Don’t Forget the Toilet Paper!

In the United States we take so much for granted; that there will be toilet paper in the restroom at a major airport or any public place for that matter. That is not true in the Philippines and I suspect I’ll find that to be the case in many places throughout the world. So, now I carry a small supply of toilet paper in a Ziploc bag in my purse. 

Acclimating to other cultures isn’t difficult, but it does require a certain presence of mind. Realizing that there are different priorities in another country and that what you consider essential to life – like brewed coffee every morning – probably isn’t a necessity to others is an absolute requirement or you are going to spend your travels miserable and feeling deprived.

Vanessa (my daughter) and I spent a lot of time comparing napkins in different establishments throughout Manila, Cebu, Baguio and this little piece of heaven, Bohol. We only encountered American style napkins in one restaurant during our travels (a nice Japanese eatery in the Mall of Asia) and I can now add Dunkin Donuts to the list. What you see below is standard – a tiny square of what we would consider the cheapest napkins in the US – about a ¼ of their size. Some places do provide extras on the table but even then a very few. I can only guess that people must stock up if the napkins are available. On the other hand, I’ve often asked for an extra napkin at a fast food window in America only to be handed a fistful – sometimes a dozen or more – which I’m pretty sure shoots the restaurants’ profit margins all to hell.

Next up – a list of all the wonderful quirks about the Philippines I’ve discovered so far.

The Secret of Adventure

My room

“The secret of adventure, then, is not to carefully seek it out but to travel in such a way that it finds you. To do this you first need to overcome the protective habits of home and open yourself up to unpredictability. As you begin to practice this openness, you’ll quickly discover adventure in the simple reality of a world that defies your expectations. More often than not you’ll discover that 'adventure' is a decision after the fact - a way of deciphering an event or an experience that you can’t quite explain.”

My RIDE!

This description is a wonderful quote from the book Vagabonding: The Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts.  I have already found that this is true. It is about opening up and believing that the next thing will come to you in its own time and for the better.

For instance, I had booked a “studio” apartment in Danao Beach – just a short ways from Alona Beach, which I fell in love with when my daughter, Vanessa, and I visited Bohol last week. I couldn’t find anything affordable on Alona Beach online. When I arrived, by tricycle (see the picture above) there was “no room at the inn.” Something had gone wrong with my reservation.

So the owner of Villa Juana took me to her friend’s guesthouse, where I spent the night. But before falling into an exhausted slumber, Juana and her husband, Reiner, took me to town so I could have dinner and buy a couple of supplies in Alona Beach. 

After dinner, Juana walked me to a hotel that is absolutely beautiful – gorgeous grounds and right next to the beach and everything I need. Hallelujah!

A terrible picture of Juana & Reinert - sorry guys.

Had I panicked or gotten angry that my room wasn’t waiting for me, I would never have found this fantastic place to stay! I think I’ll learn to appreciate the fact that I have never been the “princess” type. It’s pretty easy for me to adapt to my surroundings, as long as there is some redeemable aspect to them.Try as I might, I could not find anything redeemable in Manila or Cebu, unless it was very American, and that’s not what I am here for.

So far in this latest adventure, I’ve ridden a very Filipino mode of transportation – the tricycle – and had extended conversations with three different natives and a German transplant plus I've landed in just the type of housing I was looking for. Yay! Now THAT’S the point!

Neelo and Tata - my hosts for night #1

Eureka! Paradise Found...

A tarsier, world's smallest primate.

 After trekking through the cities of Manila, Cebu and Baguio, I finally found the Philippines I was looking for - beautiful and serene - and it was only 1 1/2 hours from Cebu by ferry.

The first and most noticeable difference on this island is the lack of garbage. Most of the other places we visited were strewn with litter. Secondly, while poverty obviously exists here, too, no matter how humble a dwelling is the owners keep it neat and clean.

Most of the industry on the island is centered around tourism, first and foremost the divers that flock to the island for the crystal clear waters. Next week, I'm moving to Bohol to live for as long as the mood prevails - for the moment at a beach hotel. I'm very excited to jump into my first long-term stay.


Our adventure began with a taxi driver, Jereme, who talked us into expanding our tour from simply the tarsier preserve to a wonderful floating restaurant and river cruise. Tarsiers are the smallest primate on Earth, no larger than a man's hand and oddly cute beyond their enormous eyes.We trudged through a few hundred feet of jungle to get to them, a great experience.

Van trekking through the jungle.

Alona Beach on Bohol Island

Small waterfall along our river cruise.

Next stop was the river cruise, with a fabulous buffet of primarily Filipino food and a very good female singer. Her covers included John Denver, Frank Sinatra and a couple of disco stars.. Nothing like floating down an awesome river bouncing to "I Love the Night Life."

Finally, Jereme, our taxi driver, had mentioned a small island off of Bohol where many foreigners come to dive. We decided to drive there too, and I fell in love with the area. I knew right away this would be the first stop in my search for a retirement haven.

More beach!

I am very excited to finally make a move toward my ultimate plan and truly thrilled with where I'll be. The plan is to make day trips, perhaps once a week and really SEE this country. There are amazing places to be seen and I promise to bring you pictures from all of them.

Jereme, our fabulous cabbie, sandwiched.

A floating culinary delight!

Postcard from the Philippines

Essential tourist bag and native beauty.

This won't be much more than a collection of pictures! There' so much to show you and so little time it seems. Traveling is actually a lot of work; packing and unpacking constantly, figuring out the next step because we've basically done this trip on the fly and taking care of the little things that are so easy at home, like doing laundry.

We found the beach!

But we've had a million laughs - big belly laughs - on this trip. Like when Vanessa said "Knock on wood," and tapped her mattress - probably the hardest mattresses on earth were at our second hotel.

Ceiling at Magellan's Cross

Anyway, here are a few shots

The daily afternoon rain in Cebu!

for you!

The required fruity drink!

Magellan's Cross

Beauty & The Beast – The Philippines So Far

Baguio Botanical Gardens

I struggled with how to describe our Philippines adventure so far and Beauty and The Beast seemed the best and simplest way to express both of our reactions. As you may already know, my daughter Vanessa is on this first leg of the trip to Asia with me, and I can only thank the Universe for providing her. She’s a great traveling companion but she’s also a fantastic support. Leaping into the unknown has been much easier because she’s here too.

Let’s start with the beautiful and, make no mistake, there are many amazingly fabulous things here. First and foremost is the people. We’ve had nothing but good experiences interacting with the natives, because of their inherent generosity and friendliness. Servers seem to be a bit afraid to wait on us, but I attribute that to a lack of confidence in their English speaking skills. Customer service is excellent here and better than most of America. We could take a tip or two from them. One charming aspect is being called “ma’am” everywhere and not just me, but a much younger Vanessa as well.

Villalyn on the left & Jocelyn, and my goofy grin.

Camp John Hay, historical gardens

You need only to look at these gorgeous manicurists to judge for yourself the loveliness of the women here. Additionally, the lush, verdant landscape can overwhelm at times, especially when it takes on the look of a jungle. In Baguio, we also found spots of absolute refuge and sanctuary, much needed after the rush of traffic that plagues both Baguio and Manila.

We visited the Botanical Gardens and the BenCab Museum, an enclave for both art and terraced gardening. Day 3 we visited Camp John Hay, formerly a base for US troops and now a very Americanized resort, frequented by both foreigners and Filipinos. It was an admittedly welcome taste of home.

Now for the Beast and why we were ready for an hour or two of home-fried atmosphere – the abject poverty and depressing shanty-towns that abound in the Philippines. Three quarters of our bus trip to Baguio was dominated by the endless miles of shacks, hovels and mere scraps of discarded trash patched together into something to either live in or sell something from. By the time we hit the open countryside everything free of debris seemed heavenly.

Also security is big business in this country which would lead you to assume danger at every corner, but we didn’t encounter anything that seemed ominous except walking in either city at night. Neither of us felt comfortable doing it so we didn’t if we could avoid it. That meant eating dinner earlier than usual.

One of many

Shanty-towns dot the roadside for miles.

One last warning, carry toilet paper wherever you go. You never know when you might need to use one of the many “comfort stations” where you will pay to use the facilities, often without benefit of TP. Small tissue packets tucked into a purse or backpack are ideal. 

After a day of bus and plane travel we’re now in Cebu City, on an entirely different island and ready to seek out beaches and such. More from the road tomorrow!

Lovely views of the mountains of Luzon Island,