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This is my last blog post of the trip. It has been an amazing experience, well beyond what I had imagined.

I have learned so much, had an incredible time, and met many great, great people.

That said, I have been counting down the days until I fly home for Christmas; I can’t wait to come home!

After the excellent hiking I did in the rice terraces, I made a stop for a day in a small mountain town to do some exploring of the local caves.

My guide, Sam, led me down with a kerosene lantern --- WAY down. According to him, we descended 200 metres below the surface.

The rock formations were stunningly beautiful, and we encountered an underground pool that I did some diving and swimming in.

After Sagada I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for my last couple days. A friend had recommended I stop in another mountain town, and I was considering climbing Mount Pinotubo, which is near the airport I fly out of.

However, I thought it would be wrong to do abandon the theme of my trip when there is such excellent surfing nearby in San Fernando. Thus, I spent my last few days frolicking in the sea under the hot Filipino sun.

Thus, the sun sets on my Asian journey. I know I will be back some day in the future, but I don’t know when exactly.

Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading!

Ancient Ifugao

I looked around again, re-checking that nobody was in sight. I sat on a large rock on the side of the stream, letting the water drip dry off my naked body in the shade of the dense forest.

Not that I was worried about anyone surprising me – after hiking 20 minutes up the side of a narrow aquaduct into a seemingly deserted mountain basin, I was rinsing the sweat off myself in the cool mountain water.

Town of Bang-aan

I spent 3 days hiking around the stunning Ifugao rice terraces in the jagged, forest-covered mountains  of Philippines’ large Luzon island. Leaving a few cumbersome items behind at the town of Banaue, I hiked to various villages to take in the vistas.

The Ifugao rice terraces are now famous, as they’ve recently been labeled a UNESCO world heritage site. They were built between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago by the tribes people living in the area.

It must have taken huge amounts of planning and building to construct these wonders. The system of aqueducts is amazing, and the tools those people had at their disposal would have been very primitive. 

The most amazing thing, to me, is that the Ifugao people were putting their blood and sweat into building rice terraces that would benefit future generations, because I highly doubt the builders would ever have the chance to reap the rewards within their own lifetimes.

Workers in the field

The day hike I made from Cambulo (the first village I stayed at) to the mountain stream was one of the best hikes I have ever done. The path winds along the side of cliffs and rice paddies, and I sometimes had to sidle along the edge as I passed the bare-footed, simply dressed elders that were going to and from their work in the rice terraces.

Sunrise on the amphitheatre --my room is the close building on the left.

For my second night I stayed in a man named Gilbert’s house which is situated in the middle of an ‘amphitheatre’ of rice fields. At night, the stars from the amphitheatre may be the brightest I have ever seen – Ifugao is very far from any large towns or cities.

Gilbert's son tossing the chaff into the rice paddy after the pounding was done

In the morning I helped pound the rice. The villagers need to pound the rice to separate the grain from the chaff, and usually this chore falls on the children. There is a large, concrete, hour glass-shaped urn that the rice is put in, and then a big wooden club is used to beat the rice. The motion used is kind of similar to chopping firewood.

After about 15 minutes of pounding I had blisters, and had spilled a good portion of the rice into the stones on the ground. Gilbert’s 7 year old daughter took over and was much more effective than me. A very humbling experience.

Tappia Falls after my morning swim

For the first time of the trip I tried using the self-timer feature on my camera for the picture by Tappia Falls. Amazingly, the photo turned out alright! A steep hike is required to reach these falls from Gilbert’s house, and swimming in the cool water below the waterfalls was much appreciated.

A market in Manila -- James is in the striped shirt

Before arriving in Ifugao, I spent a day and half in Manila with my friend James. He generously drove me around to the market, a basketball game, and to and from the airport and bus station. Thanks so much James!

Manila is a big city, and having a local helping me out made it a very smooth experience. My favourite moment was when I was walking around the ghetto near Jame’s house in the early morning, and I ran into some guys playing basketball. They invited me to join, and I shot some hoops with them -- the surroundings were a shantytown, skyscrapers, and a dirty inner city pond.

Also, I went to watch a PBA (Philippines Basketball Association) game in the big stadium. The game was good, but what caught my attention the most was the half-time show. I really think that the Filipino mascots should come to North America and train our mascots. They were HILARIOUS.

Battle pose in front of a church in Intramuros

James also took me to the old Spanish colonial area of Manila called Intramuros. The area is like a small town inside Manila and full of authentic Spanish architecture. It was a good way to get some perspective as to what the colonial period may have been like.

Even in remote Ifugao, Philippines, people know which team is the best!

I had to take a photo of this road worker that I passed during my hike to the Ifugao rice terraces. The guy may not speak much English, but he knows how to keep the dream alive! Go Flames Go!

Swimming with the Whale Sharks

I left you hanging on the edge of your seat with the last post… and now you know why! Whale Sharks!

I stayed in a relaxed city called Dumaguete on an island called Negros. The whale sharks are nearby Dumaguete, and I spent an amazing half hour swimming with the ‘gentle giants’.

Whale sharks are the most amazing animal I have ever seen. They are absolutely massive and elegant to look at. The people feed the whale sharks to keep them around for the tourists, otherwise they would swim away. But there were quite a few sharks with me in the water –I think 4 or 5.

I had a guy following me around with an underwater camera, and everytime I would be watching a whale shark, he would tap me, and I would turn around and see another one swimming by me from the other side. It was a fantastic experience!

Swimming pool in the jungle

I was very fortunate to have two local friends of mine, Chris and Meme, show me around their town. They took me to Apo Reef where we went snorkeling with beautiful sea turtles, and to a jungle swimming spot on the side of a volcano.

Mmmm, tasty balut

Chris and Meme enjoyed watching me eat my very first balut. Balut is an unhatched chicken. Mine had been incubated for 16 days, so it wasn’t as developed as some chicks that the Filipinos like to munch on. It was still pretty challenging to convince myself to eat it. Surprisingly, it actually tastes pretty good –I’d say it tastes 50/50 like an egg and chicken.

Local kids hanging out at Pebbles Beach

I spent an afternoon relaxing on a picturesque little beach that has a view of Dumaguete and the surrounding volcanoes. My only company were the local spearfishermen.

Sunset at Boracay

After Dumaguete I spent a long day traveling to the (somewhat) famous Boracay island. The sand is unbelievably white and fine. It feels like you’re walking on flour. I took a sailboat ride last night to watch the sunset; it was very peaceful.

Today I fly to Manila, and then on to the rice terraces and other gems of Luzon island. Only 11 days left before I return home to Calgary!

Super Typhoon!

The howling winds and torrential downpour finally came to a stop after several (slightly nervous) hours. I seized the opportunity to wander down to the beach to survey the damage and get a look at the skies.

Despite the terrifying power of mother nature, people were out and about in abundance; I passed people walking with umbrellas, riding motorcycles, and a child calmly riding his bicycle down the street in an aimless fashion. I passed entire trees that had been pulled over, blocking the road. At the beach I found Filipinos casually going about their chores, making sure that they’re precious pumpboats were properly anchored and possessions safely stowed.

According to the online news I looked at before the storm hit, Typhoon Pablo (typhoon is another name for hurricane) was going to be one of the worst in recent years—labeled a super typhoon. Despite this, the filipinos had no worries and took no precautions before the impending storm arrived. Whenever I mentioned the idea of ‘evacuation plans’ or ‘safe rooms’ I was met with shrugs or blank stares. No one seemed to care.

While the storm was pretty scary to me, I was lucky and the strongest part of the typhoon hit several hundred kilometers to the south in Mindanao (where I was two weeks ago). The island of Bohol, where I’m located, was hit relatively mildly. Unfortunately, it sounds like the effect of the storm was much worse in Mindanao.

The typhoon lasted for a day and a half. I am very lucky that there were lots of great people in my guest house that I could pass the time with. After the typhoon ended the sun came out.  My new friend Ariel and I went down to the beach and soaked in the sun, waves, and beautiful clean white sand.

Ariel is from another island in the Philippines that I won’t have time to visit this trip, but I hope I will return to the Philippines some day in the future and visit his town.

Me enjoying the view after a thrilling drop

Before I became typhoon-stranded on the beach, I had many fun adventures in the islands’ hinterlands.

One day was spent ‘plunging’ off a cliff; this involved free-falling about 40 feet and then swinging out over a gorgeous canyon. It is similar to the 'giant swing' experience I had with James and Jordan in Ecuador last year.

Beautiful Spanish architecture, beside my favourite vehicle -- the Jeepney

Bohol has an interesting history because the Spanish, who held colonial control of Philippines for around 300 years, had great difficulty taking over this island. The people of Bohol staved off the Spanish for 87 years before they finally lost the war.

One of the oldest Spanish churches in the Philippines is standing in the town near my hostel, and was quite a beautiful sight.

View atop one of the chocolate hills

The island is covered in unique tear-shaped hills whose view I took in after a short, sweaty hike. Apparently scientists are unable to explain how the hills formed, and the locals believe they are the result of two giants fighting.

I think the hills are symbolic of the sadness of the Spanish and Filipino war that lasted so many years (the two giants).

Angry tarsier, because I accidentally used a flash for this photo (this was my best photo though ;)

I also went to see Tarsiers, the smallest primates in the world. They only live in Philippines, Borneo, and Indonesia. They are very tiny – about the size of a rat, but have big pretty eyes.

My last stop before the typhoon started was a proper Filipino sabang (cockfight). The coolest part about the cockfighting was how excited the Filipinos get. The people in the crowd have special sounds and hand gestures they make when they want to make bets with each other (which is pretty much all the time). It reminds me of some sort of tribal/voodoo ritual sounds.

I got into the betting and had a lot of fun.

I’m really excited about my next stop, but I won’t give away the reason why in case I jinx it. Keep tuned.

Magic in Surigao

Everything about my 7 days spent in Surigao Island, Philippines can only be fairly described as magical. This stop is the reason I came traveling to Asia.

I am very fortunate that the owner of the ecolodge I was staying at in my previous location, Ros, was heading to Surigao the same day as I. She was very kind and invited me to come stay at her friend’s cottage where a group of her friends were conducting an art workshop with the local children.

Her friend, Lee, has a dream cottage located on the beach of a very quiet, curious fishing village on Surigao Island. His house is perfectly located beside a white sand swimming pool-like bay, with mangrove forests and hidden beaches within short kayaking distance.

I was pampered with the warmest Philippino hospitality, eating freshly caught seafood at every meal: crab, fish, prawns, shrimp, and clams.

Lee’s house is very near to quiet, secluded surf spots that most of the foreign tourists don’t know about. I spent 2 perfect days warming up with some surf at a spot within walking distance of his house. I can’t imagine a more scenic place to surf, with emerald green water, white-sand beaches, and palm trees lining the shore.

On the third day the others were finished their art workshops, and so we all took a Bangka boat ride out to one Lee's friend’s favourite secret surf spots. On the way there, we were delighted to see flying fish skipping across the water within a few metres of our boat.

While we were surfing, a perfect rainbow formed above our heads. According to the people on shore, there were actually two rainbows surrounding us and a day moon in the middle. Magic.

At night we had fun: One evening we took a boat ride out to a tiny deserted sand island for a bonfire, another we partied at the local jungle disco, and for the final night’s send-off we enjoyed some classic Philippino karaoke.

After 4 days in heaven I decided to spend a day or two with the foreign travelers at the big surf break called Cloud 9. The surfers were unhappy because the waves weren’t going, but it was perfect for me because there were plenty of smaller waves to be had that are more suitable for my ability level.

I finished the week off with a day trip to a nearby island were they have some caves that can only be reached by swimming.

The caves were amazing, and my favourite cave was one where we swam in through the bottom, climbed up a natural ‘staircase’ to a cliff on the outside, and then dove from the cliff back into the water.

On our way back I was treated to the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. The picture at the very top shows the view pretty accurately. I don’t have any photo editing software on my computer, so the all the photos I put on my blog have the actual lighting and colours.

Currently I am typing this post on a sleeper ferry that is heading to a big city called Cebu. Cebu is north of my current location, surrounded by a group of islands that should have many fun activities and beautiful sights.

I think I just had my final send-off from Surigao: While I was on deck admiring the full moon and silhouette of a volcanic island, I heard splashing. Below me were two dolphins jumping along beside the ferry. Wow.

Volcano Island

After the fun in Davao City, I spent a day and a half bussing across the middle of Mindanao, to my destination of Camiguin Island.

Camiguin Island is an active volcanic island that looks like something out of Lost. It’s beautifully covered in thick jungle and surrounded by a deep blue-coloured sea.

When I arrived on the island I learned about all the activities there are to do, and realized I was going to spend more time here than I had previously thought.

Unfortunately I started to freak out when I realized my debit card doesn’t work on the island’s banks. The people at my ecolodge where I’m staying, Enigmata are absolutely amazing, and have agreed to let me pay them via paypal on the internet later. Thanks guys!

On my first day here I hiked up a small volcano for a pleasant view, and then visited a 75 metre waterfall that was reached after a long, steep ascent into the jungle.

Both yesterday and today were spent snorkeling at a few of the island’s excellent spots.

Yesterday I went with the ecolodge people to a small white-sand island not too far away from Camiguin Island. We took bangkas (boats) there, which was an adventure in itself. I spent a few glorious hours snorkeling along a long ledge that is covered in coral. I saw lots of big fish, and one really big school of big fish!

Today I went to a second spot that was highly recommended because of the giant clams.

The snorkeling with giant clams was equally amazing because the coral was even more varied and sea life was in plenty of abundance.

I’m appalled at how decimated the natural environment is in Southeast Asia, both on land and in the water. However, it is really exciting to see the progress that has been made in small projects such as the giant clam preservation/rehabilitation area that I snorkeled at today. The locals are also very excited about the project, and hope to reintroduce giant clams to the seas around the rest of the island. I hope they succeed!

Camiguin Island has plenty of my beloved jeepneys chugging around the narrow roads. I am still thrilled to ride in the back of these hilariously decorated vehicles.

Tomorrow I am moving on to Surigao, a highly rated surf spot that is an 8 hour bus journey away. If I like it, I may stay there a while. Blog post to follow.

Phili phili pinnes

I finished off Thailand with a couple of great days (nights really) in Koh Phi Phi. The partying in Thailand has been amazing, but now I am ready to get back off the beaten path.

Yesterday I flew into a city called Davao, on the Philippines’ large southern island of Mindanao. Davao’s not in my travel guide book, so I had no clue what to expect when I arrived here, other that I doubted I would see very many white people.

My only expectation has held strong so far. Other than a guy from Uruguay at the wakeboard park and a couple of white guys in my hotel, this place is pure locals.

I was shocked to see a very helpful tourist information booth when I stepped out of the airplane (I have yet to see one of these in any other Asian country).  They told me about some great things to do here, which I have done.

This morning I went to the Philippines Eagle Centre, where I saw a collection of live large, VERY large, birds of prey. The Philippines Eagle (pictured above) is the highlight, as it is the Philippines’ national bird. It is also one of the largest eagles in the world, as I would estimate about the size of a medium dog. It eats things like snakes, flying lemurs, and small monkeys!

This asian trip has taught me that it is always best to travel by local transport rather than taxis. Here in Davao it is particularly fun because you get to roll around in the back of trucks called Jeepneys. The jeepneys are all painted up in unique colours and designs like hot wheels cars.

After the eagle center I still had most of the afternoon free so I took a jeepney to the Deca Wakeboard Park.

Rather than using boats, you get towed around on your wakeboard by cables that hang in the air. They have created a man-made ‘lake’ that is really a loop like a doughnut.

It is so much fun! It beats regular wakeboarding by a mile: the water is always smooth as glass, the cables always go the same speed so you never have to worry if you’re going too fast or slow, you don’t have to wait your turn, and best of all – it doesn’t hurt when you fall!

It took me the first hour just to get used to the cables and the differences in tension, but by the second hour I was having the time of my life.

The photos unfortunately aren’t of me, but I did hit the jump quite a few times, and even got some boardslides going on the funboxes.

For dinner I was craving pizza, but then I spotted Philippino bbq and decided to have an appetizer. 

I had a few skewers, which were delicious, and then I saw the people at the table next to me sit down with about a dozen skewers. Realizing pizza would never be this good, I followed suit and chewed through as many skewers as I could.

I managed to finish 10 skewers, but I bet I could have eaten 20 if I didn’t get rice. The bill: $1.25. If you count the mango juice cans, which I brought to the meal, the total bill was about $2.50. I love the Philippines!

Here’s a short clip I made of one of the guys cruising around the wakeboard park. The quality isn’t great, but my camera’s built for photos not video.

Rock Jocks

On the last post I left off somewhere between Koh Tao and Krabi.

To finish my previous thoughts on Koh Tao, I had a good scuba dive there as well as some world-class snorkeling. The snorkeling took place on a coral reef called ‘Japanese Gardens’. The coral is huge and brain-shaped, and I have never seen such large quantities of fish, all different varieties and colours.

I have now been living on the beaches nearby to Krabi, Thailand for 4 days. There are two beautiful beaches that are very built up for tourists (ie. Large hotels, expensive restaurants, bars, McDonald’s), and then one quiet one nestled right in the middle. I’m in the quiet one, called Ton Sai.

As people here tell me, Ton Sai is rated one of the top 5 rock climbing sites in the world. There are a lot of climbers just living here for weeks or months at a time, climbing every day.

I have done very little rock climbing previously, but I wouldn't miss a chance to participate in the action. I joined a beginner course where we spent a morning testing our mettle on the cliffs.

I am amazed at how much concentration and mental power is required to rock climb. After the course I was both physically and mentally drained, and spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach. I really, really enjoyed myself, however, and am looking forward to my next opportunity to do more climbing.

The other activity that’s popular on Ton Sai is Ocean Kayaking, due to the beautiful cliffs surrounding the beaches. I took the kayak out today and enjoyed the sun, warm water, scenery, and clean sandy beaches.

There are a couple of caves in the sides of the cliffs that you can kayak right through!

I had a great rock climbing experience, largely due to the excellent people at Basecamp Tonsai (whom I took my course with). These guys literally wrote the rock climbing guide book for the area!