Showing posts with label negros oriental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label negros oriental. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Raging Bus And The Ten-Peso Pancit

By this time, we'd probably be checking in for our flight to Tiruchirappalli at Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) already. For sure it will take some time before I get to write about my "Incredible India" experience, so for the moment, here's something from the Voyaging Visayas series which I assume has a resemblance to a typical Tamil Nadu street scene: A maniacal bus driver and cheap food.

Shervin and I had been backpacking for a week. From Manila we flew to Cebu, then took a bus and roro to Dumaguete, then a ferry to Siquijor, then another ferry back to Dumaguete.

Our last destination, Bacolod. To get there, we were to take the Ceres bus. From our accommodation, Vintage Inn, we paid a mere P16 to get to the terminal. We arrived just in time for the trip, a little over noon.

Hawkers selling fresh seafood, not snacks, to passengers.

It was a non-aircon bus. Cheap, but such long ride because of the many stops to load and unload passengers. Less than an hour into the trip, we were zooming across small towns. You know that feeling when you think the vehicle runs well over the speed limit just because the windows are down and the wind's causing everything to fly all over the place? We were under that stress, except, the bus was really beyond the speed limit.

I kinda feared for my life. I was two and a half months pregnant, and we had no other choice but to sit through it. As if the driver would slow down if I asked him to do so.

There was one stopover for meals. It took us a long time to find my sandals which oddly reached the last row (we were running that fast!) before we got off the bus to stretch a bit. Although I wasn't feeling too hungry, I felt like eating the moment I saw a canteen selling pancit (sauteed noodles).

Ten pesos never tasted this good!

We sat on a bench, and was served a small plate of it. We ordered beans on the side. Both dishes were equally yummy. More so, the pancit was only ten pesos. I think the beans too.

They made my day. I momentarily felt better... until the waitress told us the bus was about to leave! When we turned around, we saw the bus almost on the road. Conductors are supposed to check on their passengers right? And to think, Shervin was the only "white" person on board. He could have easily remembered us. Lastly, we left our bags on our seats, so surely that means we're coming back.

Shervin sprinted and I brisk walked. When we boarded, I was flushed with anger. But I kept my cool. I didn't want to make a scene again like I did at Hagnaya Port. Besides, I didn't want him to drive any more faster out of rage.

Anything worth ten pesos that made you happy?



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Sunday, January 2, 2011

Siquijor: Surrendering to Serenity

I sat to compose myself. The sweltering midday heat was infuriating my hormones. Twelve weeks into the pregnancy and there I was in Dumaguete Port battling morning sickness yet brushing off the idea of slowing down. We were waiting for our ferry to Siquijor.

A calming welcome. View of Siquijor's shore upon docking.

Shervin and I have been traveling for five days already with the route Cebu-Dumaguete-Siquijor. Quaint-quainter-quaintest was indeed how we rolled, and what I truly needed. I was jaded to bits.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

10 Things I Like About 2010

2010 ain't as grand as 2009. Last year I worked overseas, backpacked in 9 countries (did my first long term travel too), got hitched, and honeymooned during winter. This year isn't so bad as well. I may have only traveled a few times, but these trips were done either while I was pregnant or with our newborn in tow - which for me, a once carefree drifter, are such amazing feats!

With my newborn in Tam-Awan Village Baguio City, a minute away from my nomadic family's first home. Moving in's one of this year's highlights.

Hereunder are the top 10 things I like about 2010...

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Video: Casaroro Falls

An insane habal-habal ride is definitely worth this!

One fine early afternoon in Valencia, Negros Oriental. Great picnic company consisted of local folks snacking on chips and intercontinental acquaintances gobbling dried mangoes.

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Casaroro Falls

I swallowed hard. It's going to be one tough ride. Amidst the pandemonium of habal-habal drivers offering tours in our faces, I was fidgety and dazed. I was never comfortable journeying aboard motorcycles, let alone riding it with another passenger aside from the driver on an unpaved road and two months pregnant.

Nevertheless I was determined to do so, with a hesitant go signal from my husband who shared a habal-habal with me. We made sure our driver knows the consequences if something terrible happens to us.

Mighty Casaroro Falls.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Cebu-Dumaguete: Company of "Joes"

I traumatically underwent an onslaught of interviews by random Pinays as we roadtripped and roro cruised our way from Cebu to Dumaguete. Our entourage composed of two Pinoys (me and my friend Xhy) and three Aussies: Brothers Ari and Benn, plus my hubby Shervin.

Backpacking around the Philippines with foreign travelers (or "Joes" as we call them) can be enlightening, for they give unbiased judgment and at times radical opinions. However it can be infuriating too, because disappointingly, you get ripped off by a few fellow Filipinos. Not only that, depending on where you are, you suddenly become the town's core of attention - which I ain't comfortable with.

Traveling with "Joes". Ari, Benn and Shervin comfortably fit in one Dumaguete tricycle.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Voyaging Visayas: A Prelude

Cebu-Dumaguete-Siquijor-Bacolod may be a common route for Pinoy backpackers, but a bit insane for the preggy traveler. Had I known I was on the way, I wouldn't have planned such intense trip.

The initial itinerary primarily revolved around meeting up with a couple of hubby's friends (whose sole purpose for visiting the Philippines is a tattoo) from Australia. And blame it on a seat sale's allure, I booked a flight from Manila to Cebu, then a flight from Bacolod back to Manila.

Yes, that meant a plentitude of intercity bus rides and ferry crossings in between. And no, morning sickness did not spoil our voyage.


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