Last Days in Toledo

The weekend just past was my last in Toledo before I transfer to the new project in Iloilo.  I had ideas of doing all the things I'd been meaning to do and photographing everything I'd wanted to photograph during this last weekend but ended up not doing very much at all.

Old Japanese House Window

I went cycling along the coast road on Sunday and due to a misunderstanding with the driver ended up going 25 miles from the house instead of the planned 18.5 miles but I cycled it all the same.  It wasn't so pleasant as it was early afternoon when I set off and so it was very hot, and I was cycling towards the sun so for a fair part of the journey I couldn't see very much at all.  What with the heat and having already cycled 5 miles to the office in the morning I was rather dehydrated by the time I arrived back at the house and I'd developed a headache that bore all the hallmarks of the early onset of heat/sunstroke, so a I set about consuming vast quantities of fluids (principally sports drinks) and ate a large packet of crisps (to replace lost salts).  This seemed to do the trick.  

I've had heat/sunstroke twice (I'm not sure what the difference is?): once when working in Iraq and once when on holiday in Thailand.  It is extremely unpleasant, if not a little dangerous and so now I'm (usually) very mindful of taking precautions to avoid over-exposure to the sun. Symptoms include the worst headache ever and moving your eyeballs is excruciatingly painful so all you can do is try to look straight ahead, and it feels as though your eyes are going to pop out of your eye sockets.  In addition you have severe diarrhoea, vomiting and your body alternates between having shivers, despite being very hot, and then the next minute sweating despite feeling freezing cold.  The whole episode leaves you feeling extremely wretched.

The weekend before we had a shopping trip to Manila but I felt it was hardly worth it.  Manila may only be an hour's flight from Cebu but when you factor in the 2 hour drive from Toledo to the airport, then the 1 hour in the airport for check-in, followed by the taxi journey to the hotel (and not taking into account the the flight delay) it works out at nearly 6 hours from the house to the hotel room, and the same coming back.  Factor into this the cost of the flights and the hotel it seemed kind of pointless, apart from the fact we managed to have something decent to eat for a change.  

In addition, the Philippines seems to excel in shop assistants that stand over you.  Firstly they ask you if they can help and no isn't a word they understand.  It's so bad they actually crowd you and some shove items in your direction saying "this is nice" without having one iota of an idea of what you do or do not like.  But even worse that that, what I really find off-putting is the way that no sooner you've looked at an item on a hanger or display and returned it they're there, refolding it, straightening it or rearranging it in a manner that suggests you should never have disturbed their precious display in the first place.  

I have three different way of dealing with these shops and the assistants: 

1. Walk out; 

2. Walk as fast as I can around the shop to see if they can keep up and change direction suddenly to catch them unaware, and; 

3. As they approach, turn and start to leave the shop.  When they see you leaving and head back to their organising and folding I go back in.  But when they approach me, I start to leave again.  It's amazing how long it takes for some to get the message.

Jewellers in Singapore are even worse: you only have to look in the window from outside the shop and they come out and hassle you.  I can't speak for the rest of the population but I'm sure if people are left alone they are far more likely to buy something and we're not idiots, if we need assistance, WE'LL ASK!

What seems to make this worse is the sheer number of assistants/staff working in not only shops but all organisations.  I can only conclude that due to the criminally low wages that are paid, most establishments can afford to have one or two or three or four more than necessary.  Even the hotel the lobby seemed to be full of employees whose only job seemed to be smile at the hotel guests and look extraordinarily pretty.  If they're really lucky they get a proper job to do, like pressing the lift call button or opening a door.  This excess of numbers does serve to demonstrate that having more personnel definitely doesn't help to actually make things more efficient.  In fact it has the opposite effect in that most places provide pretty hopeless service where they seem to have too many bodies.

On leaving Manila and whilst we were queuing for check-in at the ultra-modern, brand new terminal there was suddenly a loud cock-a-doodle-do.  In the line next to us there was a local checking in two fighting cocks for his flight although we couldn't figure out if they were being checked in for the hold, hand baggage or whether they had their own seats. Actually, the latter isn't as silly as it sounds as Arab Sheiks will book a seat, sometimes in first or business class, for their falcons. We thought the check-in chickens was hilarious but for the Philippines it was the most normal thing in the world.  Can you imagine turning up at Heathrow with your two favourite chooks and trying to check them in?

On the return leg of the flight with Cebu Pacific the cabin crew were offering free Cebu Pacific canvas bags for those passengers who were prepared to come to the front of the plane and sing a Christmas Carol into the PA system.  Incredibly, but unsurprisingly there was no shortage of volunteers so for part of the flight we were subjected to Christmas carol karaoke.

A few observations: despite being one of the poorest places I've ever been to, why does everyone still have a mobile phone?  And what I find makes travelling economy class so unbearable is not the cramped seats or bad food or even being herded like cattle but the pure selfishness and bad manners of fellow travellers.

Just About Completed

By the end of this week I will have packed up my life and existence into a collection of suitcases, rucksacks and holdalls and will be on the move, transferring to Iloilo.  I have now found a house for rent, a rather expensive one I might add, and because I found it on Ebay and have paid rather a large sum in deposits and advanced rent without ever actually meeting the landlord, I'm now wondering and somewhat worried that it might be a scam.  I'm thinking that when I turn up at the house I'm going to find that it's not actually for rent, that the guy who says he owns it, doesn't (and who I've never met and who isn't even in the country) and I'll end up with nowhere to stay, which I find more disconcerting than actually losing the deposit.

I'd like to say I'm a little saddened at leaving the accommodation where I've been staying for the duration of my stay in Toledo  but I can't.  There's been no internet for over a week, which is bad enough, but what really irks me is the couldn't-give-a-toss attitude and that's-the-way-it-is mentality to it all.  And apart from the occasional fresh mango I won't miss the stone cold fired eggs and greasy bacon for breakfast in the mornings.  

Reflections in the Car Window

I also won't miss the inhabitants of the loft space, whatever they are.  I suspect they're rats.  For the most part they're silent but every once in while they have what sounds like a game of tag and there a loud, mad fit of scurrying and running about.  This is made all the more disconcerting by the fact that there is recessed lighting in the ceiling of the bedroom and in a Winston Smith type of way I go to bed at night and imagine waking up with a rat on my face after it has popped out the light bulb and fallen through the ceiling.  I've stopped referring to it as the bedroom and now call it Room 101.

Alternatively there's the very high possibility the rats will chew through the plastic insulation on some electrical wiring as they consider this to be a highly delicious and nutritious delicacy, thereby causing a huge fire that will  burn down the entire block made even more likely by fact that the fire station is some distance away and the fuel for the fire engines has probably been embezzled to fuel the fire chief's car.  Still, supposing we aren't all incinerated, the residents could use the water in the swimming pool to put the fire out.  The Canadian living next door to me would have a team of his own judging by the amount of hookers he has going back and forth.  Once again, complaining about the rats in the loft yields no response or action from the owner.  

Tropical Storm

ollowing a long weekend in Singapore and Malaysia I had a rather bumpy return as a tropical storm was passing over the Central Visayas region. On the approach to Mactan (Cebu) Airport the aircraft hit an air-pocket and dropped suddenly, leaving most passengers with their hearts in their mouth.  In addition there was a fair amount of rough air causing the aircraft to jump about to add to the white knuckle experience.  I found myself going over in my mind the process of removing the emergency exit door (where I was fortunately seated) and was checking under my seat for the life vest.  At one stage it became so rough that the pilot told the cabin crew to take a seat and strap themselves in, which was the first time that's has happened to a flight I've been on.

The amount of rainfall has been phenomenal and it's hard to appreciate the persistent intensity without experiencing it first hand. At times it's as though the rain is no longer falling due to the effects of gravity but sounded and felt as though it was being fired out of a fire hose.  The house where I'm staying has a tin roof, as most housing in the region have, and the noise at times was deafening.  The garden was under water and I had to paddle to the car carrying my shoes and the swimming pool was inundated with dirty flood water.  Following the storms the pool has been emptied (by hand using buckets) and is now in the process of (very slowly) refilling. 

Heavy rains mean no TV and no internet in the house. Fortunately, there has been no lightning as this invariably means the power will go off too. Whilst no internet, TV and swimming pool might be considered a hardship to me, to see the impact on the local communities is to understand what hardship really is.  Some have had their rice and other crops close to being devastated and others who have been foolish enough to plant close to the rivers have had plantations wiped out.

Although no houses appear to have been destroyed there are plenty that are flooded or have become islands surrounded by flood water.  There have been numerous landslides on the roads crossing the mountains, one of them so large that it buried and blocked the road so much that not only were vehicles unable to pass, but it was considered too large and unstable for people to climb over to reach transportation on the other side to continue their journeys.  It's hardly surprising, what with all the hillside farming, excavation and building that occurs which destabilises the hillsides.  In one location there is a police training school that is constructed immediately above a very steep hillside.  I've often commented to my driver that in the event of an earthquake or landslide the whole school is going to be very suddenly relocated at the base of the hill.  Sure enough, during the storm there was a minor landslide that has brought the school even closer to the edge so it'll be interesting to see if any steps are taken to prevent a disaster in the near future. Also, a brand new footbridge crossing a river and linking communities has collapsed as well, although it's still being used in it's present state of disrepair.

The rivers that were dry or stagnant (as mentioned in an earlier blog) quickly became raging torrents that were at the point of spilling over the banks that contain them (they don't "burst" their banks as the media likes to state) and inundating the surrounding areas.  The rivers were cocoa coloured from either the local sand winning, farming on the river banks, construction activities or possibly from the copper mine or a combination of all of these factors. With the rivers flowing into the sea the whole coast line was transformed from a pretty blue/green colour to a murky, muddy hue. I'm sure this has a devastating impact on the corals and more delicate marine life that inhabits the shores. In places like Singapore there are extremely strict laws to prevent this from happening but here there seems to nothing more than lip service to rather lax controls.

After the Storm

Great visibility after the storm, unless you're in the muddy, murky sea...

In the office we were making contingency plans for localised flooding by ensuring electrical items are stored off the floor and similarly at the house we've been doing likewise, moving items upstairs just in case, although I think the risk of flooding is more perceived than actual.  What is apparent is that as the ground becomes waterlogged the impact of smaller showers has a bigger effect that the initial deluge, which was largely soaked up by the dry soils and empty rivers.

It's not all doom and gloom though, the kids seem to love it and were out paddling in flooding fields, floating around  in makeshift rafts, playing in the puddles or just showering in the rain falling from the roof of their homes.

Hopping Flights

As things are starting to happen at the Iloilo project I took a trip there again to see how the works were progressing. Instead of the time consuming ferry trips I took a local flight. This only takes 45 minutes instead of the whole day it takes by ferry (or two days for the return trip). The flight is in a small propeller driven plane which flies over the central mountains of Cebu where the massive hole of the copper mine in the mountains can be seen. It's because of the mine and the income it generates for Toledo that the place has managed to obtain city status.

From the aeroplane window the mine appears as a huge brown scar in the green and lush mountains. Between my office and the house where I'm staying there are half a dozen rivers and stream but right now each one of these is bone dry or at best stagnant. The rumour is that this is caused by the mining activities, which if it is true, is a sad price to pay for the mining activities.

The flight then passes over Toledo and I was able to snap a photo of the power plant with our chimney clearly visible.

Mine in the Mountains

Toldeo from the Air

However, the best part of the flight is when the plane just about flew directly over the volcano of Mt. Kanlaon and I was able to look down inside the crater. The volcano is considered to still be active and a couple of years back the some tourists were killed near the summit when the crater ejected rocks and boulders, although I read this was caused by steam from water entering the crater rather than a volcanic eruption. Looking down on the crater there was no glowing magma nor was there any smoke and ash being ejected. It all looked very benign.

Mt. Kanlaon Crater

Passing over the Iloilo the surrounding area is covered in rice paddies and is a wonderful vibrant green colour and when you look down on a flock of pure white egrets flying over the fields it is truly spectacular.

Just recently the volcano Mayon located in Luzon, which is a impressive symmetrical cone rising to 2462m, has started erupting. The forecast is that it is going to develop into a major eruption and evacuation of the immediate area has started already. Whilst it is in its preliminary stages I'm hoping to fly to the nearest airport in a couple of week's time to hopefully see and photograph what I imagine will be a awe inspiring sight.

Welcome Back

It didn't take long to fall back into the usual routine on my arrival back in The Philippines from my holiday in the UK. After all, what else is there to do?

There is the new project that's due to start at the end of November to look forward to. In some ways it'll be good to get out of Toledo and go to somewhere different. Reading various guide books there seems to be plenty of interesting things to do in Iloilo and on the island of Panay - including the fact that Boracay is a mere 4 hour drive away. On the other hand, it means more upheaval and the prospect of packing everything up and moving again is not something I relish.

What I like about the job that I do is you're never in one place for longer than a year or so and then you're on the move to see/do something different. A whole new location, different people and varying conditions grab the attention and prevents boredom setting in. However, in equal measures what I really dislike about this process is never being able to settle or become established in any sort of routine. No sooner you've found a place you like to live in, a gym to use, a route to ride your bicycle on, a place to shop, a place to eat then you're off again. And having to be endlessly mobile means never properly having the comforts of home - only what you can pack into a suitcase.

Mountain Biking

I've been up the mountains a couple of times for the down hill cycling, although I think I'm starting to lose my nerve.   Every time I go out I'm trying to beat my previous highest speed and the last time I managed to top 44mph. I can see that this is going to end in tears and combined with a certain paranoia that the front forks on my bike are wobbly, or the brake pads are failing, or the frame is going to snap in half (the last one is borne from seeing it happen to a on TV a guy trying to race a bike down the side of a mountain and ending up with half the hillside embedded in his face). Admittedly he was going much faster but also consider that his bike wasn't a £100 special from down-town Cebu, so I reckon that puts me at the same level of risk and as a consequence I've started to shy away from the mountain.

So the weekend after arriving back I had my driver take me 18 miles out of town along the coast road and dump me there to cycle my own way back to the house. And this is in some ways far more enjoyable than the white-knuckle ride down the mountain as I can take my time, take in the views and it's easier to stop to take photos. The next time I go out I intend to go in the opposite direction and cycle back in again.

Locals in the Rice Fields

On the Sunday afternoon I cycled to the town of Balamban, which again is on the coast. It has an interesting market full of local produce and a prevalence of dried fish of all shapes and sizes. Cycling along the road there are frequent and friendly calls of "Hey Joe". Why it's always Joe I've no idea. Stopping to photograph a rice paddy I was approached by local lady and as the conversation invariably does it turned to asking if I could employ her husband.

In the market and along the road there are some great photo opportunities but I lack the confidence to approach people and photograph them. I don't like surreptitiously photographing people as I do feel that it's an invasion of their privacy and I'm embarrassed to do this. A friend of mine in Singapore has a great solution to this: go and have half a dozen pints beforehand and lose all your photographic inhibitions. However, it's not to be recommended when cycling!

From One Third World to Another

At the beginning of October I went back to the UK on leave. Yes it's nice and sunny here and hot but you get tired of it eventually. What I really miss are the seasons. In the tropics every day is the same and without a calender you wouldn't know if it was spring, summer, autumn or winter. Similarly, it gets light at the same time and dark at the same time nigh on all year round. Sunrises and sunsets are extraordinary rapid as the sun makes a steep vertical path towards the horizon. One minute it's light, the next it's dark. In the UK the sun takes a leisurely arc to the horizon thus bathing everything in a wonderful soft light for much longer. That is when it's not grey or cloudy . . . .

Autumn Colours

Whilst I admit the winters in the UK aren't so great and not really something to look forward to, the anticipation of the other seasons is always welcome. This time it was autumn and I was looking forward to the colours that that season brings and having a house in the countryside meant this could be fully realised.

Most of our time was spent day tripping, visiting the towns and villages nearby. What really jumps out at you having been away for so long is how very, very expensive the UK is. And I don't mean the price of luxury goods, I mean just the basics needed to exist now seem impossibly costly.

This was hammered home during a long weekend in London. Okay, so we didn't have to pay for accommodation but the cost for just everything else was astronomical. For example, the rail fares into London from mid Kent were £25 each - they would have been £50 each if we'd taken the new high speed train into St. Pancras. It seemed like everything else was priced at £20. Breakfast for two in a run of the mill cafe was £20. Lunch for 2 was £20. A round of drinks for 4 people was £20. A ride on an open top bus was a shameful £25 each. The London Dungeon is £21.95 each. The Tower of London - £19.50. London Eye - £17.50 or £27 if you want to jump the queue. St. Paul's Catherdral is a shocking £19 for two. What happens if you want to go inside and say a few prayers?

London Pubs

Combined with the rail fares this surely puts a day trip to London out of reach of a large majority of families in the UK and it gave me a certain feeling of resentment that I should have to pay so much to visit what essentially isn't a theme park but our heritage and history. Tourists, especially from poorer parts of the world must be in for a severe shock when visiting London.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. London has some fantastic architecture and walking around is free (for the time being). London pubs are also the best in the world in my humble opinion. I love the high ceilings, the big windows, the architecture, the ambiance. The distinct lack of soulless theme pubs. None of that silent treatment you get when you walk into a pub in the provinces. The vast majority of pubs in central London just accept you for what you are. Yes, the beer's expensive but it's no more expensive than a pseudo-Irish pub in Singapore or other big capital city, and I know where I'd rather be having a quiet pint!

Legal Alien

I have finally been given my work permit over 6 months since arriving in The Philippines. There's bureaucratic efficiency for you. What I don't understand is that you're not really meant to work until you're given the work permit but as it takes so long, what else are you meant to do?

You win a contract, you're given a month to mobilise and get started but it takes 6 months to obtain the work permits. God only knows what the process involves. The company lawyers in Manila became rather agitated when I criticised them for the time the whole process took, but it was them that told me it would only take a few weeks to obtain the permit. Still, why should they care, they get paid regardless of win, lose or draw. It's only the people like us who live in the real world that get paid by results.

The final step in obtaining the work permit necessitated yet another trip to Manila to be finger-printed like a common criminal. The immigration office was better than the one where I have my interview (see my earlier posting) but was equally chaotic. The sordid business of being fingerprinted was done in the waiting hall. A rotund looking official was sat on a stool by the window with a the required forms, a pad of ink and an inky roller. When it's your turn to be finger-printed, she grabs your wrist like an irritated mother would grab a child's hand, tutting and scowling with intolerance if you try to anticipate her moves and assist so the only thing to do is be totally compliant. Without a smile or any sign of good manners she takes each and every finger and thumb and rolls it in the thick sticky ink and then rolls it across the form in the allocated spot. I have to admit, for each digit I tried my hardest to smear the prints as my finger left the page as I don't see why I should be finger-printed when I haven't broken the law. Once completed you're tossed aside and left to find your own means of cleaning off the ink.

This form then goes off for processing and you have to wait while this is done. During this time a peddler came into the offices selling bootleg DVDs and did a roaring trade with the finger-printing officer whilst she made all her other victims wait as she scoured the DVDs for her coming evening's entertainment.

Following the finger-printing, and to make me feel even more like a criminal I had to have the mugshots with the height indicators behind me, being photographed from the front, each side plus a quarter-on shot. Then I had to be digitally finger printed in addition. My guess is that all this data is flogged to the US government as a sideline in revenue collection for The Philippines government. We're all being put on a database by stealth.

Thrills & Hopefull, No Spills

As there are no more islands within easy reach of where I'm stationed I've had to resort to alternative means of entertainment and as part of my fitness drive I've taken to cycling on a Sunday. This consists of waking up at 5:00am and getting my driver to drive me and my bike into the mountains, dropping me off and making my own way back again.

If you're wondering why it's so early, it's to escape the suffocating heat of midday, although with the recent tropical storms passing nearby that hasn't been so much of a problem.

The route that I use is almost a 3,000 ft descent to sea level so it's not exactly hard work. But then it's not all down hill coasting either. The first week I tried it I covered nearly 18 miles and only a quarter of that is the downhill rush.

Lush Mountain Terrain

And a rush is certainly what it is. It is exhilarating to feel the pull of gravity on such a steep slope with tight winding bends fringed with shear drops with largely unprotected edges. The feel of the cycle's brakes struggling to control the speed and buzz of acceleration when the brakes are released. Top speed the first week was a tad short of 40mph - it could have been faster but fears for my unprotected cranium, the lack of an ambulance service (never mind the possibility of an air-ambulance) and the thought of leaving a veneer of flesh from my knees, ankles and elbows forces me to keep my speed somewhat in check.

I always take a camera with the intention of capturing some of the scenery and local people but it rarely makes it out of my backpack and the journey is just one memory blur of passing mountain dwellings, people working in impossibly steep fields, grazing water buffalo, happy, smiling children, bewildered stares and friendly greetings of "Hey Joe".

View Across to Neighbouring Negros

The following week I decided to push the boundaries and went further into the mountains, dropping down into a valley and back up the other side. To start with it was a short lived rush down to the bottom of the valley and then the hard slog back up the other side to where the really long drop back down to the sea started. This section was impossibly steep and I could only manage it with a mixture of cycling and walking. All along the route are rows mountain shacks and houses engaged in a bit of free enterprise market gardening, with the side of the road being used as a nursery for all kinds of potted plants, shrubs, trees, orchids and flowers, which all helped to distract me from the pain in my legs as my muscles burned under the exertion.

Nearly 4 miles on and I was approaching the summit and was looking forward to the rapid descent but noticing the bike feeling sluggish I looked down to see I had a flat tyre! All this pain and no gain. I had the embarrassment of having to call my driver to come and rescue me. In the meantime I kept walking and pushing my bike, covering yet another 2 miles before he turned up. Whilst appreciating the workout in climbing to the summit I felt cheated by not being able to enjoy the descent.

Next time, I'll be taking a bicycle pump and a puncture repair kit.

Between Jobs

Another trip was necessary to Iloilo to go and check out possible accommodation and premises for an office. This time, having done the trip before there wasn't the anticipation of what might be seen or discovered. Added to which the weather was grey and rather dull so the drive across the island of Negros was very uneventful and there weren't many photographic opportunities.

In Iloilo I'd booked into a hotel located in an area called Smallville, which was an district we'd seen during our last visit. Smallville is completely unique in that it consists of a small area of modern bars, restaurants and cafes like I've never seen in the Philippines. In the event it wasn't such a great idea staying in the middle of this district as the surrounding bars had live music playing outside until 3:00am and to say the noise was intrusive in the hotel room is a complete understatement. I may as well been staying in the bar itself. Philippines build quality means that the windows rattling loose in the frames provide no sound insulation whatsoever and the in-wall aircon unit meant that there may as well been a big hole in the wall (which there was!).

Looking at potential houses and offices was the usual pain and disappointment. There is very little concept of western build quality or comfort. At one potential office rental the landlord, a pervy looking mass murderer type, told me that he had some accommodation attached to the office I might be interested renting. What they consisted of was some dirty, dusty plywood shacks with filthy mattresses covered in ominous dark stains. He obviously thought it was the Ritz. I'd rather sleep on the streets.

We wanted to rent the office for 6 months. He said he wanted a minimum of 1 year and so there was a impasse. What I don't understand is he'd rather leave his property empty (and clearly they'd been empty for some time and he had several units) rather than rent it for 6 months at what was good rates for the area.

In the end we left Iloilo without having secured anything, which was disappointing.

On Saturday morning we were up early at 3:30pm to catch the first ferry at 5:00am from Iloilo to Bacolod. However, when we arrived at the ferry terminal it was chock-a-block with vehicles. My driver came back to me and said that the first ferry was fully booked and the next one, at 11:00am was likely to be fully booked too, so I hunkered down for the long wait and enviously watched all the other vehicles loading on to the ferry. Just as the last vehicles were boarding and I was adjusting the car seat for some sleep my driver suddenly started getting all excited saying there might be a spare space on the ferry. I have no idea how he knew this as the quay side was still full of vehicles, but as I was re-adjusting the car seat he was driving towards the ferry. There was one tiny space that didn't look big enough for a large 4x4 but with certain amount of vehicle manoeuvring we were on board, although it didn't look as though they would be able to close the bow doors and I had visions of the ferry becoming a repeat of the Herald of Free Enterprise. However, the space was (thankfully) deceptive and the doors were closed and we were off.

To cross Negros we decided to take an alternative route, passing to the south of the volcano, Kanlaon. This was mostly on unpaved roads and it was interesting the see the remote and isolated villages located on the side of the volcano and to see the faces of kids that had probably never seen a westerner before. I was hoping to get some good views of the volcano but for the whole time it was shrouded in low cloud.

The ferry trip from San Carlos back to Toledo was routine until we were a mile or so from the Toledo terminal. I was sitting down near the rail when I spotted a group of a dozen or so dolphins leaping from the water just off the bow of the ferry. Extremely excited at this sighting I jump up with my camera but by the time I'd switched it on and run round to the starboard side of the ferry where the dolphins were headed they were out of sight. What I found astounding about this was that the locals stood at the rail didn't bat an eyelid at this sighting. Was this because sightings are so common that it's no longer an event for them or was it that they just didn't care or have an interest?

Twitching and Touring

There are 7107 islands making up the Philippines archipelago so visiting yet another island is an easy option on the sightseeing list.

Olango Island is a short ferry ride from Mactan Island where Cebu Airport is located and the ferry terminal is located right next door to the Hilton Hotel, which looks as though the external paint scheme was chosen by Paris as it's bright pink. It doesn't exactly blend in with the surrounding environment.

The Pink Hilton Hotel

I say that it's only a short ferry ride to Olango Island but the ferry is the slowest I've ever been on, travelling at a mere 4mph it seem to take ages.

Olango is famous for its bird watching sanctuary as it is on the one of the principle bird migratory routes so having taken our bikes we took the short cycle ride to the reserve. The entrance fee to the reserve was Php100 but for locals it's only Php20. I love the two tier pricing for tourists. If only we had it in the UK.

When we wanted to head out to the observatory to see the birds I was told that I'd have to pay an extra Php500 if I wanted to take photographs. So let me get this right: I pay 5 times what a local pays to enter the reserve and then I'm expected to pay an extra Php500 just to take some sodding photos. Consequently, I had a bit of an argument with the staff and they conceded that I only needed to pay if I was going to take photos like the one on the wall (which was a full frame photo of some wader) and as I pointed out that I'd left my 1000mm super-telephoto lens for my compact camera at home I was highly unlikely to be able take a photo of such clarity. As it turned out, at the bird hide (which wasn't very hidden) the nearest birds were but mere dots on the horizon. I doubt if even Hubble Telescope could have managed a full frame photo at that distance so I was pleased I hadn't paid the Php500.

Bird Watching Platform

I stayed at the observatory for as long as I could but as there were a couple of kids there banging around and jumping up and down I figured that if they were irritating me the chances of some kid loving birds coming close were negligible. Added to which, there was some local wandering around in the shallows collecting shells and dressed like a scarecrow so I reckoned the chances of seeing anything worthwhile were zilch.

We had lunch back at the reserve's entrance but I had no appetite as it was unbelievably hot and humid.

Shortly afterwards we were back on our bikes and heading off to a beach. Not much to do there except fall asleep in the sun.

The good news, so I was told, was that we were going back on a super-fast pump boat so no more dilly-dalling on clunky old ferry. In reality, once on board the pump boat we had to sit there for an hour as they won't leave until they're full, so it kind of defeated the object as the ferry left before the pump boat and was back before us. But none of that matters because it was "faster" than the ferry!

Going back there was quite a heavy swell and at one point a huge wave crashed over the side of the boat swamping it and causing the onset of some panic and hysteria in some of the passengers. I nearly became a Philippines shipping accident statistic but at least it livened the day up.

Bird Life (Caged)

Odds & Sods

I've noticed that all just about all vehicles here have the "How's my driving" painted onto the rear, from the biggest trucks down to the Jeepneys and even the tricycles. As driving is universally bad (although it all still works surprisingly well), the need to place this on all vehicles seems rather pointless to me. What are you supposed to do? Call up the number and tell them that vehicle registration ABC 123 is being driven badly - really badly. Particularly badly. More badly than is the norm. This is not really possible as it couldn't deteriorate much worse otherwise the streets would be like the bumper cars you get at fairgrounds (but probably not anymore on the grounds of health & safety). And besides, even if you did call the number on the back of the vehicle I really, really doubt that anyone would care.

The placing of "How's my driving" on the back of all the vehicles here is as worthless as the disclaimer that's placed at the bottom of all corporate e-mail. Whose idea was that? And why specifically e-mails? It has absolutely no worth in my opinion, although I'm sure there's some corporate lawyer that would come up with some pathetic argument for including it. I mean, when did you ever receive a letter in the post, or a birthday card, or an electricity bill with the wording at the bottom stating, "This communication is for use by the intended recipients and may contain information that may be privileged, confidential or copyrighted, blah, blah, blah, blah, ad-infinitum". Really, does anyone take any notice of this drivel? But all companies do it. I bet there isn't a recorded instance of a company ending up in court because they didn't include a disclaimer at the bottom of an e-mail. What the disclaimer does make you do should you receive an e-mail by mistake (just how many e-mails have you received that weren't intended for you? Not many, if any, I reckon) from the office of No. 10 Downing Street is read it from top to bottom to see if there is anything privileged, confidential or copyrighted in it to see if it's worthwhile sending to the News of the World.

I worked for a small engineering company several years ago and as it grew they introduced a policy of adding the disclaimer to all e-mails. When I asked why this was suddenly necessary I was told "because we're a big company now and that's what big companies do".  Pathetic.

Furthermore, you then get those morons that also add the words "Only print this if absolutely necessary - save the environment", or words to that effect. What's it supposed to mean? Are they trying to tell the world that they're environmentally aware tree huggers? Do they suppose that I print out every e-mail I receive, regardless of the drivel they send, just so I can have an office full of files and paper? The only thing it does ensure, along with the pointless disclaimer, is that if you do have to print the e-mail it's going to go into at least an extra page. How environmentally friendly is that?

Here's what the Lonely Planet says about Toledo:

The port city of Toledo, due west of Cebu City, presents a cheap and quick way to travel between Cebu and San Carlos, Negros. Once home to one of Asia's copper-mining giants [it still is], and currently home to a massive coal and oil power plant, this nondescript little city has little to offer the traveller. Its choice of food and accommodation is extremely limited, but with frequent ferry services, no one should be forced to stay the night.

That says it all really.

I've taken to cycling home from work these days in an ongoing quest to lose a bit of weight and to improve my fitness for my pending climb to the top of Mt. Kanlaon. To this end I've bought yet another bike - it seems that I end up buying a bike in whatever country I'm working in at the time so I've accumulated several now. Fortunately the condition of the roads here pretty good and as there are very few vehicles on the road, other than the plethora of motor tricycles and tricycles, it's possibly not as dangerous as you might think. Hopefully that's the case . . . . . Perhaps I should get a tee shirt made with the wording on the back saying, "How's my cycling?"

Island Overdose

The weekend following the trip to the Island of Sumilon we went to the Island of Bantayan and as it was a public holiday on the Friday, we had a little more time to spare. This island is located diagonally opposite to Sumilon so instead of being located in the south-east, Bantayan is located to the north-west tip of Cebu. It's around the same distance/travel time from Toledo - which makes sense as Toledo is located centrally along the west coast of Cebu. Bantayan is much larger than Sumilon though, and has it's own towns, residents and several resorts to chose from.

The drive north was pretty much the same as driving south, still scenic and pretty enough to hold ones interest. There were the ususal rice paddies and some sugar cane plantation, which I hadn't seen on Cebu before. The road condition varied from mostly very good to rather dire in places but there is evidence that there is process of improvements and upgrading taking place.

I read that Bantayan is similar to how Boracay was 15 years ago before it became developed and commercialised. Currently there are none of the reknowed resort operators there and the ones that are available in Bantayan are locally owned. We had booked in advance into the Santa Fe Resort for one night and the Kota Beach the following night.

The Ferry to Bantayan Island

On arrival at the Hagnaya ferry terminal of you are mobbed by locals offering to carry your bag or to guide you to the ferry or to offer tours or show you where to park your car. You name it, they have thought of everything in an effort to earn a tip. I suppose this kind of thing is to be expected in such a poor country but really, it becomes awfully tiresome after while, especially when a refusal is met with downright rudeness bordering on belligerence. But worse than this was seemingly lack of courtesy and goood manners which really adds to the feeling that as a foreigner you are there only to be ruthlessly exploited.

The ferry ride from to the terminal at Santa Fe on Bantayan was uneventful but marred by an overly persistant tout who just went on and on and on about renting his boat for a tour. This guy wouldn't take no for an answer and his rates were an outragous price and a complete rip-off.

On arrving at the Santa Fe terminal it was more of the same but thankfully the resort had sent a jeepney to pick us up, but still there were enough people offering to carry my small, perfectly managable overnight bag the 10 yards from the ferry to the jeepney. The other problem with this mobbing is it makes you feel distinctly uneasy and you can't relax trying to keep your eye on your camera and wallet.

The Santa Fe resort is only a short hop from the ferry terminal and to be honest you could walk it in 10 minutes but wouldn't want to otherwise you'd be followed by a huge chattering entourage offering to carry your bag and all manner of other services.

At the Santa Fe Resort the hassling continued. Whilst there seems to be a rule to stop touts from entering the grounds, some still do whilst others just stand and stare from the hotel boundary or continually call from the gate and you enter and leave the hotel to the beach. This is really off-putting.

Santa Fe Beach

The beach chalets were fully booked so we took a hotel room. The room was small and poorly maintained. The shower water reeked of sewage when it was first turned on - truly a foul and nauseating stench, similar to that experienced on Sumilon. The restaurant was ok but by now my expectations aren't very high. The restaurant staff are predominantly surly and disinterested. If you leave a tip you won't receive an acknowledgement or a thank you.

There is a TV in the restaurant but the portly owner of the place pulls up a sofa chair and foot stool to within a few feet of the set, puts his feet up and sits there with the remote control (which he really doesn't need as he's so close to the set) watching it like he's in his own lounge, all the time barking orders at the restaurant staff. Perhaps this is why they are so sullen?

The beach is great and a picture postcard of what you'd imagine a tropical beach to be like but the sea is somewhat sterile with nothing to see but the waters are nice and warm.

We eventually succumbed to the touts who were offering a reasonable rate to visit Virgin Island for what we were told would be great snorkelling. Having been hassled to take the trip throughout the ferry ride to Batayan at a rip-off price of Php2500 an offer of Php500 seemed a good deal. However, when we supposedly arrived at "Virgin Island" there were no fish and no coral to be seen. After the event I learnt that we were taken to Cabulauan Island instead (there is no Virgin Island on any of the maps I could see and there is no internet available on Bantayan Island to research it) and to add insult to injury we paid the entrance fee of Php200 to enter Virgin Island, so we were royally ripped off. You may argue that tourists are fair game at being ripped off and we should have been better informed before we went but I don't go along with this. I accept that as a foreigner I may have to spend a bit more in order to support the local economy but this was downright fraudulent. This may benefit a few locals in the short term but it isn't exactly going to enamour the foreign tourists into coming to the island. Ripping off the tourists is the economic equivalent to the environmental impact of dynamite fishing, which seems to have been so popular in the Philippines: it benefits a very small minority in the short term but impacts the honest majority more severely in the long run.

Not the Virgin Island

We only stayed one night at the Santa Fe and on the recommendation of our driver we tried to book a night in their sister resort, the Ogtong Cave Resort. However, they seemingly only had one room available (after initially telling us they had other rooms available) and that it was Php18,000 a night - £240! I can't see that any place is worthy of that charge in Batayan but I suppose people do pay it. The check out time at the Santa Fe was ridiculously early at 10:00am. We already had a room at booked at the Kota Beach Resort so we figured that a couple of hours wasn't going to be so difficult to deal with.

We'd actually booked this resort a couple of weeks in advance but due to the early check-out requirements of the Santa Fe we turned up a little bit early, When we arrived at the Kota Beach we had high hopes but these were soon dashed. The receptionist had all the charm and charisma of funeral director and the good manners of a hormonal teenager and we were told that our room wouldn't be available until 2:00pm instead of 12:00 as the occupants were having a late check-out! Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Our Beach Hut (Almost in the Sea)

As a result we were going to go to the resort next door but it was full so we had to sit it out for 4 hours until the room was available rather than tramp around trying to find an alternative. In the event, the owner said he would discount the room from the usual Php2000 to Php1600 but reneged on this and actually charged us Php1700. The chalet we were given was right on the sea front, so close in fact that the waves crashed over the verandah at high tide but the room was awfully basic and in need of refurbishment. The bed was one of the most uncomfortable I'd ever slept in having one of those foam mattresses that you gradually sink into during the night so that you end up the same shape as banana and as I sleep on my side, this gives me horrendous backache.

Kota Beach

The restaurant was ok but again the staff were surly. The location was fantastic in terms of the beach but the sea was full of sea grass making swimming not entirely pleasant as it was slimy and would stick to your face.

Actually, on leaving Bantayan, what with the travelling and hassles, I was thinking that I'd be better off spending the weekend sitting around the pool at my accommodation in Toledo.