Philippines – Manila to Cebu

Manila, Philippines Day 69 (April 9)

Manila, Philippine Map

Our timing is not so good, because this is Easter Holy Week, and all the travel agents and most stores are closed. Manila is mungbucket, and we can’t wait to leave. The book says there lots to like if you dig a bit deeper, but we spend the entire day between the hotel, convenience store, and internet café. Vana absolutely hates it; especially the children begging on the street. With every other business employing a security guard in front, I am guessing they have a crime problem.

With 7104 islands in the Philippines, Kevin’s head is ready to explode from reading the travel book we bought in Hong Kong. On facebook advice from Norwegian friends we met in Ko Phi Phi, we buy plane tickets to Cebu City, and book hotels to visit an outlying island for diving.

On the plus side, we make a lot of progress with our travel blog posts.

Manila City

Filipino breakfast – garlic rice, beef jerky and egg

Manila to Cebu City, Philippines Day 70 (April 10)

Philippines Map

We spend the morning in the internet café, and then fly to Cebu City, in the middle of the Visayas islands. Cebu is a large island, and manufacturing center. It’s a bit less mungbucket than Manila, but not by much. It’s Good Friday, and the ferries are not running, so we stay at the Fuente Pension House in uptown Cebu City. The only thing open for dinner is McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and a fast food Chinese chain restaurant.

Cebu city plane view

Cebu city – street scene (reminds me of of T.J., Mexico)

We look for it on the TV, but we don’t see any Good Friday news. In San Fernando Pampanga, volunteers are nailed to crosses and whipped until they bleed. We could have traveled there easily from Manila, but it didn’t sound that appealing to us.

Cebu City to Alona Beach, Panglao Island, Philippines Day 71 (April 11)

We take the 9:30AM ferry to Tagbilaran on Bohol, and then taxi to Alona beach on Panglao Island. When exiting the ferry, scores of naked children paddle to the dock, and unload to beg. This is the most shocking display of begging we’ve witnessed. The children look more like Monkeys than people, and we are speechless.

begging children with their parents

I realized two things after this experience.

1. Birth control is one of the most important modern inventions.
2. As the heavily Catholic influenced Filipino government shuns birth control, birth rates exceed economic growth, and the Philippines are in for several difficult decades.

On advice from our Norwegian facebook friends we stay at Cherrys House Too. Although five to ten minutes walk from the beach, it’s a very pleasant and clean hotel with swimming pool. Unfortunately, the food in the restaurant is really bad, aside from pancakes. I even throw up a ham sandwich and fries from lunch. This is the first time either of us gets sick from the food in Southeast Asia. We heard the food in the Philippines is really terrible, and so far it is true.

We’ve had several unpleasant travel days, but we catch up on our blog posts, and feedback from our friends makes us feel much better!