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islands

Puka beach Boracay Philippines

Philippines: Boracay island tour, Puka beach and snorkelling

Date: 21st May 2013

I was up and ready early for today’s island tour. I had booked my tour for ₱700 (Rs. 1000/$16/€) and included in the price was a snorkel mask. The tour itinerary listed stops at Boracay’s Puka beach, a few coral reefs for snorkeling, the private Crystal Cove island and lunch at another beach on Boracay island. I was excited, because this time, I had an underwater camera with me. Nothing fancy, just a simple AGFAPhoto camera on loan from my friend Janet.

White Beach beautiful sunny day Boracay
It looked perfectly sunny today morning
Allan B fun tour company Boracay
I booked my tour here (only read about their cartel-like operation in Boracay much later)
Diving gear oxygen tanks Boracay
Scuba diving gear. One day I will try scuba diving and get myself PADI certified.
Inside tricycle taxi Boracay
I was then picked up by a staff, taken by a tricycle taxi to station 3
Boracay lane to beach Philippines
We walked back to the beach
Boracay tour group Philippines
This was my tour group
Boat tour Boracay Philippines
The boat was full
Leaving White Beach Boracay
Time to leave. Alright boys, jump!
Grey skies Boracay Philippines
Not too long after we set off, dark grey skies appeared in our direction. Dammit!
Coral garden beach Boracay Philippines
None the less, a short ride later, we were at some coral garden not too far off the east end of White beach
Boracay snorkeling tour Philippines
Time to go snorkeling… with an underwater camera 🙂
Coral garden underwater Boracay
The photos from the AGFAphoto camera produced a heavy green-ish hue. Instead the waters were very blue.
Scissortail sergeant fish snorkeling Boracay Philippines
I adjusted the colours on these photos as much as possible to bring out the blues
Snorkeling in Boracay fishes Philippines
Lots of fish! Even if the fish were mostly Scissortail Sergeants
Boracay coral fishes snorkeling Philippines
I followed the steps mentioned here to bring out the colours of the fish more accurately
School of fish snorkeling Boracay Philippines
Although it wasn’t the brightest and sunniest of skies above water, I was still happy to capture all this on camera
Mithun snorkeling in Boracay Philippines
Underwater selfie!

Here’s a brief video I took underwater:

I went back on board the boat once it was time to leave.

Ice cream vendor in sea Philippines
Want ice cream at sea? They’ll come to you 🙂
Crystal Cove island Philippines
Next stop on the tour was the private Crystal Cove island
Boat Crystal Cove island beach Philippines
It was here we were told there is an entry fee of ₱200 if we wish to enter the resort and check out the two coves
Beach Crystal Cove island Boracay Philippines
I didn’t want to laze around on the beach, so I paid the ₱200 and went in
Crystal Cove island steps Boracay Philippines
I went to find Cove 1 first
Crystal Cove island huts Boracay Philippines
Crystal Cove island may look like a resort, but they don’t have rooms to stay in. They offer camping though.

Crystal Cove island resort Boracay panorama

Steps to Cove 1 Crystal Cove island
This is the entrance to Cove 1
Crystal Cove 1 Boracay Philippines
A cove is nothing but a small cave-like entry to an island
Cove island Boracay Philippines
I decided to pack up my Canon 7D and take the underwater camera back out
Mithun snorkeling Boracay Philippines
You have minders/staff at the cove who will help you take photos and watch over your stuff while you go swim
Cove island sea water Boracay
Looks calm, but we were told not to swim too far
Half in water photo Boracay
Time to go in
School of fish Cove island Boracay
Immediately saw this school of fish

Here’s a brief video I took:

Underwater clear water Boracay Philippines
Although it was very clear under water, not a whole lot of corals or fish
Parrotfish underwater Boracay Philippines
Parrotfish
Underwater Boracay bottom of Sulu sea
You can tell it was getting sunnier

Underwater clear Boracay Sulu sea

Crystal Cove island pathway Boracay
I left cove 1 and came back up
Caged bird Crystal Cove island Boracay
They had a few caged birds on display
Eagle Crystal Cove island Boracay
Not sure how I feel about this
Crystal Cove island Boracay Philippines
It seems they have two islands

Crystal Cove island resort Boracay Philippines

Path to Cove 2 Crystal island Boracay

Signs Cove 2 Crystal island Boracay
I went left
Treehouse Crystal Cove island Boracay
Our guide was resting here on this tree house
Cove island view sea Boracay
Nice waters
Steps to Cove 2 Crystal island Boracay
This is how to get to Cove 2
Entry to Cove 2 Crystal island Boracay
First you go down
Tunnel to Cove 2 crystal island Boracay
Then you go through this tiny tunnel
Cove 2 crystal island Boracay
And then you get to Cove 2
Mithun Divakaran Cove 2 crystal island Boracay
I didn’t feel like getting in the water because it didn’t appear as though I would experience anything different. So the minder here just took this one photo and I left. (Kinda looks like I’m floating, doesn’t it?)

Each stop on this tour lasts around 45 minutes.

Boy in water Boracay Philippines
When we landed back on shore at another beach on the main Boracay island for lunch, this boy came along for the ride until we docked. I envy their swimming abilities :-/
Private beach Boracay Philippines
This was Tambisaan beach
Beach restaurant Boracay Philippines
It was time for lunch
Beach buffet Boracay Philippines
It was your usual buffet lunch included in the price of the tour. Also included were free beer and soft drinks — although it was clear by what was on display they rather have you drink the (cheaper) soft drinks more.
Filipino rice meat meal
I ate light, as I intended to swim again
Boys on boat Boracay Philippines
These boys jumped aboard the bamboo poles to ask for money when we left. I didn’t want to join the few who threw coins and see these kids dive down to collect them. Kinda sad.
Bat cave Boracay Philippines
Our guide told us this was a bat cave
Bats in trees Boracay
Bats were aplenty up in the trees (yes, I know the quality is shit; took this using the underwater camera)
Private beach turqoise water Boracay
Our next stop was Puka beach
Puka beach tourists Boracay Philippines
Puka beach is on the western side of Boracay island
Puka beach shells Boracay Philippines
Most people from our group just sat under a shade as it got pretty hot
Puka beach hill Boracay Philippines
Puka beach is pretty big, and yet, not crowded at all
Puka beach clear water Boracay
The water looked amazing
Clear water wave Puka beach Boracay
I just had to get in
Mithun underwater Puka beach Boracay
But I couldn’t resist taking the underwater camera with me because I was having too much fun with it 😛
Puka beach in water Boracay
Puka beach is one of the best swimming beaches I’ve been to. The water was warm, clear, relatively calm and for a good 200-300 metres from shore, not too deep.
Puka beach Boracay Philippines
Definitely one of the best beaches I’ve been to
Puka beach boat Boracay Philippines
I didn’t find many hotels or resorts on Puka beach
Puka beach sea Boracay Philippines
Maybe that’s why Puka beach appears as beautiful as it does

Puka beach was the last stop on this short tour. At ₱700+₱200, this was priced quite high compared to past island tours I have taken before.

Tourists between rocks Boracay Philippines
Our boat left Puka, and went around the island back to White beach
Shangri La Resort Spa Boracay Philippines
This is the impressive Shangri La Resort & Spa
Shangri La Resort hotel Boracay Philippines
Obviously very expensive
White resort Boracay
I forgot which resort this was
Banana boat ride Boracay Philippines
White beach is where you have several water-based activities on offer
Parasailing Boracay Philippines
On the opposite side of White beach is Bulabog beach, popular for wind-surfing and para-sailing. I planned to do all that tomorrow.
Sailing boats Boracay Philippines
Our tour officially came to an end
Sail boats white Beach Boracay
The boat dropped us at station 3 (Taken using the underwater camera)

Given I had to walk back, I chose to take photos of all the beachfront properties beginning from where I was standing, all the way up to the very end of station 1 and White beach. I’ll make a separate post for it as I feel it would be helpful for those seeking hotels right on the beach. (Because a lot of hotels claim online to be ‘very close’ to the beach or right on it — but aren’t)

After I took a quick shower and dumped my camera bag at the hostel, I went back to White Beach to resume my walk until I reached the end of the beach.

Evening White beach Boracay Philippines
I resumed making a note of all the beachfront properties on White Beach as I headed north

White beach coconut tree Boracay

Willy's Rock White beach Boracay Philippines
That’s Willy’s Rock
Dogs white beach Boracay Philippines
No, this dog wasn’t going to pounce on the other
End of White beach cliff Boracay
I reached the end of White beach
Steps walk way Boracay Philippines
There’s a narrow path to get to those steps
Russian girls posing Boracay Philippines
I used to think Filipinos love their corny poses, but they got nothing on some East European women and their ‘Diva’ poses! 🙂
Sea side walkway Boracay
It was a fairly long walkway, and I wondered what was on the other side
Tunnel Boracay rock
What’s this hole in the cliff?
Diniwid beach Boracay evening
Oh look, a mini-beach
Diniwid beach Boracay Philippines
This is Diniwid beach
Mary statue Boracay tunnel
This is what was inside the small cave/tunnel
Boat Boracay sunset Philippines
It was time to go back
Amputee Boracay evening Philippines
:-/
White beach after sunset
White beach getting ready for nightfall

Sunset evening sky Boracay

It was getting dark, and I was getting hungry. I already had an eatery in mind back on station 1, but I passed by Boracay Terraces and one of their staff kept insisting I sit down for their happy hours. the restaurant wasn’t too crowded, but I was tired from the walk and was feeling thirsty.

I ordered some food as I figured I might as well have an early dinner. The service was not the greatest, but when the food came… ugh. It was terrible! The battered shrimps were obviously the frozen farmed prawns and tasted so artificial. And their chicken burger… I don’t know what the patty was made of! It was just bad!

Red Horse beer burger prawns Boracay
The food sucked! The Red Horse beers, they didn’t make, so that was the only thing I enjoyed. To think I wasted ₱530 here!

I gave them my feedback and just left the place. I was upset over wasting money on a totally unsatisfactory meal, but alas, what’s done was done. Never again.

White beach at night
Completely dark, but they have lamp posts on the beach
Boracay beach light at night
Some people were still going in to the water. Not the best idea.
Boracay White beach at night
White beach was lighting up
Boracay sand art at night
These types of sand art are done by local boys who charge money for photographs if you wish to pose next to it

Next post(s) in this series:

Philippines 2013: Bulabog beach, Mount Luho viewpoint and sunset at White Beach

Beachfront hotels and resorts on White Beach, Boracay

Philippines 2013: Arriving at Legazpi; going to Donsol to see whale sharks

Philippines 2013: Lignon Hill Park, Cagsawa Ruins and Mount Mayon

Philippines 2013: Aerial view of Mount Mayon; arriving at Coron

Previous posts in this series:
Philippines 2013: Flying from Manila to Boracay, White Beach

Philippines 2013: Taal Lake Volcano and Peoples Park, Tagaytay

The crap I went through to get my Philippines tourist visa this time

Kerala 2009: A day in Cochin – Fort Kochi, Jew Town, Vypin island

We began our day in hilly Thekkady and by nightfall we were in Ernakulam city. We took a rickshaw to Fort Kochi, and once there we took a room at Sonnetta Residency.

Sonnetta Residency double room Fort Cochin Kerala
It cost over Rs. 1000 a night, but it was the nicest room we stayed in on this trip. We didn't mind 'indulging' as we were on the last leg of our journey.
Fort Kochi restaurant Kerala
When we felt like having a drink, we sat at this rather nice-looking restaurant

Fort Cochin Jew town pool hotel Kerala

Fort Cochin classic window design lights
I liked the place's interiors (but I don't remember the name of the club, sorry)
Mithun Divakaran Fort Cochin dinner Kerala
The food was alright and it wasn't too expensive
Fort Cochin restaurant dinner Kerala
We then sat at another restaurant for our main course dinner 🙂

Date: September 1st, 2009 

The next morning, we had breakfast at the famous Kashi Art Cafe.

Kashi art cafe Fort Kochi Cochin Kerala
It was walking distance from where we were staying
Kashi Art Cafe exhibition Fort Kochi Kerala
It's got 'Art' in its name because Kashi is also a trendy art gallery
Kashi art cafe Fort Cochin Kerala India
But I was more interested in the 'Cafe' part
Kashi Art Cafe restaurant Fort Cochin Kerala
It was 8:45am

Ramesh Art Cafe Fort cochin Kerala

Mithun Divakaran Kashi Art Cafe Kerala
While we waited for our breakfast, I went through our day's plan
Kashi Art Cafe breakfast Cochin Kerala
The food was alright

After breakfast, we hired an auto to take us to Jew Town, the first sight on our to-do list.

Cochin reef Kerala
We were dropped by the port side
Cochin port Kerala panorama
That's Cochin Port, on the other side (Panorama comprised of 5 shots)
Sky reflection in puddle water Cochin Kerala
We didn't have a perfectly sunny day, but we just hoped it wouldn't rain

We first entered an old building, which I believe was Mattancherry Palace. It housed artifacts and had several murals, but there was a lot of restoration work going on while we were there. We were in and out very quickly.

Jew town road Fort Kochi Kerala
We walked to Jew Town
Handicrafts art Fort Cochin Kerala India
Plenty of handicrafts and other art for sale here
Fort Cochin Jew town old market Kerala
This area is home to the only Pepper Exchange in India
Jew Town road Cochin Kerala India
We walked towards the Paradesi Synagogue

Jew town Cochin bright yellow wall Kerala

Paradesi synagogue clock tower Jew town Cochin Kerala India
The Jewish synagogue is to the left

Unfortunately, they don’t allow photography inside the Paradesi Synagogue, but from what I saw, it isn’t very big. The tale of Cochin Jews is an interesting one, dating back centuries. It was at this point, reading about how Jews ended up Kerala (and even the Syrian Christians) that I began to realize how Kerala has always had a historical connection with the Middle East.

Jewish synagogue gates to ground Kochi Kerala

Jewish clock tower Mattancherry palace cochin Kerala
We left the synagogue and walked back
Incy Bella book shop Jew town Cochin Kerala
The shops here look very old

Fort Kochi Jew town Ernakulam KeralaFort Cochin Jew Town shops Mattancherry Kerala IndiaSassoon hall Fort Cochin Kerala IndiaJew town market sign Mattancherry Kerala

Yellow green colour buildings Jew town cochin Kerala
The wall exteriors reminded me of ice cream 🙂
Old houses Fort Cochin Jew town Kerala
I saw an old lady, who seemed to be just gazing outside her door at passersby
Mrs. Selam Jew town Cochin Kerala India
Mrs. Selam her name was, and she was Cochin Jew herself
Mrs. Selam Jewish Cochin Kerala India
She told us how many of the Jews went back to Israel and some even chose to move to America (unsurprisingly). The Jewish population in Fort Kochi now number less than a hundred, and the Cochin Jews could very well be an extinct ethnicity in a few years time.

I guess it was a privilege to meet someone like Mrs. Selam, one among the few remaining Jews of Kerala. (Read the story of Yaheh Hallegua, she’s apparently the last remaining Pardesi Jew of ‘child-bearing’ age)

Fishing boats Cochin Kerala
We left Jew Town and returned to the promenade
Cat eating fish under boat cochin Kerala
It was lunch time
Fish stall vendor Fort Kochi Kerala
The cool thing here is that you can buy fresh fish from the fishermen, then take it to select restaurants and ask them to prepare it as you wish

I bought a few tiger prawns and a small lobster for myself (if I remember correctly, both together cost less than Rs. 300). As they were getting grilled nearby, we went for a quick stroll along the promenade.

Boiler cylinders Fort Kochi Ernakulam Kerala
I don't know what these were

Fort Kochi tourists on tree park Kerala

Arabian sea backwaters Fort Cochin fishing nets
Despite being an island, Fort Kochi does not have a whole lot of sandy shores

Fort Cochin sea water Kerala India

Chinese fishing net fishermen Cochin Kerala India
The famous Chinese fishing nets, still being used by fishermen in Fort Cochin

We sat by the fish stalls and had our lunch.

Grilled prawn lobster Fort Cochin Kerala India
Well, I got my seafood lunch. The others waited until I finished so that they could have their vegetarian meals elsewhere.

Post lunch, we went for a stroll.

Dutch cemetery Fort Kochi Kerala India
We walked all the way to the Dutch Cemetery, which was closed
Fort Kochi beach Cochin Kerala India
Then some time on the beach nearby -- which wasn't even a good beach
Princess street Fort Cochin Kerala India
We went back to our hotel, checked out and made our way to the ferry terminal which was a few minutes walk from here
Ferry from Fort Kochi to Vypin island Kerala
We took the ferry to nearby Vypin island
Chinese fishing nets evening sky Cochin Kerala
It was 4pm and we still had some time to kill before leaving Cochin at night
Vypin island fishermen hut fishing nets Cochin
A short walk from the Vypin ferry terminal and we arrived at this stretch
Chinese fishing nets Vypin island cochin Kerala
Thought it would be a good time to record a video demonstrating how these fishing nets work

So here it is:

Vypin island promenade walk Cochin Kerala
We walked a bit further up
Vypin island beach boys running Cochin Kerala
Cherai beach was an auto ride away, but somehow we didn't feel like bothering to check it out
Inside ferry boat Cochin islands Kerala
So instead we headed back, but this time to Ernakulam

Cochin boat ferry taxi Kerala Taj hotel Cochin Kerala IndiaCochin port container ship docked KeralaCochin port ships Kerala India

Cochin seaside Kerala India
Cochin has quite an amazing and varied history, it's no wonder why it remains a popular tourist stop
Cochin Marine drive ferry terminal Kerala
We reached the ferry terminal after a pleasant 20 minute ride
Marine drive sea facing apartments Cochin Kerala
We decided to check out the Marine Drive promenade
Marine drive walk Cochin Kerala
This walkway is one of the most popular hangouts for Kochi's residents and visitors alike

After sunset, we all had something to eat before parting ways. Ramesh and Anand were heading back to Bangalore, while I took a bus to head up north to my hometown in Kerala.

Onam putting flowers Kannur Kerala
It was Onam* in Kannur for me!

*Onam is the biggest festival in Kerala and one of the celebratory highlights include making pookkalam (a floral creation)

Previous posts in this series:

Kerala 2009: Thekkady, Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary

Kerala 2009: Vembanad Lake, Kumarakom

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Planning a trip to the Philippines began with the most unlikeliest of inspirations — an e-mail forward from my father. Not even a good official one, but one of those e-mails that had numerous ‘fwd: FW: Fwd:’ before the actual subject line of ‘can you believe Philippines has such beauty?!’ followed by numerous exclamation marks.

I usually disregard the images I find in such e-mails as they’re usually not from the country they claim to be but upon checking up some of the names of the places they showcased, I was quite surprised about how little I knew of their existence!

It dawned to me I knew very little about Philippines, this despite having grown up in the Middle East where (just like Indians) millions of them come to work. As a kid, all I knew about Filipinos is that a lot of them work in fast food joints or play in a band — and they don’t have the letter ‘F’ in their vocabulary. So I would often hear “500 pils” instead of “500 fils” when asked for change.

I learnt of Banaue and its famous rice terraces, the beautiful beaches of Boracay and Palawan, but the place that made me wish I was there was the remote island of Batanes. It was then, early 2010, I decided to consider making a trip to Philippines.

It was quite challenge really, because trying to study the geography of Philippines wasn’t easy.

Philippines country regions provinces map
(Image source: Wikipedia)

Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands. Sure, many of those thousands are really tiny to even identify on a map but still, getting around the country isn’t easy. It requires some learning beforehand. Since it’s not a landlocked country like most of Thailand, you have to commute via road, ferry, and airlines just to get to certain places within the country.

I initially thought of clubbing Philippines & Thailand last year but it was proving to be quite expensive. So I decided to give Philippines it’s own time.

That time was early this year, when things weren’t looking too good at my workplace. We all knew what was coming our way with the fate of the office and so, instead of prepping up my resume and looking for another job, I researched more on Philippines instead 🙂 When things became official in March and we all knew we were going to be laid off, I booked my tickets!

I tried Air Asia first but at around INR19k, it wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be. Plus the timings were inconvenient. I land late at night and my connecting flight would have been at 7am the next morning. No way I was going to spend that long at KL LCCT! So I checked all the usual Indian travel websites and got the best deal from Travelocity for a Malaysia Airlines flight at Rs. 26,153 ($584/€411) return. Yes, it was more than Air Asia, but it was going to be convenient, so I didn’t mind paying a bit extra for that. Also, I would get proper meals, land at KLIA and not the present warehousebudget terminal. More importantly, the time I had to wait for my connecting flight was lesser.

Philippines Airlines had just launched their direct flight service to New Delhi (only), but it was quite expensive, so flying the Philippines national carrier was not a possibility.

Next came the visa. When I researched on the tourist visa, I was happy to find out Philippines offer a 21-day visa-on-arrival for a 147 nations! Great, I thought… until I scanned down the list and couldn’t find India one among those 147 countries -_-

So I ended up at the website of the Philippines embassy in New Delhi and found out I have to pay Rs. 2320 for a tourist visa (and for just 21 days). Since I couldn’t fly to Delhi just to get a visa, I had to get it done through an agent. Some agents wouldn’t even do it, and one moron even asked for Rs. 10,000 as service charges! But I walked into the nearby Thomas cook office in Koramangala (inside Raheja Arcade) and got my visa processed by paying their Rs. 1000 service charge. At Rs. 3320, this was the most I had spent on a South East Asian visa so far, and that too for a single entry visa. My multiple entry Singapore visa for 2 years cost just Rs. 1800 and my 1 year Malaysia visa cost just Rs. 1500. Thailand was free visa-on-arrival the two times I went.

My travel period was from 16th April to 4th May and I chose the dates keeping in mind the main focus of my trip was to photograph the Easter crucifixions in San Fernando. The rest of my itinerary would see me visit the largest American war cemetery outside of the United States, traverse throughout the Ifugao province for my fix of rice terrace farms, see coffins hung on hill sides, Cebu, see odd-shaped hills in Bohol and finally enjoy the natural beauty of Palawan island. I was looking for ‘interesting’ with this trip, so I ruled out Boracay — the nation’s most popular island destination, and the most touristy. Unfortunately, Batanes was out of this trip plan as well, simply because it was too expensive to even get there. No budget carrier (and Philippines has enough of them) flies to Batanes and even those that do only fly if they get enough passengers. Batanes is that remote an island.

As days passed by, I felt a bit nervous and kept having second thoughts about spending a lot of money during uncertain times. Sure, the Philippines currency value was the same as the Indian rupee, so that really helped! But still, here I was, going on vacation when all my colleagues were busy job hunting. Plus, I was going to be visiting a new country, one that like Thailand (to the eyes of the ignorant) has a sketchy reputation. I knew what I was going to see, and I was looking forward to see if they live up to the hype, but still…

One ray of hope that eased me up a bit came my way two weeks before my departure date when one of my readers left me a comment telling me how much she appreciated my website and that I “should visit the Philippines sometime!”

🙂

That blessing of a reader couldn’t have come at a better time and after we got in touch, she would be of great help to me, even helping me out with some bookings. I felt much better knowing I had a local contact, which always helps!

Leaving Bangalore airport Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur
Now I was ready to fly!
Malaysia Airlines seafood meal Bangalore flight
I had pre-booked a seafood meal for a change and while the tuna and veggies were good, I couldn’t help but envy my co-passengers with their ‘regular’ meals enjoying their creamy desserts and chocolates when all I got was cold fruits. It’s as though Malaysia gimped on the rest of the meal given how much fish costs. Sucks 
Kuala Lumpur international airport tower Malaysia
Selamat pagi* Malaysia! (*Good morning)
Kuala Lumpur International Airport KLIA gates
I landed on time and took this around 7:45am
Kuala Lumpur International airport duty free liqour Malaysia
This was my first time in Kuala Lumpur International airport as last year I flew Air Asia
Kuala Lumpur airport KLIA Harrods store Malaysia
There’s a mini-Harrods (Impressed with how sharp this photo came out)
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Cadbury store Malaysia
They have an exclusive Cadbury store here too
Kuala Lumpur International airport duty free Malaysia
I loitered around the Duty Free for a while

Post loitering, I found my gate and sat in front of it. I tried to catch some sleep but ended up going online to kill time for the next 4 hours.

KLIA grey skies Malaysia morning
It was grey skies even until noon in Sepang

I boarded my second Malaysia Airlines flight for this trip in the afternoon and I was now en route to Philippines.

Sepang city Malaysia flight aerial view takeoff
Selamat tinggal Malaysia!

Sepang city Malaysia flight aerial view from skyMalaysia flight aerial view farm fields

Leaving Malaysian shores aerial view flight
Leaving Malaysian shores…
South China sea spotted clouds blue water
… and flew over the South China Sea for the first time
South China sea cloud over islands
Which was a welcome pleasant change of scene for me

I took a break from staring outside my window to eat some peanuts.

Malaysia Airlines salted peanuts allergy information
Well… duh 🙂
South China sea small hilly island aerial
Back to staring out into the blue
South China sea islands aerial photograph
Beautiful
South China sea huge cloud over islands aerial photography
Awesome
Malaysia Airlines meal packaging Manila flight
Okay, break time. Lunch had arrived!
Malaysia Airlines seafood meal Manila flight
Seafood meal again. Tuna steak and veggies again. ‘Regular’ meals came with Cadbury chocolates besides pudding for dessert. I got dried raisins. Seriously -_-
South China sea line clouds aerial view island
Meal done, back to blue

South China sea spotted clouds from plane

South China sea oval island aerial photograph
Submerged?

South China sea ring island submerged aerial photograph

South China Sea boomerang island submerged aerial photograph
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this flight

South China sea small island submerged aerial photograph

South China sea moon afternoon aerial photograph
Hello moon…

It got cloudy after this, so I lowered the shades and caught up on some sleep.

South China sea mountains above clouds aerial photograph
Woke up an hour later to the announcement we were approaching Manila
Entering mainland Philippines shores aerial photograph
Hello Philippines

Philippines Central Luzon hills aerial photography Philippines Manila shores aerial photography

Philippines Manila aerial photography
Manila city
Manila port Philippines aerial photography
Manila port
Manila city evening aerial photograph
Metro Manila is the 8th most populous metro in Asia

Manila city from plane aerial photograph

Manila sunset from plane Philippines
It was nearing 5pm in Philippines
Manila Taguig city building construction Philippines
The flight was a bit early… which is never a bad thing (as long as the traffic control clears it)
About to land manila international airport
About to land

Landing Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines

Landed Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines
Ninoy Aquino International Airport

So after nearly a total of 8 hours of flying, I was finally in Philippines. Phew, long journey!

Arrival Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines
How’s the airport? Quite old and in much need for an upgrade. Well, at least Terminal I was in.

I got my passport stamped, got my bags rather quickly, converted some dollars and I was out in around 15 minutes. The first thing I wanted to do was get a local SIM and fortunately Globe was handing out free SIMs (though they were mostly for OFWs*).

I hired a pre-paid yellow taxi (which would later turn out to be a mistake) and asked him to take me to Kabayan Hotel in Pasay, which was close to the airport. I chose Kabayan as it was a popular recommendation online. Plus, I didn’t want to spend too much time in traffic just to get to touristy Makati.

But despite how close the hotel looked on the map from the airport, getting there still took nearly 45 minutes in evening traffic. It cost 250 pesos ($5/€4) which is far more than what I thought it would cost. Anyway, I went to the hotel reception, booked a single room for myself and checked in.

Kabayan Hotel single room Manila Philippines
My A/C single room, PHP950 per night ($22/€15)

Kabayan is pretty cool. They have rooms ranging from dorms all the way up to deluxe rooms and from prices starting as low PHP610, they are very popular. And get this, you get complimentary breakfast and lunch! They also have free wi-fi among other great amenities.

Kabayan hotel rooms Manila Philippines
The toilets and shower rooms are down the hall and in between (clean and well kept)

Oh by the way, they don’t use the word toilets much in Philippines, instead it’s ‘Comfort Rooms’ or ‘CR’ 🙂

I stepped out again because I needed to buy some credit for the Globe SIM so that I could inform my family of my safe arrival. Since I was out, I decided to grab dinner early. It soon struck me just how much fast food Filipinos eat. Mc Donalds and homegrown Jollibee was everywhere — and they both had multiple branches within meters of each other — and all of them were doing brisk buisness! As the fast food chains are too chicken to sell beef burgers here in India (due to religious politics), a good ol’ cheeseburger was what I was craving. I picked up a burger from Jollibee, a doughnut from 7-11 and some water.

The area I was in was quite a busy part of town as it was a major hub for transportation, so you get everything you need as far as convenience stores, supermarkets and eateries go. It’s also a very noisy area, mostly because of the jeepneys.

But Kabayan does a good job of cutting out the noise once you’re inside the hotel. I took a nice warm bath and then had my dinner. I called my aforementioned reader (whose name is Aimee) and we spoke for a while. She told me the pre-paid yellow taxi at the airport are priced way more than the usual taxis I could have gotten had I just walked a bit further out. Also, there were frequent airport buses that drop people to Pasay and back. Oh well, rookie mistake.

Kabayan hotel single pad LCD tv Manila Philippines
Unlike many hotels in this price range, Kabayan has a good selection of channels which even included Zee TV (the only Indian channel though)

Given that I hadn’t slept properly in nearly 24 hours, I called it an early night.

I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to begin!

——–

Please note: In this series of posts, I won’t be mentioning conversion rates for Indian rupees as both Philippines Peso (PHP/₱) and the Indian Rupee are more or less on a 1:1 value ratio. So Rs. 100 is like PHP98. Therefore only US dollar and Euro conversion rates will be mentioned.

*OFW = Overseas Filipino Workers; similar to NRI (Non-Resident Indian)

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country  (Final post)

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