So, I started my trip in Cebu, which even though Cebu city is the second biggest city in the Philippines after Manila, it is still a much nicer city and the people are supposedly a bit more friendly (don't know if I believe that one). I met an Iranian guy on the airplane on my way to Cebu, so I traveled with him for a few days. It was really interesting because I learned a lot about the Iranian people and culture while I was in the Philippines, and turns out that a lot of Iranian students (as well as other nationalities) come to the Philippines to study because they can easily pay off the teachers to pass classes or to say they took a class that they didn't really take.
Then I took about 3 days to go south of Cebu city to Moalboal which is known for its scuba diving. And here was the first time I learned how different the Philippines is from Thailand. Even a place like Moalboal that is on every tourist map and every tourist itinerary to Cebu, this little town has no AMT machine, and little did I know but the closest one is in the town of Carcar which is an hour and a half ride from Moalboal. So, I ended up having to pay a habo habo driver 750 peso (~$15 ) to take me to Carcar... What an expensive trip to the ATM!
My dive masters from Korea, and really funny guys!
My second dive site... A beautiful little island off Moalboal.
The scuba diving really is great there, its all wall diving which I had never done before. And the water is bluer than anything I had ever seen.... also on my second dive I saw maybe 6 sea turtles and swam through a cave!!!
There was also a beautiful white sand beach nearby that had almost no tourists there and the water was of course crystal clear and the sand so white and so soft! The day I was planning to go back to Cebu City I thought I would go to the Moalboal city market to buy some fresh Mango's (the best in the world). The really really cute Filipino guy that was driving me ask if I had been to Kawasan Waterfalls yet, and I said no but that I was planning to go on the bus soon. He told me I had to see them before I left and that he would dive me there if I wanted, so I agreed. He took me to the waterfalls which were about half hour from Moalboal and once you get there you have to walk about another half hour to see all the waterfalls. So, while I was talking to him, his name was Cito btw, I found out he wasn't a habo habo (motorbike) driver at all that he was just on his lunch break and tries to make extra money sometimes by offering the tourists rides to the city. Well he was really informative in spite of it and told me all about the falls and about the Philippines and the people of Cebu and also taught me some phrases in Cebuano. He was in a bit of a hurry to get back to work but was super nice and cute!
Cito and me at Kawasan Falls!
Bridge over the Kawasan stream.
The scuba diving really is great there, its all wall diving which I had never done before. And the water is bluer than anything I had ever seen.... also on my second dive I saw maybe 6 sea turtles and swam through a cave!!!
There was also a beautiful white sand beach nearby that had almost no tourists there and the water was of course crystal clear and the sand so white and so soft! The day I was planning to go back to Cebu City I thought I would go to the Moalboal city market to buy some fresh Mango's (the best in the world). The really really cute Filipino guy that was driving me ask if I had been to Kawasan Waterfalls yet, and I said no but that I was planning to go on the bus soon. He told me I had to see them before I left and that he would dive me there if I wanted, so I agreed. He took me to the waterfalls which were about half hour from Moalboal and once you get there you have to walk about another half hour to see all the waterfalls. So, while I was talking to him, his name was Cito btw, I found out he wasn't a habo habo (motorbike) driver at all that he was just on his lunch break and tries to make extra money sometimes by offering the tourists rides to the city. Well he was really informative in spite of it and told me all about the falls and about the Philippines and the people of Cebu and also taught me some phrases in Cebuano. He was in a bit of a hurry to get back to work but was super nice and cute!
Cito and me at Kawasan Falls!
Bridge over the Kawasan stream.
1 comment:
Ok, planning, I thought you know how to do that ..... but, it sounds like it worked out ok ..... I'll bet you don't make the ATM trip that expensive anymore ..... lesson learned? Well you have me a little worried, you went with someone that you thought was a motorbike driver and it was just some stranger that picked you up? Please be careful .... but the place you ended up going to was really beautiful ..... you are learning some many other languages will you retain any of it? Well I gotta read you next blog.... this is fun .....
Post a Comment