top fives
i'm just about ready to leave the philippines - only one more day in manila - so i've logically decided to come up with a series of top fives.
Top Five Most Frightening Moments (to follow up the last blog)
1. monkey attack
2. spotting a banded sea snake in the water from a boat, then seeing two more in the water with me
3. happening upon an enormous spider about to give birth on my mosquito net
4. talking to a drunk german tourist who insisted that without germany america would be nothing because a german man first invented the rocket engine
5. waking up after a night of bad pesto pasta consumption ill enough to start researching the symptoms of typoid fever
Top Five Most Irritating Moments
1. seven hour busride with a guy who kept asking me questions like, "when you close your eyes, what do you see?"
2. realizing on at least several occasions that someone is only talking to me because they want money or something free
3. finding out my shoes had been stolen
4. whenever someone says to me, "hey, baby" or "hey, kano"
5. everytime a tricycle driver stops to ask me if i want a ride like i'm too stupid to stick my arm up in the air.
Top Five Best Hotels
1. Pension Natividad, Manila
2. Casa Linda, Puerto Princesa
3. Greenview, Banaue
4. Taanayaman Beach Resort, outside Mamburao
5. North Pandan Island Beach Resort, off of Sablayan (Mindoro), but only if you can get a tent on the beach for a mere 150 pesos
Top Five Best Moments or Places
1. rice terrace hiking anywhere near Banaue, but especially in Batad. Johnson is a great guide who will answer any questions you have about the area.
2. island tours and hopping in the bay by El Nido; for 600 pesos someone will drop you off on your own private beach for the day.
3. singing kareoke, speaking French, and drinking wine at the El Nido Art Cafe with the owner and her guitar-playing musician husband. you can overestimate the value of good people.
4. sleeping under the moon, stars, and coconut trees on North Pandan Island
5. the dramatic, terrace-filled, sometimes higher than the clouds ride from Bontoc to Baguio along the Halemsa Highway
Top Five Recommended Places to Go
1. Banaue & Batad (terraces, dramatic scenery, hiking)
2. El Nido (limestone cliffs, clean ocean waters, good snorkeling)
3. Baguio (cheap internet, modern feel with less crap to deal with than manila)
4. Abadan (beautiful town on Halemsa Highway)
5. Mamburao (sleepy little place with some nice beaches and very few tourists)
Top Five Most Frightening Moments (to follow up the last blog)
1. monkey attack
2. spotting a banded sea snake in the water from a boat, then seeing two more in the water with me
3. happening upon an enormous spider about to give birth on my mosquito net
4. talking to a drunk german tourist who insisted that without germany america would be nothing because a german man first invented the rocket engine
5. waking up after a night of bad pesto pasta consumption ill enough to start researching the symptoms of typoid fever
Top Five Most Irritating Moments
1. seven hour busride with a guy who kept asking me questions like, "when you close your eyes, what do you see?"
2. realizing on at least several occasions that someone is only talking to me because they want money or something free
3. finding out my shoes had been stolen
4. whenever someone says to me, "hey, baby" or "hey, kano"
5. everytime a tricycle driver stops to ask me if i want a ride like i'm too stupid to stick my arm up in the air.
Top Five Best Hotels
1. Pension Natividad, Manila
2. Casa Linda, Puerto Princesa
3. Greenview, Banaue
4. Taanayaman Beach Resort, outside Mamburao
5. North Pandan Island Beach Resort, off of Sablayan (Mindoro), but only if you can get a tent on the beach for a mere 150 pesos
Top Five Best Moments or Places
1. rice terrace hiking anywhere near Banaue, but especially in Batad. Johnson is a great guide who will answer any questions you have about the area.
2. island tours and hopping in the bay by El Nido; for 600 pesos someone will drop you off on your own private beach for the day.
3. singing kareoke, speaking French, and drinking wine at the El Nido Art Cafe with the owner and her guitar-playing musician husband. you can overestimate the value of good people.
4. sleeping under the moon, stars, and coconut trees on North Pandan Island
5. the dramatic, terrace-filled, sometimes higher than the clouds ride from Bontoc to Baguio along the Halemsa Highway
Top Five Recommended Places to Go
1. Banaue & Batad (terraces, dramatic scenery, hiking)
2. El Nido (limestone cliffs, clean ocean waters, good snorkeling)
3. Baguio (cheap internet, modern feel with less crap to deal with than manila)
4. Abadan (beautiful town on Halemsa Highway)
5. Mamburao (sleepy little place with some nice beaches and very few tourists)
posted by bethany at 11:03
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