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Day 4 in the Philippines - Travel Day - Nalusuan Island, Mactan Island, Cebu & Bohol

2/21/2014

December 28, 2013

We didn't leave Nalusuan until after lunch. I took a few pictures of sunrise but for most of the morning I put my camera down and just soaked in the natural beauty of this piece of paradise on earth.

This morning the kids ask if I would wake them up so they could see sunrise - that impressed me. They really enjoyed the island too even though there was no electricity or internet (OK,OK Boy 1 didn't LOVE it as much as the others...and he may have rejoiced a little when we boarded the boat to leave, but I know he enjoyed himself too....)

Just thinking about being on the island sends a calming sensation throughout my body, mind and soul.
I cannot tell you how much I loved this place.

For breakfast Governor Lala (I can't help but think of the Teletubbies every time I say her name....Governor Lala - it just makes me smile!!!) offered us a local breakfast food, dried Rabbit Fish.

Of course we accepted.
And guess what?
Delicious.
Really.
I would eat this regularly.
It was a little salty, a little crunchy a little yummy.

Isn't it beautiful?

Cool video we took in the water...
This plant (or whatever it is) just disappears after touching it.

Lunch!

Goodbye Nalusuan....I hope we meet again.

The moment you realize your children are really world travelers...
They get on a boat and it is so second nature they fall right to sleep and don't care to look around.
For me, there is way too much to see.

Dive boats....

Fishermen, calm waters, & tons of little random islands...

Upon arriving back on Mactan Island we took a cab to Cebu.
Reconfirming that Mactan Island & now Cebu are NOT 2 of my favorite places on earth.

I did get a kick out of them advertising "Free Facebook".

This picture is just wrong.
I am assuming this is a toy gun.

For the life of us we could not figure out what this sign means. Red cars on one side, black on the other?

Just like in most Asian country, motor bikes are the primary mode of transportation. This family bought LOTS of rice.

Traveling across the bridge into Cebu this was our view.

We were driving so I couldn't get a great shot, but these houses over water were stacked right on top of each other.

Getting ready to take the "Super Cat" ferry to Bohol (Tagbilaran), another island in the Philippines.
Traveling by ferry is a very economical way to travel around the Philippines. For the 6 of us it cost around $100 USD ROUND TRIP and it takes about 2 hours each way.

By the time we got to Bohol it was dark and we headed straight to our B&B, Isola Bella Beach Resort where we had our BEST meal to date in the Philippines. And we thought the food on Nalusuan was good!

Butter chicken.
This was my FAVORITE dish .... so bad for you yet so good!!

Everything was delicious!
We ordered way too much food and ate every bit.

Tomorrow...Bohol!

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Nalusuan Island, Day 2 Living the Good Life

2/19/2014

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December 27th 2013

Day 2 on Nalusuan and I was already kicking myself for not booking more days at this little slice of paradise on earth.
I woke up right as the sun started to rise and it was magical, something I could SO get used to.

Good morning sun.

After sitting on the balcony for a few minutes to watch the sun rise I decided to go for a walk around the island...

After a little while Hubby joined me.

I can't tell you how peaceful it was on the pier.
I mean look at how calm the water is.
I could get used to this life.

I also couldn't get over how the sky was changing every few seconds.
I think I have 100 shots of sunrise.

Look at how calm the water is.

It wasn't too long before our people started waking and peering over their balconies to say good morning.

And then it was time to start our fun filled day of snorkeling (for hours!!), playing on the beach when low tide came in and then jumping off the pier when it was high tide!

This was the first time I had ever seen star fishtracks!
Can you find the starfish in the picture that has 6 legs?
I didn't even notice that until a friend pointed it out AFTER we were home!

The starfish were incredible and they came in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes!

We have no idea what was doing this - they were all over the beach!
We tried to dig it up and look, but we could find nothing.
Do you know what it is?

We could walk for a good mile in the water.

Boy 1 introduced us to the game 'Ninja' which we played often while on the island. I am sure many of the tourist that flock to the island for snorkeling and scuba diving between the hours of 11 & 5 could not figure out what the crazy American's were doing.

Someone found a nice and relaxing spot!

I don't have an underwater camera so I didn't get any snorkeling shots, but the snorkeling was the best we have ever done. The live coral which was just a few feet from the pier was spectacular. I've never seen so many colors and so many different types of live coral & fish as there were here and we have been snorkeling and diving in many locations across the world. By far my favorite place for snorkeling, hands down!

At the end of the day when all the tourist left we and it was high tide we headed out for a little pier diving!

As soon as he knocked his dad off the pier, HE RAN!

My favorite day on vacation EVER.

At the end of day 2 the island was all a buzz....
Governor Lala was arriving!
Governor Lala owns the island.

Goodnight Nalusuan.
I can't wait to see you in the morning.

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Nalusuan Island, Arrival Day

2/18/2014

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December 26th we headed to Pongo Marigundun Port to be picked up by boat to be taken to Nalusuan Island which is about a one hour boat ride from Mactan Island. No one seemed to know where Pongo Marigundun Port was, luckily Mactan Island isn't very big so it was not too difficult to find although at first we were not sure we would ever get there. Our boat pick up time was scheduled for 3pm. What we had already learned in our 1.5 days in the Philippines is that everyone is always late. They are totally on island time. Pick up time at the port was no exception. I think we were finally picked up around 4:20PM.

The port at Pongo Marigundun was awesome! We wish we had more time to check this out - (if we had only known how late our boat was going to be...) - but it was fun talking to the locals and getting the scoop. The huts below are for day rental for just a few dollars you can rent one for the day and just hang out and have a good time with your family. Most of the people that frequent this area are locals. This is a place we believe we would have LOVED to spend a day!!

On the other side of the port were hotels...again, most of the patrons are locals and the hotel didn't look all that great, but we would have happily stayed here for a little fun in the sun! There is always next time - right?

Our boat to Nalusuan was very small, just big enough for our family and the two crew members.
The island in the picture is Nalusuan.
It is a little big bigger than a football field.

We totally felt like VIP's when arriving to the island.
They really didn't want us to carry our own backpacks, but most of us insisted, they insisted more and ended up taking them from us and in return they gave us shell necklaces and orange juice upon arrival.

Feeling special.
I'm already in love with this place.

The rooms were very small, but ADORABLE even if Hubby and I had to sleep in separate beds.
Check out our balcony.
Our room was on stilts in the water.

We had 3 rooms, 2 kids on either side of our room.
The kids loved having their own space.
Even if there was no electricity from 8AM-6PM
and NO TV or internet AT ALL.

This place is magical.

The pier was longer than the entire island.

And this is what you could see with the naked eye from the side of the pier.
How many star fish can you count?
Can you see the little nemo fish off to the right?
And the striped fish towards the bottom center?

2 of my precious boys.

There was an anemone below the sign with tons of clown fish and you could see it by just looking into the water!

The sky was amazing!
(Those are our rooms on the left side of the screen!)

And the water was so clear!

I had no idea blue star fish like this even existed!

I cannot tell you how peaceful this place is.
And my pictures do not do it justice.

This picture was taken from the front window in our room.

I've never seen such beautiful skies......

Our dining experience was just as amazing as our arrival.
We had our own private table.
In fact, we had our own private island for the first night as we were the only guest on the island.
When we went out for dinner our table was already set and waiting for us.
We started with sizzling squid - which was just as AMAZING as it looks.

Boy 1 had fish soup, with the head and all.
Aren't our kids awesome?
He didn't even flinch at having a fish head in his soup.
He even had to share the eyeballs with Boy 2.
True story.
(I know..they are weird and awesome all at the same time! But I wouldn't have them any other way!)

Girl and Boy 1 stuck to more traditional chicken on a stick.

Our first night on Nalusuan was awesome.
I couldn't wait to see what the morning would bring us.....

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Christmas Day With Friends!

2/17/2014

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After our tour of Mactan Island we headed over to Plantation Bay to visit 3 sets of friends vacationing in the Philippines as well. While on the grounds of Plantation Bay you definitely do not feel like you are in the Philippines that we just saw earlier in the day. This is an all inclusive resort where you do not have to leave if you choose not to (in fact they encourage you not to!). Everything you would ever need is located within beautifully maintained walls Plantation Bay. It truly is a paradise and our kids were a little miffed that we were backpacking it through the Philippines livin' the rough life while their friends were livin' the good life in paradise. (CRAP...they have seen the OTHER SIDE!!)

They take pool safety very seriously here.
Repeated screaming is not allowed - they WILL (not that we know..) ask you to stop.
And if you want to swim before 8AM or after 8PM they will wake a lifeguard up so you don't drown.

And if they are really afraid you don't know how to swim they will give you a life jacket & a raft to help you stay afloat in water that if you just stand up in you will be fine.

Life is good!
Friends, fun, swim up bar, relaxed husbands, SERIOUS life guards watching your kids.
A girl can't ask for much more!

By this point we had lost track of how many pools were at this place!
But no worries, there were lifeguards EVERYWHERE.

Ahhh....we have the most beautiful daughters!

I love this sassy girl!

Between the 4 families here we have 13 kids!
(Not all kids are pictured.)

The resort's show for the evening was American Pop Culture.
What I took away from this show is that Texas & Top Gun are the two biggest things that influence what Filipinos think of America.

And check it out...a Christmas miracle we caught someone having fun!

From shanty shacks to a 5 five star luxury resort...
What a great Christmas Day in the Philippines!

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Christmas Morning - Mactan Island, Cebu Provence, Philippines

2/16/2014

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Mactan Island covers is 25 square miles, and is home to roughly 430,000 people making it the nation's most densely populated island.

We stayed at Green Gate B&B on Mactan Island, it was in the middle of the island so super just a short cab ride to most things. The owners Grant and Violet couldn't be nicer, but the house was a bit run down. Hubby and I kept talking about how fabulous it must have been once upon a time and what we could do to fix it up - it truly could be a magnificent house. I can't believe I didn't take pictures of it...seriously I'm kicking myself! The B&B is behind a huge gate and you feel totally safe behind those gates!

This is the roof top view and the waterfall (without water going into the pool.) Since we were the only guest we had the place and the pool to ourselves which was an AWESOME thing to wake up to.

Breakfast was simple but nice....we ate outside by the pool.

The younger kids had a great time playing in the pool while the teenager was no where to be seen for hours. :o)

While on the rooftop I looked outside out gated area to see the view.
Goats and shacks.
I would soon come to discover this is Mactan Island EVERYWHERE except behind closed gates.

Unfortunately we couldn't exchange money before arriving in the Philippines and arriving on Christmas morning made exchanging money a little more difficult. However Grant (the owner of the B&B) had some errands to run so he offered to take us with him. This is when we got our first taste of the 'real Mactan' island, and let me tell you, I wasn't sold. Most of these pictures were taken from a moving car.

Tricycle are the most common mode of transportation for tourist & locals. The price depends on the distance, 2 pesos for short trips, 12 pesos for longer trips. That is any from 4 cents to 25 cents a ride! STOP IT, I know!

Downtown

I spied some mangosteens on the side of the road so I ask Grant to pull over. We were both completely SHOCKED when she tried to sell a kilo to me for 350 pesos!! Are you kidding me? That is almost $8USD! I thought this was the Philippines people!

No, I didn't ask about the durians. I have yet to try them. I really don't think I ever will but maybe who knows....

Grant and I trying to bargain at another vendor selling mangosteens. Another no-go. I know, I know I should have bought them anyway, I mean really how often do I get to eat that delicious little fruit? I totally missed out.

As we continued on our trek to find a money exchange place we saw more of the lovely countryside:
(insert sarcasm here if you didn't catch that...)

This is a typical store on Mactan Island.

A home?

I really think the area to the right is a restaurant.

A neighborhood.

Goats and chickens were EVERYWHERE.
Chickens were tethered to things by a clamp around their leg.
Most goats roamed free.

Not a spa I would ever want to visit.

Another common mode of transportation it the Philippines is the Jeepney (The van looking thing to the left). Jeepneys are taken mostly by locals the price is 4 pesos for the first 3 kilometers and 1 peso for each kilometer after that. 1 peso equals about .02 cents US. Jeepneys have a fixed route, similar to a bus in other cities.

The possibilities of this being a store and those clothes being for sell is very likely.

OH, something I DID NOT get a picture of....
While we were driving I looked over and saw a half naked woman in a field - I had to do a double take. She was squatting. As I continued to gawk she picked a leaf from a bush and wiped her ass. TRUE STORY. She was taking a dump in front of God and everyone passing by.

Needless to say my first impression of Mactan Island, Philippines has not been a good one.....

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Christmas Vacation 2013

2/15/2014

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Oh yeah, I'm this far behind.

This is the way we travel now.
If you can't carry it, you can't take it.

We woke up early on Christmas Eve and celebrated Christmas!

We spent the day hanging out, playing with our new toys and then hit the road for Christmas Vacation, Six in Seoul style! Our flight was supposed to leave Seoul around 10PM, however Cebu Pacific Air is know for delays...in fact the announcement they made was "we are sorry your flight is delayed because the air plane is late. Don't worry we will board the plane as soon as we are ready'.

At least my peeps had their Christmas toys to keep them occupied.

We ended up arriving in the Philippines sometime after 3AM.

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NQR #49

2/10/2014

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Corn ice cream.
Enough said.

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“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

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Hi, I'm Trish, the writer, creator and photographer of this blog. I started this blog for 2 reasons, 1 - When I found out we were moving to Korea back in 2008 I was a little freaked out and started scouring the internet for information on Korea. At that time there wasn't much out there so I am doing my part in helping families across the world not be so freaked out when it comes time to move to Korea. The 2nd reason I started this blog was to help stay connected to family members back in the states. Today it is so much more that.
I hope you enjoy our journey.

Are you moving to Korea? Do you have questions, concerns? Are you freaking out? Freak out no further - click the button to ask a question. I'll do my best to answer open and honestly.

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Day 4 in the Philippines - Travel Day - Nalusuan Island, Mactan Island, Cebu & Bohol

Nalusuan Island, Day 2 Living the Good Life

Nalusuan Island, Arrival Day

Christmas Day With Friends!

Christmas Morning - Mactan Island, Cebu Provence, Philippines

Christmas Vacation 2013

NQR #49

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