#33 Our first time: Asia

Our time in Australia came to an end after about 8 months. Cairns was our last stop. We didn't want to drive all the way to Darwin because it's almost 2900 km between the two cities. It would have been a 3 to 4 day drive through the outback, and it wasn't worth it just to see a city (even though Darwin is supposed to be very nice).

So on April 21, 2019, our plane took off to Manila in the Philippines. The departure from Cairns was beautiful and we had the opportunity to see some coral reefs from the air.

We landed in the evening in Manila, where our hotel-organized taxi was waiting for us.

Unfortunately, our first impression of the city wasn't great. We saw a lot of poverty. Along the streets and under bridges, we saw people lying and sleeping in the dirt. The further we got from the airport, the better it became.

》 About the Filipinos (yes, that is actually the official term for the locals)

They are all very nice and helpful. But you can't compare their friendliness and helpfulness to that of the Australians. The Aussies are simply unbeatable in that regard.

Otherwise, it feels like we're being stared at and the Filipinos turn around to look at us. We actually thought that we had landed in a tourist area where it is not uncommon to see Europeans. But we were wrong!

What we find very amusing is that they call us "Sir" and "Mam". For example, if you ask the taxi driver if he's available, he replies with "Yes Sir" in a tone like in the military.

》 Traffic and Getting Around

At first glance, the traffic seems chaotic and confusing. In general, the Filipinos create as many lanes as they want, and scooter riders weave through every small gap. You feel like there will be a crash any moment, but we haven't witnessed one yet.

There is also a lot of honking, but not because they are angry at someone, but simply to alert other road users to say "Hello - watch out, I'm overtaking quickly from the right". And this system seems to work great.

There are no pedestrian traffic lights! You just walk across the street and weave from lane to lane. Waiting until all lanes are clear is unthinkable. The drivers notice and drive around you. So far, it works great.

For all distances that are too far for us to walk, we either use tricycles or the famous jeepneys. Both modes of transportation are tiny and not really designed for us Europeans. We sometimes have to squeeze ourselves in, but it's really fun!

The jeepneys have been around for decades and are all lovingly and uniquely painted. They are really eye-catching!

You can hail both tricycles and jeepneys by hand on the side of the road. The jeepneys follow specific routes (like buses) and tricycles will take you anywhere (like taxis).

For a 15-minute ride on a jeepney, you pay around €0.17 and for the same distance on a tricycle, you pay around €0.86 per person. It's really cheap!

》 Food

For us, the food options here are pure paradise. We cooked for ourselves during our 8 months in Australia, compared prices, and only bought the essentials. Noodles with sauce and rice with beans were our standard meals.

And now we can afford anything we want. We pay around €3 per person for each restaurant visit. So we eat out 3 to 4 times a day here.

We were prepared for there to be no bread and to eat rice and soup for breakfast. That's not a problem. But the problem is that there is hardly anything without meat. And eating meat three times a day is getting on my nerves. It would be hell for vegetarians here. I somehow expected to be able to get just vegetables with rice. But no, vegetables are hard to find here.

But despite that, we really enjoy the food.

》 Now to our journey...

• Day 1 - April 21, 2019 - Arrival in Manila

Since the flight and the many new impressions exhausted us, we only took a shower and went to bed.

• Day 2 - April 22, 2019 - Manila

After a good night's sleep, we went in search of breakfast and ended up at ...... McDonald's. We were so overwhelmed with the restaurant choices that we thought we would find something familiar at McDonald's. We were wrong.

Because at McDonald's here, you can also get rice and spaghetti.

In the end, we decided on meat and scrambled eggs. Being full, we went into the city where we took care of getting a SIM card and a bus to Legazpi.

• Day 3 - April 23, 2019 - Legazpi

Our bus drove overnight from Manila to Legazpi. When we arrived, we checked into the hotel and then strolled through the city.

• Day 4 - April 24, 2019 - Legazpi

Today was our first tour. For €55 (together), we got a 2-hour quad tour with a private tour guide to an active volcano, Mayon (only to the foot of the volcano).

Our tour took us through gravel, forests, and even streams. We got wet and quite dirty. Luckily, we were given breathing masks to protect us from volcanic dust.

It was really a beautiful tour, but also exhausting driving over all the stones and rocks.

Here are some more facts about the Mayon Volcano: 2462 meters high and has erupted 50 times in the last 400 years, making it the most active volcano in the Philippines. The last eruption was in January 2018. It is also almost perfectly conical, which is why it is considered the most beautiful volcano in the world.

• Day 5 - April 25, 2019 - Legazpi

It's Meykel's birthday, and we totally forgot about it. The impressions here are so overwhelming. Plus, today our plane from Legazpi to Cebu is leaving.

At the airport, we experienced a situation unthinkable in Germany. Exactly at the boarding time (30 minutes before departure), an announcement was made that it had been discovered that the flight was overbooked. Volunteers were being sought to give up their seats on this flight and in return receive something for free and be booked on the next flight. This announcement was made three times until someone finally volunteered. And with only a 5-minute delay, we took off.

• Day 6 - April 26, 2019 - Cebu

We wanted to celebrate Meykel's belated birthday on this day. We had long wanted to swim with whale sharks, and today it was going to come true.

We booked our day trip by email, so we didn't really know what to expect. According to the information, the tour included the drive to Oslob, breakfast, a boat ride out to sea, swimming with whale sharks, lunch, and visits to two waterfalls.

We stood in front of our hotel at 4:45 a.m. and waited to be picked up. At exactly 5:00 a.m., our driver arrived. And by "our driver," I mean we actually had a personal chauffeur for the whole day. He drove us to a restaurant where breakfast was promptly served, and then a young woman appeared in front of us and explained that she would be our tour guide for the day. We were not aware of this beforehand. So now we had two people who were just taking care of us, and all of this for €89 per person.

The woman took us to the beach, helped us find our way, carried our bags, and handed us towels and water when needed. We had never had such a personal butler before, and it was somehow uncomfortable for us. While bathing at the waterfalls, it was reassuring to know that someone was watching our valuables, but we also felt somewhat observed.

Well, back to the main highlight: the whale sharks.

From the beach, we only sailed for a few seconds on the boat and were already in about 30 meters deep water. We got off the boat, dived under the water, and immediately saw the first whale shark. During the previous safety briefing, we were told to keep a 4-meter distance from the animals. But apparently, nobody told the whale sharks *laughs*

They actually came very close to us, and sometimes we couldn't avoid them because the boat was behind us. One of the whale sharks even touched us with its tail fin. In total, we were in the water for 30 minutes and saw 4 whale sharks. We would do it again anytime!

You can watch a video of it here:

>>>>> https://youtu.be/5-12CGWVStg <<<<<