2016.01.31: Cebu City

So Easter weekend has just passed and it’s been nearly two months now since we left for Asia. It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies, especially while you’re travelling.

Então, na semana de Páscoa acaba de passar e tem sido quase dois meses desde que saímos para a Ásia. É difícil de acreditar como rapidamente o tempo voa, especialmente enquanto estiver viajando.

We arrived back in Cebu in the afternoon and with some determination decided to set off to explore the city before finding the hotel we had booked. The first landmark was the Magellan’s Cross and Santo Nino de Cebu Basilica, and we soon found out that this weekend happened to host a religious celebration (but… we missed it haha).

Chegamos de volta em Cebu no período da tarde e com alguma determinação decidimos sair para explorar a cidade antes de encontrar o hotel que tínhamos reservado. O primeiro marco foi Basílica Cruz e Santo Nino de Cebu do Magellan, e logo descobrimos que este fim de semana aconteceu para hospedar uma celebração religiosa (mas… perdemos kkk)

This was reinforced when we went to explore the Fort San Pedro and found the gardens surrounding the fortress covered in lights and celebratory structures. By this time we were both tired; I was grumpy, and the thought of walking for an hour to our hotel was a miserable one. So instead, we opted for a taxi.

Isto foi reforçado quando fomos para explorar o Fort San Pedro e encontrou os jardins que rodeiam a fortaleza coberto na de luzes e estruturas comemorativos. Por esta altura estávamos cansados; eu estava mal-humorado, e o pensamento de andar por uma hora para o nosso hotel era um miserável. Então, ao invés, optou por um táxi.

We were dropped off somewhere close to our hotel, but had to ask directions and found ourselves walking down a couple of dark alleys until we found Bugoy Bikers. I really liked it here; the owners were generous and kind, they invited us to join them for dinner and we sat with other guests and friends of the owners, exchanging stories, translations between various languages, and learning some tips for the next day: Olango Island.

Fomos deixados em algum lugar perto do nosso hotel, mas tivemos que pedir direções e nos encontramos andando por um par de becos escuros até que encontramos Bugoy Bikers. Eu realmente gostei-lo aqui; os proprietários foram generoso e amável: eles nos convidou para se juntar a eles para jantar e sentou-se com outros hóspedes e amigos dos proprietários, trocando histórias, traduções entre várias línguas, e aprender algumas dicas para o dia seguinte: Olango Island.

2016.01.29-31: Oslob - around town

When I first researched Oslob, I couldn’t understand the layout of the place. It’s a little odd, but basically there is the municipality of Oslob, and then theres the town of Oslob, which is north of the whale sharks at Tan-awan. The town of Oslob is situated between the smaller town/region of Hagdan and Nueva Caceres. Theres another Oslob on the maps, but I’m not sure what it is exactly. Anyways, lining both the coastal and jungle sides of the road between these towns are shanties, resorts, and hotels, and about half way between Oslob and Nueva Caceres, in one of these hotels, is where we stayed.

Quando eu pesquisei primeiro Oslob, eu não conseguia entender o layout do lugar. É um pouco estranho, mas basicamente há o município de Oslob, e então há a cidade de Oslob, que fica ao norte dos tubarões-baleia em Tan-awan. A cidade de Oslob está situado entre a cidade / região menor de Hagdan e Nueva Caceres. Há outra Oslob nos mapas, mas não tenho certeza do que é exatamente. De qualquer forma, tanto no lado costeira da estrada e do lado da selva da estrada, entre estas cidades, são barracos, resorts e hotéis, e cerca de metade do caminho entre Oslob e Nueva Caceres, em um desses hotéis, é onde ficamos.

Our first night there we were given a lift on a habal habal from the hotel into Oslob for dinner, where we got to see the Oslob Public Markets lining the streets, though unfortunately I didn’t take any photos. The following afternoon we decided to explore the other direction and made it to the edge of Nueva Caceres before turning back and exploring our way to Oslob on foot.

A primeira noite há que nos foi dado um elevador em um habal habal do hotel em Oslob para o jantar, onde temos para ver os mercados públicos do Oslob longo das ruas, embora, infelizmente, eu não tomar quaisquer fotos. Na tarde seguinte, decidimos explorar a outra direção e chegou à beira de Nueva Caceres antes de voltar e explorar a nossa maneira de Oslob a pé.

On our last day here we woke up early and walked to the shore to have a breakfast of sweet breads. It was a really nice morning; we watched some of the fishermen row past, and just enjoyed the quiet of the wind and the waves. I could definitely settle down somewhere like this...

Em nosso último dia aqui nós acordamos cedo e caminhou até a costa para ter um café da manhã com pães doces. Era uma manhã muito bom; nós assistimos alguns pescadores remar por e apenas desfrutar da calma do vento e das ondas. Eu definitivamente poderia estabelecer em algum lugar como este...

But alas, we had to check out and catch our bus back to Cebu!

Mas, infelizmente, tivemos de check-out e obter o seu ônibus de volta para Cebu!

Don't forget to click the images for a closer look! =)
Não se esqueça de clicar nas imagens para um olhar mais atento! =)

2016.01.30: Oslob - Tumalog Falls

This posts, and ones in the future, I will endeavour to write not only in English, but also fail in Portuguese. I’m hoping this will slowly build up my linguistic abilities, but probably just slow down my posting abilities (which are of course, currently not very existent anyways ^^). For those who are colour blind, you’ll have to figure it out the hard way by reading, but the major difference is that English will be in this current green, and Portuguese in blue:

Este mensagens, e os do futuro, eu vou me esforçar para escrever não apenas em Inglês, mas também falham em Português. Eu estou esperando que isso vai lentamente acumular minhas habilidades linguísticas, mas provavelmente apenas abrandar minhas habilidades de lançamento (que são, naturalmente, no momento não muito existente de qualquer maneira ^^). Para aqueles que são daltônicos, você vai ter que descobrir isso da maneira mais difícil pela leitura, mas a principal diferença é que o Inglês será neste verde atual, e Português em azul:

Now comes the question: what to do after you see the whale sharks? Well, unless you’ve got your own transport or plans to head back to Cebu, the main option is to head on up to Tumalog Falls. Because we booked the whale sharks through our hotel, we also included the habal habal ride to the top of the falls, but if you feel energetic (and I mean REALLYYYYY energetic), then you can always try the walk there. Keep in mind, there will be bikes and cars driving up and down this small road all day, and it is a long long walk!

Agora vem a pergunta: o que fazer depois de ver os tubarões-baleia? Bem, a menos que você tenha seu próprio transporte ou planeja voltar para Cebu, a principal opção é ir em até Tumalog Falls. Porque reservado os tubarões-baleia através do nosso hotel, que também incluiu o passeio habal habal ao topo das quedas, mas se você se sentir enérgico (e eu quero dizer realmentttte energético), então você pode sempre tentar a caminhada lá. Tenha em mente, haverá bicicletas e carros de condução acima e abaixo desta pequena estrada durante todo o dia, e é um longo andar!

And then when you get to the top of the hill, there is still another walk down to the bottom. (They offer a second habal habal here, but there’s really no point as it’s not too far). You’ll eventually find yourself in the cool blue water of the falls, and I think I will let the pictures speak the rest for themselves. (See Vanessinha, above left, for size reference.)

E então quando você chegar ao topo da colina, há ainda uma outra caminhada até o fundo. (Eles oferecem uma segunda habal habal aqui, mas não há realmente nenhum ponto em que não é muito longe). Você eventualmente encontrar-se na água azul fresco das quedas, e eu acho que eu vou deixar as imagens falam o resto por si. (Veja Vanessinha, acima, à esquerda, para referência de tamanho.)

Next time: a little tour around the Oslob area.

Da próxima vez: um pequeno passeio ao redor da área Oslo.

Don't forget to click the images for a closer look! =)
Não se esqueça de clicar nas imagens para um olhar mais atento! =)

2016.01.30: Oslob - Whale Sharks

I was a bit negative on the last post, regarding Moalboal, but I’m soon to learn that those things that bugged me there, were fairly common place around the tourist locations in the Philippines. In Oslob, we bought our tour with the hotel we were staying at, which allowed us to avoid all of the haggling and hassling from the hagglers and hasslers. That’s not to say it didn’t happen, just, that it happened far less and we were more prepared for those that we did get.

Anyways, I promised you Whale Sharks:

More Whale Sharks:

And more Whale Sharks:

And even more Whale Sharks…

Okay, so while there are some ethical issues surrounding Oslob and it’s whale shark attraction, I have to admit that it was one of the highlights of the trip. I also felt like there was a lot of people trying to make an impact here to reduce to damage done to the whale sharks, and also to warn people about their affects on the sharks. But I do agree with the environmentalists that there are huge problems for the populations on both a short and long term scale… Though I think I will try and tackle this in a future post, specifically dedicated to them though.

For now, I want to share just how incredible it was to come face to face with these beautiful, huge, and docile creatures. The moment we jumped in the water, there was one right in front of us and the 30-40 minutes we got to spend swimming with them, photographing and filming them, was really exhilarating and inspiring.

A note to all people who wish to go here, go early. When we were leaving, buses from Cebu was arriving with tons of people. Another note, please respect these creatures. If you go on this tour, keep in mind that you are supporting the industry that takes advantage of them, but they do have restrictions and you should follow these rules to make sure less harm is done to the sharks.

Next time: Tumalog Falls - What to do after the whale sharks.

2016.01.29: Moalboal - White Beach

Hello everybody!

Today I will be discussing a few of the lessons we learnt on Cebu Island. “What?” you say, “I said something about our journey to Moalboal”?! Yes, yes I did, and this is my opinion: “eh”. We chose Moalboal because of it’s advertised “White Beach”, but while I do admit it was beautiful, I don’t think it was worth the stop in our limited time trip.

We caught a taxi from the airport to the South Bus Terminal, and from there found the right bus to Moalboal. One thing to keep in mind, arrive early to make sure you don’t miss the bus. Another thing to keep in mind, if it’s not busy, the bus only seems to leave when it gets full, so you may be waiting awhile. During this wait, I decided to explore the station and see what kind of food I could buy and made the bad decision of purchasing this huge back of cookies for 70PHP (~3AUD). Good bargain I thought! Nope; stale, weird tasting cookies that we could barely finish half the bag of by the end of our week in the Philippines. So some advice: around the Philippines they have these bakeries called things like “Julie’s Bakery”, if you want a cheap snack go here and buy some loaves - they’re usually fresh, they’re sweet bread, and generally only cost 5P each.

Moving on… ~3hours later we arrive in Moalboal, the bus kicking up dust as it takes off and several habal habal and trike drivers approaching us to offer us a ride. We’ll walk thanks, and so we head on down to the water we see in the distance; a jetty set in this bay area around by trees and not a single grain of sand. Still very beautiful though and we decide to sit here for a little bit and adjust our clothes to the climate like the locals seem to do.

Eventually we decide to ask somebody about White Beach and were told its about a 10minute ride out of town! We catch a trike there for 200P return, though the driver stops a long the way at “toll” booth, which are nothing more than shacks set up with a person to collect a 10-20P payment to let tourists in. 5minutes later and we stop at another one?? Seriously? Fine. Okay, we’ve come this far and “it’s only a dollar”. And then we are there, beautiful blue water, white sands, as promised. Not mentioned was the guys who come past every 5 minutes to offer you expensively priced drinks and ice creams and only get the hint that when you tell them “no thanks” you mean “no, I won’t buy them, now, or in half an hour, or in 2 hours”, when you stop making eye contact with them and ignore them. 

On a more positive note: SEAHORSES! Vanessa smartly brought her goggles. As I’m not a swimming kind of person, that didn’t even cross my mind, but I did come prepared with my brand new underwater camera. This will be its first big test, and boy did it work well! In her explorations, Vanessa came across some white seahorses and we spent a lot of our time there trying to capture them and all the other little fishies around that area.

Back to Moalboal, and we sit at the bus stop waiting for our bus to our next destination: Oslob - where we once again face the struggle of waking up before the sun, and this time to swim with Whale Sharks!

2016.01.28-29: To the Philippines!

One of the gardens within the Changi T2 Airport

This is the first post for Vanessa and I’s trip to the South East Asian region. We begin our journey in Brisbane, travelling to the island of Cebu in the Philippines, exploring the city and airport of Singapore, making our way from the north of Thailand, starting at Chang Mai, and making our way south through the Historical Parks/cities of Sukhothai and Ayatthaya, to Bangkok for Chinese New Years, to Phuket where we make 2 day detours to the Similan Islands and Phang Nga Bay, spending a night on a Sleepaboard at Maya Bay, staying at Ko Phi Phi Island, and finishing the trip in Krabi at the Hogwarts Hostel. 

While I still haven’t posted up about our trip to New Zealand, you’ll find that we learnt from that trip and made sure to arrive super early this time. And by early, I mean 6am… Seriously, who wakes up at 4am? Apparently, a lot of people! Our flight was at 9am, so we had plenty of time to make it through the checkin, make it through the security, make it through the TRA, make it through a Subway breakfast, and make it to our gate. 

I can’t remember which movie I watched on this flight, but I’ll update y’all if I do (because I know how much you want to know). Got to Singapore without problems and had a 3 hour stopover where we got to explore the wonders of Changi Terminal 2; a place full of gardens, sculptures, activities for kids (or easily entertained adults…) to do, plenty of shops and eateries, and end upon end of “travel-ators”. Seriously, the airport is a destination in itself! 

But moving on, we then arrived in Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and after walking to the transfers part of the airport, discover that our domestic flight was at a completely different airport (first lesson of the trip learnt: check to make sure what terminal and airport the flights are actually at). So a short taxi ride later and we arrived at the domestic airport, and eventually landed in Mactan-Cebu International Airport. 

Next time on “The Adventures of Team Vanessa and Eli”: making our way from Mactan-Cebu International Airport to Moalboal, and my experience of exploring this little town.