Diving in the Philippines

In continuing my love of traveling my most recent adventure took me to the Philippines. The impetus was to dive and take photos of critters in the Pacific Ocean/South China Sea. And so I joined the trip, planned for it, and then traveled to the other side of the planet.

The Departure - May 6th & 7th

In a horrible choice I decided to stay up all night prior to my trip as I had to leave for the airport around 4am and I didn't want to miss my ride. I justified this as I figured I would get plenty of sleep on my flights and it would help me adjust quicker to the time zone changes. I was wrong as my sleep was completely messed up the whole time I was in the Philippines.

When I finally got to the Manila airport I thought I had done all of the entrance paperwork via an app a week or so beforehand but apparently I was mistaken. I was extremely grumpy while trying to navigate through the horrible app/website on my phone. After I finally made it through customs I had to get a Grab (an Uber like service) to get to the hotel and that was a bit of an ordeal while sweating in the oppressive humidity. The trip to Manila took just over 31 hours from my door to the hotel. At which point I showered and then crashed.

Manila - Day 1 - May 8th

I was awake around 5am local time and I finally got motivated around 6:30. I trundled down to the lobby and met up with my friend Darren for breakfast. Afterwards, we took a Grab to the Intramuros area of Manila which is the historic walled city of Manila including an old fort. We visited the Manila Cathedral, then Fort Santiago including the Jose Rizal Museum (where we got a taste of A/C). We stopped for a bit to get something to drink before continuing to walk around the Intramuros. Our trek concluded at the Arroceros Forest Park which was a really neat forest/garden in the middle of Manila. We both decided that we had enough (after only being out and about for less than three hours) and so we called a Grab and returned to the hotel. I ended up taking another shower and chilling in bed watching movies until I fell asleep in the early evening. I didn't even eat anything as I had almost no appetite since breakfast.

Manila - Day 2 - May 9th

Again I was up early after sleeping most of the night. I met Darren for breakfast just after 6am and we met up with Steph and Shalair. After breakfast I went back up to my room. Around 8am, I returned to the lobby to meet up with Darren, Steph, and Shalair and we hailed a Grab to explore Manila's Chinatown.

After we were dropped off on the main thoroughfare we headed down some of the alleys which were full of vendors of all types. We walked through a basilica before hitting the streets again in search of the entrance arches this borough. After venturing on we came across an outdoor market where we purchased some water and admired some art installations. Back on the streets we decided to hit another church. At this point the four of us were tired and hot and decided to return to the hotel.

I did eat at the Subway on the first story of the hotel. It was OK but edible.

Manila/Anilao - Day 3 - May 10th

Another early morning but this time I got up immediately and packed all of my stuff as we were expected to get our shuttle at 8:30am. I joined Darren for breakfast but I had a ton of time to kill afterwards so I decided to walk around the "New Port" area thinking that it would be cool enough to just walk around for a bit. It was "cooler" but still quite humid and the short jaunt around the block still made me very sweaty. I returned to the hotel to cool down and finish getting ready to travel to the resort.

We piled into the van around 8:30am and had a short two and a half hour ride from the Belmont to the Crystal Blue Resort with one stop to get gas and snacks. This first day we checked in, handed off our gear, had lunch and dinner, and basically did nothing else.

Anilao - Day 4 - May 11th

Dive Sites: Balanoy, Secret Bay, Arthur's Rock, CBR House Reef

Anilao - Day 5 - May 12th

Dive Sites: Koala Point, Cathedral, CBR House Reef (left side), Hanson-Anilao (black water dive)

Anilao - Day 6 - May 13th

Dive Sites: Koala Point, China Point, Secret Bay, Octo Point

On the first dive of the afternoon at Secret Bay we had an extremely unlikely encounter, a whale shark. Our dive guide, Edgar, who has been diving in the area for almost 40 years stated that he has only seen a whale shark two other times. I didn’t get video but I did get multiple pictures that I put together as a video below.

Anilao - Day 7 - May 14th

Dive Sites: Kirby's Rock, Layag-Layag, Twin Rocks, Secret Bay

Anilao - Day 8 - May 15th

Dive Sites: Cavan Cove, Minilog, Twin Rocks, Dead-Palm 1

Anilao - Day 9 - May 16th

Dive Sites: Mainit Corner, Dead-Palm 2

Janus, Darren, Neo, Steph, Edgar, Shalair, and me

The rest of the day was spent cleaning and drying the dive gear and being lazy around the resort.

Anilao/Manila - Day 10 - May 17th

Woke up early like every other day this trip. I had plenty of time to pack so I was very lazy and slow at doing so. We had to check out at 11am but our shuttle back to Manila wasn't until 4pm. Those of us still hanging around the resort attempted to do anything that would keep us cool and entertained.

Our shuttle ride back to Manila was uneventful and I split my time between looking at my phone and looking at the countryside. Once back at the Belmont, I checked in and then just watched movies for the rest of the evening only taking a break to go to McDonalds for dinner. I had a Big Mac which was comparable to what we get in the states.

Manila - Day 11 - May 18th

I actually slept in to almost a normal time and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. When I checked in I should have requested a late checkout but I wasn't thinking straight and so I would have to be out of the hotel before noon. This still gave me a little time to explore so I went for another walk around "New Port" thinking again that it would be early enough that I wouldn't get too sweaty. I tried to stop to get a drink at a 7-Eleven but I didn't have any cash on me and they didn't take credit cards. I had time to go back to the room and cool off before heading out. I checked out around 11:45am and got a Grab to the terminal.

I had assumed that once I got to the terminal that I would be able to check in and go into the secure area where there would be shops, food, and plentiful seating. Boy was I mistaken.

Me at the beginning of the trip

So I waited for about 8 hours in a minimalist lobby area. The only real food options were a dumpling cart, a newsstand, and a Jubilee which is a local chain fast-food restaurant that is a mix of McDonalds, KFC, and Panda Express. I attempted to eat at the Jubilee but there were four lines of customers and in the 20 minutes that I waited in line not a single line moved. I gave up and got a bao bun and a soda at the newsstand around 3pm. I continued my vigil in the terminal and started pacing as I couldn't find a comfortable place to sit. I have no doubt that security was watching me as I kept going back and forth in the open areas of the terminal.

Finally, the Japan Airlines attendants arrived and it was a mad-dash to get into lines in order to get checked in. Other than no line etiquette, the process went relatively smoothly. Once inside, my first goal was to find food and I settled on a tuna fish salad sandwich. I finally got to the gate around 10pm and the flight took off around 11:30pm.

Tokyo/Chicago/Home - Day 12 - May 19th

Landed in Tokyo around 4:45am and had to wait until 6am for the international traveler lounge to open. It was great to have a place to rest and to be able to get food and drink. I was already exhausted but I couldn't really sleep. I was able to kill a majority of my almost seven hour layover in the lounge.

Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge in Tokyo

My flight from Tokyo to Chicago was decent. I slept a little, watched a few movies, and ate the interesting but edible airplane food. Almost 12 hours later I landed in Chicago. The customs process was easy enough, thank you Global Entry, and I was able to get to my gate without much issue. As it was still morning time in Chicago I got a couple of donuts and a soda from Dunkin'. What I didn't know was that Chicago was having a cold front and that it was in the 50s outside which meant that the airport was super cold. So at the gate I was attempting to rest the best I could on the seats that don't allow you to lie down while shivering. I had brought an extra shirt (in case I wanted to shower in Japan) so I layered up but it didn't help much. I was very glad when I finally boarded around 2pm for the final leg of the journey.

I finally got to Orlando, picked up my checked bag, and Erin and Bubba gave me a ride (with a detour through the McDonalds drive-thru). Once home I got cleaned up, walked my dog, and spent a little time decompressing from the 45 hours of travel. I have many lessons learned that I hope not to repeat in the future.

me after most of the trip

Conclusion

The trip was amazing! The travel not so much. I probably won't go back to Manila anytime soon as there are many places on this planet that I still need to explore.