Our winter trip to the Philippines was my idea. I wanted to shake up our winter holidays, since we usually go to Thailand, and I wanted to expand our horizons a little. Also I wanted to spend some time on a beach, and in Bangkok we usually swim in the hotel pool.
The trip started with a drive to Kobe airport, a ferryboat to Kansai International, and then dinner at a dim sum place in the airport. We drank lots of beer and ate a little more than usual, since we figured we had lots of time to kill in the Manila airport later and the food was probably better here in Japan. After a few cocktails at our usual airport stop we wandered down to the boarding gate to wait. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by about three hours. The delay was enough to earn us each a voucher from the airline to spend back at the restaurants inside security, so we went back to our usual place and kept the party going. Finally, at midnight, we boarded our Cebu Pacific flight to Manila and it took off.
The flight time is four hours between Osaka and Manila, and originally our plan was to arrive in Manila at midnight, wait until our connecting flight to Virac left at 5:45 am, and just kill time in the Manila airport. As it worked out we arrived in Manila and went directly to our connecting flight, and we only had an hour or so in the Manila airport to wait. So in the end it was actually pretty nice to spend our waiting time in Kansai airport rather than in Manila. That’s good because the Manila airport was just as I remembered it – a little dinghy and a little lonely. Not exactly a safe, modern vibe. Granted it was at 4 am, but we were happy to leave.
We caught a one hour flight to Virac, which is a small village east of Manila on a different island. Once we deplaned we could really see that we were in the third world. Jungle everywhere, and it seemed as if the whole town was gathered to watch the plane come in. The airport only has 2-3 flights per week, so it was a big event. The weather was slightly humid and comfortably warm – I could see that shorts and a T-shirt would be enough for this trip. Nice!
We had arranged through the hotel for a driver, and he was a friendly enough guy. He drove us out of town and towards the harbor, which according to my research was less than an hour away. The drive was comfortable, and it was interesting to look out the window and see how people in completely different circumstances lived. We saw lots of motorcycles with sidecars, and the occasional bus filled with people. Apparently they were the primary system of transportation – cars like the one we were riding in were rare. Everywhere the green jungle formed the backdrop for what we were seeing – water buffaloes with white stork companions, and we saw many people drying rice out on the road. The cars and motorcycles tried to avoid driving over the rice, but sometimes it was necessary to drive over to avoid an accident.
Finally we arrived at the harbor, which was a very small fishing harbor with lots of people lounging around. The driver drove to the end of a cement pier, and then waited with us as our boat staff came running. They moved a tiny outrigger canoe over to the pier, and we jumped aboard, with a little trepidation. I felt pretty comfortable with the size and configuration of the boat, but this was Kuniko’s first time on a boat this small.
They started the engine and slowly we headed out to sea. The trip was from the port of Virac to the resort directly, and the resort had advertised a 40 minute boat ride across blue waters. As soon as we left the calm waters of the port, however, the situation changed dramatically. Big waves were coming in, we motored directly into them, causing a lot of boat movement, a lot of ocean spray, and a lot of concern for Kuniko. She almost panicked, but somehow kept it together as we got past the worst of the waves. The boat was just putt-putting along, which made for a very long ride. The boat operators could see that Kuniko was uncomfortable, and they stretched out a tarp to help block some of the ocean spray that was splashing us now and then. I think they thought that our marriage was in big trouble, and to be honest I was getting concerned about the same thing. Luckily, somewhere in the middle of the trip, a Zen-like calm came over Kuniko, and she made it through without any problems. The second half of the trip I was thinking about our return trip, and we would have to do it at 5:00 am in the morning. I couldn’t decide whether it would be better or not to do the return trip in the darkness.
Finally we reached a cove on the other side of the water, and we threw our stuff onto the beach and then jumped into the shallow waves and walked onto dry sand. A member of the resort was waiting for us, and he dutifully gathered my shoes, backpack and other items that I had cast aside while trying to ensure Kuniko made it safely. He introduced himself, and then led us through the resort to the restaurant that served as the home base for the entire resort, which was located at the top of a big hill overlooking the ocean.
We filled out a little paperwork, we sipped blue lemonade, and we waited patiently for our room to clear out. We had arrived pretty early – around 9 am, so it was reasonable to wait a little bit. There were a few other customers there as well, but not as many people as I had expected. Maybe we had just arrived early. The staff served us some snacks while we waited – fried bananas, and some garlic cheese potato wedges that really hit the spot. We asked for a couple of cold beers, and the staff quickly pulled out two cold bottles, opened them, applied a napkin condom to the top, and handed them over. I was encouraged by how painless it was to get cold beer. I was a little curious about the price, but I tried not to worry about it too much. As it turned out, they were really cheap here.
Once our room was ready we were introduced to a staff member named Nolly, a shy young man who led us to our room. The manager told us that if we needed anything at all, just contact Nolly. No problem!
The room itself was very nice – we were pleased with the design. It was basically a bungalow with cement walls, with big sliding windows that you could open to let the tropical breezes come through. We had a nice king-sized bed and a separate shower and toilet room that was in a modern style. The toilet flushed every time, and the air conditioner and TV worked fine. We did notice a weird noise in the room after the staff left – it sounded like a huffing sound coming from the corner. At first we thought maybe an animal was stuck under the room, but it turned out to be the power transformer stepping the voltage down to 110 volts. When we turned it off things were silent, except for the occasional “moo” from some cow out in the jungle.
After putting away our stuff and changing into more comfortable clothes we walked back down to the beach and looked around. The beach was really nice. The sand was white and very fine – like sugar, I remember thinking – and we waded out a ways into the water which was quite warm. The sky was blue, the air was warm, and our relaxation was just beginning. It was a good feeling.
We had lunch at the restaurant and had our first taste of Philippine cooking. The menu had many different items, some of the local dishes and others more “western” like spaghetti and nachos. I thought the menu was a good balance, but we ordered almost exclusively local dishes and we liked what we ate. The food was spicy, usually well-laced with garlic, and sometimes a little sweetness to it. We were 100% satisfied with the food we had on this trip.
We had beer with our lunch and dinner, and each time they served us with the napkin condom. I looked around at the other guests, and it seemed like we were the only ones drinking beer. I think the first day we drank almost every beer they had in the fridge. Luckily a boat came with more the next day.
The next morning we slept in, enjoying the big bed and open schedule, and then went out to the restaurant for breakfast. The weather was a little cloudy, and while we ate the buffet breakfast some wind came up and blew some of their outdoor furniture around. The wind was quite warm however, and it didn’t bother me a bit. After breakfast we took a hike through the jungle to get some exercise, and then headed back to our room for some more relaxation.
By lunchtime the wind was getting stronger. After lunch we played billiards on the table they had in the restaurant. Kuniko and I really got into billiards when we stayed in Bali, and although this table had some balls missing we had fun shooting around. I think Kuniko really improved during our trip – I don’t think I did. We kept drinking beers, kept playing pool, and kept one eye on the weather.
As we were walking back to our house from dinner, it started to rain a little bit, and I was starting to get worried about our beach time. It was still warm, but the wind was as strong as ever. When we woke up the next day, it was a full-on tropical storm. There were torrents of rain, and the wind rushed outside, blowing around the palm trees and sending coconuts falling to the ground. The beach was out, the pool was out, and we had little to do but stay in our room and read the books that we brought, run out to the restaurant for food and to take advantage of their intermittent internet connection, and drink beer. This wasn’t turning out like I had hoped.
We stayed inside for two days, and just waited for the storm to pass. Unfortunately, it wasn’t moving very quickly. In Japan the typhoons move through in about a day, and the next day is sunny and clear. Here we were waiting for almost three days and nothing but wind and rain. The good news was that the food was good, the cabana we were staying in was made of concrete and wasn’t going to blow away, and we had plenty of reading material. The bad news was three days of continuous rain had started to drive some ants into our room to look for food, and we were always squishing tiny ants everywhere. The weather change made the water temperature of our shower feel a little cold – it was comfortable when the weather was balmy outside, but now were hoping for a hot shower and getting a barely lukewarm one.
In addition, the number of guests stayed pretty low. Sometimes we saw other people – but most people probably knew in advance of the tropical storm and cancelled, or they stayed mainly in their rooms and used room service. It was starting to get a little lonely at our meal times. The lack of company made me wonder just how big this storm was.
So while eating at the restaurant I started thinking about how we could take control of this situation and improve the trip. There were a lot of challenges, but I figured that if we threw some money at the situation we could make things happen. As it turned out, I was right about some things and I was wrong about others.
First, we used the spotty internet of the resort to check out our flight options. There weren’t many flights out of Virac, but there was one leaving the next day. If we missed that we would have to take our original planned flight out. With the bad weather I was worried about making the connections for our original planned return, so we figured it would be better to make an attempt early and if it didn’t pan out we could fall back on our original plan. It wasn’t encouraging to turn on our TV and see non-stop coverage of a missing AirAsia flight, and also a burning Greek ferry on the news.
Kuniko booked a room in Manila, at the Hyatt Regency, and so our goal was to get off the island, get to Virac, take the earlier flight, and spend two extra days in Manila instead of sitting around in our room at the resort. We booked the hotel, I managed to get seats on the next day’s flight out of Virac, and then we told the hotel staff that we’d like to leave earlier than planned because of the crappy weather. They were very understanding, and got to work making arrangements to wrap up our bill and arrange transportation to Virac. The manager said he’d try to get a more comfortable boat back to Virac, and I told him that there was extra money available if that was what was necessary. He just smiled and said he’d do his best. We settled down to our “last meal”, and tried not to get nervous when the power went off for a minute or two. Outside the wind was still howling, the rain was still coming down in sheets. After dinner we paid our bill, which was quite reasonable considering how much food and beer we enjoyed. As we started to leave the manager quickly mentioned that if the weather continued like this that the boat ride out wasn’t going to happen. Kuniko heard this and said, “What!?!” It suddenly dawned on me that we didn’t have nearly as much control over our holiday and I had expected. The manager said that if the weather was still bad we were welcome to stay as long as necessary. At least we had a roof over our heads. The manager promised to call us at 5 am the next morning and let us know if we could leave or not. It all depended on the weather, and perhaps the sailing skills of the boat operators.
So we went back after dinner and we packed up, just in case we were leaving. Honestly I thought we would probably have to stay. The wind and rain were still beating heavily against our windows, and it showed no signs of stopping. The local Philippine TV stations said the storm was moving on, but they had been saying that for the last few days. I was feeling a lot of pressure – if we didn’t catch the boat we’d lose out on our hotel reservations at the Hyatt, and we’d also eat the cost of the earlier flight to Manila. There was some money on the line as well. I was pretty stressed that night – and it didn’t feel good to be powerless to change anything. Kuniko was still in her Zen relaxation state, and she talked me down and helped put everything back in perspective. We finally went to bed about 10 pm, but we didn’t sleep well, and I kept waking up every few minutes to listen for the gusts of wind and rain. Were they slowing down a little? No, that was a big gust just then. Maybe they are a little calmer… I was second-guessing my semi-sleeping self the whole night.
I woke up around 4:30 in the morning, and Kuniko was already up. It was totally quiet outside. I looked out the window, but it was too dark to see anything. We were both encouraged, though, and went ahead and got ready. The phone rang at 5:00 am, and the manager told us what we wanted to hear. The boat is going to cross!
We packed up our gear, skipped the not-quite-lukewarm shower and decided to travel a little dirty. Outside it was starting to get a little lighter, and there was just the slightest breeze. It was still very overcast and the skies were dark, but it seemed like there wouldn’t be any rain. Perfect conditions to risk your life trying to make a plane connection.
We went down to the beach and found that we had almost the exact same kind of boat that we had used before. Luckily this time they had a ramp that we could climb up without getting our feet wet, and even plastic bags that we could put our baggage into to stay dry. Our crew also included Nolly, who was coming along to see us off (and get his tip?) Although it wasn’t raining and the wind had mainly stopped we still had to deal with some big waves, and the ride back was not easy. I still got plenty of seawater splashed all over me, but the engine of this boat was a little stronger, and the captain’s skill was more apparent. He maneuvered the boat between big waves, sometimes riding them like a surfer to avoid rough treatment. It seemed like a shorter trip, but when we got back we were all smiles (and pretty wet). I gave Nolly a reasonable tip, and our original driver was waiting in the same place on the cement pier. We thanked our intrepid crew for helping us escape the resort, and then got in the car and started driving back to the airport. We were even a little ahead of schedule. Every part of my body was much wetter than usual, but otherwise things were looking good!
On the way back the driver, who was very friendly on the way in to the resort, was not so customer-friendly. He said that it was pretty common sense that storms come during this time of year, and he clearly thought we were fools to come to the resort at this time. He suggested many other better times of the year to come, and it seemed like he wanted to make things clear that any bad times we experienced were simply our own fault. Maybe he considered himself kind of a PR agent for the Philippines. We just remained wet, tired and silent in the back seat and watched the scenery.
Once we got to the airport, we unloaded our stuff at the curb, and then the driver suddenly asked me for payment. I was a little shocked – we had arranged the transportation through the hotel, and I was under the impression that we had already paid it. The driver said the price was 3000 pesos, which is serious money for a developing country. I thought he was trying to rip us off, and I asked him to call the resort to confirm that we already paid them. He tried, but couldn’t contact them for some reason. He told us that he had to park his car somewhere, so we should go inside and check in, and he’d find us. Unfortunately the check in process at the tiny airport was a one way deal, and we had to enter the waiting area right away. We never saw the driver again.
I had a lot of time to think about the situation, and I think that probably he was right – we should have paid him. The money we paid to the resort for transportation was likely just the water transport. Probably the resort has an agreement with the driver to pick up guests, and the resort doesn’t mention the price to the guests when arranging. Then he kicks back a little money to the resort. If we had known the price we would have made other arrangements, but the hotel and the driver count on people not knowing the price from the beginning. So in my mind, the bad guy is the resort for handling things like that. More communication is the take home point, and something I’ll keep in mind for next time. Anyway, the guy probably thought we were ripping him off, and we thought we were being ripped off, and so it was a lose/lose situation for everyone.
While we were waiting to board we bumped into a family that had been staying at the same resort. They had left the day before us by taking a long boat ride around the back of the island, then a long drive around the Virac, spending the night there, and then catching the same flight. I was glad that we didn’t have to sleep in Virac – it didn’t look like there were many sleeping options without dirt floors.
Our flight left early, since it was the only flight of the day. When everybody is on board then we could leave. As we taxied to the runway I saw that many villagers had gathered at the side of the airport to watch the plane leave. I wonder what they thought about the departing planes, and whether they wanted to ride it someday or not. The flight was painless, and there were some goofy teenage girls sitting across the aisle from us who kept everyone around them entertained.
We arrived 20 minutes early in Manila, and we grabbed a taxi from the airport on kind of a paper quote system. We told the airport staff where we are going, and they gave us the price up front and wrote it on a paper that they gave to the driver. That way there was no haggling. Our driver reached back and locked our doors for us before we left, so I knew the ride should be interesting.
Manila was just what I had expected. I had seen some scenes of Manila from Amazing Race this season, and it pretty much matched up with my expectations. It kind of reminded me of Delhi in India – plenty of slums and dirty areas, dogs walking around and tough conditions for the locals. I’m sure there are better parts of Manila but from what we saw on our thirty-minute taxi ride it didn’t look great.
We arrived at the Hyatt Regency Manila on New Year’s Eve, which by coincidence was undergoing a change to new ownership at the stroke of midnight to new branding and a new company. Construction workers were busy changing the signs over to the new name, and we had the unique opportunity to check in to one hotel and check out of another.
Our room was beautiful and clean, without any ants, and we immediately got in and took one of the best showers of my life. The shower was pretty magnificent – marble floors and tile walls, with windows everywhere and it had a deep elevated bathtub on marble slabs. We showered and scrubbed in hot water and used as much soap as possible. I think this shower was one of the top 5 in my lifetime.
After showering we changed into some fresh clothes that we had protected in our luggage with waterproof bags, and then went to the café for some beer and lunch. It was strange to go from the sleepy resort life to a five star dining experience, but we just relaxed and enjoyed it. It felt great to be clean and free again.
After lunch we walked across the street to a 7-11 for beer and snacks. The streets of Manila around the hotel had a strange vibe, and the beggars were out in force. Lots of drivers pulled over to try to get us to use them as a taxi service, and I was glad that we didn’t have to put up with too much of this environment. We bought our snacks, went back to the hotel for a workout in the fitness center, and signed up for the rooftop New Year’s Eve countdown party. Then it was nap time to try to get up the energy to be party animals. We don’t often stay up until midnight.
We woke up and still had some time to kill, so we went to the ground floor lounge for cocktails and wine, and a Caesar salad just in case there was no food available at the party. Then, at around 10:30 pm we took the elevator to the top floor. We had to sign a waiver that said we wouldn’t sue anyone, and then they gave us some goofy party hats and three drink tickets and let us up on the roof. The hotel is a pretty tall one, located right on the bayside of Manila, and the view was spectacular. They had a DJ playing loud dance music, the bartender kept us in sweet champagne throughout the evening, and they even had a group of professional dancers who entertained the fairly large crowd.
As we waited for midnight we could have a pretty complete view of the Manila skyline. I had heard that there would be fireworks, but I was surprised to see that they were firing them off all over the city. It was still an hour before midnight, and there were steady fireworks happening everywhere we looked. It felt like a scene from the movie Blade Runner – a not-quite futuristic city being lit up by neon and bursts of fire. By the time midnight was approaching the volume of fireworks was unbelievable – it looked like a war zone. Kuniko said the city was crazy to spend the kind of money they must need to do fireworks on this scale, and I kind of agreed with her. At midnight they started launching even more fireworks over the bay right next to our hotel. Some fireworks were exploding low to the ground, and it was strange to be looking down on them. The DJ was telling us all to “welcome 2015”, and I think starting a new year with more fireworks than I have ever seen was a good way. To think that we almost spent this night stuck in our room at the resort, too.
The next day we had all to ourselves for relaxation, and we made the most of it. A huge breakfast buffet, delicious coffee (they only had instant back at the resort), and we had a room service dinner the next night with chicken adobo and garlic fried rice. The last night was rainy, so we stayed inside the hotel eating, drinking and using our phenomenal bathtub. Before we went to bed I realized that during the whole trip I never once was able to use my swimming suit, which seemed tragic. The rain seemed to have stop for the moment, so we decided to suit up and go jump in the hotel pool. It was pretty cold, but finally we got some use out of our swimsuits.
The next day we checked out of the Manila Bay Hotel and Casino, and took a taxi ride back to the airport. This taxi had a meter, and the driver even stopped to use the toilet on the way to the airport with the meter still running. Classy! I was ready to argue about the price but after I did the math in my head it was only a difference of 40 yen, so it wasn’t worth a confrontation. No tip, though, buddy.
The flight back was delayed a little, but we got back to Kansai reasonably quickly. The change in weather was a big shock – the sight of snow and cold wind surprised us when we walked out of the boarding tunnel. More bad news – the ferry that runs between Kansai airport and Kobe airport was stopped due to the bad weather, so we had to catch a special bus that added about an hour to the journey back. We finally got home around midnight on Friday, so we had the next two days to get back into cold weather mode at home.
It wasn’t the trip that I expected to take, but every moment of it was an adventure. It is one of those trips that we’ll be talking about for a long time afterwards, and in the end, that is all we want our trips to be. Can’t wait for our next one!