What's the difference between a tourist and a traveller?
Well, travelling through the Philippines with Zhong Xiaohui, a.k.a. Lisa, I found out. I was constantly reminded of the 'fact' that I am a tourist, not a traveller, whereas she is the latter. This is just one example of the many underlying themes of my first visit to the 2nd largest national archipelago in the world (after Indonesia).
We flew via Dragonair to Hong Kong, dropping in to ride the MTR and to visit Victoria Harbour for an hour or so. This was my 6th or 7th time in the former British colony, but Lisa's first. She is an avid photographer, as I quickly found out, with a great eye for composition and getting interesting angles. We got a little bit lost around Kowloon, and another major theme - that of getting 'lost' - started here. A quick exchange of currency - a combined budget of 6200 yuan was converted into roughly 35,000 Pesos - took place just before we boarded the ongoing Cathay Pacific flight to Manila.
My first impression of Manila was of a hot, bustling, dirty place, rife with poverty, begging and immoral pleasure seekers. The first taxi driver overcharged and took a long route to Malate, an area which I had earmarked for a guesthouse. He took off without giving us change, leaving us with an abrupt 'welcome to Manila' feeling. I lost a little patience trying to find somewhere to sleep, but relaxed a little once we found the Friendly's Guesthouse, 1750 Adriatico Street. A stereotypical backpackers' delight, this cheap, low-key, functional establishment, run by the ever friendly 'Benjie', was our base camp for one night. We missed out on the php325-a-night fan dorms, settling for the last remaining 'private' suite - which contained a bed, a noisy air con and nothing much else. A flimsy curtain separated us from the beer drinkers outside. It was basic, with temperamental showers across the hallway. But it sufficed for our first night together. There was little embarrassment between us, as we had already discussed sleeping arrangements for the trip. Share a room, share a bed, save money!
We slept. Eventually. But we were understandably restless. The kitchen at the Friendly's was a typical DIY affair. No guests allowed, respect must be shown to fellow budget travellers. No service and no frilly trimmings. But interesting guests, from all over the world. All travellers, bar none. No tourists. Except me, craving for a bit more hospitality and a decent en-suite shower.
Nothing mislaid or stolen, we set off for the island of Panay in a Dornier 328 aircraft, which seats just 32 passengers. An hour or so to Caticlan on the north-western tip of the island. Then a 20 minute Bangka pumpboat crossing to Cagban port, on Boracay Island. One of a dozen motortrikes, the cheap hire vehicle of choice, whisked us the 10 minutes to the infamous White Beach, although it was disappointingly less white and floury than Lisa had hoped for. We were immediately greeted by a 19-year old local girl, mistaken as a boy by one of my touring party. She invited us to go sailing and/or wanted to show us the guesthouses nearby. My suspicion turned to delight as we found the perfect place, The Blue Mango, run by the professional, experienced and genial host, Vaughan Pratt. Despite turning up in peak season, with the place fully-booked for weeks, he managed to squeeze us in for 2 nights at the ridiculously good price of 1800 php per night, including welcome drinks and breakfast. We were made up. Despite being twice the price of the basic room at Friendly's this was 10 times as good. On second thoughts, it was incomparable.
The inn was literally on the beach, the mango juice flowed and the garden was a delight. It was heaven, paradise, a holiday. I felt like a tourist, not a traveller. I felt welcomed. I felt like getting wet, and i was soon swimming in the bright, clear waters under a clear, picture postcard blue sky. I very quickly settled into the holiday. We ate at Nigi Nigi Noo Noo's. It was functional fare, as we were blasted by surf sounds, such as the Beach Boys. Then I had a couple of drinks and it appeared that this was not to Lisa's liking. She had already disclosed a hatred of smoking, so I kept my half-empty packet hidden in my luggage. But I thought I would be allowed a beer. Not so, as a mini misunderstanding ensued and she walked off into the night, preferring a moonlit walk along the sand.
Saturday 13 Feb was Lisa's birthday. It is a moveable feast, as it tags alongside the moon and the Chinese New Year. As the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival begun on 14 February this year, Lisa kind of celebrated it today. The highlight was taking a boat out around Boracay and visiting the Crystal Cove. Before that, I bumped into Nicole, one of the art teachers from CAFA. She was strolling down the beach pathway with her American/Chinese boyfriend. Amazing, although I had an inkling she was going to be in the country. It was still amazing that we should actually bump into each other like that. She looked at me and thought that guy was having a good time, before realising it was me. Our conversation included the topic of how wonderful El Nido, on Palawan was. This was enough encouragement for both of us to abruptly alter our itinerary. We had already decided that 2 days on Boracay was insufficient, and had increased that to 5 by rearranging the ongoing flight to Cebu. Now, we had to seek out a local agency and book a flight from Cebu to Palawan, instead of travelling to Bohol or the surrounding islands.
The boat trip, leaving from Station 3, was meant to be a 3 hour affair. I went snorkelling a few times and there was an opportunity to take many photos. Various boatman randomly came up and ask for snorkelling fees or tried to sell us coconuts. The Crystal Cove was partly natural and partly set up for tourists as some kind of mysterious island with interesting furniture and tropical birds. But it was good. However, the boat engine cut out just after we watched the sunset. And we were stranded in the dark out at sea, and subsequently missed a massage appointment, which I had booked for Lisa's birthday. We eventually got back after a repair job on the engine.
We later met up with Nicole and her boyfriend for a meal, but not before a massive fall-out at 'Le Soleil de Boracay' - trivial differences over where we should wait for them - that almost ruined the evening. I just about kept my composure, but it seemed that minor errors of behaviour (also known as 'me being myself') caused friction between us.
We both received the aforementioned, wonderful full-body massage on Sunday evening, both the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. We moved out of the Blue Mango and into Marzon, a couple of hundred metres away, as recommended by Vaughan. Marzon's effeminate owner, Eugene, was just as welcoming, but the service and general appearance of the new place was not up to Blue Mango heights. We still visited the Mango and took a couple of books away. Having been recommended 'Life Of Pi' previously by Garry and again by Lisa, I noticed it sitting on the shelf. So, as the Year of the Tiger was ushered in, I began reading this tale about a boy stranded out at sea with a Bengali Tiger. We were disappointed both by the evening Mexican meal at Bolero and by the lack of fireworks. We weren't the only visitors from Chinese - many package deals had been taken up. The evenings had so far been disappointing compared to the beautiful clear-blue sky days. Clearly, Lisa was not comfortable with me even having one drink in the evenings, and preferred sober strolls along the sand. At times, we both felt it was too noisy and crowded along by boat station 2 and agreed it was too touristy. However, the constant accusation that I was merely a tourist continued to bug me.
February 15 was my 39th birthday. It was wonderful to have both our birthdays and the Chinese New Year / Valentines fall so near each other. Despite Lisa's protestations, I elected to take a buggy ride up to the highest point on the island for some photo opportunities. We decided to leave the Marzon after one night and try somewhere else. By luck, we landed one more night at the Mango, in the best 'Oceanview' room. It was a wonderful gift and we both felt lucky, at getting the room at the discounted price of 1800 pesos (same as we paid for each previous night). This room was splendid and came with a balcony over looking the beach and sea. It was perfect and being able to stay there was so relaxing and enjoyable. Not so enjoyable was holding a bat on the buggy trip. We thought it looked cruel to spread this bats wings for the tourists and the allure of a butterfly farm fell way short of expectations. I handed over my camcorder to our guide, Jimmy, and he filmed me driving the buggy around the island, but Lisa was less than impressed. She felt like a passenger in more ways than one and complained about the cost. Still, it was MY birthday!
A better evening meal was had at a Thai place, next to a shop called 'Metamorphosis', away from the madding crowd, but not away from the noisy beats of a bar lounge. She insisted of feeding some stray cats and was 'allowed' to have a beer and a smoke - although I promised to give up whenever I had managed to finish the packet. We visited D-Mall, a touristy complex of shops, restaurants and travel agencies. We bartered for clothes and I was bought a tiny cake for my birthday. The stroll back was much nicer than before. Lisa seemed resigned to me celebrating my birthday with another drink. And I sang 'Take On Me' to her as we strolled in the moonlight. Then, with a sudden burst of impromptu energy, I blasted out 'Hotel California' in a deserted Karaoke bar. My one mistake, despite a fantastic rendition, was not acknowledging Lisa immediately after, but some American we had both met 2 days previously. Seems I can still ruin a good song and a good time!
The last day on Boracay, 16 February, was uneventful. We moved back to Marzon, where Lisa had left her adapter, thankfully recovered. I recorded the evening sunset in full. We chatted to some people who recommended Palawan and El Nido in particular. But I was reminded just how much of a 'tourist' I am. Simply referring to the Lonely Planet made me so. The constant accusation stuck like a thorn and I couldn't shake it off, despite being wholly responsible for making all the decisions about where we stayed and what we did. Lisa's technique is to ask others all the time, my technique is more planning and being organised. Give me the responsibility of booking and deciding what to do and i take that challenge seriously.
We had another Thai Meal before agreeing that it was time to go. It had been a mixed experience, but generally enjoyable. What lay ahead was dramatic and delightful. The best part of the holiday was still to come, but bigger fall-outs also lay around the corner...
part two very soon
for more photos from the trip click here
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