The Philippines

I made it back to Korea safely, and now it's time to let you guys know what I've been up to for the past week in the Philippines. It's been quite an adventure. Just so you know, my camera died about halfway through the trip, so I wasn't able to chronicle everything, but I'll share with you as much as I can.

After finals were over, I went to go celebrate with my friends and then headed straight to the airport. The plan was to stay in the jimjilbang at the airport and relax after a stressful week, but it was full. So I ended up on the hard benches in the foyer.

The end-of-the-semester feast

Baby octopi

All the foreigners and our Korean friends

When I got to Puerto Princesa after a 5 hour layover in Manila, I was struck at once by the overwhelming heat and humidity. I started sweating pretty much as soon as I got off the plane. Instead of taking a tricycle to  my hostel, I decided to walk and see a bit of the city at the same time but got lost. I wandered around, periodically asking for directions before finally making it to my destination. The Banwa Pension is a very clean, friendly establishment, and the staff is very helpful.

The outskirts of Manila from above

Yay clouds

The airport

This is a tricycle, a motorcycle with a cab and another wheel attached

 After I checked in, the girl at the front desk, Yogs, gave me a list of recommended restaurants. On the way, I met another worker from the Banwa who gave me directions. I hadn't even eaten such a large portion of seafood for such a low price, and it was delicious as well.

First night's dinner of tuna steak

 After dinner, I bought myself a 5 liter jug of water that I affectionately termed water baby. Near the hostel, there was a street basketball game going on. I stopped to watch, cradling my water baby, and felt very conspicuous.

Playing ball

The women's dorm room

The open air common area

The bar and doorway to the rooms

The paintings by a local artist were for sale

Once back in my room, I met the other girl staying there, Jek, a Filipino from Manila, who is a civil engineer. We got along very well and decided to go island hopping together the next day.

I have so much to share that I'm going to break this up into several smaller posts, but for now, I'll share some things that struck me about the Philippines.

First of all, everywhere I went, people would greet me with a "Hello" or "What's your name?", particularly the children. This seemed very unusual, since in Korea, people don't usually seek out foreigners like that. However, it was nice to be able to be understood and to be able to speak English to everyone again, as most of the population of the Philippines can speak enough to make themselves understood.
People saying hello to me was nice. What I didn't enjoy so much was the incessant honking. In Manila, I walked outside of the airport for a while, and literally every third car would honk at me. It was quite irritating. During my last morning in Puerto, I was also yelled at several times by dump truck loads of children being transported to school. They were all piled into the backs of huge dump trucks, and most that passed let out a communal shriek upon seeing me. I suppose I was a bit conspicuous with my light skin and hair and orange backpack, but it was far from pleasant. It didn't help that I was grumpy from almost no sleep the night before.

Secondly, the prices were very cheap. The whole trip, housing and transportation included, I spent less than 300 dollars, less than the cost of my flight to get there. A cheap meal could be had for around 2 dollars, an upscale meal for five, and 375 ml of rum for around a dollar.

Third, I doubt I will ever stay in hotels when traveling, at least not if I'm by myself. I suppose this is true not just in the Philippines, but staying in a dorm room, I met tons of new people that I would have never come across if I had stayed alone in a single room. I met people from England, Australia, Japan, Italy, Morocco, France, and Sweden, just to name a few. These people made my travels a joy and ensured that I was rarely alone. We split costs on transportation, got to know each other, and ate and drank together. My trip would have been a far less satisfying experience if I had not been able to share it with my fellow travelers.

Well, that's it for now. The next post will have more pictures, I promise.