Kind of going to Pagsanjan Falls

From Anilao I took 2 tricycles, one bus, 4 jeepneys and finally came to Pagsanjan. A lovely small town by a river famous for trips to the Pagsanjan Falls. I met someone in the last jeepney who recommended me a nice place to stay, Willy Flores guesthouse. Fantastic small rustic house where's a few guestrooms and an extremely helpful and welcoming family.

First night I just strolled in the town, still trying to get rid of the hang over gotten in the last night in Anilao. The next morning I wanted to take a boat ride to the falls but due heavy rain in the night the boat men didn't want to go all the way, apparently the water was too high and the rapids too dangerous. So they took me only the half way, also nice and I got to see some Apocalypse Now shooting places. 

A bit later I jumped to a jeepney again and headed to Caliraya lake up in the hills. From there I actually wanted to walk back down so I was sweating & walking, sweating and walking... Until a car stopped next to me. They thought I'm crazy walking in the heat and the way in their opinion is also crazy long. So they wanted to give me a ride. Quick look at the driver, okay, looks  nice & friendly so why not. The ended up bringing me all the way (wrong way for them) to Twin Falls, where's some pools under small falls u can dip in. Quite a few kids there, got immediately company and had a nice stay. 

Typical location for some San Miquel :)

In the evening I had dinner with one of the dudes who gave me a ride earlier. And beers of course, in some quite weird locations. As he was working for a power plant we also drank beer up in the hills, on some power stations with great view down to the valley. And I found a horse!!!

And then in the next morning at 5 AM it was time to move on towards the airport. Snif. Too early, there would have been so much more to see & do in this great country. Well, there's always next time :)

All in all, what should I say about Philippines? Like always, it's not all about the surroundings. It's the people that make out the best/worst of the country. The filipinos are really a warm, welcoming and extremely helpful bunch of people. Also most of them speak excellent english. So I guess on my list is now one more country I have to come back to. Next time Bohol, Palawan and Donsol! And the rice terraces of course. I might need a month or two...

This is how you cross a river. Who needs bridges? Oh yea forgot about cars.

My house to be!

Or this one if I run out of money.

If there's a party, there's pig.

Xmas in Philippines

The decision to visit Philippines was quite sudden. I had a flight booked to Singapore and after that no plans for the first one week. Next booked plans were for new year. A quick look to the map and yeah, why not, it's quite near to Borneo where I am heading next. I booked a flight to Clark for about 8 hours after I was supposed to land in Singapore. So it was a long journey to get here. Basically no sleep for 2 nights.

My original plan was to try to get to Banaue to visit the famous rice terraces but then I re-thought things and decided to take it easy with traveling as I don't really want to sit in a night bus directly after all the flights. A good choice. I contacted in advance a local dude via couchsurfers and got some good tips and he also offered me his guestroom to stay in at Paranaque city, Metro Manila. I still hadn't completely given up on Banaue, but due to xmas all busses were full, over-booked or not existent. So why make life hard... After all, I am on holiday (though I do have to work a bit while I'm here. Thank you internet!).

My room! Own entrance, own bathroom, better than hotel.

The first 2 days I really took it easy, just some beers and hanging out with my host and his friends. And coz I'm in Philippines, I for sure have to go diving. My host JJ (thanx again for everything!) had a friend who's got an own diving business in Anilao, on the coast a few hours south of Manila.

Taal volcano.

A day before xmas we drove there with a short sight seeing stop at Taal Volcano. JJ had to bring the car back to Manila so I had the place all to myself for a few days! For some that might sound horrible but for a solitude loving finn that's heaven on earth! 

And this is what I call a holiday! An amazing house directly at the coast, no tourists, no hassle, just waves, cool breeze from the sea, palm trees and me! And a local family who takes care of the house and cooks me some fantastic meals.

A moment before the sea snake...

On xmas day I went diving, just 2 ppl, the dive master and I. No traffic jams under surface :) Anilao may not be the most famous dive destination in Philippines, but nevertheless for my standards as a beginner it was quite fantastic. On the first dive at Two Rocks we found a huge cloud of jack fish surrounding us and a baby turtle which made this turtle lover to smile so wide that I almost lost the mouth piece. The second dive at Guala wasn't that spectacular, great corals but I'm still more interested in finding funny looking fish. And turtles of course. 

I went diving a few more times the next day, fed fish in 18 meters and had a bit too much rum in the evening.

So this was my xmas :) One of the best ones I've had so far. I think this should be my new crimbo tradition.

Ppl going night diving.