My adventures this year have lead me to a place I didn’t think I’d ever get to visit – the Philippines. Even rarer that I’d end up away from the capital city. But here I was, with a super short trip to Cebu.
The way there wasn’t overly complex, but did take some time. Also, I confirmed that flying budget isn’t my thing. There’s actually nothing wrong with the flights themselves, which were quite pleasant. It was just that I was used to all the mod-cons of full service – inflight entertainment, USB charging ports, and a constant offering of free water. Time sure crawls when there’s no distractions in a restricted space!
One quirk I was bemused by was that my first leg from Perth to Kuala Lumpur had a plane decorated both inside and outside, with anime style girls – an ad for a Chinese mobile game called “Girls Frontline” apparently.
I had a five hour stopover at Kuala Lumpur airport. In order to save money, I didn’t opt for lounge entry. Instead, I’d planned ahead and packed myself a good book to pass the time.
There was a decent selection of food at the airport, and the first thing I decided to try was some beef ball soup. Not too bad, but nothing special either.
What did catch my attention though, was the durian McFlurry, and then also a “Milo dinosaur McFlurry party”! Both were probably unique to Malaysia/Singapore, so it was hard for me to decide which I wanted, but I ended up choosing the stinky option. Yep, just like the artisan durian gelato I had last year in Singapore, this also tasted like raw onion to me. I certainly appreciate the sweetness that did come through; I can taste the deliciousness, but it’s just so tucked away behind a really strong unpleasant flavour.
Several hours later, and finally landed in Cebu!
The ride to the hotel was interesting. Everything was poor, old and dusty. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of modern public transport (trains, large buses), instead, just small open air vehicles about the size of a large van/small bus, taxis, and motorbike taxis. Most intersections also didn’t have lights, instead relying on human traffic controllers.
While stuck in traffic (I feel the roads are congested since it seems to be the only mode of transport), individuals would walk up and down between the lanes, selling bottles of water. For some reason this didn’t seem all that unfamiliar, though I can’t recall where I may have encountered it before. I feel my adventures in China and Cape Town meant that I kind of knew what to expect in non first-world places.
Crossing the road was also a rather daunting activity since even in the city, traffic lights were few and far between. The locals were used to casually walking across several lanes of traffic, wheras I, in contrast, ran across in panic for fear of becoming roadkill. I’m pretty sure there was nothing to worry about though!
What was a bit of a surprise for me, was the state of the street shops. So many stray dogs and really dingy looking shopfronts. Most of the area had incredibly old looking shops which I imagine sold super cheap street food, but given that tap water isn’t safe to drink here, I wasn’t allowed to experience local life. Instead, I had to play it safe and stick to hotel food, which was interesting enough for the couple of days I had – dried fish, adobo chicken, vegetable stews, and lots and lots of rice. Turns out pandan sticky rice is amazing and I should figure out how to make some myself!
Well, I was here for a specific reason, so I attended a group dinner at a place in Beverley View. It was a super nice place and heaps of food prepared, home cooked style – with some delicious beef soup! – as well as this gorgeous suckling pig! I really wish I could have asked to take the head and eat it, but this wasn’t a foodie trip and I had to remain lady-like the whole time.
Here I got distracted by a kitten!
There was a performance for us by the local dance group who had performed internationally too. They were adorable and had so much enthusiasm for what they do!
Then it was a big day as there was a dance competition on, so my camera got a small workout. There’s a much larger and more enthusiastic audience here than compared to Australia!
The dancing and partying continued all night!! The people there were all super friendly and what was really funny was that everyone’s a fan – if you’re in costume, passers-by will ask for a photo taken with you!
I was only here for the competition so I wasn’t able to get a full feel of the place, but I’m also way too used to built up cities that I don’t think I’ll end up back here. Instead, it was onward to my overnight stopover in Singapore on the way back home!