Friendly Encounters

So when last we left off I was in Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

On my last couple days there I took care of extending my visa, because I'm here a about 5 days over the 21 days they give you when you fly in. I then booked a trip to the Underground River. Which was a blast, but also required patience.

The trip was 2 hours of diving to get to the first stop of the tour. There we ate a wonderful buffet lunch while we waited for our boat to be ready which would take us to the area we would take a boat tour of the underground river. They only allow 700 people in a day, and I believe it's supposed

to be allotted time slots, but with coordinating boat ferries to the location and then boat trips through the river once you are there you end up with having to learn to be patient and appreciate the beauty around you.

Luckily I made some friends with a family on my trip. Their kindness

really made the trip. They were so friendly and spilled with positivity. In fact I was amazed they told me this story that last month, August their house in Manilla was in a flash flood, and they were having to live on the 2nd floor of their house for over a week eating only what they had. It ruined their downstairs and they lost their car. Were they angry or bitter, absolutely not. They are building a new house in an area not in a flood zone, and they seemed to live in happiness and acceptance about the situation. It gives me something to strive for. I want to be able to still bring positive energy to this world and accept the stuff I can't control. We're now facebook friends so you know that it's officially a real friendship

now :D, but really if they hadn't been there the trip would still have been neat, but not nearly as fulfilling as it ended up being.

I was also told that Filipinos love the mall, and when we got back to Puerto Princesa city from the trip I found out why. I went there and watched a movie, and it was heavenly. When you're in a developing area especially in the tropics it's like having a little bit of luxury to go to a nice, clean, air conditioned place and just relax. I went to a movie. The only American one that was playing was Resident Evil: Retribution. There was terrible acting, but whatever it was nice to have popcorn, drink a soda, and watch a movie. And the movie was cheap. It was in 3D and cost about $5.

I then flew out to Cebu. Once landing in Cebu I used the jeepneys to get to get to a bed and breakfast I had found online. I was actually pretty proud of myself for figuring the jeepneys out. You basically jump on these trucks with benches in the back and pack yourself in until you reach different stops. I had to take 2 to get to SM City, a big mall in Cebu, which was a block away from my hostel.

It was nice having the mall near by, because most of the stores take credit cards, which was great, because I still don't have an ATM card, but I did receive my pin to my credit card so I can now pull out cash. It's more expensive, but at least I have options now.

Today I went to the mall and got Siopao, a steamed bun with sweet meat inside, for breakfast and then tried going to church. It was a Tagalog mass when I went. I still stayed for a little and then

walked down to this area that was home to Fort San Pedro which is a military defense structure that was built by the Spanish during there occupation in the Philippines. it now has beautiful courtyards overflowing with flowers and trees.

While there I met a South Korean guy named James whose in Cebu studying English at an international school. He was so friendly and nice and had an infectious laugh. We went around to see Magellan's Cross, Balisca Minore Del Santo Nino (one of the holiest of churches built in 1565, burned down 3 times and then rebuilt in 1737), and then we

managed our way on jeepneys to go to see a Toaist temple located in a swanky rich neighborhood of Cebu. After running around seeing sights all day James and I made it back to SM City mall and had dinner. He has to do school work all this week, but next weekend we'll probably meet up and hang out again.

I feel so blessed to have met so many amazing people on this trip. I've definitely had a rough start, but have no reason to complain about anything. Ultimately I'm blessed to be able to be on this trip, and blessed to be able to learn whatever lessons come my way.

If anyone wants to view my pictures from Palawan here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4255828510593.175723.1132242665&type=1&l=f701f97ef5

And from Cebu so far:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4276770314125.176269.1132242665&type=1&l=502a4e3ba8

written by

Kirk on September 16, 2012 from Cebu City, Philippines

from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure

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I found that like your trip

written by

longrbl on September 16, 2012

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