Postcript

The flight to Singapore was uneventful, with the lack of on board entertainment of any kind compensated for by the better than average food in the meals we were served (both the chicken and beef options).

The "transfer" process made it very clear that we would have had no hope at all of making the connection in 55 minutes if we had been stuck on our delayed flight schedule. For the "transfer" we had to clear Singapore Immigration (inbound), collect our bag, walk through customs, catch the shuttle to Terminal #2 (from Terminal #1), find the check-in desk for Scoot, check-in, clear Singapore Immigration (outbound) and walk over half a kilometre to our departure gate. Not possible even if the Scoot check-in counter didn't close an hour prior to departure.

Of course given that we were now well ahead of schedule we had to wait two hours, until 9:30pm, for the check-in counter to open for our 1:45am flight - unless we wanted to pay Scoot an extra $5 fee to check-in early. With Singapore in the same time zone as Manila we didn't yet have that adjustment to cope with, though we had been on the go since 4:10am this morning so we were feeling a little "jet lagged" anyway. By now we were quite experienced at killing time (having already spent 6 hours terminal bound in Manila) and at least Singapore's Changi Airport provides many more options for exploring and passing time.

Needless to say we were amongst the first to check-in when the time came. We were relieved that we were allocated the specific seats for which we had paid extra (window + aisle seats together near the back), because when we had bought them a couple of months ago Scoot had insisted at the time that they could not issue any receipt or acknowledgement of the transaction.

After passing through Immigration we found a whole new world on the other side, with shops, lounges and quiet areas abounding. We found a quiet area to settle instead of proceeding directly to our departure gate - which as it turns out might have been a mistake. We later found that opposite our gate there was a darkened area with sun-lounge style beds that would have made for a comfy nap. We'll know better next time! Meanwhile, with time to kill and Skype credit to use I rang a good friend in the USA (who happens to be the World's Worst Correspondent) and had a nice chat.

Nothing of note to report thereafter. Boarding went smoothly enough and we were on time into Sydney, though for some reason sleep seemed more elusive than usual during the flight - perhaps we were just overtired already after such a long day. For some reason the electronic gate for Immigration wouldn't work for Laura - not that the extra time for her to queue and pass through "manually" mattered since we still had to wait for our bag. The big treat was Sam was waiting to pick us up - a nice change from being the other way around (as it has been four times in the past).

Thus ended our Philippines adventure - hard to believe it had only been 18 days since we left as we had seen and done so much it seemed much longer. Which is the measure of a good holiday in my books.

Papal Induced Rescheduling

We have had so many travels go so smoothly for so long that I guess something had to give eventually.

We attempted one last breakfast at our favourite eatery but had the misfortune of arriving to order behind a large group, so after almost half an hour with our driver waiting back a the hotel we had to leave unfed. We made good time on the drive back to Baguio (just under four hours) and Ferdinand managed to find the address of the PA Booking agent we had found on the internet to try and sort out our flight home. We dropped Laura there while I guided Ferdinand to our hotel so I could complete the check-in and drop off our bags before walking back to the travel agent.

I met Laura there to find that the travel agent's office on the 3rd floor no longer existed and no other travel agent she had found was interested in helping us, given that we already had a ticket. After having something to eat for a very late breakfast we opted to go back to our hotel and try ringing PA in Manila from there. But no - it is not possible to make long distance calls from the hotel. Instead they directed us to a Long Distance Phone Company office about 10 minutes walk away. But guess what - we can't make calls from there, they are just the Marketing Department! However, they said we could make a call from there if we bought a "budget card" from the 7-ll across the road, so across the road we went. You guessed it - they don't sell "budget cards" and don't know anywhere that does. Back to the Long Distance Telephone Company. After some pleading a helpful lady there drew us a map of how to get to a place where we could make a timed long distance call (upstairs from a supermarket - where else!).

It turned out that the place was only a couple of minutes walk from the hotel where we had stayed a few days ago, so we didn't have any trouble finding  it. At this point would anyone be surprised if I said that when we got there the shop was shut? It was about 2:30pm by now, well shy of the advertised 5:00pm closing time, but the fact that there was another man waiting for it to re-open at least gave a glimmer of hope. The same young man was also kind enough to send a text message to Ferdinand to cancel the arrangement we had made to meet at the hotel at 3:30pm for a last bit of sight seeing - clearly our hopes of having any travel change sorted any time soon had long faded.

Things improved slightly when the lady who ran the shop turned up within 10 minutes to re-open. She put us through to PA Booking and Laura started our first attempt to sort out the ramifications of PA having effectively cut our transit window in Singapore to 0:55 minutes, via their unilateral schedule change (which was a result of the Pope's scheduled arrival at 5:00pm). The first problem was their suggestion to get our travel agent to make any changes, but since this was an online agency based in Madrid it wasn't an attractive option to try and negotiate. After about 15 minutes of banter on this and similar issues, and being put on hold, we were cut off so Laura had to start the whole process again. Their next tack was that since Hung Airlines (sic)  was the "dominant carrier" they were the ones who had to make any changes to our PA flight. Where Hung Airlines came from we have no idea, but they eventually settled on telling us only Scoot Airways, who we were connecting with in Singapore, could make a change to our ticket. Trying to speak to a Manager didn't help so eventually, after being put on hold for the umpteenth time and with the phone bill having reached about AU$18, we cut our loses and just hung up.

Feeling both hungry and exhausted we retired to the big Mall at the top of the hill to eat and plan our next step. We also stocked up on food from the supermarket, in anticipation of a long wait at one or more airports and in the knowledge that Scoot - assuming we eventually do get to fly with them - do not include cabin service in the fare.

By the time we walked back to the hotel it was 5:30pm and we found Ferdinand still waiting there - apparently the text message cancelling our 3:30pm meeting had not reached him. Assuming we would still have to catch our re-scheduled 9:00pm flight tomorrow we arranged for an 11:00am pickup.

After retiring to our room to put our feet up I decided to put some credit on Skype and try ringing Scoot in Singapore to see if they could do anything to help or facilitate a priority transit. It was no surprise to learn that they could not change a Philippine Airlines booking and couldn't even allow us to transit as our booking was for two entirely separate flights, not a single multi-leg flight as we believed. So we would have to actually redo check-in and pick up our bag in Singapore. With Scoot's check-in counters closing one hour before scheduled departure it was starting to look like we'd get to "enjoy" a 24-hour layover in Singapore - for the price of a new ticket, since our existing one was non-refundable.

With admirable patience Laura decided to have one last crack at getting PA to allow us to change  tomorrow's flight. It was a marathon performance, worthy if an Oscar, but after about 45 minutes of cajoling the little miracle worker pulled it off - a free transfer of our booking from the inconveniently rescheduled flight to the earlier 3:20pm flight. Of course there was one final sting in the tail resulting from the Papal arrival tomorrow - for security reasons a number of the roads around the airport were to be closed off from 10:00am, so we were warned that it was imperative for us to get there well in advance of our flight. Thus forewarned we next rang Ferdinand and settled on a 4:30am departure for Manila. So having checked into the nicest hotel since we left Manila two weeks ago, which included a complimentary breakfast, we were destined to get half a night's sleep and no breakfast. Such is life!

Of course life would have been so much simpler if I thought to buy some Skype credit in the first place (Doh!) and save all that trudging around, but it would have made for a much less interesting day.

We booked a wake-up call for 4:10am before going to a nice cafe around the corner for what turned out to be a delicious meal. Thereafter the priority was to get to bed early but it still felt like only half a night's sleep when my alarm went off at 4:10am. We were packed up and just leaving out room at 4:25am when wake up call arrived - timing!

Of course Ferdinand was already waiting downstairs and we were quickly refuelled and on the road to Manila. Not much in the way of traffic of course, so we made really good time. Which is more than we could say for all the (presumably non-devout) traffic heading out of Manila for the four-day "Papal Visit Holiday" - we saw traffic crawling north for tens of kilometres along the expressway.

Meanwhile we had made it into Manila in just under three hours and from there through the early morning public holiday traffic to the airport in half an hour. Just to put that in perspective, on the drive up last Friday the drive through Manila to the expressway took more than an hour and a half. Thus we made it to the airport with just 7h:30m to spare before our flight.

It took less than an hour to confirm our flight, complete all formalities and pass though into the departure waiting area. We dip our lids to Sam & Keira who spend a 21 hour layover here last November; though possibly about 18 of those were spent queuing for the very limited toilet facilities. Laura has counted a total 6 ladies cubicles in the whole boarding gate area, and even the gents only has room for two "standing performances" plus 3 seats in both toilet rooms.

Before we reach the comfort of home we have another seven hours to look forward to in Singapore Airport but all reports are that its facilities are far superior - even including free two hour city tours.

The Terrace Trail

We were up a little earlier than usual to head out and procure some breakfast before our scheduled 8:00am departure to Sagada with Ferdinand. As it happened he was already waiting for us when we returned from breakfast so we were definitely underway by 8:00am. Just as well too, as his initial estimate of the drive to Sagada being three hours was a tad off - it actually took us almost four and a half. Even with the lesser Sunday morning traffic it still took about 40 minutes to get clear of Baguio, though we did have a fuel stop as well.

The major factors in the driving time were a) there was a lot of hill climbing involved and b) I don't think there was ever a straight piece of road more than about 100 meters long. It would be interesting to know how the actual road distance from Baguio to Sagada (allegedly 151 kms) compares to the "as the crow flies" distance. Of course the trip was fairly scenic, with lots of views of mountains and valleys and lots of terraces on the steep slopes. I didn't worry about getting Ferdinand to stop for photo opportunities because I expect to see a lot of similar, and better, scenes in the days ahead. And let's face it, there usually wan't much room to pull over anyway.

Once in Sagada - having negotiated the worst bits of "road" in the last couple of kilometres where they are obviously still working on completed the concreting of the road - we managed to find our desired hotel without any problem. We had found it on Trip Advisor last night but had been unable to actually book; fortunately getting a room was not a problem.

We arranged to meet Ferdinand at 2:30pm after we had all had a chance to check in to our respective accommodation and get some lunch. Over lunch - at Sagada Brew, one of the few establishments that was not observing the Sabbath - we decided that we'd just do a couple of local walks, so come 2:30pm we just discussed with Ferdinand our plans for the next couple of days and then gave him the rest of the day off.

Looking up Echo Valley

We then set off to do the walk to Echo Point, which also afforded nice views into Echo Valley. Though I have to say that I am not too sure about the actual amount of echo to be had at Echo Point. It was a steep walk down into the valley and then a little bit up the other side to the point where we could see a collection of hanging coffins. These were suspended from the face of a cliff, in what used to be the local custom. These particular ones I don't think would have been any more than 100 years old - and having passed through the local cemetery earlier in the walk we could attest that the traditional practice isn't used much any more.

Hanging coffins

We considered trying to navigate the myriad of unmarked trails along Echo Valley to the Latang Cave and onto the road from there but since it was already late in the day we opted to just retrace our steps to our starting point on the main road.

From there it was a short walk to the small Bokong Waterfalls. The path led off the other side of the main road and across some rice fields to the creek, from which point the falls were only a couple of minutes walk upstream. The falls themselves, though small, were indeed quite pretty. The guide book suggested that the swimming hole at the base of the falls was "refreshing" but we figured that at this time of day with the sun almost set, very light misty rain falling and temperatures in the mid teens, "refreshing" was probably rather understating the reality.

Bokong Waterfalls

Besides, we hadn't brought our swimmers.

Later on, after a very nice dinner at the same establishment that had enjoyed our lunchtime patronage, Laura sadly found out that the promised hot water for our shower was not nearly as hot as she had hoped. However, unlike at our previous lodgings in Baguio, at least it lasted more then five seconds. However, when I had my shower a couple of hours later, it was OK. Then we just had to contend with the many barking dogs and manic cackle coming from the bar down stairs before we could get to sleep.

The next morning we found that the sun must be pretty hard to wake around here - it took the constant crowing of about a dozen roosters at least an hour and a half to rouse the big yellow from its slumber. Not that we could see it behind the leaden skies. The roosters had also failed to rouse the hotel's kitchen staff it seemed - although it supposedly opened at 6:00am they still hadn't even turned the lights on by 7:05am when I arrived. It then took them only 15 minutes to bring my coffee and another 10 minutes after that to bring our breakfasts. Did I mention that we were still the only customers by this time? Thus, although we'd told Ferdinand to be here at 7:30am, it was nearly 7:50am before we were able to leave.

The first of the terraces before was crossed into Banaue Valley

Our plan today was to drive to Banaue (pronounced "Ba-nar-way"), which is regarded as the prime location for viewing the terraced rice fields common in this region. The weather forecast was not very promising but there was hope that the forecast of light rain would ease in the early afternoon. Although it was only about 65kms to Banaue (via Bontoc) the trip took over two hours - such are the windy, mountainous roads in these parts. There were also frequent instances of one lane being closed due to land slips or rock slides or just by road works to either repair the above or upgrade the surface. The forecast light rain duly arrived and at one stage reduced visibility to about 100 metres as we climbed over the ridge to Banaue.

A worker in the terraces

As we started to descend towards Banaue we reached the first of the five viewpoints where you can pull over to see the World Heritage listed terraced rice fields. The weather was reminiscent of our last "viewing day" in Bohol - rain and mist, Sigh! However although the mist obscured the mountain tops we could still see down into the valley and get our first appreciation of the scale of the terraces, We stopped at three of the view points on the way down, which all gave a different perspective on the terraces. Entering Banaue proper we spotted the Tourist Information Centre and stopped to get the low down on the village east of here that is supposed to be very pretty.

What we found is that the village of Bangaan is about 80 minutes away by tricycle - the road being too rough and muddy in places for the likes of our humble two-wheel drive car. We were also advised that the walk from the road into Bangaan was about 30 minutes down and about 60 minutes coming back up. Being at lower elevation than Banaue the chances of a mist-free viewing was also enhanced. So we shelled out the 700 Pesos for the tricycle hire, told Ferdinand to expect us back between 2:00 and 2:30pm, and set off.

Rice fields, en route to Bangaan

There were certainly right about the state of the road. Road works were in progress in a number of spots and in this wet weather those stretches were indeed muddy. And very rough. The estimated travel time was a bit generous though. Even with a few stops for photo opportunities we made it to the head of the path down to Bangaan village in just under an hour. The other positive was that the rain had stopped, though there was no sign of the skies actually clearing.

The village of Bangaan, set amongst the rice fields.

We stayed ahead of schedule on the walk down to the village. The first section was like a continuous (steep) staircase, until you reached the start of the terraced fields where there were just short steps as you moved along the path down towards the village. With a number of photo stops we were in the village in 25 minutes. Except for the nearly-complete change from thatched roofs to corrugated iron roofs Bangaan was still pretty much as it had been for hundreds of years - surrounded by terraced fields on all sides. We chatted with an elderly lady and watched a man pounding rice in a large pestle.

Pounding the rice

I had a go myself but only succeeded in spilling some of the rice - much to the delight of the hovering chooks!

The light rain had returned by the time we set off back uphill to the road. Surprisingly, even with a couple of rest stops to get out breath back we completed the return leg in only 20 minutes. The trip back to Banaue, in light but steady rain but without the photo stops, was also faster than the outward trip. With nearly an hour before we were due to meet Ferdinand we accepted the tourist guide's recommendation for a nearby eatery to have some lunch.

After meeting Ferdinand promptly at 2:00pm we set off on the drive back to Sagada. However, even though there was still light raining falling - contrary to the weather forecast which had suggested it would be clearing by now - we made a point of stopping at all five viewing points on the way up the mountain. Only at the last (and highest) one was the mist significantly masking the view into the valley.

The rice terraces of  Banaue

Overall we could still get a very good appreciation of what was not just a 4,000 your old achievement in farming techniques but an engineering wonder. It is just a pity that the poor weather preventing me from being able to get a good photo to really do it justice.

The drive back to Sagada took just over two hours. We had Ferdinand drop us at the post office / information bureau and arranged for him to pick us up at 9:00am tomorrow to drive to Bontoc. On the walk back to our hotel we stopped in at the Lemon Pie Shop recommended in the guide book, but our assessment was that the feature dish was rather bland and disappointing. Later at our hotel's restaurant we noted the pasta dishes were listed as being for two people but had no trouble finishing off one each.

Unfortunately the day ended with a nasty surprise - in the form of an email about our flight home. We were due to depart Manila for Singapore on Philippine Airlines @ 7:30pm on Thursday, where after a 2h:25m stop over we'd board a Scoot Airways flight to Sydney. However - apparently due to the schedule arrival of Pope Francis at Manila Airport @ 5:00pm - our PA flight has been moved back to 9:00pm, which means we now have only 55 minutes to make our connection in Singapore. Not quite the two hour minimum usually suggested. To complicate matters, being without a phone ourselves and being in the boon docks without access to a PA booking agent makes it hard to make alternate plans.

The Maligcong terraces

Meanwhile, after breakfast up the road at the Sagada Brew Cafe, we proceeded with our drive to Bontoc with Ferdinand at 9:00am as planned. No PA agents there either, and the local government Tourist Information Office wasn't open either so we had to track down a council worker to get information about travel to the rice terraces of  Maligcong. We were assured that it was concrete all the way and only 25-30 minutes drive. The drive to the hot springs at Mainit, however, was much more difficult and not recommended unless you had a 4WD. So we decided we'd just visit Maligcong and set off in that direction. Ferdinand stopped a couple of times to ask people for directions and was given estimates of up to 60 minutes for the drive. In the end it actually only took about 20 minutes. Also, the road was concrete all the way as promised but much of it was also very narrow. Fortunately we didn't meet much in the way of oncoming traffic before we reached the end of the road, literally, in Maligcong.

The young workers

The rice terraces at Maligcong were certainly very extensive, and with no mist and rain were easier to admire. The harvest was recently completed though so they were not at their greenest. We were able to walk out away into the terraces to get a better view. We also saw a number of young children hauling large bags of bottles (glass and plastic). When we walked back to the car a local lady had a chat to us and we found out that the children were hauling recyclables in from local houses to this point so they could be sold to scrap dealers.

With the day's primary sightseeing done, and anxious to see if we could make any progress on realigning our travel home, we opted to return straight to Sagada. We arranged with Ferdinand to start back to Baguio at 9:30am tomorrow before going to the tourist office to see if they could help us contact Philippine Airways. We were taken across the road to the council offices where a very helpful chap named Mark (possibly the mayor??) did his best to help. No-one in these parts seems to have landlines and apparently calling one (for either PA or a booking agent I'd found in Baguio) from a mobile phone is very expensive. In the end it was agreed that our best course was to get to a PA booking agent in Baguio as soon as possible tomorrow and gets things sorted out in person. With that in mind we had Mark ring Ferdinand to advise a new start time of 8:30am tomorrow, but since he was very close by Mark asked him to come on over. He then explained in detail where to find the PA Booking agent's office in Baguio so that he could take us straight there tomorrow.

With that sorted we tried a new place for lunch - The Yoghurt House. The food, which in our case wasn't Yoghurt, was nice but it did take half an hour to be delivered so we opted against trying for dessert. Thus fortified we set off to do the 40 minute walk to the Mount Kiltepan lookout on the eastern side of town. It took us slightly more than that to reach the top but it certainly did give a nice view across the valley to a hillside full of terraced fields.

The Sagada terraces from Mount Kiltepan

The walk back was slowed slightly by my right knee starting to play up again, so we decided to skip plans to find the Latang Cave. We did stop in at the Sagada Brew Cafe though, for some afternoon tea. We rested up before dinner, checking out alternate schedules for PA & Scoot to work out our options. Dinner was back to the Sagada Brew - for the third time today and yes, we do like their menu.

Tomorrow it is back to Baguio on the first leg of our trip home.

Bohol to Baguio

Our departure from Tagbilaran went smoothly - we were even given a free shuttle transfer to the airport by our hotel, which we hadn't been expecting. in addition, the airport terminal had free wi-fi so I could keep in touch with the cricket before boarding our flight.

With the last minute organisation of our car+driver hire to tour the Cordillera we were a little unsure of  how smoothly our pick-up would go. Once we'd arrived in Manila the first stumbling block (since we were travelling sans-phone) was that there were no public phones for us to ring our driver, Ferdinand. We had to improvise by lining up at the AirAsia office and asking one of their employees to ring on our behalf. This enabled us to finally rendezvous with Ferdinand and we set of on the drive to his office.

The car hire office revealed a rather more informal operation that I had expected - one woman working from the front room of a house in a what appeared to be a well-to-do gated estate. Unfortunately she did not take credit cards so the driver took us back outside the estate so I could use an ATM to pay for the hire or car + driver.

Once that was settled it was time to hit the road. Given that we were now some way south of the airport, which is on the southern side of Manila, and we needed to head north, we had a lot of Manila traffic to negotiate before we reached the relative ease of the Luzon Expressway. The traffic was probably not helped by the fact that today was the annual Procession of the Black Nazarene, which meant that a lot of streets in the centre of the city were closed and we had to take a detour through QuezonCity. Seeing the Manila traffic first hand, and the way that Ferdinand was able to change lanes and weave with inches to spare made me realise that self-driving would not only have been seriously stressful, but also much slower.

It took us about an hour and a half to reach the expressway, and shortly afterwards we stopped at a service centre for a late lunch. From there it was non-stop to the end of the expressway (not counting the various toll booths) and then via the MacArthur Highway to Baguio - which took about three and a half hours. Ferdinand managed to find the first hotel we had in mind but we didn't like the price so we ended up settling for an alternative. We arranged to meet Ferdinand at 9:30am tomorrow to explore Baguio for the day. After that we managed to find a place to eat and a supermarket for supplies before turning in. Pity about the short lukewarm shower though.

View of one of the terraces of the BenCab Museum,

This is our first hotel that doesn't supply breakfast (free or otherwise) so we had to find some of our own before meeting Ferdinand at the appointed hour. Our first stop was the BenCab Museum on the outskirts of town, devoted to the artistic works of Benedicto Cabrera. The architecture of the building itself was as fascinating as the works of art it houses and the beautiful landscaped gardens out the back. The views out over the narrow valley and to the mountains in the distance were also lovely. We even scored some nice morning tea in the cafe. I'd thoroughly recommend a visit if you are ever in town.

The "Rainbow" building

Next stop was the Lourdes Grotto, which sits at the top of 252 steps. Not that we were looking to light any devotional candles, but from the top there are also good views of the city's rooftops. They reminded us somewhat of the slopes of La Paz city. We noted one building where each floor was painted a different bright colour.

Holy wires Batman!

We have also noticed the proliferation of wires on the street poles in these parts (in Manila too), and wonder why it is so. Is it the result of ad hoc additions of extra capacity over time?

From there we went on the longer than expected drive up Mt Santo Tomas - a number of times we thought we were almost there when around the next corner there was another rise. Eventually we reached the area where a number of viewing platforms were within easy walking distance. We were not the only ones - about a hundred other vehicles lined the road, each carrying loads of  passengers. The views from the two lookouts we visited were pretty good, so we didn't bother tackling the two hour walk to the actual top of the mountain. We could see the city far below ringed by mountains and the terraced fields all around us.

Baguio and terraces from Mt Santos Thomas

After being driven back down into the city we had Ferdinand drop us at the Baguio Museum, arranging to meet at 8:00am tomorrow for the drive up to Sagada. We checked out the museum, which included the history of the city from its establishment as a summer hill station in 1904, through WWII when it was pretty much demolished, up to recent times.

Once we were finished at the museum we embarked on some exploration of the centre of town on foot. Along the way we saw a number of jeepneys that looked much more like the postcard stereotype than any we saw in Manila. The other thing I noticed about the transport here is that there are no tricycles, unlike everywhere else we've been in the Philippines where there seems to be thousands. I can only guess that the many steep roads here are too much for them.

A Baguio jeepney

There was a massive shopping mall on the hill nearby which also had large terraces that provided a view. The contents of the mall were pretty standard, but the large supermarket came in handy for supplies. We also went for a walk down to the boating lagoon in the very centre of town, which was doing a pretty good trade judging by the number of boats out on the water being rowed with varying degrees of competence. Along the way we noticed the walk signs here - they feature an animation of a man walking when "green", but as the lights are about to change the animated figure starts to run. Cute!

The busy boating lagoon

That pretty much wrapped up our exploration of Baguio, apart from later finding a slightly better place to have dinner than last night. We also managed to book a nicer place to stay when we are back in town on Wednesday night, since that will be our last night's sleep in the Philippines before our overnight flight home.

Green Chocolate Hills and Tiny Tarsiers

The boat trip to Tagbilaran, the capital of Bohol, was smooth and uneventful - apart from the aforementioned noisy rooster. Our hotel was a short tricycle ride away from the wharf and check-in was not a problem even though we were a day late. At least it meant that our room was ready and waiting even though it was only about 10:30am.

We had a crack at modifying our online booking for this motel before checking with reception about booking activities we were interested in. Through her we were able to book a place on an evening tour to see fireflies at Cortes a little north of town. She also assisted us in the bold move to hire a car tomorrow to take in the Tasier Sanctuary and the Chocolate Hills, and whatever else takes our fancy along the way.

Tagbilaran Cathedral all decked out for a wedding

By then it was time to look around the town and find some lunch. Apart from scoring some lunch we established that the information office is no longer where the Lonely Planet Guide said it was and the office for the kayak tours also mentioned in the guide had either been in what was now an office to let or the building site next door. No matter. We had a quick look at the Cathedral which was all decked out in flowers for the wedding that was evidently about to get underway.

Back at our hotel we quickly drafted an itinerary for Luzon to put to a firm which hires car + driver then went out again the check out the local museum that was just around the corner. It wasn't a big museum by any means but it was interesting enough, especially the samples of mollusc shells that can be found around Bohol.

Some of the mollusc shells in the museum

Some are highly prized and I am not surprised. A local supermarket was the next attraction as we stocked up on supplies for tomorrow.

We had time to put our feet up before tonight's outing to see the fireflies but this was somewhat taken over by the car+driver hire company's response that they do not hire out cars to go to the Sagada region because of "road condition and accident prone area". This necessitated a period of investigating various travel options.

Our final outing for the day was our trip to Cortes to join a 7:30pm tour to see the fireflies on the Abatan river. We hired a tricycle driver to take us and there and wait for us, since a jeepney would have taken too long in rush hour and a tricycle wouldn't want to go so far and risk having to come back empty. There were extra bookings for the tour that reduced the cost which was a bonus. At 7:30 we were loaded aboard our boat and headed out on the river. The tour itself lasted about 50 minutes during which we were treated to collections of fireflies in four different locations along the river. In each location hundreds of fireflies could be seen swarming around within the limited confines of a single tree. Apparently the numbers are only about 70% of the usual due to a recent storm with high winds that had dispersed many of the fireflies, so they must look ever more impressive when in full force. It was a little bit like seeing a cave full of glow worms where the worms are actually moving. They were pretty mesmerising to watch - and hard to photograph without a tripod!

Swarming fireflies

Once the trip was over our tricycle driver took us back into Tagbilaran. We hopped out at the Mall area and found ourselves some dinner before retiring to our hotel.

Next morning we sampled the complimentary breakfast before our rental car was delivered by a man from the rental agency. It seemed a little strange that there was absolutely zero paper work required - we were just handed a car key in exchange for some cash. I was concerned about what that meant for things like car insurance but I was assured that it was all taken care of.

The green Hills

So we took charge of our day's transport and ventured out into the Tagbilaran traffic, grateful that the early morning rain had stopped. It took about 90 minutes for us to drive carefully up to the the main viewpoint for the Chocolate Hills, though sadly the rain had returned by that time - and actually became heavier while we were there. The distinctive conical hills that dot the area are called the Chocolate Hills because during the dry season of December to May they are normally scorched brown. Yet here we were in January and the still very green hills were partly shrouded in mist and rain. Bumma! They were still very impressive though.

A baby bird-eating spider

We started on the drive back with the plan to see a few sights along the way. First stop was  a Butterfly Garden. As well as the obligatory butterflies they also had a large spider - which apparently was only a baby. When fully grown it eats birds! Stand back anyone with arachnophobia.

Our next stop was the Tarsier Conservation Centre. Here we were given a little talk about the cute but endangered tarsier. Small enough to fit in your hand, they are a primate but not a monkey. We walked through a large enclosed area of native jungle where we could see about six tarsiers. All were perched under little shelters set up in the trees to keep out the rain (umbrellas were provided for the humans who didn't have one).

Tarsier

With big bug eyes - which are attached directly to their skull so they are able to rotate their heads 180 degrees in each direction - they certainly did look cute.

Our next stop required a little diversion off the main road - to see the Sipatan Swinging Bridge. However it seems it might have fallen victim to last year's Typhoon Yolanda. It was certainly not looking too swinging today. From there we wanted to get to The Tarsier Sanctuary, which is between Corella and Sikatuna, but we were having trouble finding a turn off to get us to Sikatuna. We passed a couple of turn-offs that could have been one of the roads we wanted but there were zero road signs. Eventually we stopped at Baclayon to ask directions and were told that it was not possible to reach Sikatuna from anywhere on this side because all the connecting roads were still out of action after last year's typhoon. Instead we would have to go around via Tagbilaran. So that is what we did - actually driving right past our hotel in the process.

The not-so-swinging bridge

And so we eventually made it to the Tarsier Sanctary. Here there were about half a dozen tarsiers kept in a large natural environment. In their natural environment they are solitary animals that mark out and defend an area of about one hectare each. A guide took us into the sanctuary area to some places where she knew three of the tarsiers were currently sleeping (they are nocturnal). Although, as it turned out, one of them had moved since last she  had checked so we only actually found two of them. Both were curled up sleeping so we didn't actually get a good look at either of them. So as much as we appreciated the purity of the Sanctuary's work to preserve a truly natural habitat, we were glad to have visited the Conservation Centre where we had been able to get a closer look at the tarsiers.

Having completed all of our desired sightseeing we drove back to our hotel, where we parked the car for the rental agent to collect and went to enjoy a very late lunch. Or a slightly early dinner depending on how you look at it.

Meanwhile we had received an email that it might be possible to hire a car+driver after all to travel from Manila to the Cordellera area and back, so the evening was spent in exchanges of emails to try and put the details together before we arrive in Manila in just over 12 hours time. Our last week in the Philippines might just get back on track.

Troublesome Transit

Having done web check-in didn't seem to make any difference to the actual airport check-in for our Cebu Air flight. We still had to join the same queue for what was essentially just a bag drop. However I have to commend their boarding process - within 20 minutes of opening the boarding gate everyone was on board, the door closed and we had started taxiing away from the terminal. I guess the fact that we boarded from the tarmac and they had stairs at both ends of the plane helped.

Due to depart at 3:30pm we were in the air at 3:25pm. Due to arrive in Cebu at 4:45pm we were on the ground at 4:25pm. However, the problem with being so early was that our gate had not yet been vacated and we had to wait for 10 minutes before we could taxi to it. However this was offset by the fact that our bag was the very first one onto the baggage carousel! :-)

The information desk confirmed that we needed to get to Pier 1 for the express boats to Bohol and that there was one at 6:40pm (not @ 6:00pm and 6:20pm as an online schedule I found had suggested) so that even with a taxi trip of up to an hour in peak hour we should still make it. There was initially some confusion about the yellow metered taxis, the white flat-rate taxis and the white metered taxis but we eventually managed to get the correct directions to the latter which were at least half the price of the other two. What we found there was an enormous queue though I have to admit that by getting there via the stairs and not the ramp we effectively pushed in somewhat.

The taxi certainly did hit some traffic and the driver ended up dropping us about 50 metres short of the Pier because of the gridlock - which was hardly a problem since we still had plenty of time. Once we'd purchased our tickets from the Ticket Office we joined the throng streaming into the Pier 1 terminal building - and if you are familiar with the concept of a rugby ruck you would have some idea of what it was like. We managed to bypass the Terminal Fee collection counter unchallenged (maybe we looked like senior citizens, who are exempt?) and after visiting the Seat Allocation counter were at our designated departure gate with 40 minutes to spare.

Sadly, just after 6:30pm they advised that our boat was delayed and boarding had been put back until 7:30pm. Even worse, less than 10 minutes later they announced that due to "technical reasons" the service had been cancelled!! With no other scheduled services tonight this was clearly of some concern to us, since we had accommodation booked in Bohol and no idea of where to find something suitable here in Cebu City. Back at the Seat Allocation counter we were initially told to just go back out to the Booking Office to re-book for tomorrow. This particularly did not sit well with Laura who insisted that they advise on alternatives. Eventually they offered to transfer us onto a "slow boat" due out at 10:00pm that would take four hours to get to Bohol, but that would only help if our hotel there had 24 hour check-in. One man went off with our tickets to get them changed while another man went to make some calls to sort out things with our hotel. They were gone a long time. We were beginning to wonder if they were even coming back.

However, come back they did - and with better news than we had expected. Turned out our hotel in Bohol did not have 24 hour check-in so they had arranged for us to stay overnight at the nearby Mariners Court Hotel at their expense. In addition, since the boat that had "technical difficulties" was not likely to be in service for their first scheduled trip in the morning they would re-book us on another ferry line in the morning. The two men escorted us to the hotel in a little shuttle van, took care of the check-in and took our bags up to our room before wishing us good night with the news that they would get word to us in the morning about our departure time once booking offices were open. What amazing service!

The foyer of the Mariners Court

I have to admit that our room was the smallest "deluxe" I have ever seen, and I had to use the wi-fi in the lobby since the one on our floor wasn't working properly,  but we were certainly not complaining as we were way better off than things had looked an hour before. We later ventured into the gym on our floor, but only to admire the lights of the city from the large windows. We also ventured onto the roof - where it appeared that a new enclosed space was under construction, with one of the workmen sound asleep at the floor at top of the stairs - where we could see a game of beach volley ball going on in the park behind the hotel.

The blind musicians in Pier 1.

True to our fixers word we received a call in the morning (@ 6:25am!) that we would be picked up at 7:00am for an 8:00am departure. This gave us time to sample the complimentary breakfast (which was rice & scrambled eggs so not exactly our favourite). Although the pick up didn't actually happen until nearly 7:20am we were still at our departure gate by 7:30am and boarding within five minutes of that - which didn't even give us much time to listen to the band of blind musicians who were providing the entertainment. We set sail (motor?) on time to the accompanying crows of a bagged rooster at the back of the boat, wondering if it would become "rooster overboard" if it kept it up much longer.

And thus ended our unexpected stop-over on Cebu City - the oldest city in the Philippines.

One of the world's Seven Natural Wonders.

We had aimed to catch a 9:30am minibus from El Nido back to Puerto Princesa, but that one was booked out so we ended up on a 9:00am minibus with the same company we had booked but ditched for the ride up. At least they picked up from out lodgings so we saved a trike fare back to the salubrious bus depot. Nothing much else to praise about the trip though. It was no more comfortable and took 1h:30m longer. This was partly due to an extra comfort stop, but mostly due to six passengers hopping out at Roxas just prior to our lunch stop. Not only did this involve extra time to unpack and repack all the luggage on the roof but the driver then had ample excuse to stop here and there to pick up extra passengers on the road side to refill all the seats. The other plus was that we were delivered to our lodgings in Puerto Princesa, which saved us any extra mucking around on arrival.

View of Palawan's Pristine Beach

The hotel seemed nice enough though we were initially concerned by the constant barking of dogs over the back fence. Fortunately it didn't persist into the evening or through the night. Meanwhile, having been cooped up on a bus for most of the day we decided to take the 10 minute walk down to Palawan Beach. It was signposted as "Pristine Beach" but having walked down the gravel path - and talking our way out of having to pay a beach access fee on the grounds that we were just coming to have a look for later - what we found didn't quite fit with our preconceived ideas of "Pristine". We would describe it as a semi-mangrove swamp with a very shallow and waveless muddy "beach", topped off by karaoke from the beach's bar. We were not disappointed that our schedule was unlikely to give us the chance to return to spend more time here.

Back at the motel we had a quick dip in the pool to cool off. We also managed to secure places on a day trip to see the Underground River tomorrow - requiring another early start with pick up @ 7:00am. (About four of these tours have also been cancelled due to rough seas, as with the boat trips in El Nido, so we were lucky to get on). With nothing much else around the hotel we dined in at their restaurant which seemed quite reasonably priced. Our night's sleep did not go so well though. We were plagued by what sounded like a random squeak in the air-conditioning so we eventually turned it off and switched on the overhead fan instead. Still there was the same squeaking, so we ended up just turning on the air-con again to try and mask the noise.

Despite having order breakfast for 6:30am we still had to wait for them to get it ready for us. Which put us under pressure to hurry because our tour guide was waiting for us by 6:40am, even though we'd been told pick up at 7:00am. However, after picking up another half dozen people we then had to go to the National Parks office to get the required National Park passes for just the two of us (something about the tour operator not having enough 'slots' to cover us). However this office did not even open until 8:00am and we were there waiting from 7:20am. Organisation - not!

The landing beach for the Underground River

Still, once those formalities were done (we were first in the queue - surprise, surprise!) the "one-and-a-half to two hour" drive to Sabang only took 75 minutes. However there was much more waiting in store for us there. Getting to the Underground Caves requires catching a small boat to a beach on the other side of the bay and with many previous days cancelled there were a lot of tour parties already there waiting their turn for the boats. Seeing the lines of boats strung out in each direction made me wonder if the evacuation of Dunkirk looked anything like this (with the shelling of course!). It could also be likened to two lines of ants I suppose. The good news is that after only an hour and a half wait we were boarding one of the boats ourselves for the 20 minute trip across the bay. After landing on the little beach it was just a short walk along a boardwalk to the boarding point for the actual underground river.

The entrance to the Underground River

We could see the cave that was the underground river entrance and we were loaded up into paddle boats for the 45 minute tour of the cave. The guide sat at the back and did all the paddling as well as providing the commentary. (Apparently he does 10 trips per days so he must have strong arms as well as a good voice). After entering the cave we were soon in total darkness - apart from the spot light being wielded by the passenger at the front of the boat and the occasional lights from other boats on the way back. We paddled just over one kilometre upstream through a number of different chambers, eventually reaching a point right underneath the top of the mountain, where the roof of the cave was over 60 metres high. The number and size of the limestone formations along the way was quite remarkable - with individual formations that looked like a giant mushrooms or the head of a T-Rex dinosaur or the Virgin Mary or a naked woman (with the corny name of Sharon Stone).

The T-Rex Head

Some of the stalactites reached down into the water, which the boatman had to steer around. Of course in places the walls and ceiling were lined with tiny, sleeping bats, which is why you were always advised to keep your mouth closed when looking up. A lot of swallows also call the cave home but more so in the areas closer to the mouth. The river is actually navigable for 4.5 kms but being a World Heritage site (and one of the official Seven Natural Wonders of the World) a special permit is required to go that far and these are only granted to researchers and the like.

Once we had returned to the drop off point it was just a short walk back to the beach. Along the way was saw some of the long tailed macaque monkeys who inhabit the area. We had been warned to not have any plastic bottles or cases conspicuous on our person as the monkeys have learned to associate these with food and will snatch them off you given half a chance. We witnessed one trying to extract plastic bottles from a locked garbage bin. Apparently they can also open zippers. It was just a short wait on the beach for our boat to come in from where it was at anchor (with the rest of the armada). It took the boatman a while to coax his engine into life but he made good time once he did, overtaking two other boats on the trip back. I can't help thinking that he must suffer industrial deafness though, because if the engine had a muffler it was in serious need of repair!

One of the Macaque Monkeys

Once back in town we were directed to our buffet lunch which was included in the tour. Over lunch we were talking to a young American couple who strongly advised against our plan to self drive around northern Luzon, due to both the terrain and traffic, and recommended the agent they had used to organise a car with driver to tour the rice terraces area in the hills of Cordillera. So we may yet change our plans though it seems a bit late to organise such a trip now.

The drive back to Puerto Princesa took much longer than this morning's trip, partly because we hit rush hour at the tail end. It had been a long day for 45 minutes of prime time in the Underground River but we agreed it had been worth it. During the day we also became well acquainted with a new compound word, used constantly by Filipino guides when addressing couples or groups - "Mam-Sir" - a rather quaint abbreviation of "Ladies and Gentlemen".

We were pretty exhausted after an interrupted night's sleep and an early start so we passed on the option of tacking another trip to see Fireflies onto the end of the day. Fortunately there was no repeat of noisy air-con or whatever to disturb our much needed slumber.

After breakfast next morning (our request for fried eggs instead of scrambled apparently was lost in translation) we figured we should at least see something of the city. We caught a trike into the Post Office as our first stop. Of course a visit to the Public Markets had to be on the cards, though it really wasn't the sort of markets we imagined. More like a collection of budget shops it seemed like. Outside something told us we might also have been close to the public sewer. Walking up the main street towards the NCCC Mall we happened upon small craft shop where the obligatory wooden lizard was procured. We also came upon the Dunkin Donut shop we had waited at in the van last Thursday morning so we figured we might as well treat ourselves while passing. The NCCC Mall was also not what we imagined - more like a slightly more upmarket collection of department stores. Still, Laura did manage to find a nice replacement for her handbag with the broken zipper for what amounted to just over AU$8. All this was accomplished with plenty of time to catch a trike back to our hotel and complete our check out by the noon deadline. We were then able to sit in the foyer (using their free Wi-Fi) until 1:30 when they gave us a free shuttle ride to the airport for our flight to Cebu.

So adios to picturesque Palawan!

Picturesque Palawan

We have enjoyed our time at El Nido in northern Palawan - and just as well because getting here was a long haul.

It started with getting up at 5:10am - after getting to bed at 1:00am following the NYE fireworks in Manila - to be at the airport in time to check in for our 7:25am flight to Puerto Princesa in Palawan, arriving at 8:30am. We had booked a transfer to El Nido which is about 6 hours away, only to find that our van was going to wait for the next flight (not even due to land for another 45 minutes) for more passengers before leaving. Having been on the go ourselves for about four hours already, this didn't sit well with us so we decided to go with another operator who was leaving "now". Well at least they weren't waiting for the next plane, but "now" still turned out to be a relative term. By the time the van had driven back and forth doing paper work, picked up more passengers at Dunkin Donuts in town, and the driver spent what seemed like an eternity using every known boy scouts knot tying the luggage onto the roof rack before stopping to buy petrol, it was still 10:00am before we were really under way.

With 13 people loaded into the van space was a luxury that none of us enjoyed. Still it was interesting (for possible later reference) to get an idea of what open road driving is like in The Philippines. We  had already noted the urban practice in Manila of using your car horn to warn cross traffic that you were going to run the red light so they should give way to you before they take their green light for granted. On the open road this mentality took the form of treating double lines as just an advisory suggestion.

After about two hours we had a lunch stop. However the driver's usual choice was closed for New Year's Day so we had to backtrack a couple of kilometres to another basic roadside diner (Filipino style) where, because we were evidently not expected, there was very little left in the "buffet" on offer. Still it was apparently included in the fare so what little there was at least didn't cost us anything. Fortunately it was only a little over two more hours from there to El Nido, though for about the last hour the road was intermittently gravel - some of it in poor condition - so the bum numbing leg cramping experience could not have been over a minute too soon.

Main street of El Nido

From the El Nido bus terminal - a rather grand title for a patch of gravel with a wall-less shed in the middle of it - it was only a short motor-trike ride to our lodgings at the Bulskamp Inn, which had been arranged only last night in an exchange of emails. Our hosts were nice and helpful and the room was spotless and equipped with air-con and a hot shower. All of which was pure bliss after a tiring day of travel on very little sleep. We did a little explore of down town El Nido (which isn't big) and booked a couple of boat tours for the two days we have allocated to this leg of the trip. We dined early at the Boutique Cafe (well we started it early, the pedestrian service meant the sitting still lasted over an hour). For dessert we tried the home made vanilla ice cream - and it really did taste of vanilla - delicious! With dinner over we collapsed exhausted into bed.

After a perfect night's sleep the day didn't exactly get off to a perfect start. The coast guard warned that the seas were still too rough after a recent storm cell in the area so all boat tours were cancelled - that made it the fourth day in a row. However, with the help of our hosts Eddy and Virgie, we arranged the hire of a motor-trike and driver to take us to some alternative sights.

The upper falls at Nagkalit-kalit

We set off on the road north out of town and after about 20 minutes came to the starting point of a 40 minutes walk to the Nagkalit-kalit Waterfall and swimming hole. We had to hire a local guide as the trail is unmarked but it was not a huge imposition. The walk included crossing a few shallow creeks - or maybe it was the same one multiple times. Of course with all the boat trips cancelled we were not the only ones going to the falls - we met a few groups on their way back. The walk took us only about 30 minutes and the falls were nice if not spectacular. The swimming hole was not huge so we waited until one group got out before we waded in to cool off. Afterwards we took a steep trail a bit further to see another waterfall just upstream. No big swimming hole there though there were some very slippery rocks that lead to Laura very nearly doing a face plant. Luckily Laura's reflexes were good so there was no serious damage done.

Nacpan Beach

After the hike back to the road we travelled on to Nacpan Beach which was an adventure in itself. The last half hour or so was on an access "road" that made a goat track look good by comparison. It was serious 4WD terrain and the poor little motor-trike did an outstanding job of getting us to the beach. The beach itself was nothing special really but there were lots of people who had made the same torturous journey there in motor-trikes. More sensible ones arrived by motorbike. After a walk on the beach and delicious fruit shakes from the very rustic onsite restaurant we tackled the ride back to El Nido. At one point we slid sideways into a rut on one of the muddy sections so Laura and I had to hop out while out driver managed to get the trike back on track.

Rice fields on the way back from Nacpan Beach

We were happy to put our feet up back in our room for a bit over an hour before joining our driver again for the 10 minute ride south to Cabana Beach, which is the nearest point from which you can actually see the sunset. I managed to get some nice (I hope) shots of some local children playing on a coconut trunk that had fallen into the water. Once the sunset spectacle was over we headed back to base - with high hopes that tomorrow the seas would be kinder and we'd at least get to do one of the boat trips we had planned on.

Sunset at Cabana Beach

I noticed first thing the next morning that there was no wind, which I figured was a good sign. Sure enough the coast guard had given the all clear for the first time in four days and we were able to check-in for our "Tour C" boat trip at the Boutique Cafe. Soon after 9:00am we were under way.

There were 11 of us in the motorised outrigger and we were soon treated to the sort of scenery found in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay or Thailand's Krabi coast - rocky outcrops rising almost sheer out of the sea. It was about an hour of motoring before we reached our first stop on Matinloc Island, known as Secret Beach. The trick here is that the beach can only be reached by swimming through a 2 metre wide hole in a rock wall. It was pretty clear that this was was something you'd only want to attempt when it was dead calm, and as pleasant as the swell was it was by no means dead calm, so we moved on. Next stop was at an abandoned residence that would surely have qualified as the ultimate hideaway.

Our boat a the lunch stop

A little bit further up the coast we stopped at a beach where we were able to do some snorkelling while the crew prepared lunch. The underwater topography reminded me of Santorini - where the bottom just drops away out of sight about 10-20 metres off shore. Before that happened though there was some very colourful fish and large star fish to be seen.

After the nice lunch of bar-b-q fish, chicken wings and salad we motored across the small strait to Tapiutan Island where we dropped anchor for another snorkel. No steep drop off in the ocean floor at this site and most of the coral looked the worse for wear but there was still an abundance of colourful fish life.

The headland we snorkelled around after lunch

On the way back we had another look at the entrance to Secret Beach but if anything the swell was even bigger and there was no way anyone would have wanted to attempt swimming through it. Last stop was at Paradise Beach beach on Cadlao Island for about an hour where, after a quick dip, we went for a walk to the other end and back.

Once we had made it back to El Nido our first stop was the bakery where we picked out a few delicacies to tide us over until dinner time. After a much needed shower - and before we could get to thinking about dinner - I realised that my small Canon camera was missing. Normally it would be in a pouch on my belt but today, of course, it had been in my backpack. I can only guess it fell out on the boat (but the cruise organiser said nothing had been found) or while I was fishing around for my wallet at the bakery (and of course no-one had handed it in there). It will be sadly missed. :-(

Dinner turned out to be a rather odd progression of events. We ended up in a little establishment where I ordered first because Laura had to borrow my glasses to peruse the menu. And yet once Laura had ordered, her meal arrived in pretty quick time. When mine still hadn't arrived by the time she had finished hers we asked if mine was still coming - and it transpired that they had forgotten it entirely. It seemed to take much longer to prepare as well, though not long to wolf down by the time it eventually appeared. We subsequently ordered a dessert which we shared, and just when we were about to pay and leave I was delivered a plate of hot chips - apparently they came as part of my meal!

Manic Manila

Our first full day in Manila dawned warm, cloudy and humid but thankfully remained dry - as it is actually expected to do this time of year, but it's a bit of a wonder when it is so humid.

Even Nuns have iPhones...

 It was a day with a lot of walking as we started by exploring Intramuros, including the Cathedral where the Pope will be in about two weeks time. Reading the history of the cathedral reminded me of the story about the missing dog named "Lucky". The first Cathedral on the site was built in 1581 but this is actually the seventh incarnation - the first six being destroyed by various combination of fire, earthquake, typhoon or most recently the Battle of Manila in 1945.

Walking the Wall

After checking it out we went to have a look at a section of the old castle walls dating from the 1600s which define the Intramuros area. We were a bit bemused by a sign on the wall that said "Beware of golf balls" - until we reached the top and saw that there was indeed a golf course on the other side of the wall. Though I think we were very safe from the mixed foursome we saw in action on what looked like a par 2 hole - one of the women would have struggled to hit the ball out of sight on a dark night!

Our next step (or few) was to walk on to Rizal Park - named for the national revolutionary who was executed here by the Spanish in 1896. It was fairly busy of course, with today being a public holiday in honour of Dr Rizal and the 118th anniversary of said execution. The memorial at the site of the execution was quite well done.

The large scale topographical map of the Philippines at the other end of the large park (about 100m x 50m) sounded quite promising but was rather less well done. Apart from the fact that the water level had dropped making some of the 'islands' a bit larger then usual, none of the many islands had markers on them to indicate which island was which or where the major population centres were, Around the edge of the large pond which contained the scale model of the country there were a few signs pointing to some of the features by name but I'm not sure how well some of them were aligned,

The park also contained a large children's playground but without Sam with us to take advantage of the offerings we decided to save ourselves the $1 it would have cost to go in. Instead we walked on to the nearest station on the LRT (Light Rail Transport) and parted with the 32c each it cost to travel three stops. Then it was another hike to the ferry terminal where, after due consideration of cost (about $70 each) and the starting time (having to be back here at 7:00AM tomorrow) we signed up for a tour out to Corregidor Island.

On our walk back to the LRT station we encountered an open shopping centre with a large supermarket so we had a pleasant diversion stocking up on fruit and snacks for breakfast. I also managed to score an adapter for my adapter so that I can charge my laptop. Once back on the LTR we splurged on 40c each to travel all the way to the markets back on the other side of Intramuros.

The less crowded start of the market street.

And what markets they were! Looking down from the elevated LRT platform all we could see was wall to wall market stalls - and somehow a zillions people were squeezing between them all. We went down and joined the throng and threaded our way up the first street - and were almost amazed that we were able to make it to the other end intact. Apart from the fruit and vegie stalls, most of the wares for sale were cheap clothes and plastic toys, so not much of interest to us. Working our way down the second street we faced the added challenge of having to give way to motorcycles working their way through the crowd. We worked our way through a couple more streets on our way back to the start where we stocked up on some more fruit - cheaper than we had been able to get at the supermarket.

The plan was to walk back to our hotel in Intramuros via China Town but we were having a little trouble recognising the main street  of China Town. Eventually we realised that we had actually been walking along it - which told us that it was one of the less distinctive China Towns we had seen.

After a day spent doing a lot or walking in a hot, humid yet slightly dusty city - which frequently assaulted the senses, and not always in a pleasant way - we were pleased to make it back to our hotel and put our feet up for a while. We eventually wandered out for an uninspiring meal at one of the few restaurants around - having decided the hotel's menu was no more inspiring but somewhat more expensive.

Day two in Manila involved an early start. We opted to walk to the LRT, ride the same three stops as yesterday and walked back to the Sun Cruises terminal for the 7:00am check in. Why we needed to be there so early for the scheduled 8:00am departure I've no idea. We had time to eat our breakfast of snacks and fruit before we were boarded at 7:15am. And still we sat there at the dock until nearly 8:10am before we cast off. By that time we had moved from our assigned downstairs seats to the open deck at the back to escape the engine fuel odour that permeated the indoor seating areas, downstairs in particular.

Map of the underground command centre and hospital

The 90 minute crossing to Corregidor was uneventful and once disembarked (seriously - the deckhands would never get a job on Sydney Ferries based on how long it takes them to tie up and position a gangplank!) we boarded our assigned bus for the five hours of touring around the island. Being a bit of a history buff I have read about the battles to defend and re-take Corregidor so I knew some of what to expect. It was fascinating to hear more about it and see first hand the terrain and the underground installations that had been used to defend this key fortress. Also to learn more about the various gun and mortar batteries, how they had been used, and their eventual fate. The whole island is now heritage listed and protected as a memorial to all who fought and died there from both sides during WWII. Our guide was very proud of the fact that the joint US-Filipino forces had been able to hold out on Corregidor for five months when the Japanese had expect to over-run The Philippines in four days, and that this delay had saved Australia from invasion. Personally I think there were a few other factors that came into play but I wasn't going to quibble. In the middle of the tour we were treated to a delicious buffer lunch at the only hotel on the island, which was greatly appreciated since Laura & I were both ravenous by that time. By 2:45pm we were re-boarded and back on our way to Manila. The return trip was somewhat rougher, which resulted in the slightly more round-about route so we took a little longer.

Ruins of the Officers Quarters

Retracing our route to the hotel enabled us to have a few hours rest before the NYE fireworks. We ended up having dinner at a 7-11 since the restaurants about were all close for the evening.

About 10:30pm we set off for Rizal Park as that was the nearest site where there would be a fireworks display at midnight. Of course we were by no means the first ones there - some families had set up tents as though they planned to stay the night. We watched the coloured light show at the fountains for a while (a la Las Vegas, though on a smaller scale) before we sussed out where the fireworks would be fired from. We took up positions only about 40 metres from Ground Zero - the "exclusion zone" was only about 10 metres - and waited until the appointed hour. Periodically we could see other displays going off in the distance north and south of us, some obscured by skyscrapers. Came the hour and came the display. And did I say that we were close? Talk about loud - it seemed at time like we could have been on Corrigedor about 73 years ago! It was hard to photograph most of them with my camera on a tripod because the head didn't really swivel straight up! I lent Laura my sunglasses so that she could watch them without getting fireworks debris in her eyes. It was certainly a very memorable way to see in the New Year!

Rizal Park fireworks from ground zero

Distant view of fireworks in Parsay area