Anyway, everything in the Philippines, save some of the transportation options (and few AC units), was fantastic. The people were nice, the food was great and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed in some shady hotels, but they were super cheap and when all was said and done, not that bad. We (my co-worker and I) got into Cebu super late Friday night and took a ferry to Alona Beach on Bohol Saturday afternoon. If anyone ever has plans to do the same, get your ferry ticket in advance if possible. If not, go early to the ferry terminal (1 seemed to be the best, even though some people said 4 and the taxi driver left us at 3) because there will be a long ass line AND there's a 98% chance the ferry will be delayed because, literally, every mode of transport we took while there was delayed for some reason. They are living on that island time, which is how I want to live for sure, but it's no good for thinking you are going to get anywhere in a timely manner. I was fine because I was on vacation! Also, we were smart and gave ourselves a ton of time to do everything. The Philippines is definitely not a place for someone that needs to be on a tight schedule or wants everything to go as planned. For example, my friend and I went whale shark diving (!!! more later) and the boat was scheduled to leave at 5:30 in the morning. We left more around 6, then the boat broke down, so we went to another island to change boats. 20 minutes later, we are on boat two. 20 minutes after that, we went back to the island because that boat broke down as well. 20 more minutes and we are on boat 3. I was fine, I was on a boat in the Philippines, what is there to be angry about? However, there was another girl on our boat (Swedish maybe?) and she was just the angriest person! She was SO annoyed about our boat changes and looked so grumpy the entire time. We never figured out what was wrong with her (maybe she had an appointment later that afternoon she needed to get to) but point is, don't go to the Philippines with a schedule or any sort of time constraints because you will be angry all the time. Even when you're on a boat, on a beautiful day, going to hang out with whale sharks.
So yea, the whale sharks were awesome. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. They are called whale sharks because they are these huge sharks that only eat plankton and krill and don't have teeth. So they're sharks, but with whale characteristics. They are really huge and it was actually really scary at first. Also just hilarious because it's the Philippines and they are not as strict about safety, so they were literally like, ok here are the rules: don't touch the animals, that's all. Then they make you put on a life jacket and ask if you're a good swimmer. If you say yes, you can take off the life jacket and get in the water. If you say no, they're like, are you sure? Ok, stay in the boat. Then you get in the water and they throw food close to you so the sharks get all up in your business and you end up touching them because they swim into you. It's pretty awesome. Best part, the 3 hour boat ride, the diving and renting an underwater camera all ended up costing about $50. My taxi ride home from the airport in Korea was twice that. Just as a point of reference.
I highly recommend Alona Beach, should you ever get the chance to go. It was so beautiful! Great weather, friendly people, really laid back and super cheap. The kids run around singing Christmas carols, trying to get you to give them money, but they usually just wander off if you say no or ignore them. Or, if you do give them money, they sing a cute little thank you song and move on. Also, there are people trying to sell you things, but not quite as intense as Thailand. Plus, unlike Thailand, the people usually just move on if you say no and don't make you feel like you just ruined their lives by not buying anything.
Actual Cebu City was a little more sketch than I was expecting, but not too bad. I never felt unsafe or threatened. Filipinos seem pretty chill and everyone we met was nice, but not in a creepy way. I also felt they weren't trying too hard to scam people, which is how I felt a lot on Thailand. Anyway, both lovely places but I would rather go back to the Philippines, if ever given the chance. That's not to say we never got scammed. For instance, we went "island hopping and snorkeling" (2 islands) and at the first one, they were all, oh the big boat can't go over to the snorkel place, you have to take this other smaller boat (our friends), and also you have to rent the snorkel gear, it's not provided like we implied it was. Here is our other friend, you can rent it from them. But oh well, because it was seriously like $4 to do both, so you deal.
We also ate really good food while we were there. Lots of grilled fish and just really good, simple grilled meats and veggies, which I love. While I was there, I was all, look at me, I'm so healthy, I've been eating veggies and grilled fish all the time, I probably lost weight. Then I got home and put on my pants and was all, nope, definitely didn't. Actually probably gained weight. You're probably assuming it was because of alcohol but NOPE. I hardly drank...I actually don't really enjoy drinking on vacation, seems like a waste to spend a day hungover. It was from all the bread I conveniently forgot about. Most of the hotels had free breakfast and they all gave us like, 8 pieces of toast and I ate them ALL. I love bread and also pretty much everything else made my stomach go crazy. So yeah, so much for that theory.
Anyway, can't say enough good things about the trip. There were a lot of little annoying things, but I try to keep it cool on vacay. However, I did get really angry at the very end of the trip, when we were at the airport. We checked in, and were about to go though immigration and we were told we first had to pay a terminal fee. I don't recall ever having to do this at any other airport, but maybe my memory fails me. Anyway, it was just super annoying because there was NO mention of this anywhere in the airport, or at the check-in counter. We had to pay one at the ferry, but it was the first thing you did when you walked in. Also, they only took cash. It was only like $10, but I didn't have enough Pesos left because I had just spent most of the cash I had left in the airport because I didn't want to take Pesos home with me! But the real kicker...they took American dollars, and my friend had a $100 bill. But the stupid woman was all, oh this one has a tiny rip in it, we don't want it. Also, we don't have change so you'll have to go ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE DOMESTIC TERMINAL to get change and/or go to an ATM. OH MY GOD, I was so angry. Like, what are you even talking about crazy lady?! Not having change is the biggest lie I've ever heard. I had been going with the flow with all the other ridiculousness while there, but this I couldn't deal with. Thank goodness my friend asked if they accepted Won AND I also had enough Won for both of us, because I was seriously about to scream at this woman. So we made it through and got to immigration, where we made it to the front and then they're all, oh? You didn't fill out the paperwork? You don't see that sign in the back corner of the room? You need to do that. ARRGHHH. Best part? Did't even really matter because the flight was delayed an hour. So then we missed the last bus in Korea and had to take a cab for $120. And to think I was upset about the $10 terminal fee. Silly me.
Other than that, everything was fab...here, enjoy some pics:
Seriously, so beautiful. Can you deal?
I rode on a motorcycle for like, 2 minutes and it was glorious. Should've done more of that.
Mariah Christmas and the beach? HEAVEN.
Dream big people!
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