Checked out and went across the road and caught the nightbus to the airport, at 5am. Bag was 5kg over limit at 20kg so rearranged stuff, then big bag weighed exactly 15kg. And they asked to see onward flight out of the Phillipines so good that I had that.
Took off a bit late but nevermind. The Cebu Pacific Air flight attendants ran an in-flight game, "sponsored by Centrum Vitamins. The only Vitamins you need". The first person to show them a particular item (e.g a boarding card!), won a cheap-looking pouch.
Because I had re-arranged my stuff I was completely unorganised at the immigration desk at Manilla. No pen. Then I kept the official waiting while I looked for the onward flight ticket. But he was patient and there wasn't really a queue. Then I got a bit annoyed when he stamped a blank page. So we were quits. The first 2 things I saw as I left the airport were a church and McDonalds which probably very much represent The Phillipines insofaras it is heavily influenced by America and by religion.
Got helpful directions of how to get to Angeles. Onto the shuttle bus (with Material Girl and Manic Monday playing) then a bit of wandering around some bus stops to right bus station for Angeles. Very helpful, English-speaking locals.
A couple of hours to Angeles, arrived 2:30pm. I could have carried onto Capas and Santa Juliana for Mount Pinatubo, but tired after hardly any sleep last night, and not sure how easy it would be to get there and where I might stay. So got what I think they call a 'tricycle', and I would call a sidecar, attached to a motorbike. That's a first for me and it was pretty funny. I had no idea what I should pay but it worked out at about $2 to a hotel I had read about so we came here.
Again, the hotel staff, and attached travel agency staff were really friendly and helpful. The travel agent agreed with me that it would be cheaper to get to the mountain independently rather than booking a tour with them. I went for a walk into Angeles. The bank was surrounded by guards with pistols and shotguns.
After a late lunch I had more of a wander around. It didn't really seem like the Phillipines capital of prostitution (as is sometimes said) until I went down one side road. This is obviously the main hang out for the ladies of the night and their older, white punters, although it was only 4pm. I found a bar where they have the English football and the NRL.
Well, after some more investigation and a phone call, it would have been easy enough and better to have continued on towards the mountain today and I could have started at 6am tomorrow. But it's too late now, I suppose I have lost a day but I can take it easy tomorrow and make my way there when I am ready.
Friday 13 May
Into town for breakfast; had tapsilog which is what the locals eat for breakfast. It's rice with a fried egg and some lightly-spiced beef - great. Got some water at the 7/11. The restaurant and shop staff are really friendly; they usually greet you when you enter and always say "Thank you, sir", in their American accent. It's nice. They speak filipino to eachother (but with a few English and spanish-like words and expressions, and they use Spanish for some numbers, times, prices and dates).
I got a jeepney as far as Capas. A jeepney is a colourful, elongated, souped-up jeep; it's cool. At Capas I got a tricycle along the country road to Barangay, to the 4x4 Association and Wendell, who will hopefully be taking us up to the crater tomorrow. I had hoped to go up early today, but since it is Friday the 13th, perhaps it is best to avoid the active volcano anyway!
The tricycle ride took about half an hour. The bikes and their sidecars are very clean, and the metal is very shiny. It's cool and comfortable in the town and on good roads, though when the road got a bit bumpy it was it bit like being in a tin can. I now know, after speaking to Wendell's Mum, that I paid too much to get to Barangay, but having only arrived in the country yesterday I am still sussing things out.
Wendell's family home includes, in a seperate building, a few large rooms for lodging. It's more than I need but it's the countryside so there are no hostels. There are a few 4x4's in the courtyard as well as chickens, turkeys and geese. I read for a while then went for a short walk in the bright sunshine, to find lunch. The village is set alongside the country road. The local kids said 'hi', and I said 'hi' back and then they kept repeating it, seeing how many times I would reply!
A few of the locals turn their front yards into an eating area. There were saucepans lined up outside one place but the lady said that each one contained intestines and she offered me noodles-in-a-cup as alternative. I bought some tuna too and she gave me some hot water and I had lunch in the courtyard, with her family milling around. I asked if there was anything different for dinner and she said they could make me sweet and sour pork and garlic rice for dinner. So after more reading and a cat nap and a heavy downpour, I went back there in the evening.
Karoake. It seems to be everywhere. I had to put my earplugs in last night to get to sleep, as somewhere there was a woman continuously destroying cheesy rock ballads. Still, it was Friday night in Angeles. And then today, while I was having lunch in the family's courtyard two women were singing karaoke under the porch. At the end of each song you hear the drum roll which leads to their score being displayed on the screen. I would guess the score was quite low.
Slightly freaked out during the evening. As i shut the door, one of those little lizards fell off bounced off my arm onto the floor. Then there was a big flying cockroach attached to my water bottle; I managed to usher it outside. Then there was a big storm and all the lights went out....
Saturday 14th May
Up at 5am and onto the 4x4 towards Santa Juliana and Mount Pinatubo. An anxious wait for an hour while they tried to find me a tour group to go with, as it would be too expensive by myself. But finally they put me in a 4x4 with 4 cool Filipino girls who had come straight from their call centre jobs in Manilla, and off we went.
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano, which erupted in 1991, killing more than 800 people. We passed along a wide flat valley, often driving through shallow rivers. After an hour so we got out and hiked the rest of the way. We walked through some deep narrow streams, which I had not anticpated so my boots got flooded. And then we ascended a little over rocks and through some jungle paths but it wasn't particualry strenuos.
After an hour we reached the spectacular crater which is filled with turquoise water. The clouds shadow over the green sides of the crater made it more picturesque. We walked down to the crater and swam for a while, it was swimming pool temperature and fairly clear. After a rest we walked back the same way and had free lunch together at the restaurant.
Since it was only 3pm I decided to see how far north I could get today, rather than hanging around and waiting for tomorrow. So I said goodbye to the girls and got a tricycle along the country road to the Jeepney terminus. I was first on the Jeepney but I hadn't realised it was going to travel at literally 1km/h while picking up passengers. As we moved away from the houses it did go a bit faster. The jeepney was soon packed with locals and I had a good chat with one guy. At the junction we shared a tricycle to the main road and he insisted on paying for us.
From the junction I got on the coach to Baguio, except after 10 minutes it turned out I was on the wrong coach. I got off and stood by the side of the road and flagged down the right coach. After 9pm we arrived in Baguio and I went to the hostel I had booked but there was a mix up and I couldn't stay there.
Luckily, after traipsing the streets with my backpack on a busy saturday night in the town, I found an empty dorm room to stay in. I dumped my bag and headed to the Red Lion pub to watch the FA Cup final. Coincidentally, I met some guys there who work in Tewkesbury. It was the birthday of one of the guy's at the same table so I got a huge piece of birthday cake to follow my large chilli con carne.
Sunday 15th May
The bus was a bit late leaving Baguio to Vigan, so I watched Scooby Doo on a TV set up on a market stall. Anyway, the countryside along the way was nice, its very warm and very green up here and we could see the South China Sea at times, although I struggled to look up from reading Millenium III. Vigan is an old Spanish colonial town. Just had a quick look around, the big church was full on this Sunday afternoon. Will do the sightseeing tomorrow.
.
Took off a bit late but nevermind. The Cebu Pacific Air flight attendants ran an in-flight game, "sponsored by Centrum Vitamins. The only Vitamins you need". The first person to show them a particular item (e.g a boarding card!), won a cheap-looking pouch.
Because I had re-arranged my stuff I was completely unorganised at the immigration desk at Manilla. No pen. Then I kept the official waiting while I looked for the onward flight ticket. But he was patient and there wasn't really a queue. Then I got a bit annoyed when he stamped a blank page. So we were quits. The first 2 things I saw as I left the airport were a church and McDonalds which probably very much represent The Phillipines insofaras it is heavily influenced by America and by religion.
Got helpful directions of how to get to Angeles. Onto the shuttle bus (with Material Girl and Manic Monday playing) then a bit of wandering around some bus stops to right bus station for Angeles. Very helpful, English-speaking locals.
A couple of hours to Angeles, arrived 2:30pm. I could have carried onto Capas and Santa Juliana for Mount Pinatubo, but tired after hardly any sleep last night, and not sure how easy it would be to get there and where I might stay. So got what I think they call a 'tricycle', and I would call a sidecar, attached to a motorbike. That's a first for me and it was pretty funny. I had no idea what I should pay but it worked out at about $2 to a hotel I had read about so we came here.
Again, the hotel staff, and attached travel agency staff were really friendly and helpful. The travel agent agreed with me that it would be cheaper to get to the mountain independently rather than booking a tour with them. I went for a walk into Angeles. The bank was surrounded by guards with pistols and shotguns.
After a late lunch I had more of a wander around. It didn't really seem like the Phillipines capital of prostitution (as is sometimes said) until I went down one side road. This is obviously the main hang out for the ladies of the night and their older, white punters, although it was only 4pm. I found a bar where they have the English football and the NRL.
Well, after some more investigation and a phone call, it would have been easy enough and better to have continued on towards the mountain today and I could have started at 6am tomorrow. But it's too late now, I suppose I have lost a day but I can take it easy tomorrow and make my way there when I am ready.
Friday 13 May
Into town for breakfast; had tapsilog which is what the locals eat for breakfast. It's rice with a fried egg and some lightly-spiced beef - great. Got some water at the 7/11. The restaurant and shop staff are really friendly; they usually greet you when you enter and always say "Thank you, sir", in their American accent. It's nice. They speak filipino to eachother (but with a few English and spanish-like words and expressions, and they use Spanish for some numbers, times, prices and dates).
I got a jeepney as far as Capas. A jeepney is a colourful, elongated, souped-up jeep; it's cool. At Capas I got a tricycle along the country road to Barangay, to the 4x4 Association and Wendell, who will hopefully be taking us up to the crater tomorrow. I had hoped to go up early today, but since it is Friday the 13th, perhaps it is best to avoid the active volcano anyway!
The tricycle ride took about half an hour. The bikes and their sidecars are very clean, and the metal is very shiny. It's cool and comfortable in the town and on good roads, though when the road got a bit bumpy it was it bit like being in a tin can. I now know, after speaking to Wendell's Mum, that I paid too much to get to Barangay, but having only arrived in the country yesterday I am still sussing things out.
Wendell's family home includes, in a seperate building, a few large rooms for lodging. It's more than I need but it's the countryside so there are no hostels. There are a few 4x4's in the courtyard as well as chickens, turkeys and geese. I read for a while then went for a short walk in the bright sunshine, to find lunch. The village is set alongside the country road. The local kids said 'hi', and I said 'hi' back and then they kept repeating it, seeing how many times I would reply!
A few of the locals turn their front yards into an eating area. There were saucepans lined up outside one place but the lady said that each one contained intestines and she offered me noodles-in-a-cup as alternative. I bought some tuna too and she gave me some hot water and I had lunch in the courtyard, with her family milling around. I asked if there was anything different for dinner and she said they could make me sweet and sour pork and garlic rice for dinner. So after more reading and a cat nap and a heavy downpour, I went back there in the evening.
Karoake. It seems to be everywhere. I had to put my earplugs in last night to get to sleep, as somewhere there was a woman continuously destroying cheesy rock ballads. Still, it was Friday night in Angeles. And then today, while I was having lunch in the family's courtyard two women were singing karaoke under the porch. At the end of each song you hear the drum roll which leads to their score being displayed on the screen. I would guess the score was quite low.
Slightly freaked out during the evening. As i shut the door, one of those little lizards fell off bounced off my arm onto the floor. Then there was a big flying cockroach attached to my water bottle; I managed to usher it outside. Then there was a big storm and all the lights went out....
Saturday 14th May
Up at 5am and onto the 4x4 towards Santa Juliana and Mount Pinatubo. An anxious wait for an hour while they tried to find me a tour group to go with, as it would be too expensive by myself. But finally they put me in a 4x4 with 4 cool Filipino girls who had come straight from their call centre jobs in Manilla, and off we went.
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano, which erupted in 1991, killing more than 800 people. We passed along a wide flat valley, often driving through shallow rivers. After an hour so we got out and hiked the rest of the way. We walked through some deep narrow streams, which I had not anticpated so my boots got flooded. And then we ascended a little over rocks and through some jungle paths but it wasn't particualry strenuos.
After an hour we reached the spectacular crater which is filled with turquoise water. The clouds shadow over the green sides of the crater made it more picturesque. We walked down to the crater and swam for a while, it was swimming pool temperature and fairly clear. After a rest we walked back the same way and had free lunch together at the restaurant.
Since it was only 3pm I decided to see how far north I could get today, rather than hanging around and waiting for tomorrow. So I said goodbye to the girls and got a tricycle along the country road to the Jeepney terminus. I was first on the Jeepney but I hadn't realised it was going to travel at literally 1km/h while picking up passengers. As we moved away from the houses it did go a bit faster. The jeepney was soon packed with locals and I had a good chat with one guy. At the junction we shared a tricycle to the main road and he insisted on paying for us.
From the junction I got on the coach to Baguio, except after 10 minutes it turned out I was on the wrong coach. I got off and stood by the side of the road and flagged down the right coach. After 9pm we arrived in Baguio and I went to the hostel I had booked but there was a mix up and I couldn't stay there.
Luckily, after traipsing the streets with my backpack on a busy saturday night in the town, I found an empty dorm room to stay in. I dumped my bag and headed to the Red Lion pub to watch the FA Cup final. Coincidentally, I met some guys there who work in Tewkesbury. It was the birthday of one of the guy's at the same table so I got a huge piece of birthday cake to follow my large chilli con carne.
Sunday 15th May
The bus was a bit late leaving Baguio to Vigan, so I watched Scooby Doo on a TV set up on a market stall. Anyway, the countryside along the way was nice, its very warm and very green up here and we could see the South China Sea at times, although I struggled to look up from reading Millenium III. Vigan is an old Spanish colonial town. Just had a quick look around, the big church was full on this Sunday afternoon. Will do the sightseeing tomorrow.
.
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