Back from the Philippines
The gf and I are back from the Philippines. It was a lot of fun, though a little shady/dirty. A lot of people tried to take advantage of us because we were Americans (i.e. what should have cost 20 pesos they charged 100). There were also heavily armed guards at all the banks in Dumaguete and Manila, suggesting that bank robbers are really aggressive there. However, Siquijor was really nice and laid back. No problems at all on the island.
December 31st was a REALLY BAD DAY to be a pig in Siquijor! They probably killed more pigs that one day then live in the town were I grew up. Seriously, the screaming was so bad! If Clarice thought the lambs were bad, this island definitely would have thrown her over the edge...
I also managed to get open water scuba certified. During some of my dives, I saw 2 sea turtles, a sea snake, and a HUGE barracuda! It must have weighed something like 30 kilos!! Very glad it didn't try and take a bite out of me....
I posted a tons more pictures on my flickr account, so make sure to check them all out there. The Philippines were great, I'm surprised that more people don't go there. I suspect that it's because most people don't get far enough off the beaten path, and are turned off by the people trying to take advantage of them. The obvious sexpats are probably a turn off too.
However, that should not discourage people. The scenery is wonderful, and the people, at least on Siquijor, are incredibly nice!
posted by Nicholas @ 7:55 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hello Nick,
Very interesting to read about your experiences in the Philippines. I didn't run into any con-artists, probably because my girlfriend is a native and attended to all of the business transactions (like negotiating taxi fare, for instance). Of course, even if they do elevate the prices for foreigners we still pay more for similar services here in America ;)
As for the armed guards, we had a uniformed officer patrolling the grounds of our resort at night. However, instead of wondering if criminals frequented the place I simply felt at peace knowing he was there. We had no problems at all. As for the bank guards, we might be wise to employ such a force at our banks as well. The U.S. lags behind most of the world in the level of security within our borders. I think what you and I witnessed in the Philippines is actually quite normal by the world's standards.
I never made it to Siquijor. I did see the hazy outline of the island across the water from Dumaguete, however.
Welcome back!
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