Diving, Camping and Antibiotics

I was happy to arrive in Coron Town but not so excited about the 30 hours of travel it took to get here. The day after I arrived, I started my Advanced Open Water diving class, which is 5 dives in two days, which turned out to be a bit much for my body. The diving was great, and they included some basics as I had not been diving in 15 years. The first day was elementary. We worked on buoyancy and navigation skills. The second day was intense. I did three wreck dives, which encompassed the skills needed to pass the course, deep diving, wreck diving, and an enriched air dive. I was worn out at the end of the day. Unfortunately, that night I started to get a cough, a sore throat, and my ears hurt.

All three of the dives included penetrations, which in theory, you are not supposed to do until you take the entire wreck diving course. But here in Coron, anyone with an open water cert can go on a wreck dive and do penetrations, hmm, come to think of it, no one asked to see my PADI card. Penetrating a wreck means going inside it, which can be pretty dangerous. It was an amazing experience, but I will be taking some time off from diving. I have an inner ear infection and what feels like the flu.

Coron is not as sleepy as I thought it would be, they lengthened the runway at the airport a few years ago, and now 80-seat planes can land here, which has created rapid expansion and all the bad things that go with it. There are power blackouts every day, which the locals call “brownouts.” The night I arrived, candles lighted half the town. Food and accommodations are expensive here, compared to other parts of the Philippines and the Philippines is more expensive than anywhere else I have been in SEA. I also went on an “exhibition” which is island hopping, camping, and snorkeling. It was a bunch of guys teaching English in Korea and me.

The trip was fun, but based on the description of the trip I was expecting something more remote, I don’t think it was worth the money I paid for it.

I ended up being sick for eight days in Coron. Overall, it’s not my favorite country and I love the people, Goodbye Philippines.

Paradise in The Philippines

Sagada is as different from the rest of the Philippines as Darjeeling is to the rest of India. It’s an oasis of beauty with a slower pace. After an 18-hour journey from Manila to Sagada, I arrived at my guest house and was invited for coffee and cake by some educators. They were in the region for a conference on a curriculum for indigenous children. They were going caving that afternoon and invited me to join them. I jumped at the chance and got changed.

An hour later, we were making our way to the cave opening. There were nine of us and three guides. Most of the folks on the tour were middle-aged, and the caving trip was much more dangerous than anything in the US. I can not imagine finding such an adventurous group of middle-aged people in the US. The cave was amazing. There was some light technical climbing and some water crossings, as well as some climbing with knotted ropes. The guides were excellent and knew exactly what to do to help some of the less in-shape members of our group get up, over, or around obstacles safely. It’s the most fun I have had in a cave. The cost was about $5 US per person, including tip. A trip like this in the US would have required training, lots of safety gear, and a hefty fee.

The next day I went for a hike to the top of a mountain. There are no good maps available of Sagada. I think it is a way to encourage folks to hire a guide. With very rough directions, I started to make my way up the mountain. I missed a turning and ended up climbing up the rice terraces halfway to the summit; then I found the path. About 3/4 of the way up, it dawned on me that no one knew where I was or when I was coming back. If something happened to me up there, I was on my own. I made it to the summit, where three houses were at the top, but no one was around. I took the path on the way down and was glad I took the terraces on the way up. There were turnings off the path on the way up and no way to know which way to turn, so by getting a bit lost on the way up, I saved a bunch of time not taking false paths and had a much better experience.

Ken, Joalalito, Me, Wama and Jayson

I also took a walk to the little falls as the big falls were closed. There is a swimming hole at the little falls, and I had a nice swim with some locals. Four young people that worked at a local guest house invited me to join them at a nearby summit for some drinks and a sunset fire, so I did. They were from different parts of the Philippines and had come to Sagada for work. We had a great time hanging out, talking, taking pictures, and dancing to music from their cell phones.

On The Road in Manila

Prior to World War II, Manila was known as the “Pearl of the Orient,” now, it is just an overcrowded asian city with as much smog as Beijing and the smell of Calcutta. I did not find much about Manila to make me like it. It’s worth maybe a day or two at most, perhaps a few days longer if you use it as a base for day trips. I’ve ruled it out as a place I might want to live in. I did encounter the best scam I’ve ever come across there. Perhaps I’ll write about that later.

There were about 10 people at the guest house in Manila that would hang out from time to time for dinner and adventures. One of them had a friend of a friend in Manila, and she invited some of us to a friend’s house for drinks. For 5 hours, we drank Philippines style. One person had a glass, ice, and the beer and would serve it round-robin to the rest of us. Our hostess, who was pregnant, was not drinking. It was a great way to drink, and it was more social. I’ve seldom drank for so long without getting drunk.

My timing in Manila was almost always wrong. I’d either get lousy information about when something started or would just happen to be there when things were closed. Intramuros the old part of the city, was not as beautiful as I’d hoped. The cathedral was closed for repairs, and the monastery was closed for lunch. A bunch of us went over to China Town the day after Chinese New Year’s. We were given wrong info on which day was the big day, but we had a nice dinner.

On my last day in Manila, three of us went on a day trip to the Taal Volcano, which took about 3 hours of transport each way. There is a lake inside the volcano, which itself is in a lake which is in a huge volcano. It was fun climbing up to the top and enjoying the view. To get there, it’s a 2-hour bus ride, a half-hour on a tricycle, and a half-hour boat ride.

The food. There is nothing wrong with the food in the Philippines. There is also nothing to get excited about. I’ve not seen a single dish that makes my taste buds stand up and shout. The best thing about this country is its people. They are outgoing, happy, friendly, and courteous. I’ve never met and interacted with so many locals before.

Five Weeks and Counting...

My to-do list is growing shorter. I’m scouring budget tour guides and making contacts in SEA (Southeast Asia). If you know friendly people in SEA, please feel free to make an introduction! I’m counting down the days. I can’t wait to start exploring the Philippines!

I plan to go up north to see the Stairway to Heaven, and the Hanging Coffins, perhaps get a bit further off the beaten trail, then head south to do some diving. From what I understand, the Philippines has some of the best diving in the world. From wrecks to reefs to sea life. It’s also a cheap place to do some training, so I’ll be taking some classes.  

My packing list has close to 100 items on it. Yikes! Goal weight 20 lbs. Most of it has been ordered, but I still need a few things. I’m also trying to decide on what electronics to bring. I’m bringing my Galaxy Nexus for sure, but I’m thinking about bringing an Ipad Mini and a wireless hard drive to expand storage. The Kindle is out. I use Calibre to manage my ebooks, and my Kindle Touch does not work very well with Calibre. The Ipad and the Nexus work just fine with it. Sorry, Kindle. 

I’m bringing a diving mask, snorkel, a dive watch, and a dive housing for my Canon 780IS. Everything else for diving gets rented. 

A good friend cornered me over New Year’s about riding gear for my motorcycle trip through Vietnam and will send me a package with my riding gear, so I don’t have to rely on what I can find in Hanoi.  It’s nice to have thoughtful friends!  

Lift of on February 6th

Six weeks until I get on a plane for the Philippines! I’ve got a one-way ticket and a rough plan. I’ll be traveling throughout Southeast Asia (SEA) for 3 to 6 months then I plan to live in Thailand for a year. I need to tie up many loose ends before I leave, and I’m making progress.

Today I acquired my International Drivers Permit at the local AAA office. Thanks, AAA!  I sold my 2007 Mini yesterday to a lovely couple, and I’m generally making good progress. 

My tentative plan is to fly into the Philippines, see the country, take some advanced diving classes and do some scuba diving. Then fly to Vietnam, buy a motorcycle in Hanoi, ride to Saigon, and perhaps on through Cambodia.  I’ve been to Angkor Waat, but I’ll probably go back again and see the rest of Cambodia. Then on the Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Unless I find someplace, I like better than Bangkok. I’ll probably find a place to live there and find some work. Of course, these plans are subject to change without notice or reason.  

I’m stepping back from the “rat race,” as my dad would call everyday life in the US, to chill, swim, ponder, read and discover. Hopefully, I’ll not only be discovering new cultures and places. I hope to make self-discoveries as well. I’ve done quite a bit of traveling, but this is the biggest adventure I’ve embarked on. I can’t wait!