We landed in Manila late afternoon and by the time we got in the taxi it was already getting dark. This was disappointing as we couldn’t see anything of the country on the way to our destination.
We knew we were just outside a small rural town and had avoided the main resorts as we felt they would be too seperated from the reality of the country.
After a three hour drive we went through the small town. A 7/11 and narrow streets with shanty type stores as expected. A little past the town there was a turn off down a mud track,a bit worrying, then the resort. A short walk from the empty car park to the buildings and then suddenly staff emerged to our relief and that of our rather concerned taxi driver.
The resort seemed very quiet and empty but as it was about 10pm it probably wasn’t surprising.
The next day we found the lovely sea view 😍 We also found that everything was cash only, so I needed to find an ATM before too long and also a supply of wine as the hotel only sold beer!
So off I went to town as the 7/11 had an ATM and hopefully wine. I quickly got offered a taxi ride in a side car and off I went. Much better than walking in the heat.
The reality was, that the 7/11 and the bank’s ATMs were not working. I eventually found that there was another 7/11 with a working ATM 1km away, however the shopkeeper wouldn’t let me walk, she insisted on me taking a taxi and him waiting for me. I worked out wealthy white lady looking for ATM, possible easy victim for mugging by the bigger guys hanging around at the counter hearing my enquiries, so off I we went in the taxi and eventually got back to the hotel with both money and a few days supply of wine!
After the sophistication of Japan the hotel seemed a bit basic. However, in local terms it must have been good as it was heavily booked for conferences. On our first morning as I left first thing for the town their carpark was already full with more cars coming. This was a conference for a real estate company where all their staff stayed overnight. The staff regarded this as a real treat ans some had also come from Manila.
As the tide rolled out we found the sandy beach and later the magnificent sunset.
We didn’t have great expectations for the weather the forecast had been pretty consistent for weeks. However, on the whole we had fantastic weather, a couple of short heavy showers and that was it.
I felt rather trapped in the resort but I didn’t make too much effort to travel. This was our downtime week. A chance to do forward planning and booking fir Australia and just relax before our next group tour in Papua New Guinea .
We saw the rain and wind protection go up and down on the conference room and tried various mystery meals each evening. I did struggle with the whole squid though.We even worked out how to use my selfie stick!!
I had a second quick excursion to the town for more wine and to visit the pharmacy
I’d have loved to have been able to drive off into the bush and have a look around, however I decided to be sensible and do what we had planned for the week.
Rest, relaxation and swimming. Also the knowledge we had our Australian stops all finally planned in and booked. Ready for the next adventure.
On the way back to Manila, again mainly in the dark, we noticed western type mall shopping all lit up often on one side of the road with shanty type structures on the opposite side of the road. So many opposites so close.Just up the coast from us was a western paradise area of resorts. Around where we were were several derelict resorts and those like ours 4 star Philippines local hotels but no quite up to western standards.
We were happy though 😊