Nuttter speaks!

It was just what we needed. We did a whole lot of nothing, ate well and recharged ourselves. We also met some great people. Most of that warm snuggly feeling was stripped away however by the time we reached our next destination, Dumaguete, a pleasant city (that is saying A LOT for the Philippines) some 5 hours away.

Traveling is never as easy as jumping on a bus and going. You usually have to take various forms of transport just to get to the bus and then, depending on the bus, there are stops galore. By the time we arrived into Dumagete, it was nearly 8 p.m. We left Sugar Beach at 11 a.m. Anyone doing the math? I said it's a five-hour ride from the two destinations. We left Sugar Beach by walking with packs on across the beach, taking a paddleboat, walking 1km in the heat and humidity (still with our packs on...and, by the way, both of mine are heavier than Porl's!). Then a tricycle to the bus stop. Waiting for the first bus, which, when it arrived zipped us to our destination in under an hour. Then waiting two hours or so for next bus. Then immediately getting onto our last bus which was very crowded. This meant sitting in the last row. For fellow motion sickness readers, you know my pain! Even with my travel sickness meds, I was hanging on for dear life -- and a red plastic bag just in case. Slowly, I made my way up as seats became available. Until I was nearly at the front. The bus driver didn't make the journey any easier on our bodies. He sucked. Honestly, the worst bus driver we've had. His idea of slowing down meant SLAMMING on the brakes. Often. On certain bus lines, there are conductors that ride the bus. The conductor is the one who punches out your ticket and who you pay. However, every so often, the bus will stop in some random remote area, and another bus employee will jump on. These are inspectors. They check the tickets and passenger count to make sure no one is riding for free. Typically, inspectors have gotten on a bus about two or three times during a journey. For whatever reason, inspectors got on this bus at least 10 times. Often the bus would pull over to the side and stop while the inspector did his thing. Try to imagine being on a VERY crowded bus in the heat with no air-con while a man looks through tickets. AGAIN. Give the crappiness of the driver (he also had a knack for starting to pull away before passengers were safely off the bus. Seriously!) I can understand why the inspectors got on so often. But after being on this bus for three hours, I was ready to scream.

I'm lucky to report Porl and I both survived. Me, from travel sickness and Porl from being hungover the entire day. My money was on him vomiting during the paddleboat ride, but he proved me wrong!

We were attempting to go to a nearby island for some snorkeling today but both of us just can't bear the thought of getting on anything with wheels today. So it's officially an internet-laundry-chilling out day.

Hopefully by tomorrow we will be ready again to take on the Philippines in all it's transportation glory!

written by  Groovespook on July 23, 2010 from Dumaguete, Philippines
from the travel blog: Nuttter and Groovespook go Philippine island hopping
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