I have travelled to five additional countries (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Belgium and Switzerland), covered 20,000km and have met a man I am proud to call my boyfriend.
When I last reported on my whereabouts I was still living in the Philippines in a small fishing village named Port Barton. I enjoyed many days on the water fishing, island hopping and learning Tagalog, the native language.
Fishing boats, Port Barton
Margo and Reto, Wild Boars
Port Barton Sunset
Dudong cooking Tuna
Crowded Jeepney ride
The intention was to stay in Lagugan for three days. In actuality we were there for over a week. During the week I had the most scary motorbike ride of my life (we hit a small piglet), we hiked three hours to visit the Batak tribe, went fishing, participated in funeral ceremonies for our friends mother, ate and drank. All in all it was a great trip. I was glad to return to the comfort of my bed at the end of the week. The accommodations in Lagugan were a hard bamboo floor and no bathroom within five minutes walk. We were roughing it to say the least. I learned several things about Filipinos on that trip:
1. Filipinos live out loud. When you come from a family of 8 to 10 kids you do not have the luxury of being shy.
3. Filipinos do everything in groups.
After three months in Port Barton I was starting to feel the travel bug again. Reto and Patrik were leaving for Luzon, North of Manila, in several weeks and invited me to join them, I accepted. Frankly I needed to escape the 35 degree heat and infected bug bites on my legs and feet. The mountains of Northern Luzon were the perfect spot to recover.
Before leaving Palawan we visited Reto’s friend Alvin. Funny thing is that Alvin and I had our mutual friend Mell in common. It was just a matter of time until we met. The world really is very small. At Alvin’s place my creative, artistic side was reignited. Alvin’s owns a farm for creatives. He is an active artist feeding his family from commission work. His property is full of pieces of art or wood
waiting to be used in sculpture or furniture. I really enjoyed my time there. I will definitely return at some point to work with him. What a talent!
After leaving Alvin’s, Reto, Patrik and myself went to Bagio. We based ourselves in a rented apartment for several weeks. Bagio is a student city full of culture and art, something I was missing in Port Barton. While there Reto and I visited many galleries and art exhibitions. Vocas, Ben Hur Gallery, Tamawan village, The Bliss cafe and Ben Cab museum were just a few of the exhibits visited. These places inspired me to start sketching in my book. It felt really nice to see this part of myself again.
Reto and I on top of the Jeepney
Rice terraces from the Jeepney
From Bagio Reto and I travelled 7 hours North over mountain ranges (on top of a Jeepney) and through rice terraces to reach the mountain village of Sagada. We found a great place to stay called Georges. Sagada is well known for its hanging coffins, caves and hiking trails. Reto and I decided to try the "adventure" cave experience. We started in one cave and emerged 3 hours later from another. It was slippery, dark and wet but our guide, Edison, made the experience a fantastic one. Sagada was a really beautiful mountain town. I wrote this from our room balcony as I watched a storm roll in.
Caving in Sagada
Gracefully the forest green canopy is gently swept under a carpet of cascading cream clouds. The air fills with the easy sounds of a community returning home. A soft rolling thunder echos in the distance, evidence of the not so distant afternoon rains. The sky darkens as the mist draws near. Cool winds sweep down the valley to gently kiss my face. The rain is upon us now.
From Sagada we took the Jeepney over the highest mountain pass in the Philippines. We actually traveled right through the clouds. I think everyone should try riding on top of a Jeepney once in there lives! We reached Banaue several hours later. Banaue is best known for its 2000 year old rice terraces. They are said to be the stairs to heaven. Reto and I opted out of visiting the actual Batad tribe where the most famous rice terraces are located. It is very touristy and expensive to visit. We decided instead to hike the rice terraces surrounding Banaue and visit a waterfall. Hiking to the waterfall I gained great appreciation for the people who built these terraces. They walked on small, steep paths to tend their fields. They also had to carry everything down the mountain at harvest. Not to mention the average temperature is 30 degrees with no shade. From Banaue we looped back to Bagio where we picked up Patrik and headed back to Manila.
Playing around in Manila (don't worry the gun is not real)
The gang Reto, Margo, Tef, Patrik
My Philippine visa ran out 15 days prior to Reto and Patriks so I traveled to Thailand alone with plans of meeting the boys there. On June 25th I landed in Bangkok. After almost 4 months in the Philippines these are some of my observations:
1. Filipinos can sleep anywhere.
2. Questions asked by everyone: How old are you? Are you married? Do you have kids?
3. Rules are meant to be broken.
4. They say yes but really mean maybe.
5. So many babies.
6. Sex tourism is prevalent and nasty.
7. Filipinos can drink!
Stay tuned for my Thailand, Laos and Cambodia adventures!
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