Our long journey from Coron to Malapascua got worse after the two flights and 10 hour wait in the cramped ill equipped Manila domestic terminal. After an overnight stay in Cebu we boarded a bus bound for the closest port to Malapacua island to be told that we were lucky, we had a “very good driver, very fast”. Not two things that necessarily go together in my mind. The guy had a heavy right foot, full throttle or full braking was all he knew. Add to that the constant swerving in and out of traffic to overtake regardless of oncoming…
I’m standing on the back of a Bangka (Filipino style outrigger boat), San Miguel in hand, watching the sun reflect off the beautiful clear blue water. We are passing by the limestone cliffs of Coron Island to my right with the bizarre rolling Windows wallpaper type hills of Busuanga Island to my left. I wonder how two such topographically different islands lie side by side. After visiting as many “tropical paradise” islands as we have over the last three months they do start to lose their impact but standing back enjoying every sip of my San Miguel, the beauty of…
After enduring a five hour bus journey from Manila to Batangas in the Independance Day “Bank holiday weekend” traffic (the driving standards here are second only to India’s, and that is not a good thing) we found ourselves on a “Banca” outrigger boat crossing over to the Island of Mindoro. Spotting dolphins on the crossing well and truly made up for the hellish bus journey. My first impressions of Sabang beach in Puerto Galera were not good. Concrete right up to the shore, loads of seaweed, expensive accommodation crammed into every available space, go go bars and a much older…
I explained previously how Sharks are the coolest animals on the planet, but I have to say, cuttlefish come close. I was fortunate enough to spend ten minutes or so studying one while snorkeling off the beach in front of our chalet, but even more amazing were the two large ones I saw while diving. The way they just “hover” about with their funky fins that ripple all around their body and the mass of tentacles doing their thing at the front is, in my eyes at least, impressive. Even more so is their ability to change colour to suit…
Tough one for May. The choice was between an abstract picture of some leaves in the rain forest or yet another sunrise. The sunrise wins as it looks better on the blog, but download the leaves for your Windoze backdrop so that you can admire its beauty instead of doing any work. Sunrise from Perhentian Kecil.
No, nothing to do with atoms but the cars. Malaysian in case you didn’t know (although if you didn’t you probably didn’t care either). Having crossed the border many differences from Thailand and the previous countries we’ve been to were obvious. Apart from the afore mentioned increase in visible wealth the level of English here is much better (colonialism to blame again I fear) and I’ve spotted many Malaysians reading books (something not at all obvious in the countries further north). Something that wasn’t immediately obvious though (probably as we were on a road less island), was the lack of…
This is the first post in a new category that is destined to be irregular. Originally I had planned this to be “Photo of the Week” but that was seven weeks ago and I’ve not posted a single picture, so allow me to present the “Photo of the Month” category. I aim to show off my photos and make you jealous at the same time. Much like with my Inbox, I have a bit of a back log, April’s Photo of the Month is “Clouds over Koh Tao”. We stayed in a resort quiet resort on the south of Koh…
Perhentian Islands, Malaysia; Tropical paradise or over priced tourist trap? The later was my first impression, yet that is not fair. Coming from Thailand we were not ready for the higher prices here (food, accommodation and internet) yet upon crossing the border Malaysia is evidently more affluent than their northern neighbours. The food is pricey but good (I soon found myself addicted to the Roti Canai – Indian style bread with curry sauce). The cheapest resort we could find was a steep walk away from the beach; mosquito infested with very basic huts and horrible shared bathrooms. Although there was…