Siquijor and Dumaguete. Day 4.

Well our fourth, and last full day in the Philippines was shared between the mystical island of Siquijor and the fast[er] paced island of Dumaguete. 

Now being half Filipino and from a Hawaiian background, I told the boy that it was imperative that he give me at least two uninterupted hours in the sun.  That's it, just two.  Korea's a little harsh when it comes to my tan, and I wanted to lather my body in some good ol' Vitamin D.  Lather I did.  I even rinsed and repeated. 

Uh yeah, the water was that clear.  
I also got to spend some time with some lovely pups.  They were everywhere in the Philippines, but the dogs on Siquijor were so chill and lazy.  You'd often find a pack of them lying on the beach under the shade of a palm tree.  We had a mama pup that would actually stay on our porch all day.  I might have accidentally fed her a piece of my breakfast and after that she refused to leave my side. 

We pretty much just stayed by the beach for the majority of the morning and early afternoon.  We had been awaiting the arrival of our good friend and fellow travel buddy, Ryan Sheldon.  He found himself stuck on Dumaguete after the ferries closed down for Christmas.  Being the devoted wanderer that he is, he lept on an early boat to Siquijor on the 26th and spent a good 5 hours with us.  We were able to go for a little dip, eat at a local hot spot, and take a tricycle back to the dock in order to catch the last ferry back to Dumaguete at 4:30.  

Once we arrived in Dumaguete we found ourselves surrounded by other foreigners.  It was a little bizarre since we hadn't really seen any since we landed in Manila.  Dumaguete was bustling with tricycles, pedestrians, street food, loud music and laughter.  We immediately found ourselves a room for the night and then took to the streets.  We wandered up and down the boardwalk taking in the sights and indulging in delicious treats along the way.  I might have had a rum and coke or two.  They were extra special because they came with real limes.  LIMES.  A fruit that I have yet to see in Korea.  

Chris and Ryan decided to really immerse themselves in Filipino culture by ordering "balut" from a local street vendor.  Some of you already know what it is, but for those of you that don't- Balut is a boiled fertilized egg.  Fertilized enough that you can clearly make out a baby chick inside.  This nearly-developed embryo sits is a soupy liquid that one is supposed to drink before eating the contents of the egg.   nom nom not.  I thought I might be able to coax myself into at least trying it, but as soon as I saw the little baby chick and Chris's uneasy face, I said no way jose.   You can actually hear me on the video say, "Ohhh yeah.  That's probably not going to happen".

We ended the night people watching with drinks in hand.  Not a bad way to spend our last night in the Philippines.  Below is a video that the boy made for tripfilms.com.  It has a little of the Dumaguete nightlife and the end is dedicated to his balut experience.  Doesn't his face just make you want to go out an buy yourself a dozen?

Watch more travel videos at tripfilms.com

Best Beaches on Siquijor Island, The Philippines

Here's our featured tripfilms.com video on some of the best beaches on Siquijor island.  Beautiful, no?

Watch more Cebu videos at tripfilms.com

Best Day Trips on Siquijor

Here's one of our featured videos on tripfilms.com.  The best day trips on Siquijor island, The Philippines.

Watch more Cebu videos at tripfilms.com

What's a snow day?

There are little white flakes of frozen water falling from the sky!  Not only is it snowing, but we actually have a snow day.  Like, as in we don't have school.  No school.  I could have cut off all of my extremeties and have swine flu and bird flu and foot and mouth and we still would have had to work.  In fact, last year I had tonsilitis and I had to get a shot in my bum (it was either there or my throat) and I felt like death.  I called the boss barely able to talk and what did she tell me?  She told me that I should come in to work anyway.  Le bullshoot.

But, back to my story.  Class was cancelled today.  And by cancelled, I really mean that we have to make up for it on Saturday, but tis the life of being a hogwan teacher in Korea.  It's kind of a miracle that school was cancelled in general so I'll take what I can get. 

We wasted no time putting on our snowgear and taking Ares kitten out for his first snow experience. 

And how do Koreans react to the snow?  They donn Nike kicks and sweatpants with their trusty umbrellas.  The streets were pretty bare and we saw our 109 bus stuck on the top of the hill.  The best part by far is seeing all of the kids out of school and frolicking in the show with their cherry red cheeks and bright smiles.  I think we'll spend the rest of the day drinking hot chocolate and watching movies.  We'll probably have to take kitten out again as he's posted himself by the front door.  Isn't he photogenic? 

Chasing the Sunset

We spent the remainder of sunlight on Christmas day making our way to one more secluded beach on the island of Siquijor.  The sunset was absolutely breathtaking.  These pictures are actually mostly of the reflection of the sunset from the other side of the island.  I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend our Christmas evening. 

We were in such a hurry to make it to the last beach before nightfall that the first four pictures were actually taken from the car.  Not too shabby if I say so myself.  Although I can't take credit for the beautiful colors of the sky.  Just another reminder of how blessed we are.

Steppin' Out Sunday

Our weekend's been pretty relaxing.  We had originally planned to go up to Seoul for some New Years celebrations with our good friend Ryan Sheldon.  The bus schedule had other plans for us and we found ourselves stuck in good ol' Pohang.  I spent today hanging out with some a my favorite ladies.  We had coffee, ate lunch, did a fair amount of shopping, watched Harry Potter (again), and ended the day with some games at the arcade.  Here's what I wore...

cap: Style Lab

shirt: UGIZ

long tanktop: Style Lab

pants: Forever 21

boots: Some random shoe store in Korea

cat: found him in a pile of my clothes

We wanted to try out a new place for lunch and we decided that we had to go here.  If only because of the name.

And it wouldn't be the usual day out with the girls unless some shopping was involved.  Today we sought after warm hats since Korea is freeeezing.  Almost as cold as Kim Jong-Il's heart. 

Not a bad way to spend the weekend.  It was exactly what we needed as we haven't fully recovered from our whirlwind trip to the Philippines.  Now I'm going to kick back, relax, watch some CSI or NCIS reruns on the tele and prepare myself for another week with the kiddos.  Cheers!

Siquijor. Day 3.

Our third day in the Philippines just so happened to also be Christmas day.  We've apparently started a tradition where there must be sand somehow incorporated in our Christmas.  Last year it was the desert of Dubai, this year it was a tropical beach (or should I say, beaches) in the Philippines.  Who knows?  Next year it might be the desert sands of Mongolia.  (fingers crossed)

Terry, one of the owners of La Casa de la Playa, offered to take the beau and I on a day trip around the island.  Her girlfriend Romy decided to join us and we spent a good seven to eight hours exploring all that Siquijor had to offer.  We started off at a Christmas celebration at a local church.  It brought back so many memories of my time with family in Hawaii.  There were people everywhere and everyone was so happy and welcoming.  There were children playing and people were singing and dancing to Christmas tunes.  I could've probably stayed there all day, but we had more of the island to see.  In all reality, we could have probably spent the entire day hopping from Christmas party to Christmas party.  Everywhere we went, people were having outdoor extravagant parties.  As soon as they saw that we were foreigners, they would flag our car down and basically force us to join them.  They'd clear a spot for us at the table, pour us a rum and coke and ask us all about ourselves.  As soon as we brought out the cameras they would put on a show of dancing and singing.  There was even a rousing game of musical chairs.  It was all so refreshing and there was joy, so much joy.  One might say that it was ubiquitous.

We not only party hopped; we also visited a local healer, explored Terry's favorite beaches, visited the gravestone of a woman who died at 116, hiked to some beautiful waterfalls, dipped our toes in a natural pool at the base of a "magical tree", and chased the sunset.  It is impossible to recap everything in one post, so instead I'll post some pictures from the day and I'll have separate posts dipicting each activity later.  They have to be highlighted- they're just too good to miss!

Like I said- a LOT of Christmas parties!  The remainder of our evening was spent relaxing on the front porch and playing card games to see who would win the chance to sit in the hammock.   Not a bad way to celebrate!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Um, hello?  What happened to 2010?  I feel like this year just flew by.  Geeze I'm getting old.

Well, the boy and I had a relatively calm New Years Eve.  We got off work and headed to a new Indian restaurant downtown.  Yes, that's right- we now have INDIAN FOOD in Pohang!  Not gunna lie, I was more excited for the food than for the actual new year.  The food was savory and delicious and every plate came with your choice of rice or naan.  heaven.  It was also good to just relax and enjoy delicious food with friends. 

After dinner we decided to lay low and catch a movie.  We ended up seeing The American.  I didn't really like it at the time.  In retrospect, it was actually quite good.  It kind of showed the real side to being a spy.  Not too shabby.

After that we went home, poured ourselves a glass of rum and coke, slow danced around our living room, and brought out our journals.  Last year we wrote all of our hopes and dreams for 2010.  We wanted to see just how many of them we had accomplished.  A few of the ones that I got to check off were:

• before proficient in Korean
• earn my black belt in hapkido
• get a sak yant in Thailand
• visit "my people" in the Philippines
• get a Captain and Clark sponsor
• Have our videos be recognized
• take full advantage of our time in Korea

We're still working on our lists for 2011.  I'd say that 2010 was a year full of growth, travel, learning experiences and unexpected twists and turns.  We've been blessed beyond measure and I thank God every day for all that Chris and I have been able to do and accomplish.  Sometimes I have to sit back and realize just how fortunate we are.  Here's to hoping that everyone had a wonderful New Year's and that 2011 will bring peace, prosperity and joy! 

Best wishes,

Captain & Clark