Tag Archives: beach
Boat on the beach of Singiggi -Lombok Indonesia
The beach of Singiggi Lombok Indonesia was filled with fishing boats. It was a relaxing place to see ships coming in as the sun set.
Philippines: Recap - MacArthur & Monbon Beach Resort
After finding out I had just returned from a vacation in the Philippines, people ask me “Where did you visit?” At that point I tell them I was in the town of MacArthur. People they look at me with a strange face and say. “Where?”
Before knowing my friend, I had no clue of where MacArthur, Leyte was. After meeting my friend, I want to return. MacArthur is not a place anyone would think of to visit on a vacation, as there are no tourist attractions around. Most small villages that become tourist spots are usually fishing villages offers good cuisine around. But MacArthur does not eve have a huge fishing population (but it does have a good amount of fishermen).
So what is there to do in MacArthur? Well, nothing. And that is the point, do nothing. That is what I did there. It was a great place to sit in a nice beach house and relax.
Now the MacArthur is a small village with not a lot of luxuries. With that said, there are no large extravagant resorts around, well not quite. The place that allowed me to stay for 3 1/2 days was a place I fell in love with. A small resort known as Monbon Beach Resort. This blog here tells more about the resort than I could.
The price was right for this place. For 1500 Pesos (about $33 USD) per a day I had an air-conditioned room with access to a kitchen and living room in a house. Also had access to a large living room area where the view was a the beach. The beach had places to eat and there was always some one there.
eyte
That beach was amazing. Every day I went there, there was some one who was eating, relaxing and just having a good time, usually a local. Almost every time they invited me to come and sit and enjoy some drinks and food and some laughs. It is hard to not want to leave a town where the people are so nice.
Every night my friend and I took a short walk down to the town central market where we got some fresh vegetables to cook and some fruits to eat the next morning. The place was just a wonder to me. It is no wonder why I want to go and visit the place again some time in my life.
I would also invite everyone else to visit the small friendly town of MacArthur. Enjoy the relaxation and the people there.
Philippines Days 9 & 10: Bohol
When coming to Bohol, I was a bit hesitant. From what I heard, the place was a tourist trap. To tell you the truth, it is. But it is a fun tourist trap. There is a lot to do here including seeing the world’s smallest primates, seeing mini hills made of “chocolate”, and adventuring down a zip line.
It started after being early 12 hours for our ferry ride to Bohol into the port town of Ubay. Since it was late we decided to get a place to stay for the night. We got up early and made our way for some breakfast and then to the city of Tagbiliran. After 3 hours on the van we found ourselves in the city of Tagbilaran, the main city of Bohol Island. We checked into the Dao Diamond Hotel and headed off via trike to the Chocolate Hills.
But before that we wandered around the Tarsier Conservatory. Tarsiers are the world’s smallest primates, with big bugged eyes. There were a lot of tourists, both foreign and domestic. It was fun to see the cute little buggers.
Afterwards we made our way to the famous chocolate hills, which are a lot of hills look like chocolate during the right time of the year. They have been around for a long time. Afterwards we made our way to the Butterfly Conservatory.
At the Butterfly Conservatory was… well, butterflies. I learned a lot about butterflies, the creature I have always despised and now have come to respect. They aren’t so bad after all, they are not just for girls.
We made our way back and went to the Island City Mall to eat and do some shopping then slept for the night. The next day we would head off to Danao for an adventure Park.
EAT Danao, was recommended to me by a Korean friend, not a Filipino friend, as a place to visit when in Bohol. It was a good recommendation. The 3 hour bus ride paid off when my travel mate, Jessa, and I took a zip line across a canyon. Jessa screamed her head off the whole, time. And I was the one afraid of heights. I can say she made me not so scared knowing she was more scared than me. The second line back was a bit more fun as neither of us closed our eyes or screamed and just enjoyed the view.
We also went kayaking on the river in Danao, a nice peaceful journey, and painful on the arms. Not to mention kind of wet for my friend Jessa, as I could not resist the chance to splash her with some of the cold river water.
We then proceeded to head back to Tagbilaran and on the way we meet to Canadian girls who were coming back from EAT Danao. Was some good touristy stuff we did. Today we make our way to another tourist area, Panglao Island, Aluna Beach, at the famous Bohol Bee Farm Resort. Today’s plan, sit on the beach and do nothing. If the rain doesn’t hit us.
Philippines Days 4 -7: Mac Arthur to Maasin
So when some one told me there was nothing to do in Leyte I knew they had to be lying. This morning as I woke up, I looked out the sliding windows of the guest house I was staying at and said to myself, “Now I Know they are lying”. The view of the ocean and sun rising was a sight to see.
At first started with some confusion in Tacloban, but my anger and confusion was quickly defused when I got to meet my good friend Jessa. That night we ate at the resort diner, where I had chopsuey and pinakbet, two vegetarian safe pinoy foods. But later that night there was also an anime costume contest. The contestants paraded their costumes for everyone around. This was a sign of the huge Korean influence in the Philippines.
The next morning my friend and I went shopping and then headed off to her home town of Mac Arthur. If you were to ask someone what there is to do in Mac Arthur, they would say “absolutely nothing” and that is about right. And that is also what I did. I did nothing, and enjoyed it. What I mean about nothing, is I relaxed, with the nice beautiful scenery of palm trees and a gorgeous ocean on the beach. Not to mention doing absolutely nothing with the locals who are very welcoming to the tourists. Always willing to invite to sit down and eat and drink some tuba. What is tuba you ask? Well it is not a musical instrument, but a coconut wine equal to moonshine, and damn good; at least when coke is added. This occurred more times than often, where I enjoyed some good
Times with some Filipinos.
Yesterday my friend Jessa and I made way to Castañas Springs in Balinsasayaw, Abuyog, which is about an hour and 15 minute trike trip from Mac Arthur. It is a gorgeous natural spring that is perfect for swimming, if you ask me. But if you ask my friend it was too cold.
After returning to Taragona Beach Resort, place I stayed for 1500 pesos ($35), we ate and cooked dinner like we had for most of our stay. The next day we would start our adventure very early to make our way to Maasin, a great place for hiking and cave dwelling. Unfortunately, the hiking and cave dwelling was not going to happen. Trying to hail a van passing by in Mac Arthur was hard as many vans were already full. Instead we made our way to Tacloban to catch a van. We waited about 3 hours for the van to fill up til we finally left. Now our adventure in Maasin awaits us, which is probably just a disco and some beers now, but tomorrow we head off to Ubay via ferry to the island of Bohol.
To Colombia
In January I will be traveling to Colombia, a country once known for it’s rocky past. It is funny, when I mention to people that I will be heading out to Colombia they look at me as if I have a “death wish”. Colombia is no longer the place that it used to be, at least of what I hear.
So why Colombia? Well I for sure wanted to go to South America, but I was not sure where. When a old co-worker came back from his trip through South America I asked him where I should go. He said to me, “Colombia, you have to go see Colombia!” so I took him up on his advice.
For the past 2 months I have been planning my trip to Colombia, and have been finding that it does not seem like a bad plan at all. Colombia provides everything a person can find. From the big cities of Bogotá and Medellin; old colonial towns like Villa De Leyva; the mountainous Andes; gorgeous beaches of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts; and nearly 50 National Parks. It is no wonder why he told me to go to such a place. I the trip will be great.
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So how who has some great ideas of where I should go and do in Colombia? I am willing to hear you ideas and suggestions.