Visions of Angkor

The Height of the Khmer Empire 1200 AD

 Having left Southeast Asia over seven months ago, I spend a lot of time thinking about the differences between there and the rest of the western world. The presence of spirituality is so prevalent there, now a primarily Buddhist area. The countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have an ancient understanding of the importance of religion and honoring one's history. The Khmer, the people that spanned this area, have left their impression on modern day culture and life in SE Asia. Their most impressive legacy, the temples of Angkor in north eastern Cambodia, is a reminder of the ancient wisdom that through spiritual and cultural evolution is the basis for life in this part of the world today.  If I close my eyes I can still see the ruins emerging from the encasing jungle, the sunlight filtering through the trees casts light and shadows onto ancient stone, some carved and shaped over ten centuries earlier. The intricate carvings and labyrinths of passage ways, shrines, and galleries spark feelings of mystery and divinity.

Panoramic photo By Cozette Hansen : View from the top of Bakong temple

 I'm lost in thought wondering what it must have been like to walk these steps at the height of the Angkorian civilization. The temples that remain represent only a fraction of the buildings that once existed here. Temples, to the Khmer, were not places of mass procession or worship, rather they were the house of the gods, a dwelling to hold the divine, and therefore they were built as exquisitely and elaborately as possible. These temples were at the center of cities of trade and growth. The cities themselves, built from primarily wood, no longer exist. But, what we are left with are the stories and histories of the rise and fall of a civilization carved into the walls of the temples. And, conveniently, the temples represent the most important aspect of Khmer civilization, the driving force of existence, religion. 

During the 500 years of civilization the Angkorian kingdom saw the rule of twenty-six different kings, most of which built or renovated the temples that still stand in ruins to this day. The oldest and first temples I visited were constructed in the 9th century. The Roluos Group, as their known, marks the beginning of Angkor's history as we know it. Although buildings and civilization did exist before these temples, these were the first structures built from materials that withstood the erosion of time. The Roluos Group temples were constructed under the rules of king Jayavaramon II and Indravaraman I, the second and third recognized kings of Angkor. These first temples were built when Jayavaramon II established the first capitol here, east of modern day Seim Riep, around the year 835 AD.

The carvings on these walls, and on the walls of most of the temples, stems directly from India as trade brought the influence of Hinduism to the area. The Indians, with their Hindu Gods, were prosperous with a booming civilization and good economic standing. Recognizing this, soon Hinduism was adopted as the religion of the Khmers.

Carved Elephant, one of eight,  at East Mebon

I'm amazed at the precision and intricacy in the design and building of the architecture. The temple East Mebon, built in the middle of the tenth century, was an island surrounded by a now dried out lake. The detail and skill in carving something like an elephant, one of eight sentinels guarding the corners of the temple, is baffling even with today's technology. Could you hand carve a giant elephant, or eight?

The temple, Ta Keo, built in the 10th and 11th centuries is a symbolic representation of the universe. This "temple mountain" represents Mount Meru, which in the Hindu religion, stands at the center of the universe and is surrounded by the primordial ocean. This temple, like all of the others, was considered the residence of the gods and was respected as such. When this temple was gifted to Yogisavara Pandita in 1010 AD he occupied only the lower levels, considering himself unworthy to dwell on the upper terrace. 

                            

  

   Above: "Temple Mountain", Ta Keo.    Right:  On the upper Terrace of Ta Keo, view of one of the shrines

   

                  As Angkor was coming to its peak, Suryavarman II took the throne in 1113 AD and started the largest and most infamous construction to date. Creating the symbol on the modern day Cambodian flag and the most renowned temple of the Khmer empire, Angkor Wat. It was, and still is, a grand spectacle.

Angkor Wat, The World's largest religious monument.

A Buddhist Monk stands observing Angkor Wat.

The name Angkor Wat means just what it has become, "The city which became a pagoda". With the temple placed in the center, a vast capitol surrounded it to all four cardinal directions. The city itself was fortified by a massive moat with bridges on the east and west sides. With Angkor Wat, still the world's largest religious monument, and its surrounding city, the Khmer were boldly marking their place. Imagine coming to trade from distant lands and walking the causeway over the moat, through the gates, and into the busy city. You would observe daily life and people all around you. Then, if somehow you hadn't seen it from miles away, you would behold this massive temple, larger than any other in the world, literally the center of life, overseeing all. What an intimidating site this must have been, and a desirable one to scheming invaders. This was the height of Angkor, the strong hold of southeast Asia and the Khmer people. It would soon be overrun by revolting factions from the provinces, but not before some other smaller scale temples were constructed. The temples of Thommanon and Chao Say Tevoda were built in similar architectural style to that of Angkor Wat, with intricate carvings and detail.

                                                                                            Chao Say Tevoda

Carvings at Thommanon

In 1177 AD the city of Angkor was captured by a group who mounted a surprise naval attack from the Great Lake, to the south. In 1181 AD a prince returned to Angkor and drove out the rebels for which he became King Jayavarman VII, "The Last Great King of Angkor". Unlike his Hindu predecessors, he was a practicing Buddhist. Many of his temples have likenesses of The Buddha, not found in the earlier constructions. During his thirty year reign he oversaw a larger building program than any of those before him. Perhaps trying to out do the others, he cast off Angkor Wat and decided to build his own, larger capitol city, Angkor Thom.

Massive city gate, the entrance to Angkor Thom from the East

Surrounded on four sides by a stone wall and moat, Angkor Thom is considerably larger than Angkor Wat. At the center of Angkor Thom stands one of my favorite temples, The Bayon. With its innumerable giant smiling faces, there is speculation whether Jayavarman VII planned these faces to be likenesses of himself or that of The Buddha. In any case, The Bayon is one of the more complex and intricately designed temples.

Enigmatic visages of The Bayon

Apsara Dancers preforming the dance of the universe

 Within the walls of Angkor Thom JayavarmanVII also constructed numerous smaller, less significant, temples, as well as a royal palace made from non withstanding materials. Outside of Angkor Thom he  built some remarkable, jungle reclaimed temples. 
Ta Prohm and Preah Khan temples are my other favorites. Built in the Bayon style of architecture, unlike the temple mountains that came before, you can get lost in their elaborate mazes of connecting hallways and passages. Courtyards, open to sunlight, have fostered the jungle allowing it to take back what was theirs. Huge vines and trees climb and split through the stone walls, rising toward the sky. It's not hard to imagine yourself as an Indiana Jones character while exploring a sanctuary like this. It's no surprise that the blockbuster film "Tomb Raider" was filmed here. The complexity and sheer number of carvings in these later constructions is some of the best I’ve seen.

Indravarman II, who succeeded Jayavarman VII in 1220 AD, was the last to oversee any new constructions at Angkor, although Jayavarman VIII, who took throne after Indravarman II in 1243 AD destroyed much of the Buddhist imagery and improved some of the withstanding Hindu structures.

Banteay Kdei can be seen as one of the final constructions of the late Angkor.

The downfall of Angkor is debated. Vast cities are represented only by the structures that were built out of materials that could withstand the destruction of time. Some think that in trying to support the construction and growth of these cities, the area's resources were consumed and the civilization was forced to disperse. Others speculate that Angkor simply wasn't in a prime location for trade; Phnom Phen, on the Mekong river, would have been a better capitol. Regardless, it's a pleasure to take a walk through Ancient Angkor and imagine what life was like in the 10th or 11th centuries. And, how appropriate, that the backbone of Khmer civilization, the driving force of everyday life, the presence of God, is still preserved for us to contemplate with wonder and awe.


References: 

Freeman, M, Jacques, C 2000, Ancient Angkor, illustrated revised, Weatherhill

Coe, DM 2003, Angkor and the Khmer Civilization, illustrated, Thames & Hudson

Laos Video

Laos, although still suffering from a turbulent and war-torn past, is a quiet, peaceful, country in the heart of Southeast Asia. Whether Wat-hopping in Luang Prabang, a  UNESCO World Heritage Site and the late Capitol of the Buddhist Kingdom of Lao, or taking in the easy climate and  atmosphere along the Mekong in the south, It's prime space for catching up on "soul time".

Check out this short video of my travel through the country:

The Market

Flower H'mong flood the streets.

  

In Bac Ha, east of Sapa, is a weekly Sunday market that we had heard was an event not to miss. This was an understatement. 

We step off of the bus into a street filled with color. The Flower H'mong are in town and with them they have brought beauty in every direction.

Raw meats, waiting for buyers

We stroll through the bustling market, the town's major source of commerce. All around, people are socializing, negotiating prices, and eating varieties of fresh foods.

Deep fried rice snacks

The meat market catches my eye, fresh cuts of beef, pork, chicken , and other four-legged mammals, are spread over large wooden tables. The sight would be a nightmare for a health inspector in The States. There's a commotion as men crowd around a table, apparently bets are made on how many hacks it will take to cut through a piece of pork. 

Goods and money change from hand to hand and everywhere we look there are people enjoying the weekly occurrence.It's more of a social event, it seems, than anything.The local tribes have all concentrated here and the combination of the colorful market goods and the striking outfits makes the scene worthy of a masterpiece. I can't take enough pictures. 

On the hill above town.

 On the hill above the market is where animals, primarily water buffalo, are inspected by picky buyers. I feel a remorse for the large beasts of burden, as they wait to be purchased,

but they will spend their days working in the surrounding hills, and will subsequently be well fed.

 

Selling herbal medicines.

 

 

After browsing for three hours, and reveling at the variety of goods, I imagine that anything a person could need would be found here. From fruits and vegetables, to coffee and spices, herbal medicines, to handmade clothing and jewelry, meats and live fish, tools and contraptions, everything is in surplus.

 

 

 

 

Surplus of veggies

Baby sleeps while Mom eats Pho.

In the center of the excitement are 100 or so tables all owned by different families. Fresh noodle soup, the infamous Vietnamese Pho, is being served to the patrons sitting at the tables. Meat is cut
right from a fresh hog leg and put into the soup, ladled from a giant pot boiling over open flame. Small limes are squeezed over the soup and small hot peppers and pepper sauce is added for an extra zing. We sit and enjoy the food and the scene simultaneously.

 

As the afternoon turns to evening, the crowd disperses and people pack their goods to go home. By dark the streets have metamorphosed from a flooded, chaos of color, to a sparsely populated, average mountain town.It's hard to beleive that we are in the same town that was home to the most dazling local market Iv'e ever seen. The week will surely pass with uneventful daily routeins. It's quiet now, until next Sunday.

Among the H'mong

In the rice-terraced mountains surrounding Sapa live a number of indigenous tribal peoples. The H'mong, Red Dzao, and Zai tribes populate the area and can be seen in town selling their woven handicrafts.

The terraced hills near a H'mong village

A Flower H'mong Woman

Nyui works on a shirt she is making

All of the women are clad in brightly colored traditional clothing and are adorned with beautiful jewlery and wrapped    headdresses. History is preserved in their appearance and the contrast between the traditionally dressed women and the surrounding French architecture is a unique spectacle. We meet a H'mong woman named Nyui. After talking for a short time we negotiate a price for her to guide us through the hills to stay in her village.

 

A river crossing

 The next morning we follow our guide out of town and down the steep slopes to the river valley below Sapa.The rice has already been harvested but the terraced hills still provide breathtaking views. It's as if we've take a trip back in time. Water buffalo wade through the terraces munching away at grass and chickens, ducks, pigs, and barefoot children run around, freely, through the villages. It's slow, village life.

Nuyi's two daughters study Vietnamese.

We cross the river and follow Nyui, climbing and zig-zagging up the opposite side of the valley until we reach her house, nestled between the terraces, with streams running past on either side. We meet her husband and her children, two girls and a boy. Nyui works on a shirt she is making, the children spend the day and evening playing and doing schoolwork. We relax, Cozette and I enjoy the view and or surroundings.

Baby on board.

 For lunch and dinner we eat pan cooked pork, greens of some sort (Nyui didn't know the name) , and rice. The food is cooked entirely over a fire pit dug into the floor of the dimly lit home. It's delicious. After dinner we're offered rice wine, a strong, pure, alcohol, made from the grain. We go to sleep early.

The next morning after breakfast and after the children have gone to school, we set off to visit another village before walking the 10 kilometers back to Sapa. The experience has been truly priceless and Cozette and I are on a high as we say goodbye to Nyui. Our stay in the terraced H'mong village has been a humbling experience that neither Cozette or I will be able to forget. The people are living as traditionally as possible in this day and age, and to have the opportunity to experience a day in the life of a H'mong family, we both agree, has been extraordinary.

Flower H'mong

Vietnam

One of the more innocent street peddlers.

We fly into the chaos that is Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. In the streets motorbikes flow like blood through the arteries of the city. The backpackers ghetto is in an area called Pham Ngu Lao. It's busy with hagglers pushing over-priced foods, massages, pot, and prostituted sexual acts, among other things.

insense burns in a quiet pagoda in Ha Noi

  We stay for a few days, long enough to meet some friends, then we flee the city by train to Ha Noi, in the north. After a 40 hour journey we step off in the more relaxed atmosphere of Ha Noi. A central lake in the Old Quarter of the city provides a scenic backdrop for the citizens to do early morning calisthenics or for evening strolls, post dinner. After exploring the narrow picturesque street, we have depleted the activities to do within the city.

Views along the river.

  We take a day tour to The Perfume Pagoda, an area named for it's many fragrant, blossoming trees. Along ride by bus, and a more enjoyable, beautiful ride, up river in boats paddled only by women, put us at our destination. The hills are filled with a number of pagodas built in classic oriental fashion. The most impressive, The Cave Pagoda, is fond at the very top of the mountain, two and a half kilometers up the stairs. The enormous cavern is very impressive and was home to many Buddhist monks before it was, bittersweetly, discovered by the tourism industry.

Traffic in Hanoi:

In the hills of the Perfume Pagoda.

We return to Ha Noi and board an

overnight bus to Sapa the next day.

Sapa, within shouting distance of the Chinese boarder, is a serene mountain town, first colonized by the French. It's 1650 meters above sea level and the cool, misty air is refreshing after spending time in the heat of the low-laying coastal areas.

View near Sapa, looking into the valley.

The pace and pushiness of the cities is exhausting. Finally, in Sapa, we relax and slow down. Ahh, this is Vietnam...

The Philippines with no Reservations

Foreword 

I enjoy traveling through developing countries, like the Philippines, much more than the high profile "first world" sort. Some may see the country as less clean or less technologically advanced but I find that there is more beauty in the people and more opportunity to have a truly memorable, altering experience in such a country. If you can look past the dirt and pollution and rather look into the eyes of the people, you will find these places to be more welcoming than even your home town.
Along with these opinions above, there are some very concrete benefits to traveling in a country like the Philippines. 

A Jeepney in Tacloban City

The public transportation here is impeccable. Buses and Jeepneys travel from town to town on a regular, frequent schedule. In towns and cities motorbikes, tricycles, multicabs, and taxis are in high supply. Even bicycle drawn cabbies are cursing the streets in small towns. Frerrys take daily trips between islands with close proximity and less frequent trips to further destinations.
Accommodations run from five-star quality to very basic. A basic room has a bed, a fan, and a bathroom with a bucket to shower and flush the toilet with. Even the most luxurious hotels are    cheap compared to U.S prices, which brings me to the benefits of the currency exchange.

Cozette's favorite cheap breakfast - Corned beef w/ egg and rice

Twenty dollars a day is more than plenty here to travel and have fun. This is an average daily cost when paying for long journeys, hotels, food, basic supplies, and unnecessary pleasures like snack foods, internet cafes, and nights out. When not on the move from town to town cost of transportation is greatly reduced. Fifteen dollars a day is a very realistic cost if staying in one place for multiple days. Food is simple, and therefore cheap. Expect to eat rice with every meal, including breakfast.


All of these factors make it easy to travel and see a wide variety of things and people in such a country. So, we travel on a whim. If there is something to be seen we go. It's freedom in the purest.


The following is a brief recount of our two month journey through the Philippines and details of our route through the islands.

Arrival

 We arrive at 1am in the Ninoy Aquino International airport in Manila. We have been up since 6am and have been flying or waiting in airports all day. As we shuffle forward and get in line to pass through the immigration checkpoint, I suddenly catch sight of the sign on the booth reading "you must present your visa and departing ticket..." this makes me a little nervous since we have only purchased a one way ticket into the country. When we get to the booth I explain to the clerk that we do not yet have a departure ticket, we didn't know it was necessary. She motions for someone and we're quickly whisked to the side into an office  where our passports are taken from our hands to be held behind a desk somewhere. If you have ever traveled internationally you know how nerve racking it would be to give up your passport to and official who precedes to examine and then leave the room with it in hand. Slowly, he returns and asks us how we plan to leave the country, if no return ticket has been purchased. He seems almost accusatory with his words. As if guilty of trying to illegally immigrate into the country, we quickly explain to him that we plan to buy another one way ticket to our next destination, we're only travelers, visiting and then moving on. I emphasis again, as convincingly as possible, that we did not know we needed a departure ticket. Another official with a badge of some sort steps into the office and the man we have just been explaining ourselves to brings him up to speed on the situation. They speak in Tagalog and I can't pick up any sort of emotion in the unfamiliar language. "How much trouble are we in?", I wonder. After they finish speaking they both turn their gazes to us. One of the men has his brow lowered, his eyes scanning back and forth between Cozette and I, the other repeatedly taps the edge of a stack of papers against the table top separating us. It's obvious they are both thinking about how to handle the situation. Some high up representative from Korean Air walks into the office. We flew into Manila on the airline and they are taking a fine for letting us enter the country without a departure ticket in the first place. He too is informed of the predicament. Cozette and I just stand waiting for questions or instructions or something. We feel pretty helpless with the situation. Two security guards lug our bags from the carousel just on the other side of the immigration booths. It's like looking across the border to freedom, it's so close. For a moment I wonder if we can just sneak through when everyone is busy. That bubble bursts as soon as I realize that that is exactly why they have taken our passports. Besides, that would land us in a lot more trouble, and in an entirely different kind of room than the one we are standing in. After 10 minutes or so of sitting and waiting in the office with nothing being done, we manage to communicate that we have a laptop, and if there is wireless internet, we can buy our tickets right now. They tell us to try it. We walk back and forth in this small area of the airport, stuck between the immigration booths and the security desk in the hall way leading back to the terminal. There are three network connections available but one is down and the other two are password protected. No one we ask knows the password, of course. An immigration officer comes from the office every five minutes or so to check on us. He knows we have no working internet connection but has no present solution. After half an hour trying the internet and asking for help from various security guards, info desk clerks, and other airport personnel, no one seems to have access to the internet. The officer returns and tells us that immigration will be closing at 3am, if we don't come up with our tickets by then we will be put on a return flight to Honolulu, where we had come from. We would be deported before we could even enter. My heart quickens a little. It's already 2am and we have made zero progress. We are trapped between checkpoints in a foreign airport, we're tired and under stress, and it seems as though immigration is hanging us out to dry, offering as little help and sympathy as possible. To make the situation even more difficult, communication is only half clear most of the time. We ask an airport employee if they can go to find an airline representative, maybe we can arrange to book an over priced ticket out of the country. The employee leaves, looking confident enough and walking in the right direction. Five or so minutes pass and we soon realize that the employee is not going to be our savior after all. We ask three people in all to help, none return. We are on our own, we realize, no one really cares. As Cozette and I start to freak out a little, searching for options and having no luck, the representative that had taken the fine for Korean Air returns. "Do you have a credit card?", he asks. We hand it over quickly, anything to get us through immigration to freedom. If he has a flight to book for us we will take it! We're desperate at this point. "You will be flying back to Honolulu", he says commandingly, as if the decisions is final. "We don't want to fly back to Oahu!", Cozette replies in her own authoritative tone.  "It's the only option, you will have tickets for the 28th of August." he responds. "No, we're not going back", we both explain. He looks around him and then motions for us to walk with him as he turns his back on the immigration office. A few steps later, he says in a hushed tone,"Fake. The itinerary will be fake, just to get you through immigration." This seems like serious business, Cozette and I exchange glances. "A fake ticket?" I ask. "Yes, I will have someone bring them over. It's the only way." We give this some thought. "Can we do that?", I ask. "Yes, just play along, say it was the only flight available, and you will make it through." "Ok, do we need to pay you though?" "No", He says, " The airline has already taken a fine, it's late and I just want to go home."
In five minutes someone brings us two printed itineraries for a flight to Honolulu on the 28th of August. They are completely legitimate. Someone has actually paid on a different credit card, to be canceled by the airline, I assume. Everything looks correct and our names appear next to the ticket numbers so we collect our luggage and passports form the office, explaining to the officers how we are so bummed we will be going back the way we came. We're lying through our teeth. We pass through the booths with no issue, our tickets are flawless, and we walk into the pick up area breathing sighs of relief. What a night! After an overpriced taxi ride to our hostel we finally relax into bed sometime around 3:30 am. It seems like the night has been a nightmare, but on second thought I decide it's just part of the unpredictability that comes with traveling, and that it will make a good story. Next time though, we will be more careful. We drift to sleep and don't wake until late the next morning.

Our route through The Philippines

The Hospitality of the Philippines

San Miguel - the Philippine original

We stay in Manila for a week. We meet a new friend named Edgar on couchsurfing.org.  He lives in Makati, Metro Manila. A few days are spent touring around the city and nights are spent out dancing, enjoying the night life in the Capitol city. It's a good time, the three of us, plus Will, another couchsurfer from Australia, sharing Ed's apartment. We came to the Philippines with no real plans, we didn't know much about the country or it's attractions. This ignorance , making the place so alluring, is what pushed us to visit the islands in the first place. We've picked the right person to stay with because Ed just happens to be a travel writer himself. Having seen almost all of the Philippines, he becomes our trip planner and concierge. Within a day or two we learn from him all of the places to go, and people to meet. He boasts a very well written blog - www.eazytraveler.com , and he is a fantastic photographer. With Ed's recommendation we have our plans to take dive lessons in Davao and enjoy the Katayawan festival there the following weekend. 

Couch surfing party at Ed's place in Manila. Photo by Will Hoffman

In Davao, we are greeted by our divemaster, Frank, a Danish man, at the airport. We go back to his house where we stay, and are made to feel at home, for three weeks in Davao. For more about our time in Davao read my previous posts, "Salamat Davao", "A Day of Diving" , and "A Filipino Family Experience".

Island Hopping

Our three weeks in Davao fly by and I'm more than ready to get out of the city. We've spent a month in the country already and have yet to leave a metropolitan area. The bus to northern Mindanao promises time spent in small towns, villages and rural parts of the country. We speed down the road in an empty, air-conditioned bus through the mountainous center of Mindanao. 8 hours later we step off in the town of Cagayan De Oro on the northern coast of the island. We decide that the air-conditioned buses are not for us. The chilly air blasts the entire time, forcing us to bundle up in jackets and blankets, and the higher price keeps the locals riding the slower, "non-aircon" buses. Riding with the people is half the fun. As we transfer to our next bus, the non-aircon heading further north to Balingoan, we get many curious stares as we push and squeeze our way to the back of the very full bus, avoiding hitting people with our large backpacks. Every bus and jeepney ride from here on out will resemble this. People ask the basics, where are we from? Are we missionaries? Are we enjoying the Philippines? The people have no shortage of kindness and are more than excepting of our awkward presence among them. 

The "Non-aircon"

We barrel down the snaking road at speeds that would make a car passenger uncomfortable, weaving in and out of our lane as we pass slower traffic. There are no windows on this bus, the cool night air blows freely through. As the bus comes to a slow roll to let people off, the crowd thins out and pretty soon it is only me and Cozette to the end of the line. We pull into the small port town at 10pm. It's raining and the town is empty. We will catch a ferry the next morning but since there are no hotels or lodging houses in town, our bus driver escorts us to a house by the pier where travelers awaiting the ferry can rest and wait. We tip him and head to sleep. 

View of Camiguine from Balingoan

One of the island's many falls

The Sunken Cemetary

The island of Camiguine is an hour and a half ferry ride to the north of Balingoan. We arrive before noon and find a budget hotel for our base camp. The tiny island cannot be more than 50 miles in circumference and a coastal road hugs the sea all the way around.       Because of it's size we rent a motorbike and spend the next day touring and eventually circumnavigating the unspoiled island. This island of volcanic conception is home to some refreshing waterfalls and sweeping coastal views. We spend some time snorkeling at "The sunken cemetery", which was swallowed by the sea after an earthquake in 1871. It's since become a home for corals and fish in the warm shallows surrounding the monumental cross that memorializes the site. It takes only one day to explore the island on our motorbike and the next day we almost miss the departing ferry to Bohol. Arriving at the wrong port town only fifteen minutes before the ferry is due to leave, we quickly hire two men with motorcycles to get us where we need to be. Racing through the curves along the winding road with our 40 lb packs almost dragging us off of the back of the bikes, we make it to the right port, 10 kilometers or so away, just in time. With windswept hair we set off to the island of Bohol. 

Google image of Chocolate Hills

Google : Tarsier

Bohol has two main tourist attractions. The first of which is The Chocolate Hills, a large frequency of clustered, perfectly shaped hills, that turn a chocolate color during the dry season. Science has discovered the hills to be remnants of prehistoric ocean reefs, while Filipino legend tells that they are tear drops from a giant. The second of the islands popular attractions is a critter called the Tarsier. It's the world's smallest and oldest living species of primate. We decide to skip both of these attractions. We are told by a guide that the Chocolate hills were actually deforested to create their bald, ferry tale like, grassy covered slopes. This immediately takes away the wonder of the strange hills for us. The Tarsier, doomed by it's cute and cuddly appearance and it's over exposure by the Philippine department of tourism, has, for the most part, been illegally captured and caged for tourists to photograph and gawk at. We weren't about to support this industry so instead we spent a couple of days in Tagbilaran City with close proximity to Pangalao Island. 

Bikini Beach, Pangalo Island,

Cave Swimming pools

A pristine and expensive dive location, Pangalao has many world class dive resorts. We take a day trip to Bikini beach, one of white sand and warm shallows, where we do more snorkeling. Pangalao also has a small cave with an underground swimming hole consisting of both fresh and salt water. As we make our way through Bohol's interior, in a northeasterly direction, we spend a night camping in Rajah Sikatuna National Park. The Park has seen better days, it's mostly abandoned with a few scattered empty buildings and only minimal necessary staff. The camp ground is a large cleared area with dense forest surroundings. In the fading light of the evening a clan of monkeys comes swinging and crashing through the canopy. We hear them calling to each other long before they can be seen and like a gang, ten or so of the primates make their way to the ground and head straight for us. They sit only a few yards from where we are in the progress of setting up our tent. They study us for awhile and then, realizing we won't be offering any food, they move elsewhere. Later, we spot a flying lemur gliding to a jack fruit tree in our clearing for an evening snack. After a night of steady rain, we accompanied the park's bird watching guide on a walk through the dense tangled rain forest. He can identify every bird by it's call and he even plays his own recordings to try coaxing the birds down into view, but the birds are high and out of sight. Instead we walk and he points out insects and lizards and tells jokes along the way. That's good enough for us. We spend another uneventful night in Ubay, on the NE coast of the island and catch the ferry to Leyte.


A night in Maasin is occupied by drinks which leads to singing karaoke with the locals. Karaoke, by the way, has been a popular evening activity ever since it was introduced by the Japanese. It's hard to go a day without hearing someone's shameless rendition of a popular tune blaring from a bar or eatery. It's not always pleasant to the ears but it offers a challenge to the singer and a good time.
In Padre Burgos, in the south, we find a perfectly secluded beach with clear water and great views, sometimes hard to come by in the Philippines. We camp so close to the water that the rising tide threatens to  flood our tent in the night. The beach has good snorkeling with corals right off shore. It's a hangout for locals and fisherman, children wrestle in and out of the water all day.

Camping near Padre Burgos.

We make our way up the Leyte's west coast to Ormoc. On a Saturday night the strip along the harbor is filled with people.Vendors line the street selling popcorn, peanuts, chicharrones, and lechon manok (grilled chicken). An "Ormoc Idol", singing competition, is being held in the town square. Kids of varying ages sit in small groups in the park. Restaurants all around sit guests outside who sip beer and feast, enjoying the pleasant evening, just a typical Saturday evening in the town of 200,000 or so. We join in on the fun, relaxing in a restaurant and listening to the live music. Cruising the streets, we get lots of stares, smiles, and "Good evenings!", as do we anywhere.We sleep in a budget room and head for Tacloban, the island's provincial capitol, sometime the next day. In Tacloban we find a lodging house where students attending the nearby university board. It's a large, old house owned by an elderly lady. We accidentally scare her a couple of times as we come into the large living area, and again, later when we try to pay her, she doesn't hear us approaching. The house has many rooms, a large courtyard for hanging laundry and it's close to good food. We are tired from moving from place to place so we relax and stay here for 3 days before heading on to the next island of Samar.

ABCD surf beach

North of Tacloban is a bridge spanning the channel between Leyte and Samar. We take a bus across and down to the small town of Guiuan on the southern most tip of Samar. Samar is one of the poorest islands in the Philippines, it can be seen from the windows of the bus as we pass through villages not on our map or in the travel guide. Dwellings in rural areas are open air huts made from bamboo wood and palm leaves. The bus weaves around squares of rice spread on the road tops to dry, the only flat place suitable for the necessary, life sustaining, process. It's a reminder of how basic the laws of existence are; eat and survive.
Guiuan is a small and simple town. The main source of transportation are petty cabs drawn by bicycle. During WWII Guiuan was a strategically placed naval base for the U.S to launch attacks on Japan. There were 150,000 troops stationed here. Remnants of the base are still seen today. The island of Homonhon to the south is where Ferdinand Magellan first landed in 1521, claiming the Philippines for the Spain. He was murdered soon after by Chief Lapu-Lapu near what is now Cebu City.
We venture to the nearby Calicoan island and stumble upon the one of the archipelago's best surfing spots, ABCD beach. The beach holds an annual surfing competition October 7th-9th, attracting local and international competition to this long stretch of Pacific facing coast.The surfers invite us to their hut and we spend the afternoon chatting, watching people ride the waves and generally having a good time. The location is pretty remote so we wait 30 minutes or so for someone to pass, offering us a ride. We are back in town by dark.

Cozette enjoys the 4-hr ride on the roof of a Jeepney

The next day before we leave, we go snorkeling in the harbor by our hotel. The water is murky with low visibility and as we swim Cozette has a run in with a jellyfish and she gets stung on her arm and feet.We end our snorkeling promptly and Cozette makes a new enemy.The stinging subsides in an hour or so and soon we are on the move again. We catch a jeepney heading north. there's no more room inside so we opt for a ride on the roof, The breeze is refreshing and the views of the countryside and rural villages is unmatched. We arrive in Borangon where we do nothing for a couple of days and then we go to Catbalogan.


Catbalogan may be one of Samar's only real tourist destinations. On the West coast, Catbalogan is the jumping off point for many of the Philippines best caves. Joni Bonifacio has a business here guiding people to the untouched caves, waterfalls, and gorges in the islands interior. We meet with him the next morning and spend the day in Lobo cave. To read more about our caving experience see my post, "Caving in Samar".


We leave Catbalogan and after one day of travel by bus and an excruciatingly delayed and unorganized journey by ferry, we arrive in Matnog on the southern tip of Luzon. Matnog is a small town with no real hotels, so we are guided by someone so conveniently waiting for us to come off of the ferry, to a small house where we pay too much for a room. The next day is spent in Legaspi, a city at the foot of a dangerously active volcano, Mt. Mayon, who's last eruption was in 2009. My intention for coming to Legaspi was to photograph the perfectly shaped volcano, but the clouds were stubborn and we never saw the top of the cone.

Google image of Mt. Mayon

A ten hour bus ride put us back in Manila at 4:30 am on a Friday morning. We finished our tour where we began. We spend the next couple of days at Ed's place preparing for the next leg of our travel, and we have one more night on the town to celebrate with our new friends.


Afterthoughts


The Philippines is a destination worthy of my return and of anyone's exploration. I only had the time to explore a fraction of this Nation, there's much left unseen. It's home to hospitable, friendly people. Everywhere you go, from villagers living the most basic of lives, to busy Manila residents, you are sure to be welcomed with a smile. The Philippines is a place of beauty; sprawling, reflective rice fields lay at the base of palm covered volcanoes, and uncounted numbers of beaches offer inviting aqua-colored waters, provoking long days of sun induced laziness. Reputation often warns people to avoid this SE Asian Archipelago, but if you believe seeing is believing, you will be taken back by the abundant experiences you will have, and humbled by the way of life that the islands are home to.

 

Aloha and Mahalo Maui

After we finished house sitting for Kelly and Allan Cozette and I set out on a mission to see the remaining eastern shore of the island we had not gotten to yet. From the house in Haiku we hitched up to the 10,000 ft summit of Haleakala, House of the Sun, "the world's largest dormant volcano". The road to the top from sea level to summit is only 37 miles, ending above the clouds. From there we spent three days packing across the crater floor and descending down the Kaupo Gap on the eastern side of the National Park.

Yellow Line Shows Our Route.

Once we reached the Kipahulu area on the eastern coast we camped for a couple of nights before continuing through Hana and back around, Northwest, to complete our circuit. The trip took a total of 6 days and was a great end to our stay on the island. We managed to circumnavigate the entire island while we were there for our month and two weeks, seeing everything there is to see on a backpackers budget. From our calculations we spent roughly $500 each while on the island, including concert tickets and a couple of nights eating out. Not bad considering Maui will probably be the most expensive leg of our trip.

Here are the pictures from our last bout of backpacking around up and over Haleakala and around the Eastern coast.

The 'Ahinahina, "Silversword" is found in the Haleakala crater and nowhere else in the world. It's leaves are covered in small silver colored hairs to reflect sunlight and retain moisture. It is a member of the Asteraceae or sunflower family.

Areas of the crater floor are devoid of life. No plants, insects or animals are found here. It is uncomfortably silent. It's rarely windy and on calm days scientific instruments used to measure sound have read zero decibels.

In such a lunar scape we thought it appropriate to take gravity defying pictures.

Near the Paliku camp. On the other side of the ridge is a restricted tropical rainforest preserve.

Views of the ocean coming down the 7000ft decent of the Kaupo Gap.

The steep 8.6 miles to the coast was hard on our knees and feet, but worth the view.

When we made it to the coast we camped for two days and played in the pools before continuing through Hana and completing our circuit.

The "Seven Sacred Pools" are formed in a gulch as the rain water flows down the mountain out of the rain forest valley.

The pools are right where the steam meets the ocean. The top pool at the largest waterfall has been carved out to a depth of 40ft!

A beautiful red sand beach with clear blue water and a perfect wave break made for good swimming. In Hana.

You enter the cave by swimming a little ways under water. The cave extends 800 ft back or so.