and rehydrating for an hour or so, I was good to proceed.  The waterfall was beautiful, but at this point, I was hoping the trip would get less hard.

The next waterfall hike was called Hulugan Falls. Fun name, right?!  The hike down in the falls was not paved, and with the constant rain, it was really muddy.  My Tevas stayed mud free for a bit, but then I slipped and went right into a mud puddle.  Have you ever tried to hike down a steep hill with mud in between the sole of your shoe and your foot?  Every step you take you slide everywhere in your sandal, barely staying on by your toes pressing as far forward as the sandal straps will allow.   It's not easy.  Every step became hard.  My toes were starting to hurt from always catching the weight of my body trying to brace every step.  I couldn't help but think, "this has been the hardest trip I've been on yet.  Nothing about this day has been easy.  It's got to get better."  We finally make it down and Hulugan Falls was breathtaking.  Pictures don't do it justice!

Angela stayed chipper the whole time despite my growing tiredness. LOL

The nice little Filipino guide lady let us cross the mini waterfalls in front and took us back to the main one.  She was so tiny but every step was sure.  Mine were not. 

Similar to Cavanti Falls, Hulugan Falls had a cave that you could go climb in.  We sat and watched the serene water for 30 minutes or so.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, and thankfully, the water had cleaned the mud out of my sandals. 

We hiked back up the hill and every step was precise and sure to avoid any mud.  I succeeded in making it all the way back up the hike without mud in my sandals and without needing much rest.  The day had gotten much better.

We went to our Airbnb tired as can be.  First thing I noticed, there was toilet paper.  The next morning when we left, I stole it so we could use it the rest of the trip.

The next day was hiking to a Taal point. We drove into a parking area and had to get a boat ride to the volcano in the middle of the lake.  Taal has an island within a lake, that is on an island within a lake, that is on an island: Vulcan Point Island is within Main Crater Lake, which is on Volcano Island, which is within Taal Lake, which is on the main Philippine Island, Luzon. Now that makes my head hurt to think about.

While we were waiting for our boat ride, I kind of liked that there was a dragon statue.

So I got a picture with it.

I decided to be adventurous and ride a horse to the volcano.  Meet Diana.  She was the smallest horse I had ever written.  For the small Filipino people, I'm sure she was plenty big, but this American girl was afraid of smashing little Diana.

We stopped at a halfway point to get a view of the crater lake.

We made it to the crater lake and it was beautiful.  We played around in the water for a bit when Brady and Angela decided they wanted to swim to an island in the middle.  I decided to stay back and watch our stuff, since there were about 5-6 Filipino men hanging around watching us.  One was our guide on the hike and the others were locals and friends, I'm sure.   One of the Filipino men tried to make conversation with me i his very broken English.  He told me I should swim to the island too.  When I told him that I didn't want to, he made a gesture with his arms spread wide and then moved his hands up and down where his boobs would be and rocked back and forth while saying, "too big."  He was pretty funny and slightly offense.  I wasn't too surprised.  I know a lot of cultures are very blunt and lacking tact, so I mainly just laughed.  He continued to try to talk to me and said the words, "you're big" several times.  He talked about how Filipino women marry American men but American women never marry Filipino men.  He then started to point at the 2 young boys with him, high school aged, and comment at what Im assuming was him trying to say I should marry one of them but his English was very broken.  This is where he inserted yet another "you're big" comment.   He said that Filipino men couldn't marry American women because they don't have money, which is very true.  A lot of either old, creepy guys or really weird unattractive guys come to the Philippines to find wives and the women have an opportunity to get out of poverty.   He said I was big a couple more times while I had no idea the true message he was trying to communicate but then proceeded to tell me how beautiful I was and how "healthy" I am and that it was a good thing.  He then asked if he could have a picture with me, while having a huge smile on his face.  He seemed pretty happy that I obliged.  He then asked me if I was married or had a boyfriend.  When I told him I didn't have either, he seemed genuinely surprised.  I'll take any validation I can get after this tactless conversation.  Thankfully, Angela and Brady came back to shore shortly after, to which I was very happy.

We rode our little canoe boat back to shore so we could drive to an overlook of the volcano called Sky Ranch.

Sky Ranch was like a little carnival on a hill.  They had vendors, rides, zip-lines, souvenir shops, anything you want.  We decided to ride the Ferris Wheel at sunset.  I snapped this picture.  Taal is still an active volcano, but this was actually a reflection of the sunset caught just right.

One thing I love about the Philippines is how much they love Christmas.  Christmas decorations have died down in America but they were everywhere in the Philippines.  We had to get a picture by the trees.

We were like celebrities.  Random Filipino's would ask us for a picture with them.  This girl asked Brady if he would take a picture of her with us.  Brady jokingly said, "want a picture with me?"  To which the girl dryly said, "No, just them."

The next morning we went to the Philippines Manila Temple.  The clouds behind the temple were beautiful. 

This looked like the Tree of Life.

This group of Filipino women also wanted a picture with Angela and me.  We found out they traveled 15 hours one-way to come to the temple.  That dedication always inspires and impresses me. 

After the temple we got a $5 massage and rested a little before flying to the island of Boracay.  Boracay was a beautiful island with sandy beaches and clear water.

Angela and I decided to try parasailing.  I have always wanted to.  It was fun and beautiful up there.

While up in the air, I kept looking down into the crystal clear water, half expecting to see a shark.  Thankfully I did not, but I did start seeing jellyfish.  First it was one or two.  Then the numbers grew exponentially.  They were everywhere.  I remembered when we went to Australia around this time of year, we had to wear fully body suits in the ocean because it was jellyfish season, so I guess it makes sense that there are so many jellyfish.  It was fun to see them from above, but then the driver started to lower us down closer to the water.  They were making motions like they were going to drag our feet in the water.  I began to panic.  Angela and I both straightened our legs as stiff as we could while I yelled, "Jellyfish!  JELLYFISH!  JELLYFISH!" while motioning my hands to send us back in the air.   They smiled and gave us thumbs up while continuing to lower us closer to the water.  They probably had no idea what we were saying.  Thankfully our straight and stiff legs didn't go under and we evaded Jellyfish stings all over our legs.

After we came back to shore, Angela and I made a sand sculpture while the boys threw the football around.  We also splurged for another $5 massage.  

We ate dinner on the beach while watching the sunset.  It was magical!  

The transportation in Philippines was so fun!  They had these tiny little public transportation vehicles called Tricycles.  They would literally fit 5-6 people.  They cram in wherever they can.

2 can fit in the main car.  2 can sit on the back facing outward.  2 can sit behind the driver.  and you can pile a whole lotta luggage on top.

They also have Jeepneys which look like party buses. 

Food in the Philippines is a lot of meat and rice.  They also have these little bananas everywhere.  They are free on your table when you order.  It's like getting chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant.

I wanted to take more pictures of food than I did, but I failed.  This is what they mix in their soy sauce to eat with their rice.  It was ok.  I avoided the peppers though.  I can't handle spice.

This is Bulalo.  Beef in a broth with cabbage.  I loved it!!

This is Adobo which is Pork

 My all-time favorite meal was Tocino.  So, so good!  I had it a couple times.  It is the flavor they put on this pork pictured below. 

  Our trip had come to an end.  Brady was such a considerate host for us.  He always helped us with our bags, took care of all the planning and finances, never ate his meal before we got ours, and was overall fun and accommodating.  He was great!  His 2 roommates were great also! Garrett and Wade were so fun and genuine.  Angela and I have taken several trips together and always have a good time.  Even though the Philippines started out rough for me, the week only got better and better.  The had come to fly home.  29  hrs later, I had landed back in Phoenix.  And 4 months later, I would finally blog about it!