Return to Manila, Philippines – 7 to 10 May, 2007
With the decision to leave Bohol, we caught a car to Tagbilaran pier where the three ferry companies leave from for the short trip to Cebu City. All three are fast ferries and take about the same time, so we bought tickets for the first available ferry out. We arrived in Cebu City in mid afternoon, and had on-line reservations for a hotel. We only planned to spend the night there as we had previously seen the Cebu City sights and had a reservation for the ferry to Manila early the next morning. Our hotel was near one of the local malls, so we decided to walk there so D could look around for local products and we could have a quick dinner.
The next morning we were up early to get a taxi to the ferry terminal. Clearing the security and check-in process in Cebu was much easier than it had been on our trip from Manila to Cebu. In Manila there had been about four thousand people trying to get on two ships, while in Cebu there only seemed to be a couple of hundred people waiting for one ship. We didn’t have to wait long, and were soon called for boarding. When we booked our tickets there was no suite available, so we booked a stateroom instead. When we boarded we were given the key and shown to our room. This room was much smaller than the suite on our previous trip, but more than adequate for our needs. It consisted of a small sofa, a double bed, two bunks the top one of which could fold up, a private toilet with shower, and satellite TV.
The ship left on time, and as it left in the morning we spent most of the day relaxing in our room reading, watching BBC/CNN, and writing a couple of journals. Lunch and dinner were provided as part of the ticket price, and the food was very good considering. We had an early night as we were scheduled to arrive in Manila at 7:00 AM. At 6:00 AM we were still sound asleep when we were awakened by a knock on the door. J jumped out of bed and looked out the window only to realize it seemed like the ship was stopped. Fearing we had overslept and were already docked in port, J ran to the door only to find one of the crew wanting to pick up the room key and remote control for the TV. He advised we would arrive in port in about 30 minutes, so we organized our luggage and got ready to disembark.
As we left the ship, we were approached by a number of offers for a taxi. When we questioned if they were metered taxis, they just said smiled and said there were no meters in Manila, but they would be glad to take us the short distance to our hotel for a mere 300 pesos (six bucks). They must have thought we just got of a banana boat, because we knew there were meters in Manila and the trip to the hotel should not be any more than 50 pesos. We continued up the road where we found dozens of metered cabs, but none willing to turn on the meter. The price did start to decrease, with them now asking only for a 200 peso flat fee. It wasn’t so much the money as the principal, and J told them he would rather walk. We continued to the main road, Roxas Boulevard, where after waving down a couple of cabs who refused to turn on the meter, we found one who did. The driver was suitably rewarded for his honesty, and we were soon back at the same hotel we had stayed in before,
It was still only 7:30 AM and we were unable to check into the hotel, so we left our bags and went out for a cup of coffee and plan our course. We had seen a package tour offered for a 4 day/3 night trip to the Banaue rice terraces that left on Thursdays, and we hoped to do that the next day. We had emailed a couple of agents about it while we were in Bohol, but never heard back from them so we decided to seek them out. We headed off to a couple of agents, but the details kept changing and the price kept rising, so we decided to do it ourselves by taking a local bus and booking our own hotel. We headed back to the hotel and were then able to check in so we called one of the bus companies that runs buses from Manila to Banaue and booked the bus for the next evening. All the buses to Banaue run at night to avoid the traffic, and leave about 10:00 PM, arriving in Banaue around 7:00 AM.
We called our friends in Manila to let them know we were safely back in town for only a day and then headed out to our local mall to pick up a few gift items. Shortly after we returned in the evening, the phone rang and it was our friends wanting to pick us up and take us out for a couple more local experiences. They soon arrived at the hotel, and we headed out for what we were told was a popular hangout for the up and coming yuppies in Manila. It consisted of a number of food stands with just about everything imaginable, and a number of upscale craft stores. We had a light bite earlier at the mall so we weren’t hungry, but D opted for one of her favorite mango shakes, and J tried an order of Chicharon. J had said he wanted to try a balut at some time, and it wasn’t long before one of our friends arrived with two baluts for J and a penoy for D. J enjoyed the balut and may even have some more if given the opportunity.
After having a snack, we walked around the craft shops. Most were closed by this time, but they had some very nice carved wooden pieces with everything from furniture to statues available. After this we headed out of town to an overlook on top of one of the hills east of the city where at night you have a very clear view of the entire city lit up. We sat with some beers just looking at the view, and were entertained at the table by a couple of strolling minstrels. The minstrels asked if we had any requests, and when our friends said they wanted to hear Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, the minstrels didn’t seem to be impressed. From here we headed back to town, arriving back at the hotel around 2:00 AM.
The next day we had to check out a noon, and then entertain ourselves until the bus for Banaue left at 10:00 PM. As we would only be gone for a couple days, we packed a small backpack and left our larger backpack with the hotel. We had previously downsized when we first took the ferry to Cebu and left a couple bags with our friends in Manila, so we were happy to not have to lug our larger bags to the bus. We found that the hotel we wanted to stay at in Banaue was run by the government and could be booked at the Department of Tourism office in Manila. It wasn’t far from our hotel, so we walked there and paid for two nights. We then proceeded to another shopping center we were told about to do some more last minute gift shopping and dinner. It was then time to make our way back to the hotel to pick up our small bags for our trip and head for the bus station.
We arrived at the bus station with plenty of time to spare, so after paying for our tickets we walked to a nearby McDonalds for an ice cream and to keep cool in the AC for then next hour and a half. It was then time to head back to the bus station and board the bus.
Next stop Banaue.
