Philippino Excurtions: The Charm of Cebu and the Islands

 

When you are living abroad, having friends abroad in the same hemisphere, even in the same time zone makes you feel closer to home. My friend staying in the Philippines joked we were about to be “next door neighbors” before I left for Malaysia this year. Depending on your perspective, and proximity to home, she was right and half way through the year I finally got to visit her. After sharing my world with a friend, she got to share her world with me. What a beautiful, colorful, welcoming, warming, inviting, and friendly world to see.

    

I arrived with no plans and no idea what to expect. I usually try to be an informed traveller wherever I go but I knew I had a better-informed expert on the ground so I could just wait until I got there for a majority of the research. Being my type-A self I did do a bit of research but it was nice to go without having much homework to do for this trip. I had just come off of a long trip entertaining my friend from home in Cambodia and Malaysia for two weeks so this was very refreshing. I landed in the airport, realizing if I could not connect to WiFi that I could not contact my friend, luckily I snagged some from the airport and it all worked out. We embraced when she arrive and jumped in the taxi to begin our journey in Cebu.

 

First we went back to Rachel’s house where she has been living in the homestay for the year. The family was lovely and so hospitable to let me stay and feel welcomed there. Got to meet some special people in her life which was nice. We called it a night and were happy to just have girl time to catch up after not seeing each other for a year and not knowing much about our new foreign lives. We also last-minute decided to wake up for a 5am free dive the next morning to check out some cool fish and coral on the coast since I was certified. We only had one mask and a pair of goggles to share and got some pretty bad jellyfish stings. It all ended okay though since we followed the pain up with giant pancakes. And we did see some cool fish and coral to be fair before having to evacuate the water from stings including a school of sardines, swordfish, some other schools, and a beautiful sunrise.

After a recovery nap we took my first hubble-hubble type of bus/taxi transport to the mountains for an exploring adventure. We started with one intention in mind to ride some water slides on the mountains but since the water had been drained we took a new route to a new part of the mountain to see views and stop for some good food. We also saw a random Portuguese mansion on one of the mountains in the style of a Spanish Roman temple in homage to a man’s recently deceased wife. Rushed back to the house to change for evening yoga before salsa night with friends. Met some amazing people, had fun dancing salsa after a long hiatus, and had chips with guacamole which just made the whole night nearly perfect. Finishing the night with some of the most amazing sushi as a midnight snack before bed though really put the icing on the cake for me that night. So many good things I had been deprived of all year that I had missed so much. Besides, after that we planned a two-day trip to visit another island. A total YOLO move…

 

Woke up to catch a 9:30am ferry to reach Bohol by the early morning and arrive at our mountain view stay by the afternoon. We jumped on another hubble-hubble ride with our new friend Clifford for our quick touristy view of the island. We went from the Laboc floating river tour with amazing food and live music to seeing the famous local Tarsier (smallest primate in the world, aka my spirit animal), then to the Chocolate Hills (a geographical phenomenon that happened on top of a coral reef after much land erosion, creating miles and miles of almost 3,000 identical small hills, which turn brown during the dry season, hence the name), and finally riding off into the sunset to catch a private evening tour of firefly watching. You hop into a small boat and ride for almost two hours through the river surrounded by forest to catch glimpses of hundreds of fireflies dancing together in shapes, motions, and let your mind wander into the darkness listening to the peaceful sound of them in rhythm buzzing together all around you. One of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

  

The next morning we spent half a day on another tour dolphin watching (following behind in a boat watching around 100 dolphins in their natural habitat feeding on their breakfast and jumping through the water), then went to a private island for lunch and a quick swim where we also did a short free snorkel to check out the preserved coral garden with stunning shapes and colors right off of the coast. They even had a vegetarian option for lunch which was a great surprise. We bought some trinkets to support the locals on the island since they live off of eco-tourism and people visiting their isolated, small island then got back to change for dinner before an evening party at a friend’s house.

  

During my last morning we stopped at two breakfast places for more of the Cebu wealth and variety of food. The second place was by far the most impressive out of all the places I ate, primarily because it exceeded my chocolate desires far more than I could have ever imagined possible before… TCC in Cebu, a privately owned chocolate shop serving all foods and drinks based in Philippines cocoa infused in various ways to make pizzas, sandwiches, cookies, coffees, and other tasty, sometimes sweet delights. We feasted on a whole meal of chocolate items and listened to my friend tell the incredible story of the owner who grew up helping cultivate cocoa which became an important source of inspiration and revenue for her family growing up. The owner then tried the sweetened version in chocolate and fell in love with the taste, inspiring her to move her and her family out of that small mountain village to one day open her own shop starting from the ground up. And she did. My friend went with her and her family to visit her home village after many years, the children not even remembering that place and seeing it in a way for them to process where they came from for the first time. It was an incredible life story to hear and the chocolate matched the passion the woman and her hard-working family seemed to pour into their work.

 

It was a bittersweet, mainly bitter goodbye not knowing when I would next see my friend. It was such a re-freshing time to be with someone from home and share another experience in Southeast Asia from a new context with her. I also almost tried to leave the country without my passport and had to have her rush it back to the airport, so, I fit in one more hug. This trip changed a lot of my perspective about this year and what could lie ahead for me. My experience in Malaysia has been unique, life-changing, and a wonderful growing experience for sure. There are however, many things from home and my usual life back in America that I have missed. Some of which, I got a taste of this past week in the Philippines.

The Philippines today, back to Malaysia tomorrow. Salamat (greeting and goodbye in the Philippines) and Selemat Malam (goodnight in Malay).

Sharing My World in Malaysia: “These are a few of my favorite things!”

After being in Malaysia for about five months, some of the luster is lost. That is, until someone visits you for you to share the experience with and be reminded of the large and small reasons why this world is so special. You not only share your favorite places and times but also exchange the cultural experience with someone foreign to being here to remember the little things.

We started in KL which sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be close enough to such a diverse metropolitan developing city. It has an array of glamorous shopping malls, tall buildings, cultural village areas (Little India, Chinatown, etc) with great food options, beautiful, rich, short days in trips close enough to travel to by taxi or bus, and accessible to fly to many surrounding countries and international abroad elsewhere. We ate in Chinatown and attempted to see the famous light show at the Petronas Towers downtown but missed the window of taking the metro and our 6am flight was approaching sooner than we expected. So we crashed and left for Cambodia the next morning. A separate blog post discusses that trip.

Once we returned from Cambodia, we explored my town and village area. I took her through the Kota Bharu capital city of my state, ate at a local favorite, then came back to my asrama (hostel) to recover and crash for the night before our trip the next day. It had already been a long trip and adventure but we were going to my favorite local islands the next morning. My friend Tina was a trooper to fight through jet lag and everything else to continue enjoying our trip together.

We got up a bit late to catch the afternoon ferry which leaves from the Besut, Terengganu jeti in the neighboring state south of Kelantan where I live. Once we arrived we had to take another small boat to the bigger island. This was my first time doing this since the other times I had visited Pulau Perhenthian islands before I stayed on the smaller island (kecil). We got to Pulau Besar (Big Island) to check into our hotel and still sneak in our free breakfast. My friend got to appreciate the crystal clear, bright hues of blue in the water along with the white sandy beaches. She agreed it was some of the most beautiful waters and beaches she had seen. Hence why it became my getaway and nearly a second home for me this year.

Once we settled, unpacked, and were ready for our next leg of the adventure, we came up with a game plan for the day. The plan was for us to meet up with some of my students who were camping on the other side of the island and potentially barbeque with them. However, the only way back was by a water taxi which could be slightly Mahal-lah (expensive) at night, jungle trek back in the dark (which was unsafe and not really a possibility), or crash with them in a tent and not stay the night in the hostel we paid for already. I pitched the idea to my friend with our options. I was leaning towards staying in the tent with them that night but would be game for whatever she wanted to do. She agreed spending more time with my students and staying the night on their side of the island was best- this is why we are best friends and she is awesome!!

We trek over for about an hour to the other side, walk along the beach, and stumble upon some of my students returning from a snorkeling trip which they were excited to brag about. They were so happy to see me since it had been a long time since I last saw them and they were even more excited to meet my BFF from America. Of course, she soaked up all their excitement and love. We basked in the laughter, jokes, barbeque, pictures, and otherwise that night and the next day. Even months later, several students bring up how special it was to meet her, how they miss her, and what a “sweet” memory that was. Those of them that were on that camping trip.

Once we said goodbyes, took for photos with students and teachers, we trekked back to our side of the island for another breakfast and to venture to the smaller island (my favorite place). In some ways, sharing these things was difficult since it was so special and dear to me. However, there could not be much more of a better person (besides maybe my family) to share this world with than my best friend of over a decade! She was a great sport to learn a lot from me about Kelantan, Malaysia, and my surroundings otherwise. She was up for the adventures I took us on, and she reminded me of just how special living this year in Malaysia has been. When times were low or feeling slow, when I was missing home, this trip helped me re-gain momentum and refresh my motivation for continuing to work hard and soak up all of moments and every day of this experience.

The day on the small island was so fun. We got to be our goofy selves and enjoy the beautiful happenings of the island. We took kayaks out our last morning to enjoy our last view of the island, including probably my last for the year. We took the jetty back, grabbed my car, relaxed for the night, and planned our next day. Once again, my friend being awesome, despite her tiredness and jet lag still lingering, we went hiking at my favorite spot 2 hours away the next morning, spending most of the day there. We packed a picnic to enjoy at the top of the waterfall (not that we hiked all the way up but this place claims to be the highest waterfall in SE Asia). We climbed my normal trek to the second tier, ate our lunch, and trekked back down to then make our way back. We did not stop there. I promised to give her the full experience as much as possible. So of course, I had to put her in traditional dress… We put on some of my Baju Kurung and went out to a local restaurant to enjoy some local cuisine.

Our flights to KL the next day were luckily in the afternoon so we could finish laundry, we spent our last day cleaning my house (thank you Tina that was a great present for me and help!) Then we ate one more meal at a local kedai (small restaurant shop) for some real local Kelantanese favorites of mine. Char Kuey Teow (fried thai-style noodles with some of meat, few vegetables in a savory brown sauce) with some fruit juice kosong (without milk or sugar which is the norm to put in fruit juices, at least in my state of Kelantan, Malaysia). We managed to fit a lot in and it was so fun to share many of my favorite things about my world here in Malaysia. It was nice to see a best friend and familiar face from home. I was refreshed to go into the second half of the year, reminded of my blessings, and ready for more “sweet memories” here in Malaysia before returning home.

Sharing today, making new memories tomorrow. Malaysia 2015. On my Malay way…       

Putrajaya the Government District: The “In-circle” Malaysian Hospitality

So I have met some incredible and hospitible people here in Malaysia this year which has helped a lot during the various cultural adjustment periods.Someone explained during our orientation that the culture shock of this year would most likely come in waves. First you’ll be on a high of excitement, then that will wear off and you will question why you are here, then you will hit a low of homesickness and various other negative emotional states, then you’ll head back up the roller coaster hill after the intense stomach drop of the emotional low (which various for people for various reasons), then things will stabilize and start to look encouraging, possibly even exciting again. I hit the all-time-low point, as I believe right before finishing up things before my june holiday two-week break which was somewhat timely but difficult to navigate. Needless-to-say, I got a vacation right when I needed it but still got to see my co-teachers, other teachers, and some students half way through the break.

Another unique experience I had over the holiday was being treated to a day of touring around Putrajaya, the government disctrict outside of KL in Malaysia. I had a day layover between destinations with nothing to do and an English teacher who I am growing closer to suggested she come by to pick me up, we stay at her father’s house, and she takes me around to see the sights of Putrajaya. Such a kind offer, which shows I am in the cultural “in-circle” with her, being someone she considers to be of importance, having a relationship with, and therefore giving me the true, overwhelmingly kind Malaysian hospitality.

They drove up from Melaka over night to show me around the government capital for the day where their father had a house. He works for the Ministry of Education for the PPD. He was kind to lend his house and children to me for the day 🙂 First they picked me up around 8am to get breakfast and take me to the house for a quick nap and to freshen up. Then we toured around the main touristy sights for the day. We went to the government mosque, saw the building where the Prime Minister works, a view of the city from the water, and the metal mosque which looked like a space ship to me! Super cool sites and relatively close since Putrajaya the city is not too too big.

Then we broke for lunch at the mall, NY Steakhouse. We joked that since they were hosting me in Putrajaya, Malaysia, we should then go to NYC, USA for me to host them. Nice lunch with the Manhattan skyline painted on the wall. I forgot I was in Malaysia for a bit. Then we did a little jalan jalan (walking around), went bowling, and saw San Andreas the new movie about Earthquakes in California. It had been a long time since I had seen a movie so it was thoroughly enjoyable.

After a long afternoon, which was lovely but tiring! We ended the night at a seafood buffet! Oh my Malaysia it was delicious! Tom yam, fried vegetables, several types of chicken, and delicious fruit juice! It was a great full day to break up my June break. New BFFS, my teacher’s two youngest siblings, we kind of bonded…. 🙂

Putrajaya today, tomorrow Philippines!