Cebu Island

Barely able to hear over the sound of the small engine and the wind blowing over the ears, our perception was largely left up to our sense of sight. And see we did, the foreign landscape of large green leaves reflecting the tropical sunlight, the hills sandwiched between a clear blue sea and greener mountains, the local hustle and bustle of a town where the motorbike outnumbers the car 10 to 1, the small thatched roof houses with families relaxing under a palm tree in the front yard, and the school house with courtyard full of uniformed children at recess or assembly. This was hardly the island paradise that I expected. It wasn't a scene from the those posters with their one-word captions in all capital letters. It was so much more. What better way to explore this corner of the planet than by motorbike, a mode of transport so obvious yet left unconsidered until our arrival on Cebu Island.

A lot of thought went into choosing Cebu as a main destination for summer break 2013. The three main factors affecting our decision were cost, weather and safety. As far as costs go, the Philippines is one of the cheapest flights from South Korea and it's a super cheap country to hang out in for a week. A couple of price samples to give you a sense of how cheap it is: for 6.89 USD you can rent a motor bike for a day, for 2.07 USD you can buy a liter of spiced rum (Tanduay) which is probably just as good as Captain Morgans, a nice dinner at a restaurant on the beach is about $5 per person including drinks.

Now on to weather, one of our biggest risks. One reason the flights were so cheap is because we were going there during the rainy season. To try to avoid the really bad rain our options were limited to the Central Visayas region and Mindanao. According to online forums, these are the regions that are least affected by rains during this time of the year.

Now on to safety. Simple searches online and a quick look over US embassy travel advisories will warn the traveler to stay out of Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a group considered by the US to be a terrorist organization, has been battling for autonomy in Mindanao for years, and though there are currently peace talks, break off groups are resisting and causing some trouble. Not a place where I feel like going to relax. Therefore, based on cost, weather, and safety, we settled down in the center of the Central Visayas region, the island of Cebu.

Our ultimate destination was a small town called Moalboal on the island of Cebu. In Moaboal we were close to some nice beaches, close to the mountains (so we thought), close to small town/village life on the island, cheap accommodation, and after some time there we could decide to move on to other places if we wished. We found a hostel with some nice looking private rooms located on Panagsama beach, about 4 km from Moalboal. It wasn't until we arrived there when we realized that Panagsama is a diver's haven. The village is pretty much just one strip of dirt road containing dive shops, dive resorts, a few restaurants, a couple corner stores, and our hostel. The beach itself was very small but the village as a whole was a nice place to spend some time.

That white sandy beach from paradise posters was located about 20 minutes away on a small country road. Solicitors just outside the hostel gave us several daily reminders that we could get a ride there and back by tricycle (motorcycle with seats on the side) for just 300 pesos which equates to about $6.75. This price sounded quite steep for me, plus I didn't like the idea of our driver having to either wait there for us to be finished with our beach experience, or establish a time for him to come back and pick us up. Public transportation to the beaches and more touristy spots in the area doesn't exist. Meanwhile, another man was also offering motorcycles to rent for the entire day. The price of the motorbike was also 300 pesos, plus the price of the gas that we would use. This idea sounded much more attractive for me. We'd have the freedom come and go as we please, plus we could check out other parts of the area if we wanted. For two of our days at Panagsama we rented bikes to get out and see the area.

Renting the bikes was by far the best idea of the trip. One of my favorite experiences in the Philippines was just cruising the small roads and witnessing Philippine village life from the saddle of the small motorcycle. It did come with its risks as what we were doing wasn't exactly legal, but the man renting our bikes assured us that if we stayed on the western side of the island we shouldn't have any encounters with the police.

First we rode over to white sands beach. We laid our things out on the beach next to a small fishing boat, more like a canoe I'd say, its owner shortly thereafter presenting himself to take it out for a spin. A man in another small boat slowly rowed past my view as I gazed out at the water and the Island of Negros in the distance.

As afternoon came we decided to hop back on the bike and see if we could find our way to Kawasan Falls, one of the more well known attractions of the area. Getting there meant cruising down a main road, reaching some higher speeds on the bike (mind you I learned how to ride a motorcycle that morning) and passing through some villages. We were also not quite sure exactly where or how far we had to go. Luckily for us, everybody in the the Philippines speaks English and it doesn't bother us much to stop and ask for directions. The ride to the falls was a phenomenal hour or so passing through countryside, farmers leading their oxen through the rice fields, uniformed children heading to school, small village life, with mountains to our east and the sea to our west.

The hike up to Kawasan falls was the only time in my life when I ever felt like I was in the jungle. The path took us along a turquoise stream passing a few homes with tied up roosters in their yard (cockfighting is really popular in the Philippines). The green of the forest was intense but so was the brown of the earth and the blue of the water. Eventually we reached the waterfall where we were immediately approached by some locals explaining to us the costs of a table if we feel like sitting, the costs of the raft if we feel like going up to the waterfall, with the hidden cost of the raft skipper which angered me enough to get the price reduced after some shaming. The water, the jungle, the waterfall, everything was new, interesting and exciting for us. I only would have wished for a chance to hike up to Osmena Peak, the highest mountain of the area which has a trail connected with Kawasan falls. The lack of public transportation in the area made this impossible without a tourist adventure package which didn't seem too enticing at the time.

In the end, we spent our entire time on Cebu at Panagsama beach. We were quite happy with the accommodation and the location. The nearby restaurants were serving tasty and diverse food. We had motorbikes around if we chose to rent. We also had a couple beach spots withing walking distance where we could relax closer to home. One of the days we spent at Lamug beach. It was another nice white sand beach sandwiched between a small village of thatched roof homes and the sea. A couple locals sat at one of the many karaoke huts singing or just listening to 80s pop music at high volumes while we enjoyed our San Miguel beer. In two of our remaining days I rented snorkeling gear for just over a dollar, a small price to pay for access to a new world. I never realized the beauty in colors and shapes that exists under water. Pictures don't do it justice. I enjoyed just hanging out and watching the brightly colored fish swim around the coral and plants, afraid to put my feet down and affect the life underneath me.

Our bus trip back to Cebu City gave us one last glimpse of the Island. Cruising both coasts and crossing the mountainous jungle in the middle of the Island we observed the island life from comfortable seats of an aircon bus. Before long we were back, waiting in Cebu airport, then in Manila airport, and finally taking that last bus from Incheon airport to Yeonsu. Back to work after a nice summer break on the island.

Kawasan Falls

Hike to Kawasan Falls

Cruising through the village of Badian

A farmer in his field along the main road