Scribbles Abroad

Vietnams a pretty large country, roughly the size of lets say the West Coast of America. Exploring the vastness of SE Asia could take years and I envy, or should I say, respect those that truly engage Vietnam for that long. After Hoi An it was on to Nha Trang. We took another overnight bus and since the first leg in the journey was so easy, we only expected this one to be so as well. Perhaps the residents in this leg of the journey forgot to pay their taxes, or maybe the communist party doesn’t own land in this area, but the road was hell. It was hard to get 20 minutes of sleep let alone a full nights sleep on this bus. About forty five minutes away from Nha Trang the roads got nice and we finally got some sleep but then a half hour later the driver blasts some ridiculously loud Vietnamese music that sounded like cats having sex and we were once again FULLY awake.

When we awoke it was sunrise and we were on the coast. The blessed music we awoke to was complemented by the lines of decent surf pouring into chocolate brown waters polluted with trash from the hundred villages upstream. We had our boards, we were jonesing to surf, but in that shit? No way. Considering there were waves here we knew there would be waves somewhere up or down the coast that weren’t as nasty.

We spent the rest of our time in Nha Trang going to mud baths, hot springs, searching for waves, and looking at huge Buddha statues. We stayed at a great hotel while we were there called, (shit forgot) The girl that worked their was awesome. She lined up motorbikes for us, bikes as well, and best she turned us on to the best Pho place in Nha Trang. We ended up eating at Pho Hong at least twice a day for the entire stay!

If you look really hard you can see Louise standing up out there

The best Pho in Nha Trang

A few days in Nha Trang was all we needed so we planned our next stop for Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC) on one more overnight bus. The last journey definitely included real estate with ties to the government because this was a smooth ride. We pulled into HCMC an hour early and with a decent enough amount of sleep. Here is where Vietnam treats us like royalty again. The parents of our friend Brian live in HCMC. His Father is more or less the big baller of a pharmaceutical company based in the Philippines but with a branch in Vietnam. His mother is a professional host that showed us the greatest time in Saigon. Mr. Caleda told us to call him upon arriving in Saigon and then he would send the driver to pick us up. As the taxi drivers hassled us upon departing the bus we simply told them, with our grey poupon in hand, “ah hem, we have a driver.” It was great!

The driver picked us up from touristville Saigon and took us to their private residence in a new part of the city that resembled a bit of Southern California. Upon arrival we were greeted by the maid who walked us into their beautiful home. Once through the threshold we got to meet the eloquent Liza. I handed her the bouquet of daisy’s and artichokes that I had custom made at the Bintang Market and she gave us a look of “um ok?” I realize its quite an odd mix but coming from a utilitarian context of Vietnam I figured it was a perfect mix, both beautiful and usable.

For the rest of our time we were given free reign of the house and a car with driver. All our meals at the house were prepared and our intoxicating laundry was sterilized. With much responsibility often comes the requirement of time overseeing your responsibilities, therefore we saw very little of Mr. Caleda. The time we did get to spend with him was enriched with good conversation and great food.

Sushi with Benny and Liza

Our two culinary highlights this trip were wth the Caledas. The first was at the Bintan Market when Liza took us to have Durian. The only memories of Durian I had were from the show on Discovery Channel where the chubby bald buy who eats anything, vomitted when he tried it. This is the same guy that eats goat nuts, scorpions, and rotten tofu! The Durian is also a fruit that you are not allowed to take on public transportation or into hotels because of its odor. Needless to say I was very hesitant and was not going to be the first. Liz and Liza both had tried the fruit many times before and both had an affinity towards it. We had what was considered a good one cracked open. The lady handed us plastic gloves to put on so that the smell wouldn’t stick to our hands and we were invited to dig in. Liz and Liza without apprehension dived in. Louise went next and then it was my turn. The fruit says don’t eat me just from its appearance wich is an extremely spiky tough skin. Then when its cracked open it looks like yellow organ parts like the kidney or gall bladder. When you pick up a portion the piece seems to slightly melt. When you put it into your mouth it melts more and feels like soft serve ice cream. Now for the taste: So it wasn’t really as bad as I was expecting but lets say I wouldn’t ever be like, “hey lets go get some Durian!” It tastes like onions, garlic, jackfruit, bananas, maybe even a little white chocolate all mixed together. Sound nasty? Sound awesome? Its up to you to decide. Give it a go, I might try it again in a couple of years.

The next culinary highlight was the Balut. A duck fetus a few days away from hatching that is hard boiled and served with salt and vinegar. You eat it with a spoon. I’d have to say that I preferred the Durian to the Balut. Benny (Mr. Caleda) showed us how. You crack the top with the bottom of your spoon with a quick hit. Then you sip the juice/soup. After that you peel away the shell and dig in. Supposedly if you don’t look at the fetus it’s easier to eat, great advice not taken. The sight of the bird was sad but comical. This is one of the most popular Filipino dishes and was popular in many other parts of SE Asia. I took the stance that by eating the Balut we were keeping one duck off the streets and bird flu free! The taste of the bird was salty and vinegary. Wonder why. But the tough part were the feathers in my teeth and the need to chew the almost fully developed skeletal system. I didn’t like it and wasn’t able to finish it up. The tough part was that the chef had prepared about 8 of them thinking we’d eat more than one and we were unable to fulfill her visions.

We went on two tours while in Saigon. The first was a trip to the Mekong Delta where we met up with some of Liza’s other friends and we toured life on the Mekong.

The second was a tour of the Cuchi Tunnels, a complex network of man-made tunnels used to combat American forces during the Vietnam War. The Cuchi Tunnels were tough to visit but what we took away from the visit was that Vietnam has moved well beyond the war and seem to hold no animocity toward Americans. They are happy talk, drink, and eat with us. They hold no grudges for many of the atrocities commited on and to their lands. Its like Obama just said to the Middle East, if you unclench your fist we are willing to shake your hand. Its as if Vietnam has unclenged their fist but we are just beggining to be able to shake their open hands. I will not get into discussing the war in detail here but going to Vietnam has opened my eyes to both sides. I can only say that I appreciate the sacrifice our families and friends made both in and supporting the war regardless of the outcome.

While at the Cuchi tunnels I did get to buy a few bullets and shoot off a couple of rounds on an M-10. The gun was huge and had to be mounted in order to shoot it. More so that I couldn’t swing it around and hurt/kill myself of anyone else. Check the video below for the quick 20 seconds of action.

We left Saigon the next day for Cambodia. We planned for 3 days and 4 nights in Angkor Wat, considered the biggest temple on Earth! The pictures are awesome and Louise will be posting them soon!

A quick massage on our last night in HCMC.

saying bye to our drive Mr. Phuk and Chita our cook!

A shiver rushed down our spines not from the bouncy landing by the pilot but from his announcement that the temperature in Hanoi was a chilly 13 degrees celsius.  A quick check in our heads, multiply by two and add thirty, put the temperature at 56 degrees Fahrenheit.  After spending the past 3 and a half months in hot asian countries we had become acclimated to the tropical pictures in the brochures.  But when we looked down onto the tarmac and saw the workers in parkas, then looked down on our slippers and shorts, we knew we were in for a new round of acclimatization.  Luckily for us, Hanoi is a shoppers haven and we had new outfits to keep us warm by the next day, but the first night was spent making creative outfits and headgear out of sarongs.

We found a crackseed store and bought 4 kilos of the stuff.

Once checked into a hotel and after fighting with a cab that tried to rip us off, we set off to find some Pho.  We ended up eating Pho at least once a day while in Vietnam and often twice.   On one occasion we had Pho 4 times in one day.  I was inspired to start a Pho shop and coming up with names was fun.  Tell me what you think……..Pho Shizzle (a Snoop Dogg inspired and sponsored joint, no pun intended), Phobama (inspired by our new President), Pho Getaboutit, I could keep going but I’ll spare you.

The next day we met up with Liz, Louises’ college room mate.  Its always fun to have someone to meet up with and Liz has been a ton of fun.  She would be with us for a whole month and considering I never really got to officially meet her, this trip was partially a test trial to see if I was truly Louise worthy.

You can see our eating habits.  Liz eats the fastest.

While in Hanoi we happened to be there for Christmas Eve.  As we slept awaiting for Santa to come down through the cracks in the freezing walls, a roar began emanating from the streets at around 12:30 am.  Right away it woke me up as I sleep lightly and ignorantly figured it was some kind of Christmas celebration.  I woke up Louise and told her we had to go see what was going on.  When we got down into the streets mopeds were flying full speed down the streets with huge Vietnam flags flying behind them.  As we continued towards the roar we saw what can be described as a sea of red, yellow, and black screaming what sounded like, “Vietnam Hooray, Vietnam Hooray.”  Its not what they were saying but I got half of it right and whatever the other word was it sounded like Hooray.  For the rest of the trip in Vietnam, if I were to say that to any local, they chant the saying back at me.  The reason the people were clogging the streets and going ape shit on Christmas Eve was because they had just won the Asian Cup of Soccer.  The party in the streets went till around 4 in the morning, it was absolutely wild!  I was later told that usually a few people die a year from these soccer/futbol celebrations.  Mostly from mopeds teaming up and getting participants to climb on their backs in order to form a human pyramid while zooming down the streets.

We found Santa Claus.

The next day we began a tour, quick note: tours suck, we are so sick of them but often they’re a necessary evil.  We were going to Ha Long Bay, considered to be one of the worlds gems and since we were so close we had to check it out.  We negotiated a stupidly cheap tour trying to save money, but lets just say you get what you pay for.  If you want to do it right, suck it up and pay $100 or so and do it in style, if not, be ready to laugh and be patient.  We had a great time by turning the ridiculousness of the tour operators disregard to their customers desires or comfort into laughs with the new friends we made.  We became good friends with three guys from the East Coast named Kent, Mike, and Ben.  They kept challenging each other to dares.  One night it was to jump into the Catba Harbor, which is a thick black soup peppered with colorful trash.  In the morning in the light you could see what they had actually jumped in and it looked like the kind of water that automatically gives you staff infections.  The next night it was to jump off the boat we were staying on in Ha Long Bay.  You should have seen the captains face when Kent jumped in, we thought he was going to shackle him up and take him to the engine room where we imagined a dingy rat infested cell. There were bets being made of whether Kent, who was almost naked, was going to get molested by the hungry crew.

We did end up getting the best room on the boat though.

We spent Christmas night in an empty bar overlooking Catba Island and the highlights were a small little corner of the bar that offered free use of the face painting kit and the free vodka bottle that came with entering its doors.  Going back to college days and painting eyes on Dons face when he was passed out, I painted eyes on the girls but in their case they were willing subjects.

Ha Long is a beautiful area but Louise and I were a bit jaded after spending the past week and a half in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines.  See previous post.  Regardless we were pleased to witness Ha Long and would recommend it to others.  But if you had a choice between the two to see, by far, go to El Nido.

Upon returning to Hanoi we decided to sign up for the open bus tour ticket through Vietnam although the blogs and forum boards suggested otherwise.  Due to bad roads and occasional bodily outbursts from carsick passengers, most suggestions pointed towards trains and planes.  But with a price of $40 USD from Hanoi all the way down to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City, aka HCMC), the price seemed worth the potential punishment.  The beauty of these buses were the fact that they were also sleeper buses.  Two leveled behemoths with beds and a bathroom onboard.  The next night we headed for Hoi An with a stop for a few hours in Hue.

It had been rainy and cold since arriving in Vietnam and we had yet to see the sky or sun so the drive down was pretty slow.  Such weather and light schedule provided for a minimal view but we hardly noticed since we were passed out for most of the time.  When we arrived in Hue the rain had let off a little so we decided to take a expedited tour of the city on the back of motorbikes.  Within about two minutes the rain was back but we persevered.  Soaked, we checked out the tombs of old kings and then checked out an old bunker used during the Vietnam War, or what they like to call the American War.

We arrived in Hoi An and found a nice guesthouse.  The room we acquired was at the top of the hotel, it seemed to be a converted attic space but we preferred to call it the Penthouse.  Hoi An is a World Heritage Site due to its rich tradition and intact architecture.  Its got a great vibe and we ended staying there for almost a week. 

We rented bikes and strolled around the city.

The best part were the custom clothes we got made.  I got a jacket and pants made while the list of items that the girls got made would make this blog too long.  It was fun playing the rich and famous.  You could get a really nice suit for under $300 bucks and a cheap one for $75.  The girls were in heaven and even got custom shoes made.

For New Years we met some fellow travelers on the way to dinner and we joined up and had a fun dinner exchanging stories and advice.  We decided after dinner to hit up a bar a block away.  The rest of the night was full of beer, laughs, new years drama, balloons, and just good times.  As the night went on, things got foggy.

Hoi An is very close to Danang and while we were there we got the opportunity to meet up with some friends of the family that I haven’t seen since I was Jason, which means around 20+ years ago.  We spent New Years Day dinner with Auntie Nobaleen, Uncle Bill Fanamel, and a few of his colleagues.   The feast was spectacular and the best part was that we didn’t have to do dishes, the maids took care of that for us.  The expat or foreign worker life usually includes a maid and a driver making life a bit easier to handle.  The next day Bill and Nobaleen took us golfing.  Bill was instrumental in putting the Nam Hai Resort and the Montgomery Golf Course together and it was an honor to check the resort out and play on the course.  The hotel was voted nicest in Vietnam, or was it SE Asia, and the course was the nicest course I have ever played on.  Not the scenery but the maintenance and landscaping.  I was really impressed, plus I had a caddy!  Never had a caddy before.  She would fill my divots, wash my clubs, giggle, and help me line up my ball.  I really felt like a high roller and after living the backpacker lifestyle for the past few months a bit of pampering was nice.

Look at my face on this one, its like, what the hell this is awesome!

We had such a great time in the Philippines it was hard to leave, but it was time to begin the next leg of our journey.  Our next stop was Hong Kong where we would spend a few nights before making our way to Vietnam.

The hotels in Hong Kong were quite expensive, so we used couchsurfing.com again and searched for a couch to surf during our stay.  The host we chose was Sid whose house was conveniently located a few blocks from the MTR (mass transit rail).  We arrived in Hong Kong quite late and had to catch a bus to our host’s house.  Our host, Sid, gave us directions to his place but we got a little lost.  After wondering around for 30 minutes we caught a taxi to his house.  We had walked right past it!  Upon arrival we trusted the directions to just open the lockbox and head upstairs.  The lockbox worked, the door upstairs opened up, and we walked to our guest bedroom.  Seamless.

Kahi and I spent the next day riding around on the MRT and exploring the city.  The MRT made it easy to get around the city, plus it was cheap.

Hong Kong street at night

More Hong Kong madness

Later that night we met up with Sid at a local sports center.  Every Friday he meets up with his buddies for a friendly game of unicycle hockey.  He let us give his unicycle a go, which didn’t go very far.  It’s much harder than it looks.

These guys and gals were playing a game of unicycle hockey and we were pretty impressed with their skills.

After the game we headed out to get some food and stumbled upon a yummy dim sum place.  Best dim sum I’ve had yet!

We heard through a friend of Kahi’s that there was a place to surf in Hong Kong named China Beach and decided to go on a mission.  China Beach was rumored to have decent surf and we were determined to check it out.  We didn’t have a car and hiring a taxi would have cost us about $100 so we opted to get there via MRT which cost us about $16 bucks each.  We weren’t sure if they’d let us take the board on the MRT, but we though we’d give it a try.

Let the journey begin!

You should have seen all of the strange looks we got as we headed to the MRT

It was a pain in the butt to fit through the entrance gates of the MRT station.

Kahi on the MRT on his way to China Beach, Big Wave Bay in hope of surf

Only a short bus ride away

Almost there

China Beach, Big Wave Bay

So we traveled all that way and finally made it to China Beach.  We weren’t really impressed by the waves, small shore break with tons of people.  Almost everyone was in a wetsuit and all we had were are suits and rashguards.  Kahi went for a little surf, but it definitely was no Siargao.  It was really nice to lay around and relax at the beach though.

After Hong Kong we were headed to Hanoi in Vietnam.  Our original plan was to fly from Hong Kong to Hanoi, but that ended up being extremely expensive so we had to find an alternative.  Kahi figured a way for us to avoid the high expense by catching a ferry to Macau, flying from there to Bangkok, and then on to Hanoi.  All and all it ended up saving us a couple hundred dollars but cost us time, but when you’re traveling like us, time is something we have.

The next day we caught the fast ferry to Macau.  A bus took us into town and dropped us off near an inexpensive hotel.  The street our hotel was on was lined with many little restaurants and just walking down it made your mouth water.

Ferry to Macau

View of Hong Kong from the ferry

This noodle shop looked tasty so we gave it a try.  This lady whipped up our grub in less than 2 minutes.  I loved the snappy service!

Beef noodle soup and garlic bak choy

After walking around for an hour we got hungry again.  I was craving dim sum from Hong Kong so we found a shop.  It was good but nothing like Hong Kong.

Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia and being there Kahi though it appropriate to spend some time in the casinos.  It turned out to be a little more difficult to gamble than we thought.
(casinos)
Macau casino lights

Kahi wasn’t wearing shoes so we got rejected from the casinos.  It was hilarious!  We tried about 4 different casinos and when Kahi would get within 10 feet of the entrance the security guard would approach him wagging their finger at his slippers, telling him no slipper and that he needed shoes.  We took it as a sign that maybe it wasn’t met for us to gamble.

We had a great time in Hong Kong and probably could have spent more time shopping at the amazing night markets.  Next time we’ll remember to bring shoes and more money so we can really experience Macau.

The next day we caught our flight to Bangkok and ended up having some time to kill in the airport.  It was a blessing in disguise because we had forgotten to print out our visas on arrival.  I had arranged for us to get approved for a visa once we got to Vietnam.  I did it online but it was kind of sketchy.  We got approved paid 20 bucks each for a letter we were supposed to just hand to the customs officer.  So in Bangkok we printed out he letters and had some unreal HOT HOT HOT food.  Even the Thai food in the airport is ridiculous.  We took it as a warning for when we get there later on our trip.  We caught our flight to Hanoi and were excited to check out more of South East Asia.  The best part was we were going to meet up with my old college roommate, Liz.  Off to Vietnam!

Over the next couple of days we rode our motorbike and drove around the island to see what else it had to offer.  We headed towards Maria Bay and found a cozy resort called Princess Bulakna where we were the only guest.  It was a nice change from the $25 standard mosquito infested room we were staying in Larena.  At Princess Bulakna there were two types of cottages, ones that were ocean front and others with an ocean view for half the price.

Princess Bulakna Resort ocean view cottage

View from the hill where the cottages were

Princess Bulakna restaurant

Brincess Bulakna swimming pool

The beach near the resort wasn’t very attractive with rock hard sand and no real swimming area but snorkeling was surprisingly good.

Starfish

A coral head that Kahi thought looked like balls

A huge sea-snake we came across.  If one of these were to bite you, you’d die in a couple of minutes.

A cool cave we found while snorkeling around Maria Bay

Kahi standing outside of the cave
We really loved the resort.  The rooms were set in a beautifully landscaped garden and the staff were very friendly.  One thing we didn’t like about the resort was that they added a hefty 12% VAT fee and a 10% service fee to our bill, something that no other accommodation had done.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and made our way towards San Juan.  Before we left the resort we paid a visit to the famous balete tree on the property.  It is supposably the oldest and largest balete tree in Siquijor.  The roots of the tree flowed gently down the cliff side like running water, it was quite beautiful.

Princess Bulakna’s balete tree

We stopped to pet these really cute goats that were cruising near the resort driveway and Kahi said he’d get me one some day.

Siquijor children.

On our way to San Juan we took a detour to check out Cambugahay Falls.  The directions we had to the falls weren’t easy to follow and we made a couple of wrong turn before stumbling upon the really ugly sign that marked the way to the stairs down to the falls.

Ugly sign pointing the way to the falls

Near the bottom of the stairs we could see the turquoise blue water peeking through the trees.  The falls were gorgeous!   There were some locals that were leaving when we arrive but besides them we were the only ones there.  There were two main pools with small jumping rocks and above the two falls were a series or smaller infinity-pool-like swimming holes.  We were very impressed and spent a lot more time than we had expected swimming around and exploring the pools.

Stairs leading to the falls

Falls peaking through the trees

Cambugahay Falls first pool

Cambugahay Falls second pool

Kahi’s biggest barrel in Siquijor

Kahi doing a gainer off one of the jumping rocks

The upper swimming holes looked like natural infinity pools

Louise in a natural Cambugahay infinity pool

We spent some time picking up trash around the falls

Cambugahay Falls was the highlight of the drive around Siquijor for us, so here are some pictures and better directions for others that want to check it out.

When driving though …. turn right after the old Caltex gas station and continue up the road.

When you reach the fork in the road, take the road to the right

Continue up the road until you see the ugly Cambugahay Falls sign and the parking area.  It cost 5 pesos for a motorbike and up to 20 for a car.

We continued to make our way to San Juan and found a comfortable and affordable resort called Cliff Rock Resort.  The rooms were a great deal but the restaurant was a little pricey.  They spoke highly about the snorkeling right out front but we weren’t impressed at all.  Beach in front of the resort wasn’t very big but there was a small area to lie out and relax.

Our cottage at the Cliff Rock Resort

Cliff Rock Resort beach

Chairs to lie out and relax at the Cliff Rock Resort

The best way to watch the sunset was from the bungalows over looking the water

Another beautiful sunset

A small shack on the water near our hotel

The natural spring located in San Juan.  We didn’t swim here but it looked nice.

A cool cemetary in Siquijor

Since the restaurant was so expensive at the hotel we tried to find somewhere to eat in town.  It seemed like everywhere was either closed or just as pricey as the hotel.  We eventually found a little shop with a bunch of pots lined up where you pick what you want to eat.  We chose a variety of foods and chowed down.

Little roadside filipino fast-food style store

Ox tail soup, chicken congee, and beef steak!  Yummy!

There were the cutest little puppies running around the store.  They were sooooo cute!

On the motorbike ride to San Juan we saw a banner advertising a Fiesta in a small town a little ways out of Lazi.  It was near our hotel so we decided to check it out that evening.  We planned on getting dinner at the fiesta and assumed there would be a restaurant we could eat at somewhere in the area.  There was a DJ playing loud music in front of a large dancing area, carnival games, and numerous stands selling alcohol and other drinks, but no restaurant.  We walked into what we though was a restaurant and asked them if they had chicken adobo.  The lady laughed and said no, they had pork.  We asked if they had rice and she said yes.  Then she motioned for us to go upstairs.  When we got upstairs there was a huge lechon pig on the table surrounded by about 15 people chowing down.  We sat and ate with them.  What we didn’t realize was that this was a family’s house and they invited us to eat with them and that it wasn’t a restaurant at all.  They were very hospitable and we had such a great time we came back the following night to spend more time with them.

The Santa Barbra Fiesta

Carnival games at the fiesta

Lechon piggy!  Yummy!

Local guys chowing down

The Family’s house who invited us in.  Such a cool family!

Louise, Jecyl, Jocelyn, and Kahi at the fiesta

The following day we caught a ferry to Dumagette and spent a couple of hours there before catching another ferry to Cebu.

Our ferry to Dumagette

Here in Dumagette you can get you degree in Comedy at the Silliman University

Ferry to Cebu

In the Philippines they celebrate Christmas for two months, all of November and December.  Kahi really liked this Christmas display.

When the Philippines came into the radar of a potential stop on our sojourn I realized that we might have the opportunity to see where my family originated.  Roughly 90 years ago my Great Grandfather, Fransisco Suan Pacarro, emigrated from the Philippines, boarded a Ferry from Larena Harbor in Siquijor and headed for Hawaii.  What would have been a two week journey on an overcrowded ship rewarded him with safe passage to the land of opportunity, America.  What he was looking for I am not sure, but looking upon us now I think he would be proud of his decision and the resilience of the Pacarro clan.
At our family reunion this past July I inquired with my relatives where we had come from in the Philippines and whether they had any knowledge of surviving relatives. I was saddened that very little was known.  Yet intrigued and excited by the possibility of adventure.  The only Pacarro’s from Hawaii that had been back since Fransisco left were my Great Grandmother, my Aunt Dori (a cousin of my father) and my Great Uncle Rudy.  From the reunion all I could garner was that my family name is from Siquijor in the Visayas and that if we did still have family left they would be there.  I also had heard that it was rumored that our family had brought the first kalamungay tree to Hawaii.

Lastly, we potentially still had family land in Siquijor and to be careful when letting people know who I was for fear of owing taxes.  Our families and friends tried to dissuade Louise and I from going to the Philippines but our persistence persevered.  Once they knew we could not be dissuaded, the tone turned to, “be careful, be very very very careful, and don’t get kidnapped!”  When we call our relatives and friends still, they continue to belabor, “don’t get kidnapped!”

In general most Americans, myself prior to traveling, and probably yourself think that the Philippines are an extremely dangerous place.  Perhaps you also think that if you don’t have an armed bodyguard with you the chances of being kidnapped are very high.   We were there for almost two months and never once felt threatened.

The people are kind, warm, and inviting.  Their curiosity sometimes comes off as shy, but once you engage them infectious smiles shine through and you feel welcome.
The stereotype of the Philippines derives from a small majority of locales in the South in an area called Mindanao.  Our time in Mindanao has been short and adventuring in the deep South has not been included in this trip, yet there is a ton down there to offer.  But while a quasi civil war continues, the risks for us are not worth it. The problem is that the stereotype gets extended to the rest of the Philippines
Siquijor is in the middle of the Philippines and is a part of the Visayas right next to Mindanao.  Although its proximity to Mindanao is close, the threat is nil.  The island is small and you can drive around it in about an hour.  It is known for its healers, witchcraft, werewolves, vampires, but mostly its beauty.  When locals outside of Siquijor have asked me where my family is from as soon as I say Siquijor they give that look of “cool, scary, interesting!”  Even this stereotype has slightly tainted the true Siquijor, yet the curiosity brings tons of tourists every year to see for themselves.

not really

not really

really
Louise and I caught a ferry from Cebu and landed in Siquijor town at around 8 at night.  Upon exiting the port gates the trike drivers were immediately haggling starting at over excessive prices, but I have come up with a new line that is currently working very well.  When we get somewhere new I just tell them that I have been here before and that I know the proper rate.  With this approach we were able to secure a trike for a good price.
The next day we hired a really nice motorbike.  While we waited for the bike we ate at a local restaurant.  The owner of the restaurant was a sweet lady and also a bookie.  We sparked up conversation while she recorded the bets being made and waited for winners to claim their winnings.  After a while I felt that she could be trusted.  I asked her if she knew any Pacarro’s and she did.  I asked her if she knew where they lived and she did.  She pointed us in the direction of Barangay Bagacay.  She also let us know that she had gone to High School with Panchita “Ma” Pacarro who was now a retired school teacher.  Louise and I now knew that some of my family was still around and we made it our mission to find them.

Mrs. Cruberta Maghari and her husband.  She was the lady that lead us in the right direction towards my family.  Those are her books in front of us.

The next morning we set off to find the family.  We knew Barangay Bagacay was near Larena about 2 km out of town central.  Once we were around 2 km out of Larena we began pulling over and asking people where the Barangay was.  This perplexed them and us as well.  We learned shortly afterward that Barangay means village, hence the confusion, no matter where you were on the island you were in the Barangay, just varied which Barangay it was.  But when I asked them where the Pacarro house was they understood and pointed us in the right direction.  Villages are small, everyone knows eachother, and the vast majority are eager to help.  We kept doing this until finally we stopped at a little hut and asked the lady there.  She pointed to the house right next to her store.  We had made it!
As we walked down the dirt road to the humble unfinished concrete home the butterflies in my stomach began to flutter. Would they be happy to see us?  Would they speak enough English?  Would they want to even talk to us? Would they want money?
As we approached the front door Louise pointed out that they were sitting at the kitchen table.  I walked up to the open window in their dining room and introduced myself.  With a huge smile Ma Pacarro invited us in immediately.

Cecil, Me, and Panchita “Ma” Pacarro

Panchita and her Grandchild, Cecils son.

The next few hours were a reunion with family I had never met.  It was truly a special event for both sides.   The language barrier was knocked down as we exchanged stories of our family and made connections to our previously unclear past.   Ma Pacarro ended up being the same Ms. Pacarro that Dori and my Great Grandmother had visited some 40 years previously.  The proof came when we were looking through photos of the Siquijor Pacarro’s and she pulled out pictures that Dori and my Great Grandmother had given her.  The pictures were of my Great Uncles Frank, Harry, and Nole (No-lee).   In addition were pictures of Dori and my Great Grandmother with all the lady side of the family in Siquijor some 40 years earlier.

Looking over photos of the family

Dori is the one in the striped shirt, Panchita is the one to her left and my Great Grandmother is the one to the right in front.

Uncle Nole

Uncle Harry

Uncle Frank/Don

Ma Pacarro sent her son Cecil to alert the other Pacarro’s of our presence but they were in town at the time of our visit.  After a few hours we promised to come back and visit more as there were more Pacarro’s to meet and the time we had spent together was uplifting.  She arranged for us to meet more of them and we returned two days later to a feast.

On the way to the surprise feast Louise and I rode our sporty moped through some treacherous roads.  Cecil had warned us of the dangers as he had fallen a week prior and I tried to heed his advice.  Yet upon one treacherous downhill going roughly 1 km/hr we slipped out a mere half kilometer away from the house.  We were fine.  It was a quick scare that we were able to laugh off.  It was like riding a moped on ice, you hit the brakes and nothing happens, you just start sliding.

This is the road we fell on.  Definitley not to American code and its steeper than it looks.

We showed up to the house quite muddy and were greeted by those we had met earlier, cousin Jesusa who was also a Pacarro, and her family.

Louise has been eating her vegetables!

Jesusa took us to meet her family

Jesusa

Jesusa has been the one that had been taking care of my side of the families portion of land, collecting rent and managing maintenance.  All the brothers (my Great Grandfather and his brothers) each had a portion of land on the main road in Siquijor Barangay Baracay.  It’s not a huge piece of land but its perfect for one or two families.  Each property has a humble residence on it and they are all next to each other.  Never did Jesusa ask for back taxes or anything of that tone, rather she invited us to come back and move in!  But with my Great Grandfathers side of the family reaching somewhere near 300 descendents the future of the property is cloudy.

Pacarro House I

Pacarro House II

Pacarro House/Land III, the one my side of the family owns.

I hope that a relative of mine will see an opportunity to relocate to this lovely island and see a better future.  The American life is great but for all it is not the advertised dream of rags to riches.  Many live in the Philippines with great joy and little money while Americans toil what to buy next yet unable to buy happiness.  Perhaps my family could decide to see the self in the other “kapwa” and realize that the land would do others much more good than ourselves.  Donate the land, how is a monetary amount to be divided upon such a multitude of descendants.
Our breakfast meeting that second time stretched to lunch, then on to afternoon meryenda.  We shared stories, ate, drank, and had a great time basking in our happiness.  We learned that more Pacarro’s were on the island and perhaps some of my Great Grandmothers family as well.  Upon our departure we vowed to inspire other Pacarro’s to return to visit and ourselves to return.  Why wouldn’t we?  There were more to meet and the gracious hospitality of the Pacarro’s was overwhelming.

Before leaving the Philippines Louise and I had a bunch of photos developed for Ma Pacarro and her family.  We then sent them off to her with a homemade Christmas card that we hope gets to her on time.  If anyone else wants to send her a letter her address is below.  In addition I know they would be overwhelmingly appreciative.

Panchita “Ma” Pacarro and Manuling Mamhot / Barangay Bagacay, Larena, Siquijor / Philippines 6226

I know it looks simple but they said it would work.  As I said earlier, everyone knows everyone there and you probably only have to write Siquijor and Ma Pacarro on the letter and it will get there.

Our goodbyes were hard but filled with smiles.

Siargao is such a beautiful island, and even though the surf is amazing, we did a lot of other things too.

Drive Around the Island

When the surf was small we rented a motorbike and drove around the island.  The coconut palm covered island was quite small and we were able to do our tour in about 6 hours.

View of the coconut groves

A typical town in Siargao
Our first stop was Magpupongko Beach known for its rock pools.  At low tide the natural swimming hole is protected by the fringing reef.  The water is clear and it’s great for swimming and snorkeling.  There is even a small jumping rock.

Magpupongko Beach

Magpupongko Beach with rock pool in the distance

Magpupongko Rock Pools

This rock was really heavy!
We continued to make our way around the island heading north towards the surf break Pacificos.

We passed by this village in the mangroves.  It was built entirely on stilts.

More stilted houses and a few fancy chicken coops
We arrived at Pacificos and to our surprise the waves were pumping.  They were probably about 3-5ft Hawaiian and no one out.  Neither of us brought our boards, but Kahi was able to rent one from a local and caught a couple of waves.

Pacificos
We continued up the coast in search of Tak-Tak falls located near Alegria at the northern tip of the island.  On our way there we came across a police outpost with one of the most beautiful views.

View from the outpost

Burgos beach, Siargao
View of Burgos outer reef (looks a lot like Hawaii if you ask me). There’s suppose to be a couple of surf breaks out here.  We really didn’t spend enough time looking, but the set up makes for great surf potential.

Another view of Burgos
We drove for another 20 minutes along the sandy road and finally reached Alegria.  There was a small muddy turn off with a sign pointing to  Tak-Tak Falls.  The road was really muddy but Kahi did a heck of a job navigating through it.  There was even a little landslide that covered the road at one point.

The sandy road that lead us to Alegria

Tak-Tak Falls, Siargao

The waterfall was beautiful and the water was cool and crisp, but it didn’t feel natural, it felt more like a man made concrete pool.  Cement walls and metal poles surrounded the waterfall.  We didn’t spend much time there, but enjoyed jumping from the rope swing.

Rope swing at Tak-Tak Falls

Tak-Tak falls swimming hole
We weren’t as lucky retracing our steps down the muddy path to the main road.  We got stuck at one point and my foot got completely covered in mud, I even lost my slipper for a second.  It looked like I stepped in a carabao poop.  I got to ride around with my foot covered in mud for the rest of the day.   I got some interesting looks from the locals.

A carabau

Mud or carabau poop?

It was getting late and our motorbike didn’t have a light so we booked it back to Cloud9.  We arrived just in time for a beautiful sunset.

Cloud9 pier

Sohoton Cave

Another day Kahi we lined up a large bagka (native boat) and then rounded up a group of people together to visit the Sohoton Caves.  The caves are on  Bucas Grande Island and the trip takes about 3 hours one way.  We hired a boat in General Luna for 4500 pesos and split the cost between the 10 of us.  We were all pretty obsessed with surfing and decided to take our boards just in case we came across some surf.

Kids playing near the pier in General Luna while we were boarding the boat
The trip to Bucas Grande is a three hour boat rides, if you have a boat with two motors, if not it could take up to five hours.  Make sure you have a boat with at least two motors!  The engines are loud so earplugs or earphones are a nice and easy luxury.  About an hour into our trip one of the screws popped off of the motor and the oil leaked out of the engine.  We had to make a pit stop at an islands along the way so that the driver could buy some from a villager.  We didn’t mind though, it was a nice break from the long ride and gave us a chance to go for a swim and play around.

Random island pit stop

The beautiful white sand beach of the random island we stopped on

Kahi trying to pick some coconuts
After about 20 minutes we were back on the boat and headed towards Bucas Grande.  The ride was long but the scenery was beautiful.

On our way to Bucas Grande

Beautiful deserted white sand beach after white sand beach

The random fisherman

The ride was long and the boat was cramped.  Are we there yet!

Our boat captain with Bucas Grande in the background
After a long three hours we finally made it to the visitor center for the Sohoton Caves.  Here we were supposed to transfer to a smaller boat and a guide would take us through the caves and into the lagoon.  We got off our boat and there were a couple other people there waiting to do the same tour.  None of the locals there seemed to know what was going on and it was a little chaotic.  After about 30 minutes of waiting around and sorting things out we finally convinced a guide to take us on the tour.  We negotiated down to 1300 pesos for the boat but we were pretty sure we got had.  In the end that was only an additional 100 pesos each.

Visitor center for the Sohoton Caves
We loaded ourselves onto the boat and made our way through the green hilly mounds that rose from the water.  It was really beautiful.  They looked like big green gum drops.

Sohoton Lagoon
The entrance of the cave looked smaller than I had imagined and for a moment I wondered how we would fit.  The boat driver navigated our way through the dark 30 meter cave.  There were some low lying stalactites we needed to watch out for, but he made it though no problem.

Entrance to the cave

Going into the cave.  Watch your head!

View from in the cave

Stalactites in the cave

Cave exit
The cave lead to a beautiful shallow lagoon surrounded by more green mountains.  It was a beautiful site, maybe even more impressive than the cave.

Sohoton Lagoon

Our captain took us to another cave.  This one was very low and we needed to swim into it.  We jumped off the boat and went for a swim.  The entrance to the cave was very low and you had to swim below the waters surface for just a bit before coming up.  The cave was pretty big and very dark.  There were suppose to be huge non stinging jelly fish in there but we didn’t see any, but whatever the cave was still cool.

Entrance to the cave

Swimming around in the cave

The cave

They took us through more of the lagoon and to a place with a jumping platform.  There were two ways to get up to the platform: either pull yourself up the rope or navigate your way through the dark cave and make your way to the top.

Kahi climbing up the rope to the jumping platform

The jumping platform

I couldn’t make it up the rope and went through the cave.  The boat driver doused a rag with gasoline and hung it from a stick making a torch.  He lead us through the cave.  Half way through the torch went out and we had to feel our way through the cave it total darkness.  It was pretty creepy.  A small part of the climb was a little steep, but other than that it wasn’t too bad.

Navigating through the cave
Once you got to the top you kind of have to jump, unless you want to make your way back through the cave which is probably worse.   There were two levels that you could jump from either from the wood platform or up above from between the trees.  I jumped from the platform and Kahi jumped form the higher spot.

Kahi jumping from the trees, stop looking at the speedos!

Might as well jump!

We made our way back to the visitor center and paid the boat driver.  For some reason the driver felt like he deserved more money and changed the price on us.  We refused and gave him what we agreed on.  We loaded back onto the other boat and began they journey back to General Luna.  On the way back we found a little left-hander and decided to go for a little surf.  The waves weren’t great but they were pretty fun.  If you caught a good one you could get a decent ride.  Anyway it was nice to take a little break from the boat ride and get in the water

Little left we surfed

My coconut hat

The ride back to Cloud9
We convinced our captains to take us all the way back to Cloud9 instead of General Luna.  This made it a lot easier especially because we had all our boards.  It was also nice to see more of Siargao’s coastline.

Other Random Things We Did

Drink lots and lots of 19peso beer, thats only 40cents!

We ate dinner at Yahoo’s with our friends Lot, Nico, and Rainbow.  The bbq chicken was so good, Kahi had 4 pieces.

We went island hopping and ended up on this small deserted island.  We walked around the island and found a right hander that was peeling off its backside.  Looked like a pretty fun wave but I think it was breaking on really shallow reef.   We cruised on the beach and I taught our friend how to make coconut hats.  I’m not quite sure how to weave the top, so they put some creative flair into their hats.  They all turned out really good.

The deserted island

Coconut weaving class

The hats

The right-hander on the backside of the island

Beautiful Siargao sunset

Another gorgeous sunset

Sunrise off of Dapa

Local groms learning to surf

Kahi got a haircut in this little road side barber shop

Kahi hanging out in the little nipa hut over the water at OCEAN101

We went to the local benefit dance.  They have one of these every couple of weeks, everyone in town shows up to shake their booty.  You donate a dollar and request a song, they announce your name and play your song.  The goal to being a successful benefit dance attendee is to boogie during the song then to clear the dance floor before the song ends.  Its quite strange!  If you don’t clear the stage before the song ends you end up all by yourself and you look like an idiot. 

The local benefit dance

Kahi and I at the benefit dance

We ate dinner at the Flying Fox right outside of General Luna.  The owner is a bonafide treasure hunter.  No joke!  He made millions when he discovered a treasure in Europe, he’ll tell you all about it.  I’m all about getting a metal detector and becoming a treasure hunter.  The foods great too.  Every Friday they have an all you can eat German Buffet.

Kahi and Louise with the The Flying Fox owners and their new baby

Map of Siargao

Siargao was an unreal experience and remains a highlight of our trip so far.  It is now one of those places that we have vowed to go back to.  The drawback is its surging popularity and continued development.  Its cute quaint feel may soon be tainted by a booming tourist industry that doesn’t seem to be regulated.  But in the meantime get there as fast as you can, even if you don’t surf.  It would be selfish of us not to share this information with you so please use it wisely, respect the locals, support the locals, lead by example picking up trash and being polite, and most importantly have fun.

We left Cebu as quickly as possible, which took two days because the flights to Surigao are sporadic.  The flight was painless and we landed at 11:30.  The ferry to Siargao left at 12:00.  We met another guy on the plane that was also headed to Cloud 9.  We jumped on a trike and b-lined it for the pier.  With our surfboards on the roof and the cab packed, the poor trike was giving its all.  We made it with 3 minutes to spare and ran to the ferry with porters helping carry our boards.  Had we not made the ferry we would have been stuck in Surigao for a day and the place is supposedly really not a place you’d want to stay.

pulling into Surigao, 4 hours later

Check out this guys rainjacket we saw on the way to Cloud 9

So we made it!

The surf capital of the Philippines is Siargao pronounced Shar-gow.  The famous surf break Cloud 9 commonly known as Crowd 9 was never crowded.  On most days it was just one other guy with me.  On the most crowded day there were 5 other spongers out.  We had planned on staying in Siargao for about a week but after a few days we knew we’d be extending.  Even now we wish we had stayed even longer.

Let me walk you through the typical day:
It was really bright so Louise made us hats to keep the sun off our faces.

We’d wake up and check the winds.  If they were light we would catch a boat with two to three other people out to Rock Island for a 4-5 hour surf.  Then we’d come in eat a huge lunch, then take a nice nap.  After the nap it was time for dinner.  We would hang out with others from the area, tell stories, and just relax.  Bed around 10 and then start all over.

The boat out front and Rock Island out the back

Whenever the winds were good for Cloud 9 we would hit that up as long as there was light.

Every once in a while, say every other day, we’d get massages from Gina and Ida.  They were both really great masseuses.  In Bali we got what we now deem were just back rubs, but Gina and Ida were the real deal.  They’d find the knots and massage them out.  Oh yeah it was painful, but in a good way.

Just look at her face, she’s really putting some effort into it.  Looks like she was grunting, but she wasn’t.
While in Siargao we surfed the following waves.

Rock Island:  A long right point break off the side of an island about a mile and a half off shore.  The wave is powerful and has some tricky sections.  The barrels are really fun and the open faces allow for some great turns.  Some times you can take off right next to the rock/island get barreled, then make it through to the next session, do a few turns, get barreled again, work the next section and then get barreled again!

Louise dropping in

Going for a shnap

Stimpys: A playful left that is on the island across from Rock Island.  It’s a less treacherous wave and is usually about half the size of Rock Island.  It was good to go left after only riding rights.

Salvations: When the swells got really big we’d take the boat on a 45 minute journey to a sheltered bay.  The wind would be minimal.  It needs a low going high tide and then a perfect little right rolls in that is super rippable.  If it is 6-8 at rock island, it will be 2-3 at Salvation’s.

Rainbow

Martina

Jalapeno

Rainbow Kisses: This was a wave we saw from a distance.  Pulled up and it was gnarly.  It was a left grinding on 6” of water.  One of the guys was super eager to try it since from the boat we still couldn’t tell how gnarly it was.  It is the left at the rock pools of magpapunko.  Needless to say I caught a few and left a good chunk of my back on the reef.  We named it after Rainbow, the kid from Holland.

Sohotons: There was a really big swell coming through when we went all the way down to the Sohoton Caves.  This wave probably rarely breaks.  But since it was so big, it was refracting all the way down there.  It had the most dramatic backdrop and the wave was a fun left hander.  Nothing special but fun to surf another new break some may never have surfed before.

Pacificos:  One day Louise and I rented a motor bike for 400 pesos and took it for a ride around the island.  I highly suggest anybody that goes there does this.  Louise will right about it shortly.  On that drive we stopped at a huge beach and a long left was reeling on the outer reef.  I lucked out as there was a house being built and a guy in it had a board.  He let me rent it for a $2 bucks and I took it for a spin.   This wave has a ton of potential!  It was about 4-5 feet and really powerful.  The paddle out was a bit difficult but it was worth it.  I caught three waves and then brought the board back in before I broke it like I did with all my Firewires.  It’s a long powerful reeling left in the land of rights.

Cloud 9: Although we never scored it like you see in the mags we did score it.  This wave is awesome, unreal, everything you’d want if you’re a regular footer and like barrels.  You kind of have to backdoor the wave to get a solid shack.  It’s not true that the reef is soft as sponge.  I have more cuts and bruises to prove that.  But it is a bit nicer than the reef in Hawaii.  This is the wave that I wanted to surf the most but most days it was blown out, big, and scary.  Of the lucky days that I did get to surf it, they remain the most memorable of the trip.

While in Siargao we stayed at Ocean 101.  This beautiful property is sheltered from the wind and waves by a large bay.  With Cloud 9 right around the corner and Rock Island out front (a mile and a half) this ideal location is perfect.  We stayed in one of the fan rooms that weren’t oceanfront and paid 600 pesos a night.  The food was fabulous although sometimes I needed to order two meals to fill me up.  The workers were extremely hospitable.   We will definitely be back.

Just some of the staff and family

one of the two lookout spots, both have great hammocks, the spot out there is perfect for learning as long as you have booties.

The front gate

We often ate down the road where it was about a buck cheaper per meal.

Rui’s going away party at the Restaurant down the street

Our last night at the BBQ spot

On our last night we went to the BBQ place next door where I ate 4 orders of BBQ chicken.  I may have had the munchies, but those chickens were damn good.
When the weather was bad or the surf too blown out we’d head to General Luna or as everyone called it “GL”.  We found a lady making coc bread and we fell in love with it.

We saw this hen and thought this hen must like black cock, ok just I thought.

We met some great people while in Siargao.  There were a large amount of Israelis in Cloud 9 and some of them could surf really well.  One guy straight up ripped.  The Israelis are not allowed to go to Muslim countries so they go to the Philippines, which in a sense is their closest equivalent to Indonesia.

Louise and I broke our firewires.  Louise got hers fixed but then I broke it again.  We gave them to the locals who will fix them and be ripping them shortly.  Duckwin got mine and Martin got Louises’.

Overally our experience in Siargao was so overwhelming positive that we will defiently be back.  Considering it rained a to and the waves were onshore most of the time, it says a lot that we still loved it so much.  We hope to write about this place again. Louise will be writing about the other great things about Siargao shortly.