The Chocolate Hills, The Tarsier, and The Rain
I had a 9:30am flight this morning so with Manila traffic I had to leave for the airport last night. The Manila airport is not really a single airport but rather an airport of airports, four specifically. As an added bonus they are not connected in anyway, your only option to change terminals is by taxi. I was flying out of terminal two, when I arrived I landed in terminal one, later I would get to experience terminal four, so I have no idea what terminal three is like. It was an uneventful flight to Tagbilaran until we got to the landing. It is a very short runway and the pilot slammed on the brakes on touch down using the full length of the runway. There was also no place to park the plane so the next flight could not land until this one took off again. I arranged for a transfer from the airport to the hotel that included a stop to see the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier. Oh and it was raining.
On a clear day you can see these mounds for miles. There are roughly 1,600 of them and they average 320 feet high. They are the result of rare geological events and they have only been found in five places in the world. So it's pretty cool to see these in person. Its a combination of rainfall dissolving the limestone happening now, the surface water when they were covered by the ocean, and subterranean rivers before they were pushed to the surface as a result of plate tectonics all contributed to their formation.
Could have been some cool drone shots if it was not pouring down rain.
We then went on to see the Tarsier which are only found in the Philippines. These tiny creatures are nocturnal and can be difficult to locate.
If you try and capture one to have as a pet they will actually commit suicide, either by smashing their head against something hard or simply stop breathing.
You also have to be very quiet and never use a flash when taking a picture. Their big eyes are designed for low light and if you use a flash they will jump on your face and eat your eyes out. They can actually jump 15 to 20 feet.
We then moved on and grabbed lunch on a river boat as we continued the journey. While waiting for the boat I caught the local cock fights on TV. It’s a pretty awful thing to watch, but then I guess I ate a little baby one of these robbing them of life before they were even born.
Oh no, little Jerry Seinfeld died.
I caught another van and eventually made it to the South Palms Resort. This place was wonderful, clean white sandy beaches, amazing staff and service, and pretty good food. I had them do laundry while I was here and I thought they just bought me new shirts. When I got them back they were individually folded, pinned, and wrapped in tissue paper and cellophane.
Their mugs are so cold that when they pour the beer in them it actually freezes, yeah this is a very nice place. As I looked around the resort I noticed something interesting, I was the only white guy, it turns out most of the guests were from South Korean or China.
On this trip I have been comparing the Philippines to the classic Southeast Asia countries and another opportunity presented itself. They offered massages. In Thailand you can get a 60 minute massage for around 250 Baht, or $8 USD, with the optional happy ending for roughly another $1 USD. Here you can get a 90 minute massage for around 1500 Philippine Pesos, or $30 USD, however they don’t offer any optional add-ons. After my massage I returned to my room via the bar and then went to bed.
