Pelagian

Ok, we are a bit late but we just spent a week on the nicest appointed boat we have been on, the Pelagian, part of the Wakatobi dive resort. It started life as a private yacht and was converted into a dive boat. There are a few odd things about it but the adaptation is very well done.

The rooms, I presume, are the old staterooms of the previous owners and their guests. Our room had its own private stairway. The room itself was actually big enough to move around in. Two beds, a small bench, a washroom and 3 closets. A room that big is in itself luxury on a boat of any kind. There are other small things like brass handrails on the interior stairs, carpeted lounging and dining areas and  an outdoor lounge aft. The décor is not super modern but it suits the boat very well.

The meals are gourmet. There is a daily menu and you can choose what you want at any meal but if those choices don’t suit you, you can have anything made special. The portions are small which suits Debbie and me perfectly. We generally just eat the main course but if one requires more sustenance there is soup or salad and dessert.

Check out the website for the Pelagian. Their photos are much better than mine. Pelagian

The group we dove with was fantastic. It helped to restore our faith in small group ‘tours’ where we are confined to a small space for several days with people we don’t know. Each of the tours (one on land and one on the water) had 4 people on them that made the 7 days very uncomfortable. We were wondering if we should gamble and book any more of those trips. This group was friendly, chatty, personable to a person. I enjoyed visiting with every one of them. They were interested in us and they all had interesting stories to tell. Their diving experience was extensive and we were able to learn of a few places worth diving we have not been too yet.

There is no dive deck on the Pelagian. We struggle into our wet suits in the exterior lounge at the aft of the boat and load the tender via a ladder on the side of the mother ship. The small boats ferry us out to the dive site and pick us up 70 minutes later. Boarding the Pelagian using the same ladder we used to get off the boat, then the side aisle is used to strip off the wet gear and rinse it with Dettol and hot water from the available spray nozzles. No rinse tanks except for the cameras and dive computers. The system seems odd at first but once you figure out a way to be efficient it works pretty well.

The diving is amazing. The reef is in excellent shape. The fish seem to be sparse and then around the next corner there is a massive school of Redtooth Triggerfish, hundreds and hundreds of them all moving in unison. The coral is probably the highlight of the area. It is abundant and amazingly colourful. Soft coral, hard coral, sponges, you name it, it is here. Every colour you can dream up.

The diving is not particularly hard, at least we didn’t experience any difficult dives. The first few dives the current was odd. Down current, up welling, drifting along and the current changes direction so you turn around and drift in the other direction.  The dive masters are very accommodating and we rarely  fought current and then only for a couple of minutes before we reversed direction. The last half the week the current was more normal and we just went with it again, not fighting the direction.

The crew is beyond attentive. We hadn’t been on board more than a minute and hadn’t been formally introduced yet and they were addressing me by name. After one meal they knew our preferences and would clarify that we would like to continue status quo or would we like to change up. For instance, the first time I was served a bun there was only one pad of butter, I asked for a second pad and every time after that when I was served a bun I was the only person with two pads of butter. They noted all the oddities for all 10 guests on board.

We had heard all about Wakatobi and how fantastic it is before we got here and it is all true. This dive resort and live a board are a step above any other place we have been. And most of the boats and places we have been are first rate operations. You pay for the upgrade for the Pelegian, but it is very special.

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Kuta, Bali

Our second time to Bali and Debbie and I find tourist central. Bali is a destination for many travellers and holidayers so no matter where you are on this small island there is bound to be a lot of foreigners. But more on that later.

We got back to the hotel around 2.30pm. We organized a bit and then I flicked on the TV. Don’t watch TV except at hotels so it is a bit dangerous as I can’t take my eyes off it once it is on. When in a land where the first language is not English it is even more of a problem because I might watch something in some other language and I don’t understand a word of it. I scrolled through the channels and ended up on a sports channel watching a Australian National Rugby League game. Debbie put down what she was doing and started watching as well. It was near the end of the game but ‘next up’ was the Grand Final of the NRL. It was live and in colour. We watched most of the first half and were interested in the game. Weird game, sort of a combination of hot potato and red rover. Here you take the ball, no no you take, that’s quite all right fellas I don’t really want it either, Oh shit I’m stuck with it might as well run straight into the competition and get slammed to the ground. Anyway we wanted to see the end so at half time we ran across the street got a pizza to go and sat through the final 40 minutes. Didn’t really know anything about the teams but in the end the winning team had won the last 4 Grand Finals and that was some sort of record and established them as the ‘greatest team ever’. Sort of the like the Edmonton Oilers of old.

Kuta

Earlier in the day, Murray wanted to go to a currency exchange away from the airport to see if we could buy Indonesian Rupiah at a better rate. Inside the airport the exchange is 10,400 IDR to 1 Canadian dollar. Just outside the airport it is 10,700.

We walk into an area called Kuta, tourist central. There are beaches along the coast and many many resorts, hotels, inns and home stays. Holiday Inn, Sands, Sheraton, Wyndham and then, of course, Starbucks, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Hard Rock Cafe. You get the picture.

We walk down Jl Kartika Plaza, the busy street in Kuta, checking out the exchange rates and everyone’s rate is 10,900. We pick a small exchange and transact our business. We cut through the Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel (stopping at the bathroom) onto the beach and are surprised that there is no beach, just a rock embankment with waves splashing on it. Further down the beach, in both directions, we can see sand into the water. If I were to come to Kuta for a beach holiday, I would make sure the hotel I choose is actually on a nice part of the beach.

Kuta

By the time we walk along the walkway on the beach and turn inland, we are need of a rest out of the sun. We find a wall to sit on that happens to be under an awning and park ourselves to watch the world go by. We spy a young woman with a pack back come out of the cross street and she is looking like she needs directions. We quip that if she asks us, we only know that the beach is that way, the main road is the other way and the airport is back that way.

C, a solo traveller from France, ended up sitting on our wall and chatting with us for quite awhile, and then we three decide we need lunch. We find a restaurant close by and continue to visit while ordering and then eating lunch. Eventually we have to say goodbye, C to head to Ubud and us to walk back to our hotel. Sometimes, the best part of travelling is meeting the nicest people!

Kuta
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Staying Awake in Brisbane

After an eternity of about 13 hours flying from Vancouver to Brisbane, we disembark the plane at 7:00 am local time, cruise through immigration, baggage collection and customs, dump our bags at the Ibis Brisbane Airport Hotel and ride the Airtrain into downtown Brisbane. We are headed to the Gallery of Modern Art. 

Brisbane

We have found that the best way to counter jet lag and the time zone difference, is to stay awake all day, and in order to accomplish this, we have to keep moving. So, the Art Gallery is our way to do it.

When we get to the Gallery of Modern Art, we are told that the 3rd floor is closed but the second floor has an exhibit or two. We wander up the stairs and view the rather spartan exhibits. Mmmm. We decide to go across the plaza to the Queensland Art Gallery. Don’t even get in the door as the security guard informs us it is closed to the public today. Oh oh, we are striking out with the art galleries today!

Brisbane

We decide to walk across the river towards Queen Street Mall, a pedestrian mall. On the way we walk by City Hall and see signs for MOB, Museum of Brisbane. We enter and tour through a photography exhibit, one on flowers and a few smaller exhibits. Well worth the stop.

Outside City Hall is a large tent with an exhibit of works created by folks with mental health issues. We are amazed at the number of works of art, some to our liking and some not. Many people enjoy the exhibit along with us.

Brisbane

The start of our search for art didn’t produce much but we ended with finding art in unusual places.

We walk slowly back across the river and to the train station with tired feet and foggy brains. Time to camp out at the hotel and try to stay awake until after supper.

Brisbane
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Wakatobi, here we come

Many years ago, I think back in 2018, we heard about the Wakatobi resort. It was from a older American gentleman (he was maybe 80 yrs old) from the deep south of the country where everyone has that distinctive drawl. We met him at the first briefing on the liveaboard we were on. As I walked up to the table to sit down, he got up from his chair and pulled out my chair so I could sit. A real gentleman! Murray, jokingly, said “Oh please don’t do that……She will expect it from me now!”. This gentleman had all the ladies on the boat enthralled with him by the end of the cruise. He was a lovely person.

The fellow was on his last dive trip with a male friend before he got married. Remember….he is about 80! He mentioned that he was taking his new wife to Wakatobi. The resort sounded wonderful so it got written on our wish list. We researched the resort when we got home and found that it was rather expensive, so it stayed on the wish list.

Then Covid hit. We didn’t travel but we had lots of time to think and dream. What came out of all that thinking and dreaming? “What the h***! Let’s go to Wakatobi!”

Four years later, we are on our way.

Wakatobi is in Indonesia, just off the island of Sulawesi on the south east coat, on the island of Tomea. Its name is made up of the first letters of the four islands nearby – Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomea and Binongko. There are no scheduled flights to the island, so a private charter is taken to the resort from Bali.

Wakatobi has a liveaboard and a resort. We are going to spend one week on the liveaboard and four night at the resort. The liveaboard accommodates only 10 guests, rather than the 20 we had on the Solitude in the Philippines, quite a difference. Our plan is to dive as much as possible on the liveaboard (4 a day) and then slow down to two dives a day at the resort so we have time to enjoy the resort, beach and water.

Wakatobi…here we come!

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Philippines Post Script

The people make the place and the Philippine people are great. The diving is diverse and really, really good.

Debbie managed to suss out good places to stay. The one place that was disappointing on first impression we grew to like after the first couple of days. I would return to every one of them.

The local food was a bit disappointing. There are plenty of street food type venders but the problem is we were not sure what they were serving. Some of the delicacies included pig intestines and pre hatched baby ducks, not eggs ducks. So, we stayed away from mystery meat. Pork Belly is something else that is eaten a lot. So little meat and so much fat. Yuck. Debbie survived on rice and chicken and I was always able to find something. The food was inexpensive though we managed to eat for less than $25 CAD a day for both of us. Note: we don’t eat huge meals and often share an entrée, you would have to adjust if you have a ‘normal’ appetite. I allowed 200p for breakfast and 400p for both lunch and dinner per person.

The water is more than warm. When diving we consider warm water to be 81F (sorry we dive imperial). The water here was on average 85F. The only time I felt a chill was the occasional time we passed through a thermocline. We dove coral gardens larger than a football field, walls with a kaleidoscope of colours, we stared out into the blue hanging in the water with no bottom and we dove the muck finding all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures. There are so many more places we could go and experience diving every bit as good as what we did on this trip.

There are a couple of things that a traveller needs to be wary of. Filipino airlines are not governed by the same regulations North American airlines are. When Philippine Airlines over charged us for the tickets we bought they would not pay us back in cash. All they offered was a voucher good for one year. A very useless gesture for most foreign travelers. We did manage to use the voucher to upgrade the tickets on another flight we had booked but the cash would have been much more useful. Then when they completely cancelled a flight and put us on a flight the next day they refused to provide us with a hotel room to make up the extra night in Manila. Cebu Pacific pulled a similar stunt many weeks before we were to arrive in the Philippines and they would not refund our money so we could book on another airline. The ticket was non refundable but it was the airlines inability to provide the service we had paid for that caused us to change our hotel bookings. If we had wanted the change, I can understand their decision but since the change was initiated by them, I think they should have kept us happy.

Taxi drivers caused me too much grief. I read before we left home that white taxis were the most reliable. They are supposed to be metered and the drivers are supposed to use the meters. About half the time we got in a taxi, the driver refused to start the meter and then told us how much the ride was going to cost. Once I bargained as we drove and we agreed on a price. The driver still wanted more when we arrived. He messed with his meter and showed me a bogus number he said reflected the cost of the trip. I gave him a few pesos more and later found out even the first number we had agreed on was too much. When one cabbie was completely out of line, I made him let us out and we found alternative transport. I would suggest if you are to use a taxi that you make the driver start the meter before you get in or don’t get in. You can use Grab, an Uber type app, and you will know from the onset what the trip will cost but the one time I was able to compare a Grab fee to a metered fee the Grab fee was twice as much.

Debbie and I are already talking about the possibility of returning to the Philippines. The diving is very diverse and there are several areas we heard about that I sure would be worth a visit. I would definitely go back to Dauin and spend a couple of days in the muck. We were inches away from coming face to face with a tiger shark in Malapascua and we were not fortunate enough to happen upon any whale sharks that might happen by. So, there is still lots to see. Next time would be strictly a dive adventure though. We did a bit of touring this time and got a pretty good sense of what the country is like.

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Manila Thoughts

Monday today, the museums and art galleries are closed. After years of travel I think we have finally learned that. The markets will indeed be in full swing and since we haven’t visited any of them in Manila, we thought we should. There are three somewhat different markets quite close together, we head toward the Quezon Bridge and the Quinta Market where we expect to find the sellers of meat and vegetables. Our route takes us along Evangelista Street. It is lined solid with shops and stalls. The shoppers are elbow to elbow. The Quinta Market itself is less crowded but the shop keepers are in full operation with their tables full of goods, be it fish, meat, fruit, or vegetables. 

Adjacent to the Quinta building, under the Quezon Bridge is the Ilalim Ng Tulay market. Known as a handicraft market. The main product seems to be wicker; baskets, chairs, lampshades are all available. 

Manila

Close by is the Rajah Sulimon Market. I’m not sure if it has any particular specialty but there are plenty of stalls lining the streets. This market didn’t have the same crowds as the ones on the west side of the bridge but it was still open for business and busy. 

Walking the streets of Manila, I note there are a couple of odd businesses and not just a one off store, there are whole streets lined with them. The first is what looks to be the forging of fake documents. Do you want a university degree, maybe you need a drivers licence, or perhaps a passport from some other country. What ever you need, it seems you can have one made to spec here. The other occupation is cell phone repair. We have walked a couple of different street with literally hundreds of shops and kiosks offering to repair your broken cell or upgrade the glass with tempered glass or whatever needs to be done to make your phone better. We were in a 3 story ‘mall’ today entirely dedicated to cell phone repair and accessories. The inventory in every store is huge. I can only imagine that Filipinos change their phones on a weekly basis.

Manila

To get to and from the market we were back on the LRT. We’re getting around town like we knew what we were doing. We don’t see any tourists types on any of the local transportation. I don’t know if they rely on taxis or if they are all on some sort of tours but we have yet to see another white skinned person on a jeepney, a local bus, or the rapid transit in Manila. Taxis are expensive and frankly slow with Manila’s traffic and using local transport is a fraction of the cost and heaps more efficient. It took a bit of work to figure things out but after trying, it is extremely easy. Here everything is in English so even the ticket kiosks at the LRT are simple to navigate. 

Manila

Riding the commuter train Debbie and I noted a few things. On our ½ hour ride we pass a university or a college every couple of minutes. And that is just the ones with signage facing the tracks and within visual distance. There are so many institutions of higher learning. In the long run, the Philippines will have a very well-educated population which bodes well for the future. The other aspect that becomes apparent while observing the environs as we pass by is how much religion plays a part in life here. We pass more churches than educational institutes. We can’t tell if the churches serve any particular branch of religion but if they fill up every Sunday it will take a significant number of people off the street for two hours in the morning.

Getting old is weird. In your head you are still as young as you want to be but your body has different ideas. In the mirror the daily change is so gradual you don’t notice you look old. In most Asian countries age is some sort of a badge of honour. I mentioned before we actually played the ‘old card’ and used a grocery store check out line that was devoid of a lineup. Reality hits hard when you get on the LRTrain and someone stands up taps you on the shoulder and offers the seat they had occupied. I have given up trying to say no, I just say thank you and sit down. The odd part is the person can be 40 years old or older but they still see us old people and are kind enough to give up their seat. Fat chance that would happen on a bus in Edmonton. But then again, I never ride a bus at home so for me personally it doesn’t really matter. 

Manila

Another thing I see while staring out the windows is the accommodation in which people reside. I have noted during our touring around that the housing is somewhat meager. I am sure there are ‘fancy,’ larger, single family type houses somewhere, but we ran across very few. Most of the housing stock is constructed of scrap or repurposed building materials, the houses seem to be small with an outdoor cooking and eating area. In the cities the multi story buildings (and there are many many tall buildings) are older and in disrepair. In rural area the same type of housing is prevalent but these houses are surrounded by a larger plot of land rather than side by side with no space between the adjacent walls.

Manila

Besides using local transport, we walk. We walk until Debbie is about to collapse and then we head back to the hotel. We see a lot this way. We rub metaphorical elbows with the locals and maybe learn about how the place really ticks rather than seeing what the powers that be want us to see. 

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Architecture, Art and Cake

The Manila Metropolitan Theatre was opened in 1931 and is in the art deco style. Unfortunately, during WWII it got bombed, which destroyed the roof but the walls held firm. The building has gone through a number of restorations and is gorgeous on the exterior. There isn’t a show playing right now in the theatre, so we were unable to go inside.

Manila Metropolitan Theatre
Manila Metropolitan Theatre

The National Museum of Fine Arts is our next stop. There are four levels of art, sculpture, drawing and painting. We start on level 2 (ground) and walk through galleries of religious art – not our favourite. Level 3 has more paintings to our liking and it seems the higher we go, the more modern the art gets. All the artists are Filipino but we can see the influence of the impressionists in many of the pieces. 

National Museum of Fine Art
National Museum of Fine Art

We need to travel a long way down Taft Avenue to our next stop, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design. Instead of hopping on the LRT, we decide to ride in a jeepney. In a flash one comes by, we climb in, pay our 26 pesos (50 cents) and we are on our way. We get off at Ocampo Street, walk a couple of blocks to the museum only to find out it is closed. Rats!

It’s lunchtime, so we walk to the Aristocrat Restaurant. It has been around for more than 80 years and is supposed to have the best BBQ chicken in Manila. The place is busy with families as it is Sunday. We order the  BBQ chicken and Java rice, or course. I wouldn’t say it is the best chicken I have had, but we can now say we went there! 

Manila

Filipinos love cakes and donuts and sweets. There are bakeries, cake shops and donut shops everywhere. We get a kick out of looking at the iced cake designs. 

It is a packed day and we time our arrival back at the hotel just as it starts to rain.

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Intramuros and Binondo, Manila

Our goal today is to walk though Binondo to Intramuros, the old Spanish section of Manila.The area houses Fort Santiago, the Manila Cathedral and other landmarks. 

We purposely stay in a Novotel hotel located at a mall and at the crossroads of two rapid transit stations. This morning we take the LRT to a station close to Intramuros. We pay 50 pesos ($1.10 Cdn) for both of us to ride. Manila does not have many train lines, unlike Tokyo or Paris or London, so it is fairly easy to figure out and navigate.

Once out of the station, we are in an area called Binondo . As we walk, we pass down document street, where one would go to get a passport, driver’s license, birth certificate etc. We couldn’t determine whether they are actually real or forgeries. Next we pass down gold jewelry street, where there is a scrum as there is a sale. And then down lighting and fixture street, fruit and veg alley and then through Chinatown. 

Scrum at a jewelry sale.
Scrum at a jewelry sale.

Murray needs a Coke, so I park myself on a step and he goes in search of a store. While sitting, I muse about all the mass transport in Manila. There are motorbikes, that will take one passenger. Trikes for two, maybe three. Taxis. Small jeepneys for about eight passengers. Jeepneys for about 20 if packed. Buses and then trains. That is a lot of choice for someone looking for transport. And all of it inexpensive.

Manila trike
Trike

I have to be honest here, Intramuros was okay. I think the heat made the walking around just a little hard. We see the fort, a couple of churches, parks, monuments, tourists and then head back to the train station. I must have looked dreadfully hot and dripping when we got on the train as two young fellows offered us their seats right away!

Moat around Fort Santiago.
Moat around Fort Santiago.

After a dip in the hotel pool, here I sit in our room in the AC, drinking electrolyte, writing this post. Supper soon and then we will try to stay awake til 9:00. Tomorrow’s outing will use more transport to not tax Debbie’s cooling system quite so much!

Jeepney
Jeepney
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Last Day of Diving in the Philippines

No words. Just photos.

Dauin
Cuttlefish
Dauin
Nudibranch
Dauin
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Dauin
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Dauin
Dauin
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Apo Island

Today is a day trip to Apo Island, about a 45 minute boat ride away. I am excited as we have heard there are turtles at this island. We have six divers and three snorkelers, plus the crew, on board. We will be doing three dives, with lunch in between.

Apo Island

The diving at the island is different than the diving at the resort (muck diving). The slopes are filled with both hard and soft corals, all in very good health. It is so beautiful to gaze at the varying shapes and colours. We spy one turtle on the first dive and numerous nudibranchs. The second dive is similar to the first, but no turtles.

Apo Island

On the third dive, we swim over a sand patch that has champagne bubbles floating out of the sand. They give the water a party atmosphere. We spy another turtle as we return to the boat. So, only two turtles, whereas the snorkelers saw many more than that.

Apo Island

We meet folks from all over the world on our travels, and this time we chat to folks from Austria, Australia, Switzerland, France living in Singapore and an American living in the Philippines. We talk about travelling and working and diving, of course. 

We have one more day of diving in the Philippines before we head to Manila and then to Australia. We will be muck diving once again and hope to find more exotic creatures.

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