Why not Manilla?
The hustle and bustle of Manilla is what people keep out of Manilla, but at the same time I find it appealing too. And yes, the traffic is choking, slow, and pollution is fierce. Taking the metro and light rail feels like a refuge from exhaust fumes. Temporarily though. When you hit the streets again you’re immediately confronted with it again. Except for the oasis that is called ‘intramuros’ where the Spanish settled. Without the heavy traffic and fairly green squares it shows the Philippine’s history from what it was before and after the Spanish occupation. It felt a bit like time travelling when I saw the photos and films in the museum. During WW2 many of the colonial buildings got destroyed and never really got rebuilt. Still there some fine examples left and in one of these an articraft center is located. Here I’ve seen the only shop in my life representing all kind of arts, woodcrafts, etc. of an entire concentration. The masks from Palawan, my favourite, were there too. This shop definitely made it to a museum on itself making this very worth to visit. It remains a mistery where they get it from as I didn’t see anything like it across the islands and tribes. Later I heard that it is very rare to find tribes making this still. Most energy nowadays is put in the mass production of souvenirs.
The mystery of the whale sharks
From Manilla I took a flight to Legazpi. In 2 days I travelled 1000 km from Sagada… so yes, this country is large too. the reasons for me to come to Legazpi was of course to see the whale sharks in Donsol and Mayon Volcano in Legazpi. I don’t know what was wrong with the weather, but in the dry season it rained for days. Also it was the whale shark’s peak season to come to Donsol. Unfortunately when I searched three days for the whale sharks they never turned up. But then the last night clouds moved from the sky and revealed a full moon! Of course! The whale sgarks are now feeding on the spawning of the corals… how stupid could I’ve been…. Three attempts… I still cannot believe it. Anyway Donsol was a pleasant and relaxing place, but it definitely missed a good beach. Other than whale sharks there’s just not much more. So I tried my luck with Mayon Volcano. Rain, low clouds, slippery surface… kind of all the bad things in a cocktail when you go for volcano watching. Climbing was already not a good idea before getting here, but the view point wasn’t any better than the weather. Clouds covered all of the volcano. I stress the word ‘all’, since even the base wasn’t barely visible. The last days I spent a little bit bored in Legazpi city. It didn’t spoil my trip. It was a wonderful journey and I’m still glad that at least I got to experience these highlights. It is as it is.
What’s next?
Home! By the time you read this I’m already in the Netherlands. In May I’m returning to Australia, for again at least one year, but hopefully longer with a proper job. Can’t wait to see you all back! 🙂
Ciau,
Amar