Our Blog-Together

Last Dive Trip Philippines

2013-03-15T14:58:00.000-05:00

I was disgusted to realise how long it's been since we posted on our blog!!!

So this is step 1 in the resurrecting our blog process :) Enjoy a few pics from our last dive trip in March 2013. Good memories!

Brad freezing :)

Ligpo cave 1

Nemo's Cousin

My favourite bubbles pic

My obsession with Nemo continues :)

Ligpo Cave 2

Ligpo Cave 3

Brad at breakfast at Dive & Trek

Brad & Ivan chilling on the boat

Cathedral

Bat Fish

Ghost Clown Fish :)

Jacks at Twin Rocks

What a memory :)

Lion Fish

Nemo's Cousin again :) Side on view...woohoo!!!

Turtle Sleeping - No I didn't disturb him

Bubbles :) At night :)

Hong Kong at Night

2012-11-05T00:38:00.003-06:00

We took several walks through Hong Kong at night. I was amazed at how the buildings were lit up...not realising that they were lit up for the Symphony of Lights show, held almost every evening weather permitting, at 8pm.

Below are a few shots of various buildings at night. All are on the south side...Hong Kong island in other words...If you're like me, go check out google maps to get an idea of all the different islands that make up Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island is just one of the islands that everyone calls 'Hong Kong'.

The old restaurant at the peak

The following are all pics of the buildings on Hong Kong Island.

There was a stunning fountain/water feature that we walked by on our way to the subway station on Hong Kong Island. Couldn't help snapping some pics as the lights changed colour :-)

We headed to a restaurant a friend recommended. Wu Kong Shanghai restaurant...it's in the basement of 27 Nathan Road and the food really was very good!!

On our way back up Nathan Road to the hotel, one would get a strong smell of dried and salted fish every now and then when one passed certain stores! There seemed to even be dried sea cucumbers I think...although I can't be sure exactly what each of the items are. It was interesting to have people offering tailor made suits as we walked along this road. I never felt threatened, but it certainly was odd!

It was this kind of thing that made me feel that the Kowloon side was more 'authentic' Hong Kong :-)

Eaton Smart Hotel...Hong Kong

2012-11-05T00:05:00.001-06:00

The Eaton Smart Hotel was not as expensive as other hotels closer to the wharf in Hong Kong, but it certainly wasn't as cheap as the YMCA in Hong Kong, for example. However, it was clean and well appointed. And the rooms, while smallish, certainly didn't make you feel like you didn't have any breathing room.

It is located on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong...that's the North side I discovered. It is certainly the more 'authentic' side of Hong Kong. The South side, or the Hong Kong island side, was great and more Western I think, but it just felt more like I was in the real Hong Kong on the Kowloon side.

Here are a few pics of the hotel to give you an idea what it was like.

The entrance on the ground floor leads to massive escalators...it took me a while to get comfortable with such long escalators...

Escalator from ground floor entrance to lobby

Many reviewers on trip advisor suggested getting a higher floor if possible. We requested this and the staff were great in helping us to get a room on the 14th floor...about half way up.

View from our room

Another view from our room

View of the elevators and the 'garden' restaurant

The room had everything you really needed. It was comfortable to lurk in when we needed a breather from cruising around the city.

Another view of the room

Entrance/lobby of the room with the bathroom on the left

The staff were super friendly and helpful. The other neat thing was that I could print out any documents I needed for free...this was terribly helpful for printing out google maps and flight confirmations! Especially since our flights changed while we were in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is definitely a place I'll visit again, and I certainly wouldn't be opposed to staying at the Eaton again, although food is pricey there. We ate at the Starbucks on the corner downstairs once, as well as at the MacDonalds over the road once.
There was also a cool Asian/Western fusion restaurant over the road...not brilliantly smart or anything, but the food was ok...pics below.

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

2012-11-03T05:26:00.001-05:00

The Sik Sik temple is one MTR stop away from Diamond Hill...so it's quite close to the Nan Lian Gardens.

We decided to stop off there on our way back to the hotel. We discovered there is actually another garden, behind the temple. The garden was so beautiful.

Entrance to the temple

Main area of the temple

The architecture of the temple and the colours were boggling...

The carving on the pillars was incredible too. Every inch had been attended to in such detail.

Once we left the main area, there were other smaller buildings on the sides. They were equally detailed.

After the other buildings, we found the entrance to the garden. It was so picturesque.

Brad had great fun checking out the turtles. I was so busy snapping pics of everything, I didn't even notice these little critters. They really were quite entertaining to watch!

The statue in the water, had even been given great detail.

I really enjoyed the terracing in the garden. There were so many different levels which really made such a difference.

I'm not into the whole Ying & Yang thing, but it certainly was interesting to see how the symbol had been created using plants.

The dragon was at the entrance...he's clearly shiny only where people have bid him hello I guess.

Nan Lian Garden...Hong Kong

2012-11-03T04:47:00.000-05:00

We made our way to Nan Lian Garden...light green subway line, Diamond Hill station.

It was amazing to see the area beneath fly overs being converted into such a clean entrance to the gardens. Hats off to the folk in Hong Kong! I certainly haven't found this in many other places.

It was lovely to find there was no entrance fee for Nan Lian Gardens. There is a map at the entrance. They had no maps to hand out, but you really can get by without a map.

Once past the flyover area, one of the entrance gates appears.

The way different shrubs and trees had been shaped was really something incredible. I can only imagine the patience this kind of work requires!

I couldn't help but be reminded of the chinese garden in Sydney. I guess it also reminded me of Central Park in New York. The skyscrapers soar over this little enclave of peace.

The waterfall and the water wheel were lovely. The grinder inside was not working although the main gear was. Very interesting to see!

The one disappointing part of the garden, was that the main building was off limits to anyone who did not purchase something from the tea house :-( It would have been lovely to get onto the 'promenade' on the other end of it which overlooks the water.

Tea House

You have to cross the road to get to the adjacent nunnery. The bridge over the road was under construction but it is still possible to get there, just by crossing the road at the traffic lights.

Temple Street Night Market, Apple Store & other stuff...Hong Kong

2012-11-02T11:15:00.002-05:00

One of our first stops today was the IFC Mall and the apple store.

View up the escaltor into IFC Mall

The Apple Store was incredible. I was amazed at the number of people there all day! I cannot rave enough about how helpful the staff at the IFC Apple Store are! Nothing was too much trouble for them. Thanks guys!!!

This was still only getting busier.

This is a pic of the Apple Store at the IFC Mall from the bridgeway that goes over to the ferry.

I keep taking photo's of buildings that are having construction or repair work done. The scaffolds are not metal, but Bamboo!!!

We headed out to find the Temple Street Night Market. On the way, we found this random park. I didn't get any pics but there were several groups of people, playing chess. It was brilliant!!

Finally, on leaving the park, we found the beginning of the Night Market. I couldn't help thinking the entrance looked very hollywood :-)

We searched for grub and came across a restaurant at the night market selling all sorts of things. Among them seafood. These crabs are tied up because they're actually still alive!

We found our way to the end of the market and Brad took yet another brilliant self portrait! Well done Brad :-)

Ferry in Hong Kong at night

2012-11-02T10:55:00.001-05:00

We found our way across the bridgeway from IFC mall to the Star Ferry... and as short as the trip was, the views were impressive! We had to get a token at 2,50 Hong Kong Dollars each, but it was a painless process, as is everything in Hong Kong...This city is so well organised!

This cruise liner was docked near the exit from the ferry on the Kowloon side...

The fishermen nearby were catching squid, which they stored in a net in the water. They inked something chronic! Felt sorry for the squid.

The Peak...Hong Kong

2012-11-01T10:13:00.005-05:00

Just a few quick pics for our friends and family to see.

We headed for 'The Peak'. The tram up to the peak was cool, although it was a supersteep ride. The sites on the way up were interesting too.

We got playing with some of the effects on our camera ... hahahahaha...

These were some of the mansions that were at the peak...or nearby...

And then the highlight of the day for me :-) Sunset from a restaurant up at the top...

Below is the old restaurant at the peak, that has been there for many years I believe.

Hopefully more to follow when I have more energy tomorrow or the next day :-) Just a quick update for ya'll...

Wedding in the Philippines

2012-10-02T06:21:00.004-05:00

So we haven't posted much at all over the past couple of months, so hear comes a quick one. We were fortunate to be invited to a wonderful wedding recently.

Didn't get much Video in the church, but got a quick snippet of the reception. Very nice. And as to be expected in the Philippines, the food included
some great prawns and seafood.

Habitat for Humanity Mandela Day Outreach

2012-08-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we took part in a wonderful day of house building! Together with the South African embassy staff, Habitat for Humanity, Star Alliance Airways and staff from Goldfields, we went out to a site in Quezon City called Bistekville I think. (I hope I got that right) What fun and what a cultural experience.

There is a huge need for proper housing in the Philippines. Habitat for Humanity is partnering with various government groups and others to get them built. These houses were going to be granted to teachers and to informal settlers. You can see some completed ones in the background.

Before we could get working, we all had to do some basic stretching and star jumps!? of all things. Very different way of doing things to back home, but still good :-)

Brad doing star jumps :-)

Thanks to the SA embassy and the staff there for organising all of this and letting us know all about it. A lot of organisation went into putting it all together.

House 1

The guys did a great job. I was thankful that there were engineers/builders on site to help make sure our bricks were laid straight and correctly!

Brad, Hugo and one of the engineers.

This was the team that built house number 1. Later on I got to gate crash some photo's...ha ha ha.

Team 1

So the white on my face is sun cream, and no, Brad was not about to dump that cement on my head :-)

Brad and me at the house build

Check out the cemented up garden gloves :-)

Brad, myself and Hugo

At the end of the morning - it was too hot to go a whole day - all the Saffers had a pic together. And in case you're wondering, I was not daft enough to choose white pants, rather, they were the only ones that fit the dress code...yes, there was a dress code...no open shoes, no shorts...jeans were just not getting done, so the 3/4 pants were it.

The SA embassy staff and SAFFERS

Dawson Street, Dublin, Sights

2012-07-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

One street I have spent quite some time on while in Dublin, is Dawson Street.

View of Dawson Street

Some of my favourite places there are Cafe en Seine, a very funky restaurant/bar/dance club/venue hire spot.

Brad and myself at Cafe en Seine

View from Restaurant deck down to dance floor area

View of Restaurant Deck

Ceiling of Restaurant Deck

There are also some really cool book stores there. Yes, the librarian in me beelined for libraries and book stores...I couldn't help thinking of my friend Kara repeatedly through my expeditions around the city! If you're into literature, especially classics, then this is a travel destination for you!

View of Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson

Another building that is really beautiful, is the home of the Lord Mayor. It's known as Mansion House and was originally built by Joshua Dawson in 1710. He was the first person to develop this part of the city, now the more upmarket area, and it was originally an area of swampland. Mansion House has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor since 1715. It was the first purpose bought Lord Mayor's House in what was then England.

Mansion House

There is a lovely restaurant off to the left, in a part of the building known as the supper room. The restaurant is a little pricey but the venue has a lovely ambience. Service is excellent but the fillet I had was a little overdone.

Fire Restaurant

Irish National Library and Natural History Museum

2012-07-10T10:25:00.001-05:00

Dublin has a very rich literary history. Yeats, James Joyce, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde all hail from Dublin. You can see the homes of some of these authors, albeit from the outside. Oscar Wilde's old home is now the American College in Dublin.

One of the stops on the Dublin Hop on Hop off Bus tour, is the National Library. The building itself is so interesting to look at! I couldn't help playing with a toy camera effect on our little Canon.

View from the library across the car park.

The reading rooms are heavily guarded as are the reading rooms in Trinity College. There is an appreciation for books and learning and history and culture here. Just look at the effort that went into the design of the stair case at the National Library.

Stair Case National Library

Stained Glass Window with an author's name and picture.

The fireplace at the National Library ust leading into the Yeats exhibition was just so ornate and beautifully carved, I had to take a picture!

Michael Yeats Bust

Fireplace in foyer of Yeats Exhibition

Oscar Wilde's Home

The Natural History Museum was interesting to me, mostly because of the skeletons, of the extinct giant stags! They were huge! I can only imagine what it must have been like to see something like this alive!

Dublin Day 1 - Trinity College

2012-07-10T09:17:00.003-05:00

We landed in Dublin on Sunday, which meant I was out sight seeing first thing I could Monday. It just doesn't seem right that Brad had to go to work! I won't gush, but suffice to say, I think I have the best husband in the world :-)

I bought a hop on hop off two day dublin bus tour. I snapped pics as I went.

One of the first places it stopped was at Trinity College.

The college was founded in 1592 by letters of patent from Queen Elizabeth the first. Obviously she was protestant and wikipedia says that it was seen as the university of the protestant ascendancy. It was also establish to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy. For example, only from 1873 could Catholics or dissenters become professors or fellows or receive scholarships. Then again, the Catholic Church in Ireland forbade its members to attend the university without permission from the Bishop, until, get this...1970! Pretty crazy!

Main Square

The first provost was Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin(protestant church), who didn't come from Dublin but England. His property for his own home, Rathfarnam Castle, was actually given to him by Queen Elizabeth. Clearly he sat in the protestant camp. Unlike other homes, Rathfarnam has not survived the years in tact. Frankly it seems the property was somewhat of a symbol of political and religious oppression, but I digress.

Rathfarnam Castle...it's called a castle even though now it looks like a house because it has four tower like structures , one on each corner which had battlements in days gone by from which one could defend the castle.

Back to Trinity...

From the main entrance towards the main square called parliament square.

The statue of former provost George Salmon and the Campanile

After Trinity, I hopped back on the bus and headed further along the tour route. It was running late so I just snapped a few pics from the top level of the double decker open top bus.
The bus went past a number of famous places, one being the Guinness Factory. Pictures of the Guinness Family Country Estate to follow in a later post, as well as some more details about Guinness as a company.

Tower at Guinness Factory

The largest public park in Europe, Phoenix Park, is in Dublin. One of the residences that still exist in the park today, is the home of the Irish President. The American ambassador has a residence within the park too. I can't help but see the irony...he lives next door to the american ambassador and his house almost looks like a mini version of the white house in Washington :-)

Áras an Uachtaráin - official residence of the Irish president

Another place I caught a snapshot of from the bus, was Christ Church Cathedral.

It actually extends over the road. There is a somewhat Venetian looking bridge that connects the two sections.

Further sights in the next post.

Ireland via Frankfurt!

2012-07-10T08:43:00.001-05:00

Some of our avid followers have been clamouring for more posts :-) Apologies for the long delay in posting pics from our current trip to Europe! It's just been such a joy of sight seeing and touring that I haven't made time to get to blogging. Let me remedy that now and start with our flight over.

KLM basically closed their boarding gate too early in Hong Kong so even if our flight from Manila hadn't been delayed, we still would not have made the connection! Needless to say I've been on to KLM about it and hopefully some corrections to their published available connections will be forthcoming!

In any event, Cathay Pacific was really great and bumped us onto one of their flights via Frankfurt. This was perfect because it gave us a chance to get to see our very good friends from Germany! Thank goodness we'd made the effort to get Schengen visa's. It made it possible to just change plans like that!

Our friends took us to a beautiful place about an hours drive from Frankfurt called Loreley. There is a legend about the sirens singing on the great rock and as a result causing many ship wrecks. Or something like that at least. We went to the top of the cliff/hill/mountain and had coffee at the top. The view of the Rhine was exceptional!

Barge on the Rhine

View from Loreley

German Flag...obviously...pretty impressed with my pic :-)

German version of caravanning :-)

Who says rice terraces are only for Asia :-) Well these weren't rice terraces necessarily but they were pretty impressive! It's a lot steeper than it looked in the pic.

Terraced Farming

After Loreley we went for a drive and stopped at the quaintest hotel and restaurant. In the front carpark, farmers were selling their fruit etc. I hadn't seen such beautiful fruit in ages! At least not strawberries! I ate a whole punnet there and then. It was wonderful!!! Considering we can hardly get them in Manila.

The day was so short with our friends, but it was a real treat to see them! We caught our flight in the afternoon on Lufthansa to Dublin. More to follow in the next post.

Anilao Diving Again!

2012-05-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

Well, we have had the joy and privelage of another wonderful dive weekend here in the Philippines.

Although the diving was great, the weekend was rather sad. It's was officially the last dive trip with Karin and Sadri, as they are heading to Vienna soon after their stint in the Philippines. We will really, really miss them!

Once thing is definitely certain, living as an expat means making great friendships, but also, saying many goodbyes.

All in fun was had by everyone. The dive weekend started at 5.15am, getting up and doing the final packing. Our pickup was at 5.45am. The drive to Anilao was quicker than ususal, including the standard stop and McDonalds for a snack.

The accomodation was a little rougher than the previous places we had stayed, which added to the adventure (we stayed at ScubaBro, which used to be known as the Outrigger). It was an adventure when everyone's gear was rearranged and/or missing the second morning of diving. We actually found mine on another boat. One of the other groups diving there had understood it to be theirs...hahaha.

The food left quite a bit to be desired, but was adequate to keep our energy levels at an appropriate level.

The plan was as follows:

1 x house reef dive. This included a refresher for one, the final practical for a new Open Water diver, and a navigation dive for Vesna and I to wrap up our PADI advanced open water. Yah, we can now dive to 30 meters.

Brad silhouette

1 x Boat hire to go diving out at Sombrero Island and a wreck dive (hard name to spell). This was a fun, but tough dive. The current was rather strong so we ended doing a proper drift dive, and going into the deeper parts of the reef. In fact, it felt like a completely different place to what we recall from the last two times diving there. The second dive was out at twin rocks which was also good fun, apart from the stupid headache that I had.

Vesna and Karin

Brad and Sadri

Saturday came and went and was followed by some dinner and monopoly deal for some... yes, Vesna is addicted.

Sunday started early for some, with a 6am dive. We didn't quite make that one, and missed out on a sea snake sighting and some other good stuff.

We took some pics on our Sunday dives, but the camera was getting misty inside the casing because of moisture. But at least you can get an idea of what we saw.

Karin eating fish? not

Fish swarming

The boat was loaded at 9am and we headed out once again for some more diving. 2 dives were done, the first at Twin Rocks and the second at Cathedral. Fish feeding was on the cards for the Cathedral dive, and boy, were there fish. We spotted what must be the biggest trigger fish in the business, as well as some rather aggressive little clown fish.

Anyhow, here is a quick video.

Enjoy.

Apo Reef Underwater Sights

2012-05-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

At the end of April we went to an island just South of Luzon. Just off Mindoro is a reef called Apo Reef with an island in the middle. We didn't stay at the island, but rather slept overnight under the stars on an awesome house boat. The diving there was really spectacular and our Swiss guide Michael really knew the dive sites!

We did our first night dive - quite an experience - a wreck dive, a deep dive and a bunch of other fun dives.

Here's a few pics care of our friends the Knappets :-)

Barracuda...I sincerely hope I spelled that correctly!

On our night dive, we saw some incredible creatures. One of them was this crab.

Funky crab that disguises itself with coral.

This is a map of where we went.

We saw a number of shark on our dives. Everything from black tips to sharks that slept on the sea floor...totally incredible! They were more afraid of us than we were of them!

Several times, we saw these spotted fish. I was amazed to find out they are called Sweetlips :-) The wreck dive had big ones!

Sweetlips!

This turtle was awesome! He/she didn't just rush off like all the others I've seen to date. The turtle chilled and let us get some really good pics of it.

On the night dive, just as we were surfacing, we saw this squid. It's wonderful to see different animals you don't see during the day, on a night dive.

So my family might be a little freaked to know we dived with a sea snake. According to our helper, this snake isn't aggressive but rather friendly. Either way, the first one I saw, I literally changed direction in a split second and finned distance between myself and it...as if I could swim away. I was bargaining on plenty of other options for food between myself and the snake :-) Apparently the local name for it is Walowalo.
The second snake I saw, this one, I decided to go in for a slightly closer investigation. It looked a little more energetic than the first, so I decided to move away.

The trumpet fish is one of Brad's favourites, and it's super easy to tell someone you saw a trumpet fish underwater :-) Just play air trumpet :-)

I said earlier in this post that the sharks were black tips, but now I'm not so sure, because this one is a white tip. Either way, there a number of sharks. The diving community will have to forgive me for not knowing my sharks, or other animals for that matter, too well yet :-)

Apo Reef 2

2012-04-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

So our dive instructor gave us a bunch of photo and video from her camera. The video below is what I used to think were Angel fish, but discovered are actually Moorish Idols! Again, I'm still learning my sea creatures!

Our wonderful dive instructor, who sadly is leaving soon :-( We really will miss you Karin!

It's finally becoming second nature to say all's ok, not with thumbs up, which in diving means 'go to the surface' but rather as I'm doing in the picture below.

Lion fish are one of my favourite fish to photograph underwater :-) The spines are really poisonous though, so it's best not to get too close :-)

Lion Fish

On our last dive at Apo reef, we explored an old ship wreck. It honestly looked like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Tucked away in a mass of coral on the side of the ship, was this octopus!

Octopus

There are so many different types of starfish here! Everything from thin to fat, and bright to beige!

This is probably my favourite fish to see underwater! They just look so graceful! Moorish Idol.

Moorish Idol

Here's the man himself :-)

Brad

I forget what these guys are called, but I've seen them all over. They huddle in a group on the sea floor and swim over one another to move the group forward as if they're foraging on the sea bed. I'm not sure my description makes much sense, so I'll try take video next time and post it.

The house boat really was fun. It was so beautiful to sleep under the stars overnight. The food was good and the staff were really helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Even if it meant rearranging the dining area for a few more hours of sleep on the way to the reef.

We landed at San Jose airport and had to take a bus ride to the resort. Lets just say that some of the seating arrangements were interesting. Our friend had to make do with a plastic char!

I have a fascination with corals. I can't help taking pics when they're in interesting formations or when they have crazy colours like this one below.

So if I'm not mistaken, this is the real angel fish. These guys are really hard to take a photo of. Somehow they always seem to get away from me, but this is the best one so far.

Angel Fish?

One of the most incredible fish we saw at Apo was this Tuna. Certainly not as big as some I've seen on TV, which says a lot I think, but really incredible to see. I really hope that our childrens' children get to see these magnificent animals one day!

The resort was really well thought out. Each room had its own hammock! The bathrooms were really well finished and large! Certainly didn't feel anything like the bathrooms I've seen at other places we've stayed. The decor was simple, but really appealing too.

One of the best things was hearing the sea lapping up on the shore, right outside our room! The outside table and chairs was a perfect place to just be still and enjoy the wonderful creation God made!

I promise we didn't read a memo to dress alike!

On our last day, we couldn't dive obviously, because we had to fly the next day. So we went on a day trip to a waterfall/pool in the hill area. The drinks and our picnic lunch were carted up by Caribou. Really interesting!

The most incredible thing was when we drove through one of the villages and saw this tractor-cart improvisation! Really ingenious!

The walk was very hot, but it was enjoyable!

This was one of the pools that we could swim or wade in. Unfortunately we didn't get video, but a few of us, Brad and myself included enjoyed a bit of rock jumping too!

This was the little suspension bridge across the mini river. On the way back we detoured away from the bridge and didn't use it at all.

At the end of the day we were spoiled with a beautiful sunset. We had all been lurking in the pool, which has its own built in bar/dining area. This was the perfect way to end off a fabulous weekend!

El Nido - Apulit 3

2012-04-10T09:49:00.000-05:00

Meals at Apulit were wonderful! There was so much food and such tasty food too! I had prawns every meal almost and there was a chocolate fountain each meal too! Each night over the weekend we were at Apulit, a wonderful group of musicians and dancers from the university entertained us with traditional Filipino music. It was really interesting to watch and listen to!

Traditional Artists

Two of the evenings, supper was moved to the beach. This was truly an amazing experience, to eat your dinner feeling the sand warming your feet with heat it absorbed during the day, and hearing the sea lapping at the shore! The one night, the generator was shut down for an hour to take part in earth hour. It was inexplicable how quiet and beautiful that evening was. We headed for the pool. It was soooo warm and the island was bathed in a full moon...beautiful!

The staff were wonderful at the resort! Again, nothing was too much trouble. They really spoiled us and took care of us.

And of course, no Apulit update would be complete without more sunset pics :-)

Feeding the fish in the morning at the pier, was a highlight each day. There were three eels that lived in the rocks below the pier.

The fish completely swarmed when they were fed. And some were very possessive of their territory :-) One little silver guy really had a go at me, when I tried to hold on to one of the rocks.

More underwater shots to follow in the next update!

El Nido - Apulit Island 2

2012-04-10T00:59:00.000-05:00

The one thing I was amazed to see swimming underneath our cabin, was baby black tip sharks. They would swim right up to the beach too. They were more scared of us, than we were of them! A few times we saw them when snorkelling.

Baby black tip shark

The snorkelling was amazing and the pictures just can't do it justice, but hopefully they can give an idea.

View of the snorkelling.

Another baby black tip.

Breakfast was at the main area of the resort. It really was beautifully laid out and it was utterly relaxing to be there. The staff were phenomenal and nothing was too much trouble.

Dining area

Every way we looked on the island, the view was incredible. It was almost too much to take in.

View from the main bay

The swimming pool was newly completed and it was sooooo warm. Literally like a bath. We sat in the pool for hours on one of the days.

View of the massage hut

The beach area was lovely. The sand is white, but not as fine as it is at Boracay. We fell asleep on some of the deck chairs under the beach umbrella. Truly a relaxing time :-)

The first day we were there, we got ourselves a canoe and explored the island. We pulled it up on West Beach and did a lot of snorkelling there.

View from the canoe of cabins 45 - 50 odd.

Lets just be honest! Brad did most of the paddling, and I did most of the photography :-) My hero because it was really tiring! Especially considering how much of the island we went around.

The main man himself :-)

Another view of some of the cabins from the canoe

A view back to the main beach from the canoe

The water was so clear! It was incredible to swim in such clear water. Honestly, none of these pics have been photoshopped!

Funky rock at the end of the bay

Another view back to the main beach

Absolutely clear water!

One of my favourite shots of the main bay

I already mentioned that we didn't stay in the main bay. We had one of the cabins with steps going down into the water. It was quieter on the side our cabin was on. It was amazing to be able to head into the water straight off the balcony. A real treat!!

A row of cabins like our one

I couldn't get enough of seeing such stunning views everywhere I looked! It was almost too much to take in!

Another view of the water

At one point we tied our canoe up to our steps to take a break from the heavy work of paddling :-)

Our cabin :-)

West beach was further along the island on the side where our cabin was. It was so peaceful and quiet and the snorkelling in that area was superb. Well all the snorkelling was amazing, but this section of the island had a drop off where a lot of fish were chilling. It was one of the areas where I saw a baby black tip shark while snorkelling.

West beach area

More West Beach

Below is a picture of the snorkelling at West Beach. In the distance you can see where the coral starts and beyond that was the drop off.

Snorkelling at West Beach

The drop off at West Beach

That's it for this update. Again, more to follow for Apulit Island. Too much to include in just one post.

El Nido - Apulit Island 1

2012-04-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is just a little snapshot of our wonderful trip to Apulit Island.

View from our balcony! It was like being in a postcard!

Ok, so this update is sadly overdue! We decided to go on a dream vacation - once in a lifetime kind of thing - and found our way to Apulit Island. It's part of the El Nido group of resorts.

At the airport.

The aircraft we flew in was a 19 seater Dornier aircraft. It was hot and tiny, but halfway through the flight the a/c kicked in :-) We had straw fans to cool ourselves down until the a/c really got going.

Our Plane - 19 seater Dornier

Every seat was window seat just about :-)

View from the plane.

Another view

The plane doesn't go as high as a jet engined plane would. The view was incredible.

Reefs in Palawan

The airport we landed at was on mainland Palawan. The runway was dirt and was surprisingly smooth to land on. The jeepney that takes you to the boat actually rides in on the runway too!

C.L.Rodriguez airport - dirt runway :-)

C.L.Rodriguez airport

Airport Transfer :-) More fun in the Philippines.

The boat ride over to the island was really beautiful. We got to see our first sunset at the island. The boat dock is up the river, and you have to go all the way downriver to even start the trip across the small span of ocean to get to the island.

More airport transfer

Sunset on the boat ride to the island.

The island is surrounded by reef, so the boat can't go in close. It anchors in the bay and a small launch comes to pick you up and take you to the island. When you get to the island the staff are waiting. They sing a lovely welcome song :-) After which you get your island orientation talk - only about 5 minutes. The island is powered by diesel generator, and the sewage system is obviously self contained too, so there are a few house keeping things you need to know when staying on the island.

View of one side of the bay.

View of other side of the main bay

We stayed on the back section of the island, over the hill from the bay. We didn't have to walk over the hill to get to our cabin, rather we walked around the hill passed the dock - the place where they feed the fish each morning - to get to our cabin. It was a bit of a walk but it was worth it, because the generator could be heard in the main area of the resort. We were told that this was going to be changed in the next month. The pool had just been finished and it was stunning! I had never swum in such warm water before.

This was the view from our balcony, and it was totally worth it! Really a dream holiday!

One of the sunsets from our balcony

Another sunset

The other cabins nearby.

My first view of the morning from our cabin.

Ok, more to follow in the next post.

El Nido - Apulit Island 4 - Underwater Shots

2012-04-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our wonderful friends, the Isenhowers, we had the chance to take some shots underwater. Truly, Palawan has some stunning sea life!

Nemo's cousin

Incredible coral formations

Ok so maybe this isn't underwater, but it was just such a stunning shot I had to put it in :-)

Brad's feet

Sea Urchins

Night Snorkel

Fish Feeding Crowd

So we named this fish, Earl. He just looked like an Earl :-) And the picture doesn't really show it, but he was huge!!!!

These are more pics of the fish feeding. The fish swarmed any bit of food.

These clams were the most brilliant royal blue mixed with other types of blue! I've seen them in a number of places in the Philippines.

I'm not sure what was up with these guys in the picture below, but they were just chilling, staring into the coral as if they were mesmerised by it or something.

Catatonic Fish?

Intrepid Explorers :-)

This is one of my favourite types of coral, simply because of the colour! It's amazing to see underwater. Again, the picture doesn't do it justice.

I wish I could explain how brilliant blue these tiny fish were. The photo doesn't really do them justice.

Everywhere you looked, was coral garden. Truly a blessing to see God's creation this way!

The colours of coral just didn't end. Ever colour in the spectrum just about!

Stunning soft coral

Nemo's cousin...again.

Boracay Baby!

2012-03-14T04:46:00.000-05:00

We went to Boracay for the weekend with a wonderful bunch of friends. You can fly to Caticlan or Kalibo. Our flight was scheduled through Kalibo, which meant we had to take a bus ride from Kalibo to Caticlan boat station and from there we had to take a boat across the channel to Boracay. Kalibo is the bigger of the two airports. It's actually an international airport strangely enough. It really is a small airport, so it was surprising to find out it's an international airport.

The crowd...or at least most of them.

Lindsay and I in our ever so stylish hats.

Zest Air flight to Kalibo.

Brad and myself at the airport.

Boat station at Caticlan.

On the boat :-)

Heading to our transport from the boat station to the hotel.

Boracay Boat station.

Our ride to the hotel was a blast. No aircon on a hot Philippine day in a tin can!

Transport ... more fun in the Philippines!

Our transport.

Boracay main road?

I couldn't manage a day without a mango shake, or two, or three, each day. They definitely cooled me down even better than soda!

Mango Shake at Ole.

Lunch at Ole.

Finally we got down to the beach Saturday afternoon. I was totally desperate to get down to the beach and I was definitely not disappointed!

Boracay Beach Pic :-)

The man himself :-)

The sunsets at Boracay are beautiful.

Very near to our hotel, the D'Mall is where most of the shops and a bunch of restaurants are. It reminded me of a Philippine version of Key West.

D'Mall

D'Mall Main Street

Jonah's is the main spot for fruit shakes. Well worth the walk from the D'Mall.

At night, all the restaurants along the beach move their deck chairs out the way and set up tables for dinner on the sand. Really cool!

Random pic during our walk along the beach.

Boracay overcast.

We took a trike to meet everyone at Kasbah for dinner. We were dropped off at Fridays and then walked through the resort to the beach. Kasbah is right near Fridays. It was really interesting to walk down the hill and finally find this sign board with evac routes during emergencies. It was really interesting to see that the earthquake route was directed away from the water. Clearly because earthquakes mean there is a risk of Tsunami's.

Earthquake emergency evac route was away from the water...interesting!

More sunsets from night number 2.

My friend Lindsay and her family.

Dinner at Kasbah.

We had dinner on the beach at a Moroccan restaurant on Sunday night. The decor was cool for a beach restaurant.

Kasbah Restaurant.

The Boracay Bunch!

More of the Boracay Bunch!

After dinner we took a walk along the beach in the opposite direction to the walk the previous night. There were a number of restaurants that displayed seafood. Very interesting.

Finally we had to go home :-( On the boat, back to Caticlan, a little more pink than when we arrived!

Quick Video for all

2012-03-04T09:40:00.000-06:00

Hi family and friends

It seems the activities of life have kept us from posting. As such, I took a few minutes this evening to try my hand at putting a quick video together of some trips.

Thanks to Sadri and incedo.ph for the video (my rip of your DVD was not the best, and may ask for the actual original footage next time).

Anyhow, I will try to keep such info videos coming.

It's more fun in the Philippines.

Brad and Ves.

Check out www.incedo.ph for some great options.

Legaspi, Donsol and Whale Sharks

2012-02-13T22:47:00.001-06:00

This past weekend, we went to an area at the South of the island of Luzon, around a town called Legaspi. Our flight departed from the new terminal at Manila International Airport. It seems completely bizarre that all international flights are not directed through the new terminal. It seems that Cebu Pacific is basically running and using the new terminal, for domestic and international flights. I would think the Philippines would make a much better impression to foreign visitors, if all international flights began to be directed through this terminal.

This is a picture of one of the ATM's at the airport. Check out the communication devices on top of the ATM, along with a toilet roll or two. Not sure how secure this ATM really is...lol.

This is a part of the new terminal, with a bunch of very tired travellers sleeping in the airport.

Unfortunately, we were rained out in Legaspi. We did see a baby wale shark very briefly, and in very murky water. We weren't able to climb Mount Mayon - the volcano - because of all the rain. It was so muddy and parts of the city got a little flooded.

We found other things to do that were so much fun. We got on a trike - tricycle - and went through the drive through at Jollibee :-) This is our friend Sadri, taking a photo of us on the trike. The photo's will follow at some point later.

This is one of the trikes, with half of the wheel underwater! We were standing on the sidewalk outside the shopping centre, with the mini waves lapping up over the edge of the sidewalk.

This is a view of the square outside the LCC shopping centre. The whole square was under at least a foot of water.

Here's some video of one of our trike rides :-) All of us piled onto one trike :-) It was a ton of fun!

This is the drive through at Jollibee :-) I'm pretty sure they've had trikes go through there before, but they haven't had trikes with a bunch of crazy foreigners go through before :-)

This gives you an idea of how much it rained over the weekend while we were in Legaspi. Our only way across one of the streets without getting our feet totally soaked was using the trikes :-)

This gives you an idea of how there just isn't any way for the water to drain off the streets. It's crazy.

On the whole a fun weekend despite the rain. I would never have gotten the chance to ride a trike in Manila, so we definitely had a culture vulture experience :-)

Manila Hotel and Manila Cathedral.

2012-01-08T08:08:00.000-06:00

So I know this post is supposed to be about Manila hotel and Cathedral, but I just had to post this as a warning to tall people, that you need to watch out for low ceilings etc. in this part of the world :-) This was at one of the most upmarket shopping centres in Manila.

Yesterday we went sight seeing with a colleague of Brad's (Teri). We went to Greenhills for a little shopping and then we went to Manila Hotel for lunch. The food was great and then of course, I got adventurous and asked if we could see some of the rooms. The only rooms available to look at were the executive rooms. The view from the 15th floor over the bay was just fantastic!!!

Sunset View

Sunrise View

We were shown around the rooms by a wonderful lady, Iris. The service at the hotel, is very friendly and of an excellent standard, at least by what we've seen so far. We haven't actually stayed at the hotel, but each time we've visited for lunch we've been treated superbly.

Iris and Me

The one thing that really was impressive was the waterproof tv in the bathroom. You can bath, shower, or just sit on the loo :-) and watch tv. Even the remote is waterproof!

Couldn't resist taking this photo. Brad's a good sport :-)

After lunch, we went to the Manila Cathedral. We just had to show Teri how public the weddings are at the cathedral. Anyone can enter the church as long as they don't go beyond the boundary in the picture below. The bride was beautiful :-)

I would love to get my hands on this organ! Who knows if that will ever happen?

The organ

Stained glass windows.

Somewhere at the end of the aisle in this picture you might be able to see the bridal couple. Family and group photo's are taken at the alter at the top of the steps. Each group was called up one by one.

Below is a replica of one of Michelangelo's sculptures, The Pieta. The original is just so much more impressive. Maybe it's my camera - just my phone - verses professional lighting and lenses :-) But that would be taking away from the art of Michelangelo wouldn't it? :-)

Replica

Original

These are the wedding guests directly in front of the camera. All the guests for the next weddings were hanging around the back area of the cathedral near the entrance. Very interesting.

Anyway, so that's Manila Cathedral. I have to say that I would love to hear the organ being played for a wedding there, rather than a recording.