Finally. Sorry I'm slow.
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Orang utans
We had an awesome opportunity in near Sandakan, Malaysia in Borneo. We got to go to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation center! It was amazing and I am really glad we decided to drive 5 hours to see it! We got to see many different wildlife while we were there and in fact, I am confident we got to see this new orangutan. Here are some videos:
Thursday, February 19, 2009
After visiting the cute tarsiers, we decided to go on a boat trip. No, I take that back. Our taxi driver decided that we should go on a boat trip. We were unsure if we really wanted to do it. In fact, it seemed really touristy but we decided to go ahead because it might actually surprise us. It turned out that we actually enjoyed it. We got to eat a meal on the boat and go up and down a river in the Philippines. At the end of the river, there was a waterfall. The food was not that good, but there was a guy playing a guitar and it was relaxing. Overall a very good trip. The above picture is us waiting to board the boat and the next 3 pictures are us waiting for our food and the waterfall at the end.
We had specifically told our taxi driver that we wanted to go to a Tarsier Sanctuary and then head to the Chocolate Hills so that we could take some nice pictures of the Chocolate Hills while the sun set. We actually told him multiple times what we wanted. Instead, he again did his own thing and we ended up here, at the Chocolate Hills early in the afternoon. (And we never making it to the Tarsier Sanctuary.) Oh well, the pictures at least turned out.
Our taxi driver, on his own itinerary took us to a beach near the city we were staying at. Again, more his idea then ours, but it was a nice beach, so we weren't complaining.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
After staying a few days in Malapascua, we headed to Bohol, Philippines. While in Bohol, we had the opportunity to see a Tarsier. We were really excited and thought that they are a really cute animal. We wanted to share in the experience of seeing these cute animals, so here are some pictures along with 2 videos. The last video is kind of long, but really cute. Enjoy!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Our Trip, part 1
We started our trip by going to Carrefoure (think a 2 story Walmart) to get a few items, such as bug spray (it was taken at the airport because it was in an aerosol can), a power converter (we left ours in the states), some snack bars and leech socks (Actually we read somewhere that you can use pantyhose in place of the leech socks. Guess what we were getting at Carrefoure) Parking was interesting and here is the result:
To get to the next picture, we flew to Manilla, Philippines on a Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, we caught a flight to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Once there, we caught a metered taxi which took us to the bus station where we then caught a bus to Malapascua Island (The bus did not have air conditioning and all the windows were opened) We road that for a little over 4 hours. When we arrived into Cebu, it was 2 pm and when we left, it was around 3:30, so by the time we got to the pier to catch a boat to Malapascua island it was around 7:30 and it was pitch dark. We had asked the guy taking tickets on the bus if there was a place where we could stay for the night. He pointed into the town and said somewhere in there. We were literally the last people to get off the bus and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, we were told by some guys hanging out at the pier that they could take us to the island for php 1500 ($30). We had read that we could catch a ferry for php 100 ($2.00) so we said we were not interested. We did ask if there was a hotel somewhere we could stay at. They then said that they would take us to this hotel along with our baggage. Between the two of us, we had 1 small roller bag, 1 large roller bag, 1 camera bag, 1 purse and 1 backpack with a laptop in it, so when they pulled up with 2 motorcycles, we were a little worried about where they were 1. going to take us and 2. what we were going to do with our stuff.
Somehow they got us onto the motorcycles. The big suitcase was put between the guy that Phil was riding with and Phil. He was a little worried. Also, this was the first time I have ever ridden on a motorcycle and so when we took off at night with no helmets, I was a little worried. Also, we were trusting on God that these guys weren't going to take us to the middle of nowhere, take our money and run (without us). The entire time we were riding, I was trying not to scream and also I was praying. Luckily, they took us to a hotel which also had food. (another good thing as the hotel was in the middle of nowhere) We were releaved.
The next morning, we caught the following to the island. Here is a picture of Phil trying to save php 20 ($.50) by carrying the bags himself. I was impressed.
(He is saving it not because he is cheap, but because were really annoyed to have to continuously give out money every 2 seconds for someone doing literally nothing) Another picture from our sweet ride.
I am certain that Phil will write more about our trip to Malapascua, but here was the view from our first hotel room. We moved from this place not because the trees were in the way, but because the toilet did not have a seat and because were trying to avoid being bothered about going snorkeling with some guys who were a little shady. Besides the small inconveniences of getting to the island it was a beautiful place.
To get to the next picture, we flew to Manilla, Philippines on a Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, we caught a flight to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Once there, we caught a metered taxi which took us to the bus station where we then caught a bus to Malapascua Island (The bus did not have air conditioning and all the windows were opened) We road that for a little over 4 hours. When we arrived into Cebu, it was 2 pm and when we left, it was around 3:30, so by the time we got to the pier to catch a boat to Malapascua island it was around 7:30 and it was pitch dark. We had asked the guy taking tickets on the bus if there was a place where we could stay for the night. He pointed into the town and said somewhere in there. We were literally the last people to get off the bus and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, we were told by some guys hanging out at the pier that they could take us to the island for php 1500 ($30). We had read that we could catch a ferry for php 100 ($2.00) so we said we were not interested. We did ask if there was a hotel somewhere we could stay at. They then said that they would take us to this hotel along with our baggage. Between the two of us, we had 1 small roller bag, 1 large roller bag, 1 camera bag, 1 purse and 1 backpack with a laptop in it, so when they pulled up with 2 motorcycles, we were a little worried about where they were 1. going to take us and 2. what we were going to do with our stuff.
Somehow they got us onto the motorcycles. The big suitcase was put between the guy that Phil was riding with and Phil. He was a little worried. Also, this was the first time I have ever ridden on a motorcycle and so when we took off at night with no helmets, I was a little worried. Also, we were trusting on God that these guys weren't going to take us to the middle of nowhere, take our money and run (without us). The entire time we were riding, I was trying not to scream and also I was praying. Luckily, they took us to a hotel which also had food. (another good thing as the hotel was in the middle of nowhere) We were releaved.
The next morning, we caught the following to the island. Here is a picture of Phil trying to save php 20 ($.50) by carrying the bags himself. I was impressed.
(He is saving it not because he is cheap, but because were really annoyed to have to continuously give out money every 2 seconds for someone doing literally nothing) Another picture from our sweet ride.
I am certain that Phil will write more about our trip to Malapascua, but here was the view from our first hotel room. We moved from this place not because the trees were in the way, but because the toilet did not have a seat and because were trying to avoid being bothered about going snorkeling with some guys who were a little shady. Besides the small inconveniences of getting to the island it was a beautiful place.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Survival
We are alive. I have now spent approximately 12 hours driving on the left side of the road, and managed to stay on the left during most of them. We only had one near-death experience involving me attempting to pass a slow moving truck while a fast moving truck was approaching from the opposite direction. Thankfully, I was able to maneuver the car onto the right shoulder in time to avoid disaster.
The best way I can describe driving on the left, is to compare it to writing with your non-dominant hand. The main difference being that the stakes are higher... rather than risking looking semi-illiterate, you are in danger of being turned into a pancake on the side of the road.
The best way I can describe driving on the left, is to compare it to writing with your non-dominant hand. The main difference being that the stakes are higher... rather than risking looking semi-illiterate, you are in danger of being turned into a pancake on the side of the road.
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