CEBU OR KUZON

[robbysanjuan]

Can someone share their travel experiences with me and point out the pros and cons of each one. Which one is better for the single travler and not to over blown with tourist? Thank you

[dd]

... in response to CEBU OR KUZON, posted by robbysanjuan on Aug 29, 2001

Once you are out of the major cities, either is great and not touristy at all. Manila is terribly crowded, dirty and polluted and I rarely spend more than a single day there. Cebu City used to be nice and sleepy, but becomes more and more like Manila.

It is easy to get out of Cebu City and there are literally undreds of islands and beaches waiting for you!

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: CEBU OR LUZON, posted by dd on Aug 29, 2001

Hallo dd,

Wie gehts? Ich bin einverstanden!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Dave H.

[Dave H]

... in response to or Mindanao, posted by Dave H on Aug 29, 2001

Hi Robbysanjuan,

Don't rule out the other islands of the Visayas or Mindanao. One thing you will quickly discover about being away from the tourist areas, is that people stare at you MUCH more (unless you look Filipino). Get ready to hear "Hey Joe!" and "Guwapo" even more. You will find that the people of the Philippines come in many colors and different looks. Some look very Asian, while others look very Spanish and everything in between. At 5'9" I usually felt very tall, however I saw some Filipinos my height and a few that could look down at me. It is a wonderful place to visit or live!

Dave H.

[Jeff S]

... in response to and the Visayas, posted by Dave H on Aug 29, 2001

A funny thing happened to me the last time I was in Japan with my daughter.  We had Japan Rail passes, and one day while my wife did things with her mother, my daughter and I hopped on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to go to a town we'd never visited, Okaiyama, an old city with a famous park, castle, and lots of museums and other historical sights. When the train slowed and we made our way to the end of the car, we found ourselves standing amid the Kobe Steel professional volleyball team. At 6'4", I'm pretty used to looking down on the heads of the vast majority of Asians and my step daugther at 5'4" fits in pretty well with the crowd in Japan. These Japanese guys were at least as tall as I and some taller - they probably ranged from 6'2" to 6'7" or so. My daughter couldn't do anything but look up and stare. She told me it was the first time she ever felt small in Japan.
-- Jeff S.

[Dave H]

... in response to Funny thing in Japan, posted by Jeff S on Aug 29, 2001

Hi Jeff,

I'll bet you were surprised! ROFL!

As I boarded the Butuan City bound 737 in Manila, I was surprised to see that I had a clear view over the tops of many heads to the back of the plane. I helped a number of passengers put their belongings into overhead compartments. This was a new and interesting experience for me. During the flight, I couldn't help but wonder about the stature of the pilots. I chuckled as I pictured them in some sort of special booster seats or siting on phone books. ;o)) I wondered if they had pedal and lever extensions too. As we dove between the mountains approaching the airport in Butuan, my thoughts became a lot more serious. I prayed that they really had control of this baby. After we landed, I learned that while Filipinos rush to get onto a plane, they are very slow to get off. After spending a total of 21 hours in the air, I was definitely in a hurry to get off. Towering over the other passengers, I watched, stranded in the aisle as they scrambled and climbed on the seats to gather their belongings. Another thing I learned was that no one puts their belongings in the compartment above their own seat. Balikbayan boxes and carry-on luggage were being passed back and forth overhead. ;o)) A stewardess was very observant of my predicament, and quickly ushered me off the back of the plane. In the distance I could hear people calling my name. Outside the fence I saw a group of small people holding a sign that said "Welcome David!" They were looking in my direction, so I turned to see who the other David was. To my surprise there was no one behind me. I gave a shy little wave, just in case there actually was another David that I had missed. Duhhh...I'll blame it on jet leg. As I walked the tarmac toward the front of the plane, the pilot and co-pilot stepped forward to shake my hand and thank me flying PAL. I was surprised to see that the co-pilot was my height (5'9') and the pilot, an impressive 6 feet.

Dave H.

[Bear]

... in response to I really like Asia...  ;o)), posted by Dave H on Aug 29, 2001

of your trip report huh!  I think I will report you to the board and see if we can have your rewrite it and put back in all the goodie you left out.

hehehe

Bear

[Dave H]

... in response to Left this out..., posted by Bear on Aug 30, 2001

Hey Bear,

I told about how my right elbow kept hitting the pretty PAL stewardess in the butt (LA - Manila), every time she pulled the beverage or food cart down the aisle.  Funny thing...it never happened with the steward. Hmmmm???  ;o)))

Dave H.