4 days in Baguio

29th September 07

4 days in Baguio, Philippines and now I am leaving for Sunset Bay, San Fernando, La Union. Baguio days quickly move between pleasant pine lined walks in the cool temperatures of the glade to sooty diesel fume choked jaunts between lodge and the city shops. Having been to Baguio before and completely enjoying the climate contrast to Manila, I have quickly got restless this visit and am now looking forward to the virgin (for me) Philippine territory at Sunset Bay.

Most Pleasant Baguio Experience - The walk back from Mines View to town.

Most Dismal Baguio Experience - One night in the bug infested Starwood Hotel.

Most Likeable Character - Receptionist at the Bloomfield Hotel for displaying (?!) just about everything you'd hope for in a receptionist..welcoming smile, helpfulness, friendliness, a petite prettiness, patience and... charming.

Disorder is Order

29 th October 2007

My 2 nd full day in Ubud brings with it spiritual enlightening that has it’s good and it’s bad. I talked to an interesting Frenchman yesterday that has a bookshop and restaurant in the main street called Rendevousdoux (of course it would be called Rendezvous something). Life was explained in a 15 minute reverie that put Anglo- French relationships into much warmer waters than they had been for years. Thierry has a description for everything that is happening. In summary everything we experience is the process. The process rolls, non stop. The process content builds the future. It may feel barren at times but that is one of the most creative phases of the process. The phase that pre exists doing must be rich and deep with experience. Anyone can walk to the station because the route is defined. Arriving at the decision to take the train and where to take the train to will come out of phase that pre exists the doing. Disorder is order I heard several times which tasted like a consolation pill. Bless him.

Ubud, the heart of the Balinese arts and handicraft industry, offered relaxation over coffee or beer depending on the time of day at several pleasant locations with padi field vista’s. One late afternoon coffee hangs particularly dreamily in my mind as I recall the sun setting across the padi fields at the back to front café. My term. I think it was called Kita. But the kitchen and the mess was at the street side so it didn’t look particularly attractive from the street. One sat at the back and gazed across the padi field to enjoy the food and drink and on this occasion the long shadows and oblique rays of a warm setting sun.

I left Ubud on the 31 st October with the intention of staying a night or two at Padang Bai…an hours bus ride from Ubud on the east coast. My immediate impression at Padang Bai was one of an untidy ferry traffic processing town which I, uninspired, left behind an hour later on another bus heading for Candidasa. Koonikov was the other intrepid bus passenger. Yep just two passengers.

Mind Games

24th October 07

Yesterday was one of those 'what the hell is happening' days. Paul and Rachels Grandma passed away on the night of the 21st...into the 22nd out here. It threw me somewhat although I never had a great relationship with her Grandparents. Upset in the family is upset in the family. My whole world seemed to have a blue air about it. My mind worked overtime but never really achieved anything. I hate those days. I resolved to start thinking toward results, views, decisions and opinions later in the day. Structured thinking not just messy whirring thinking.

Lovina things aren't so Wow. It's another of those little Asian seaside towns that offer everything from girls to shells and make an unremarkable job of those and most stuff in between... speaking principally as a spectator, of course. There is a Wow to be explored offshore with trips to Dolphin watch and early morning remote bay snorkelling. It's in there but it's early and it has to follow a nice day that finishes with some comfort food (I have spotted one operation offering Chile Con Carne), a relatively early night and good sleep... not beers in a bar listening to the unremarkable job (but good effort) live music that, this morning, brings a smile to my face. 'Sue Lawley' still seems as appropriate to the tone and moan of that 'So Lonely' Police number as the original lyrics. Sue Lawley remembered! The Lovina impression perspectivised.

There is another aspect of this rather odd phase of my life that is coming to light and probably worth recording here. For my sake more than anything. I don't do holidays. I do missions and adventures. Attempting a mindless state in the search for holiday relaxation is the path toward frustration and an oppressed and crazed existance. So I am moving out of the holiday frame and into the mission frame. This is a 'chalking up' exercise.

Sunrise in Amed

22 nd October 2007

I was convinced that I would manage no more than 2 or 3 nights in Amed but here I am 5 nights later having only just checked out of the Sunrise Café this morning. Oddly enough for me that attraction was the serenity of it all. Evenings would end at about 9.30pm at the latest. I drunk little beer or any other alcohol (until the last evening) and ate healthily as dinners were always served with robust portions of vegetables and steamed rice. I think there must have been 5 small resorts along the beachfront that comprised of ‘Sunrise Bay’ so I had dinner in a different one each night. With that simple task complete it just felt like time to move on. The days were a mixture of walking, rehydrating, reading, eating and chatting although the chatting was pretty limited (another reason for choosing to move out and move on now I think about it) as there were virtually no tourists and conversation was limited to brief encounters with the locals viz the temperature, snorkeling equipment and transportation ‘bargains’. My biggest thrill was the snorkeling which revealed extensive hard coral no more than 10metres off the shore line with such a diverse range of marine life it kept me entranced for hours. Box fish, Jacks, I saw one bloody big Barracuda just skulking over sand, Cuttle fish, Angel fish, a plethora of Banded Sea Snakes with their heads out of the sand.. comical!, arguing/fighting Trigger fish, those little spindly buggers that hang vertical in groups of about a dozen, Moorish idols, it was endless and quite incredible.

A close second on the notable events calendar was the sunrise which despite the early evenings to bed I only managed to surface once in time to capture it on camera. It was supreme and added much to the mental image that the Amed visit created in my mind. The pictures are either on Flicker or Facebook.

Yesterday evening brought the Amed visit to a fitting close. The least attractive looking restaurant and therefore my last port of call on the dinner expedition turned out not only to serve the best food but to be the most friendly; and on the evening of my visit allowed me to meet some excellent company and make two lovely new friends. Warung Bali looked like a shed. I’m sorry Warung Bali but it does. A shed with some tables and chairs out the back..beachside. But it served one of the nicest fish curries I have eaten in years. Not rich in cholestrol (coconut milk) sauce it had a gentle non spicy curry flavour to it and was loaded with fresh (steamed, I guess) fish and vegetables. A perfect delight! At the next table were Alain and Mireille. Alain and Mirelle from Belgium. Also a perfect delight. Alain thought I was younger than him and he was younger than me! He knows how to make friends! Conversation was a pleasure and never an effort. Alain is an artist who works with metal. I wasn’t sure but I think he was into household items like candleholders. Forgive me Alain if you read this and I have that completely wrong. We both enjoyed to travel so there was plenty for us to talk about. Alain explained that he plays the flute and in his younger days took his flute on his travels earning his food money from his flute playing. He would learn the local music styles for the country he was visiting which I am sure attracted a few more sheckels than foreign music. He earnt just a little bit of admiration from me for all this. Just to complete the picture Alain still sports a healthy crop of curly hair (which spiked a seam of envy in me) and on this evening wore a Sarong. This is a note to me – I must have a look at the Turkish interior and the South of France. Mireille approved of everything as far as I could tell and clearly felt comfortable with Alain frontstage! Bless them. Oh Yes - Alain introduced me to the Balinese drink Errak. The locally brewed drink that derives from palm trees I think. We took it at Alains suggestion with lemon, honey and ice. It probably doesn't taste much on it's own because it tasted like we were drinking lemon, honey and ice. However it oiled the evenings progression admirably

A bumpy start in Bali

18th October 07 - A bumpy start in Bali

Sunday 14th October heralded my Philippines departure for KL. An(other) uneventful overnight at the Empress Hotel, Sepang, how many more times can I overnight at this throughly depressing location, took me into the 15th October and an afternoon flight to Bali. 25USD for the visa on arrival allowed me to move freely to the arrivals area outside of the airport and the taxi office news that Kuta was jammed and no taxis were even arriving at the airport let alone departing. Chill out and work it out are the thoughts that ripple through my mind in times like this. I had booked via email a room at the Melasti Beach bungalows in Kuta. As I hovered thoughtfully around the covered but empty traffic lanes I was approached twice by 'unofficial' taxi operators. The second offered to get me to Melasti in about 30mins for 10USD. As soon as I nod my head the luggage trolley is seized and I have no choice but to follow, at a canter. We do a maze of alleys and backstreets to arrive close to Melasti in about 10 mins. Melasti is fully booked. So much for their email booking service. However the driver smiles and suggests 'no problem' we will find you a room. As I subsequently find out this is perfect for him. 2.5hrs and at least a dozen hotel stops later we discover a fairly broken down family room at a hotel that could have been nice but was verging on a state of neglect. I can have the room for Rp400, 000. A place to lie my head, no debate. I must have dinner after that marathon hotel hunt I am informed. Little or no discussion precluded the 20minute ride to a beachside fish restaurant of the drivers choice. Ketut he had said I should call him. Over dinner Ketut announced that he would be arriving tomorrow with a motorbike to take me around to find more suitable accomodation. I hadn't liked the look of the overcrowded Kuta and suggested I would like to get out of the city to a quieter beach side location. Again I play into his hands. I pay for dinner and back at the hotel I pay for his taxi services (Rp300, 000) before I am bid farewell for the night. He is to arrive at 11am tomorrow morning to transport me to this fabulous quiet beachside location that is a mere 3hrs drive away for a bargain Rp400, 000. OK, I must escape Kuta.

16th October morning I am in exploration mode. No meals at the hotel was the previous evenings information so I am ready to venture forth and find coffee and something to start the day with in nearby streets. A scantly organised reception counter was manned by friendly enough young staff who responded to my enquiry of nearby cafe's with 'none' but you can take breakfast here. A hard boiled egg, two pieces of toast already prepared with strawberry jam and a cup of sawdust heavy 'coffee' complemented the neglected feel of the hotel perfectly. At check out I began to get a proper understanding of Ketut's game. Rp250, 000 was the rate offered on a sheet under the counter for my room. The staff said I could get Rp200, 000 as a returning guest (inc breakfast.. I was tempted to suggest for a further discount if I could eat that breakfast daily). Mmmm. Well I'd finally got a room in an overcrowded Kuta... probably worth a little premium on the standard rate. Is Ketut on comission?

Ketut was on time and we were off. No ATM's in Amed, our destination, so better empty a machine now was his advice. Message understood. I asked him for a number and used it to code the machine to deliver a wadge to me. I sweat more in his miniscule people carrier in the next 3hrs than I have done sat still for a long time. It's hilly and with the aircon on (I'm still sweating) the hills are quite a challenge for the little (worn out) baby. After two hours I offer to buy lunch. I need to dry out.

Finally in Amed I am delivered to a very well presented Bamboo Bali and given Bungalow no. 1 at the top of the rise amongst well presented gardens and an almost unblocked sea view. Rp250,00 per night. Done. Bye Ketut. A walk through the village revealed many vacancies. I have now moved to a 1st floor room with balcony, clean and comfy bed, shower and fan over the beach at the Sunrise Cafe for Rp80, 000 a night inc breakfast (nescafe available). Ketut, you opportunist. The picture here is the bay view from the Sunrise Cafe in Amed.

Rustling Palms, A Sea Breeze and UB40

Red Red Wine plays across the poolside terrace as I sit here in a gentle sea breeze compiling a smiley Philippines blog entry for the month of October 07. Today is the 12th. I brought a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable stay at Sunset Bay, San Fernando, La Union to a touching close on the 10th. Steve - a wonderfully positive character with a Philippina wife and young family newly arrived from England, George - on an South East Asian exploration trip from Wales, Tony - embarking on a job hunt , and Spider our Sunset Bay host, made up the UK contingent; Paul from the US with grizzly stories of his time at Bazra, and cool John from Perth completed a crewe with stories to share, views to debate and adventures to plot. A fine time was had by all! Departure inevitably included a bus trip. A sweaty seven hour bus trip that took me to Manila and city reality. Manila - jams, pollution, building work. Yuk! So, yesterdays schedule included another bus trip. A 2.5hr bus trip of escape to Alongapo, Zambales. My present location is the Mangrove Resort at Baloy Beach, Subic Bay just 10 minutes from Alongapo. Inexpensive, Seaside, Sunny. .

My picture is a San Fernado streetside snapshot taken one afternoon whilst on a shopping jaunt from Sunset Bay.