Carlos' Shots from Manila

Manila was not one of the better cities I've been to but it was the best place to start the trip, so it was stop number one. Maybe because of my lack of motivation to spend a lot of time in the city, my photography of the place wasn't much of a success but my experience was actually not all that bad. We had some good meals there and met some very nice people. It was a preview to the kindness and free spirit the Filipinos all seem to have. The city was very busy but calm in a sense that you don't feel a lot of anger in the organized chaos. Although seemingly scary or maybe dangerous it was actually fairly safe (well at least we had no issues,) so that was a relief. The photos I've collected in some of the other places we've visited so far are more of what I hoped to capture ( which we will be posting soon) but here are a few so you know there are actually photos being taken on this odyssey!

Jen's Photo highlights from Manila

Boracay

Carlos and I made the full day trek from Sabang, Mindoro to the beautiful Island of Boracay. One 25 minute Jeepney ride, one 2 hour Jeepney ride (at times off-roading), 3 hour van ride, 4 hour ferry ride, 10 minute banka (boat) ride, 15 minute tricycle (like a tuk tuk) ride, one gravol, 1/4 bottle of SPF 50, and two squatter toilets later, we arrived at "Club Ten" in Boracay. By this time it was about 10pm and we were starving. The guy at the hotel pointed us down a long and narrow ally towards the beach. The ally was dark and dirty and quiet, but as soon as we got to the end of it, the beach greeted us with an unexpected sensory overload of music, lights, and the delicious aroma of the many restaurants lined up along the beach. We chose a restaurant where a guy and his guitar filled the atmosphere with songs from Jack Johnson and John Mayer. We sat at a table closest to the water, took off our shoes and buried our toes in some of the softest sand I've ever felt. To the right were huge palm trees decorated with little white lanterns, and to the left - the crystal clear water of Boracay. In one word it was... Perfection.

Carlos and I spent the next few days chillin on the beach, snapping photos, eating prawn curry and tofu salpicao for lunch, and of course making friends with the little kitten at our hotel I named "Palaboy" which means homeless or stray. There were some big parties going on all weekend for Chinese New Year, so on our second night we walked along the beach to a club where we met some Canadians and had our first dance in a club! The next night we chose this chillaxed looking Chinese restaurant that had low tables and benches on the sand and little red lanterns everywhere. We shared lotus fried rice, stirfried veg and tofu, and some prawn dumplings. A firefdancer performed for us beside the crashing waves, and the waiter asked us "do you think that's a boy or a girl?" I was totally convinced it was a girl until the moment he said that! At the end of dinner were able to watch the fireworks display going on down the beach. Such a relaxing night... oh and at least once a night the power goes out for about a minute which is just enough time to glimpse up past the palm trees into the night sky and see just how bright the stars are...

Just so you know...

*DISCLAIMER*

Just wanted to let you all know that right now we have only been able to upload some snapshots taken with my little point & shoot. We will be posting some of our better stuff soon! :)

J & C

Getting Wet in Sabang

Our second stop on the trip as Jen has mentioned was Sabang, a small town on the island of Mindoro. Although the better beach is definitely White Beach, we chose Sabang because it's the major hub for diving as it is closer to all of the sites. Having some of the Philippines best diving, I figured it would be a great place to start my diving career. After some price shopping, I settled on South Sea Divers to start my Open Water Certification. The instructor was an American guy who had been there for 28 years and co-owns the place with a Canadian hailing from Montreal. He was definitely an eccentric-hippy-type, but a great teacher and he made the whole experience as comfortable as possible.

We started off with an eye blurring amount of videos as they are required for the course on top of the 130 pages I crammed in the night before. We then headed off to the pool for my first time breathing under water. The deep end of the pool only came up to my chest when standing, and the water was cloudy and freezing, so I wasn't the biggest fan, but it did give me the confidence to head out to the ocean. My first dive was so much more than I expected. It was just off the beach in the bay, but still full of plenty to see and experience. It wasn't till the second dive that we headed out to one of Sabang's highlight dive spots Sanandigan Wall. The experience of diving was exhilerating. It was like being allowed to enter a world that wasn't your own and every part of it alien, even in it's similarities. Despite this, it was all very tranquil. It was very full of life and activity, but there was a calming about it all. A relaxing sensation as you float around in your own little world, watching their world happen around you. In the end, it was an amazing experience and I'm very much looking forward to my next dives in Boaracay and Palawan.

A Lesson in Transportation

Our last day in Manila definitely taught us a lesson in transportation. We decided to travel from Manila to Mindoro, the seventh largest island in the Philippines. From the hotel we caught a cab to the bus station. The drive there was filled with what to us seemed like complete chaos. There were Jeepneys every where. Jeepneys are the most popular form of transportation here in the Philippines. The original ones were left over US military jeeps from World War II.

The rules to driving here are simple: There are no rules. It baffles me why they even have lines on the roads because nobody drives between them. More often then not, they drive on top of the line so that it is easier to weave in and out of traffic. If you can get your nose in front of the next car, then you have the right to go. A little beep to let the other car know you're there, and away you go. It doesn't phase the people walking along the street either. People don't flinch as Jeepneys honk and drive centimeters away from them. It's all a part of the chaotic life of Manila. And the chaos didn't stop there.

We got out of the cab at the bus station and were swarmed by people "where are you going, mamn, sir?" As soon as we told them we were going to the ferry station, we were swooped up towards a bus crammed between many other buses. The driver took our backpacks and put them in the compartment under the bus. I quickly grabbed my hoodie thinking I might be cold on the bus. I don't know what I was thinking. The bus was jammed packed. Luckily there was air conditioning. And real air conditioning too - not just fans on the ceiling. There were three people to one bench so I crammed between Carlos and some Filipino guy who ended up practically sleeping on my shoulder for parts of the 3 hour bus ride.

Just before we left the station about 12 people appeared on the bus, walking up and down the already crowded aisle. They were selling everything from water, to pork grinds, to peanuts. One guy even had about ten boxes of pies stacked in his left hand trying to sell off pieces.

Finally the bus started driving and thankfully we got to watch a movie on Carlos' itouch which helped distract me from all the bumps and jiggles of the bus, and more importantly from the sweaty arm of the guy sitting next to me.

We arrived at the ferry station where we were greeted with our now close companion called Chaos. "where you go, mamn, sir?" "White Beach," we replied and are immediately swept away by strangers who direct us to one counter to buy a ticket. "Last boat - hurry hurry." Now it seems as if we are in a panic to get onto the last boat to White Beach, Mindoro. The stranger then ushered us to another counter where we had to pay 40 more pesos just to leave the dock, we got swept away again past the gate just in time to hear our helpful stranger say "tip mamn?" - but it's too late, we had broken into a brisk walk towards the people who are frantically waving us towards the boat. It is long and narrow, painted red and white, with long pieces of bamboo that reach off the side of the boat, stabilizing us in the water. We walked along a small plank from the dock to the boat, trying to stay balanced with a backpack on both our backs and our fronts. All I can think about is if I fall, my camera equipment and computer are toast. We made it to the boat and there is just enough room for us to sit at the front. We put our bags down and took a seat.

Finally there is calm - and then the boat started. It began nice and calm, but as soon as we got further into the water, it got choppy and the boat began to bounce up and down over the waves. I looked around the boat. On the ceiling was painted "In God We Trust." Across from me, a younger Filipino guy jokes with his friends and makes the sign of the cross, praying we make it! Carlos, who was sitting closer to the front gets splashed with water, while I just keep my eyes focused on the horizon, a trick I learned in Australia to keep yourself from feeling sick. At the front the guy who is directing the boat is standing on the edge, hands in his pockets, no railing to hold him in. It amazes me how people do things with such ease around here.

Carlos pulls out our Lonely Planet book. "Uh oh" he said with a major I'm-in-trouble kind of smirk on his face. I looked over and highlighted in bright yellow marker it says "White Beach is to be avoided." Great, I thought... just great. But a few minutes later we are pulling up to the island just as the sun is setting behind these island mountains, and all I can see are hundreds of beautifully silhouetted palm trees. Forget what Lonely says... this is Paradise!

Once of the boat we are surrounded by people again... this time it's tuk tuk drivers. They asked us if we want to go to White Beach or Sabang Beach. We still had a choice! We decided to go with Lonely Planet's recommendation after all and head to Sabang - the livelier part of the island. Carlos and I crammed into a tiny tuk tuk. We have to duck because the roof is so short, and off we went! We drove about 15 minutes up and down the winding island roads, with a honk from the occasional motor bike or jeepney that passes us. Finally we saw a little town on the beach. The tuk tuk came to a stop at a sign that said no more traffic. We got out and were greeted by even more people wanting to know where we were going. We had a place in mind so we tried to ignore everyone and keep walking, but a lady followed us and ended up showing us numerous guest houses because the place we chose was full. Finally we settled on a place that was a bit above our budget, but it was nice we were tired. We settled in for a bit and decided to go for dinner.



The restaurant we chose was on the beach - literally. The floor was actually the beach sand, and we ordered two San Miguel beer (only 40 pesos each - just over a dollar Canadian), and a curry to share. We couldn't figure out why there were napkins stuck at the top of our bottles (later we find out it's to clean it because the bottles are reused).

Before our meal arrived a little white kitten walked past our table. I made the mistake of chirping at it and it came over to my side. Every time I looked down to see if it was still there, it looked at me with sad eyes and opened it's mouth to meow, but was so weak no sound came out. I moved forward on my chair because I was afraid Kitty was going to jump on my lap (They can sense soft hearts - I swear). My plan backfired a second later when Kitty jumped on my chair behind me. I froze. I had never been so scared of a little kitten before. What if it scratches me? or bites me? I'll get rabies and die... (all these thoughts put into my head by my mom, thank you very much) but then Kitty jumped on the ledge beside the table and when the server came over she scared Kitty into the garden. Safe again. But as we ate our delicious Thai Prawn and peanut curry, even from the garden I could see Kitty open her mouth as if to say "Please?"

Manila, Philippines

Carlos & I at YVR

After about 17 hours of travel time and a quick stop in Seoul, Korea, we finally made it to Manila, Philippines. The flights were fine, got to try some Korean food... and in typical Jen fashion, I managed to sleep pretty much the entire way!(Carlos was not so lucky) We stayed in a nice hotel called Somerset Olympia, in Makati, which is the financial district of Manila and were able to get a nice sleep before starting our tour of the City. (Thanks Mom & Dad)!


Our one photo of our stop in Korea


The view from our hotel

Yesterday we woke up quite early, had complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel and then took off to explore. We went first to Rizal Park, which is the site of some very significant moments in Philippine history. The park was named after Dr. José Rizal who was executed on December 30, 1896 and became a hero of the Philippine revolution. We were able to go into a part of the part where statues were placed in a re-enactment of the execution.

There were many people at the park, not very many tourists so we stuck out quite a bit. We stopped to watch some people doing Eskrima (a Philippine martial art with sticks) and a nice man named Paul came over to talk to us. He explained to us the significant parts of the park and what to watch out for. There were many sad homeless cats in the park, (one with half a leg missing, one with only one eye...) which reminded me a lot of Thailand (and no - Kim I didn't pick any up).

Since it was Sunday the museum by the park was free so we popped in there and took a look around. Then we took something that resembled a TukTuk to a little a fortress called Intramuros built by the Spanish in the 16th Century.


Carlos as a soldier

Next, we headed to the Greenbelt mall for some lunch and a look around. This mall has five different sections filled with stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. It was such a stark contrast from the area we had to drive through to get there. Each time you enter a building of the mall you are checked by security. Between the five building of the mall was a nice patio area with restaurants where we sat down for a drink.


My Lunch = Tofu

Later we went back to our hotel to get ready to go for dinner and relax a bit after a day of walking around... but we didn't end up making it for dinner as the time difference got the best of us and we were asleep by 7:30pm. Now its getting organized and heading out of Manila, towards the white sands of White Beach on Mindoro.

WELCOME TO OUR PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY!

I know you are all waiting to find out what this is all about! We are about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime!

WHAT IS A PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY?

JEN: An Odyssey is described as "a long series of wanderings or adventures, especially when filled with notable experiences." Carlos and I are both photographers and we both love to travel, so with a bit of brainstorming we came up with the name Our Photographic Odyssey.

CARLOS: Simply put, an Odyssey with photography thrown into the mix. I think odyssey is most fitting because for the most part this is an adventure where although we have a general idea of where we are going, wandering and exploring is exactly what we are doing.

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

JEN:
Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam. If anyone has any suggestions or tips please let us know. :)

CARLOS: Nothing is set in stone but as of now, we have tickets for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS IDEA?

JEN: I'll start from the beginning. Carlos and I met each other in a photography class late in September 2007. After the second class, a bunch of us went next door for a coffee. Carlos and I both found out that not only did we both love photography, but we also loved to travel. Our perfect dream would be to take off traveling the world to take photos. I said, "Let's do it! Let's quit our jobs, and travel the world!" He agreed and here we are. (Yes, life CAN be that simple).

CARLOS: Technically, we came up with the idea the second day Jen and I met but as our relationship developed so did our plans to travel. Visiting Asia has always been a dream of mine, and as Jen loved her last trip out here we agreed that this would be a great starting point in what will hopefully be our dream of seeing the whole world!


WHY?

JEN: Why not? Life is about living, so you may as well live it the way you want to. Life is about experience and living in the moment. To have the opportunity to live your dreams and not take it would be foolish.

CARLOS: Life is a very important gift that should be fully taken advantage of and that is what I'm trying to do. I think a lot of people here lost their way in life and are living for the wrong reasons. We are meant to be happy and to follow our dreams. I am most happy traveling and embracing the beauty in the world, so I am focusing my energy on being able to do this.

BIGGEST SETBACK:

JEN: For me, I think it was worrying about what other people would think. I didn't want to disappoint my family or the people I worked with. But in the end I realized it was wrong of me to worry because everyone was more than supportive and I am very thankful for that.

CARLOS: I think the challenges that come along with traveling are a necessary part, so I don't really see them as a set back, but more as learning experiences and character building pieces in a true travel experience.

BIGGEST INSPIRATION:

JEN: Carlos. Without a doubt. He has taught me so much about being positive and has proved to me that you really can make your dreams come true.

CARLOS: I have a few, but my family being number one. They support me and love me so much that I feel anything is possible and any feelings of doubt or fear are always over-powered. Next would have to be everyone who is afraid to follow their dreams and those who are unable to. I feel very privileged to have the ability to do this and have the courage as well. Focusing on the things that aren't actually important in life, such as material gains have created a world where we put our own borders on ourselves, but if we can summon the courage to overcome that and other fears, the world opens up to us.


WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START THIS BLOG?

JEN: Who doesn't have a blog? First of all we wanted to keep everyone up to date on our adventures. Secondly, I feel like we are being bombarded by negative media all the time and I thought this would be a positive blog to show others out there that anything is possible if you believe it can be. Please leave comments for us when you visit the blog!

CARLOS: To share with friends, family and anyone else who may be interested in our amazing trip. We want to show the beauty that is in this world, hopefully relieving everyone from the constant negative images bombarding us in the modern media. And if we are lucky, to inspire people to follow their own dreams.


WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN FROM THIS ODYSSEY:

JEN: Well the obvious reason is to expand my photographic portfolio. Besides that, I want to gain a greater perspective on life. My experiences in traveling have always been eye-opening and I can only imagine what this trip will reveal to me.

CARLOS: Life experience, good memories and a greater appreciation for our world. Experiences and knowledge are things that can never be taken away so to me they are things of greatest value.

COMING TO A BLOG NEAR YOU....

January 16th, 2009