We struggled to decide where to go-our choices included Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan (to different locations than before), etc. Basically, all of these really neat places that are so much cheaper to get to from Korea than from the USA. We ended up choosing the Philippines because we found tickets on flash sale, so I guess you could say that we just were meant to take a tropical break from all of the mountains and highlands that we've been seeing all year long.
Steven planned the entire trip. Start to finish! Proud of that man. He planned lodging, activities, food, intercity travel, airport shuttles, everything! It was so nice to fly to a country and see a trip just planned for me, which is why we're referring to it as probably the best babymoon we'll ever get. I'm grateful for all of the footwork Steven did for us beforehand so that we would have a safe and enjoyable stay.
The Philippines are an experience, I'll tell you that much. Well, actually let's back up...
I have a theory about traveling. You either travel to experience or you travel to vacation. These are two entirely different things. Steven and I travel to experience. You can tell by how much we try to fit into every single day of our trip, we never sit still very long, we don't eat fancy, we leave off the bells and whistles, shopping while traveling is a weird concept for us, etc. These are the things we do to experience the place that we are in. So that we can take in as much of the every day life/culture/history as possible. A vacation is where you take your time, and spoil yourself. Neither are bad ways to travel, and both have their place. We intended this to be our first real vacation together, but we ended up having this fantastic mix of both!
When we landed in the Philippines we were supposed to be met by an airport shuttle provided by our lodging. However, after waiting in impossible lines for customs and taking a little while to find an ATM and a bathroom, we were about an hour late coming out of the airport and our shuttle was nowhere to be found. Instead we were mobbed by a crazed herd of taxi drivers.
When we travel we print out all pertinent emails, therefore we had a printed copy of our email with the Creekside Amorsolo Hotel out and ready to go. This email (unfortunately) had the combined total costs of our shuttle both from the airport and back to the airport. It looked like a huge sum-1400 Php, but really it was 700 Php each way. The taxi drivers saw the large sum though and started telling us that they would be able to drive us to our hotel that night for that amount-no less. They also insisted that it was 2 am, even when we showed them our watches which clearly stated 1 am. And they claimed that our hotel only provided shuttles until midnight, even though we knew we specifically chose a hotel with a 24/7 shuttle. I got a little...ok a lot...sassy with them and started waving my finger in their faces and calling them out on their lies. We even told them to go away a few times, but they were persistent little buggers.
Finally, I looked over my shoulder to the airport cop (who was doing nothing else in particular) and called him over. I asked him what time it was, and he stated the correct time, at which point I think I gave a very good raised eyebrow to the drivers. I asked the officer if he knew where a phone was because "these taxi drivers are lying to us and we need an honest driver with honest rates, or a phone." He helped us out, found us a (free!) phone, and we had the hotel notified of our delayed arrival quickly. The taxi drivers left us alone after that. However a few more raised eyebrows and sassy glares may have been shot their way. We did get to our hotel that night by the way, safely, for only 700 Php (which is still way more than a metered taxi, but we trusted the hotel's shuttle driver more than sketchy cab drivers that could take us down any dark alleyway and get away with it).
The next morning we had the hotel call a cab for us, and arrange a meter only ride to Cubao Bus Station (220 Php), where we caught the Victory Liner bus to Alaminos-a lovely city on the north side of the main Philippines island (fun fact: until this very second I thought we had gone to the south side of the island...that's how little I knew about this trip beforehand). The entire trip was about 5 hours with 2 fifteen minute bathroom stops (try that a 5.5 months pregnant), and cost us 393 Php each. We really enjoyed the countryside and even though that sounds like a ton of time on a bus (because it was) it was a fantastic way to see as much of the country as we could while heading to a really neat destination. We also slept, because, sleep.
We arrived in Alaminos around 4:30, knowing that it was another 6 kilometers or so to our second lodging. Steven had also done the footwork to know that the cheapest way to get to our hotel was via motorized tricycle, which I would have never expected to hop on. Again, we were mobbed by drivers anxious for some business by people that clearly did not know the local rates. So instead we waved literally everyone off and walked a ways away (to the bathroom for the pregnant lady!). I got lucky and there were two very nice women in the bathroom at the same time as me, who knew very good English (everyone basically knew very good English-we never had to use Tagalog, which is good because we know...nothing). I asked these two women to set up a ride for Steven and I to the Nautilus with an agreed upon rate, and they were thrilled to oblige. We ended up with a ride for 60 Php by a man named Carlos. Carlos also took us by the local BDO (a very trustworthy and large Philippines bank) so that we could use the ATM. He started to explain that this would be an additional charge, but I cut him off mid "mam' this will be additional char..." and told him that we would tip him for the detour. He didn't argue, so I guess my sass worked again. I was glad to name my own price rather than see what he would do.
Our hotel looked great...from the outside (and online). And to be honest it was! But if you're looking for American style quality, it's not your place. This is the most important thing I learned during my first day in the Philippines: Steven and I live like kings. We don't live like newly-graduated-and-expecting-our-first-so-minus-traveling-we're-saving-every-penny like I thought we did. We live like royalty. This was the experience of the first day. Seeing the drivers get all worked up because they might have the chance to earn an extra wage. Seeing the thatched roof houses. Seeing the children playing barefoot. Seeing everyone barefoot. Seeing the broken windows and sheets for doors. Seeing the rusted tin walls that are used to create their shelters. Seeing the over-worn and ill-fitted clothing. Seeing all of this is what this trip was made of. All of the sudden paying a little more than the locals didn't feel like a burden, it felt like an opportunity to serve. However, we did do our best to stay at least near the local rates (and did really well!).
Back to our hotel: the bed was large and made with clean sheets, the room was private, it had a sweet balcony, the bathroom was clean, and there were two towels and a bar of soap. There was no water pressure, the toilet leaked, the sink was held together by tin foil, and the doors didn't really lock properly. But looking at the local conditions, I still felt blessed to even have a place that nice. Maybe there's nicer in the area? I'm not sure. But the Nautilus worked great for us.
That night we went to eat at Maxine by the Sea, a place with highly mixed reviews that was only about 1000 meters from the Nautilus. (Steven had researched this place for a date night, because he is romantic and stuff). The portion sizes there were huge! We did wait nearly an hour for our food (that's their largest complaint on tripadvisor), but we didn't mind at all because of the view. And the prices were nothing to complain about if you're comparing it to eating out anywhere else we've been in our travels (around 250 Php for a plate)! We were grateful to have such a nice place to eat so close to our hotel. At this point it was dark and we were exhausted from the late night before and the day's travels, so we headed back to the hotel and zonked out grateful for the experiences we had been able to have.
No comments:
Post a Comment