LogWeek06

January 28th, 2007: Today is "Whaleshark Day" The day my curse of the whaleshark is taken off my back...hopefully!! Rise and shine at 6 am as we
had to be ready and on board the dive boat by 7 am. The dive boat left at 7:04, what a concept, a dive shop that leaves on time. Other than Action
Divers in Puerto Galera, this concept has become foreign to us in the Philippines. The dive shop here is set up the way I would run a dive shop. Well
organized, with a place for everything and everything in its place. Their dive boat is the same way and a joy to dive off. Andy and Carmen will be happy
to know they even have a DAN O2 kit onboard, camera rinse tanks, toilet, water, coffee, tea and packed lunch, sweet!! We arrived at the far side of
Sogod Bay before 9 am and kitted up with full dive gear, ready to jump in with the whalesharks. We eagerly waited for the small boats with local spotters
to arrive. Usually, they are already out spotting before our boat gets there, but with it being a Sunday morning, we had to wait for them to finish mass
(this is a very Catholic country after all!!). The spotters paddled their small one or two man boats around wearing a mask, and every 15 seconds or so
would dunk their head over and look in the water for the whalesharks. Did I mention whalesharks? I thought I might have, just so that Steve and
Lew-Lew would believe I was actually going to see one, al be it, not in Utila. After a half hour or so, they spotted one and our dive boat moved into
position. That's when mass confusion kicked in as 15 divers scrambled into the water for a look. I was one of the first in the water, and spotted him right
away ( no pun intended about the spots...). I descended to 15 feet for a close look while trying to snap pictures. The rules are simple for us to follow,
don't touch them, no flash photography, stay away from right beside their head and don't swim beneath them as your bubbles will bother them. Other
than that, it was descend to their depth and follow them around for a bit. The sandy bottom where they were located was at about 45 feet, so we never
had to go very deep to observe them and swim along with them. Now, back to the first whaleshark we saw... In one word, if one word could be used, it
was AWESOME. They are so large and so graceful, and you are in total awe the very first time you see one in real life. Since my first trip to Utila many
years ago, and during all the subsequent trips in the years to follow, I was always looking at pictures and listening to the stories and experiences of our
friends and fellow divers that had experienced whalesharks up close and personal (Marlene being one of them, after she was lucky enough to stay an
extra week on one of our visits to Utila). No picture or description comes close to preparing you for that first time you jump in the water and see them up
close. We got to watch this one for a couple of minutes as he circled around in a big circle before diving deeper and taking off. Then it was back onto
the boat to swap stories and look at everyone's pictures (you gotta love digital cameras). This first whaleshark was probably 5 or 6 meters in length, as
I was too busy taking pictures to accurately measure!! The second whaleshark was quite a bit larger than the first one (probably 8 or 9 meters), and he
took us all for quite a swim as he glided at a slow steady pace at about 30 feet, and made us swim our asses off just to keep up with him. I managed to
get about a 30 second video clip of this guy from the back. The third and final whaleshark of the day was the best, smaller than the second, but bigger
than the first, and much more photogenic. Most of the pictures I have posted are of the third guy as he was curious and hung around us and circled
around in the middle of us. All in all, it was a fabulous day as John, Debbie, Mar and I all got to dive with whalesharks and John and Joanne had a blast
snorkeling around and watching the whalesharks and the divers from the surface. Smiles were in good supply on the trip back to the resort, and we
even had more dolphins to see just to cap the day. We all toasted the day with a couple of bottles of red wine as the sun set on a spectacular day here
in the Philippines...

January 29th, 2007: How do you improve on yesterday? Anything less than another day with the whalesharks would pale in comparison. But, as luck
would have it, there are no more whaleshark outings planned for a few days, so we definitely got here on time for yesterdays trip. We decided to do a
couple of morning dives with Josef from Germany and Thomas from Switzerland, our two divemasters from yesterday. They are very attentive and do a
great job leading the dives, both of which had full pre dive briefings, lasted over an hour and had many interesting things to see. I have been very
impressed with Peter's Dive shop here in Padre Burgos. I would not hesitate to recommend this dive shop to friends and fellow divers. They are very
organized, leave on time, safety conscious, attentive and do a great job of letting you enjoy your diving experience. I would still have said all those nice
things even if we didn't get to see whalesharks!! After our morning dives, we joined John and Joanne for a trip into Maasin, the small town about 1/2
hours drive away. We just walked out in front of the dive shop and in 5 minutes a nice aircon bus drove by and picked us up. The trip into town cost us
30 pesos each, or about 75 cents CDN. We found an internet place so that we could finally publish the last few days of entries to the web site, and
while we were there, we booked our flights online to Bangkok. Yep, going to Thailand!! We got a great deal with Cebu Pacific for return flights from
Manila to Bangkok for under $200 USD. Tomorrow, we will catch the boat to Cebu, then on Wednesday we fly to Manila, and hang out for a night before
flying to Thailand. We can't wait to get there and show John and Joanne what a wonderful country it is. We will be there for about 3-1/2 weeks before
returning to Manila for a couple of days at the end of February, before we fly back to Canada in March. While in Maasin, we found a great little seaside
restaurant/bar/coffee shop that had a bucket of 6 cold San Migs for 140 pesos or just over $3 CDN!!!! We also grabbed some wonderful desserts to go
from the coffee shop display counter and decided to make our way back to the dive resort before it got too late. Unfortunately we hit rush hour and all
the tricycle taxis were full. We were lucky enough that a Jeepney taxi stopped and managed to squeeze us in for the ride home. The only place for me
to sit was basically on the floor with my legs hanging out on the bumper, and facing the vehicles behind us. I had a couple of handles to hang onto and
had to wear my sunglasses because of the bright lights, but it was a fun ride, all in all. Back at the dive resort, we went for dinner next door, and that
was an experience in it self. We brought a couple of bottles of red wine, and agreed to pay a corkage fee of 200 pesos, so we could drink them there.
They turned out to be the best part of the meal, as John and Marlene ended up getting served frozen meat pies, not once, but twice. After that didn't
work out, they ordered bread and cheese, which never made it to the table!! By the time we got the bill, Joanne and I paid for our meals and the
corkage fee was waived. We walked down the beach back to our hotel and met up with a bunch of our fellow divers to swap pictures of the wahlesharks
on our laptops. In the next day or two, I'll download some of the pictures from UK John and Singapore Alex. I know you'll like them!!

January 30th, 2007: After breakfast, we said goodbye to our travel companions for the last few days, Debbie and John, as they were jumping onto the
resorts dive boat for a couple of morning dives, along with the other divers that we met, including Peter from Kelowna and his buddy John. We thanked
the divemasters, Josef and Thomas for the wonderful time we had diving with the whalesharks. By 10 am, we had our gear loaded up in a van and
started on our way to Hilongos, where we were to catch the 1pm fast boat to Cebu city. The four of us bought a couple of roasted chickens and fresh
buns to feast on while on the boat. Our trip across the Camotes Sea would take two and a half hours, so we started eating as soon as we left harbour.
That was a good thing, because by one hour into the trip, we were rocking and rolling, as the enclosed boat sped through the waves. The high speed
must have doubled the effects of the waves as the roll to the side was almost 45 degrees at times, and the windows on the side of the boat were
constantly covered in the splash from the waves. The boat was an interesting design, as it was fully enclosed, with a capacity of about 150 people, and
was long and skinny with only 6 seats across. Half way through the trip, I saw him handing out sickness bags, and quite a few people taking them, but I
didn't hear or see anyone actually needing them!! Although, I did see Joanne with a worried look on her face, while she stayed horizontal for most of
the trip. We arrived safe and sound in Cebu city and caught a taxi back to the same hotel we had stayed a few weeks earlier. A quick visit to the local
mall enabled us to check our email, send an email to Federal Hotel in Bangkok to book a room and pick up our E-tickets from Cebu Pacific Airlines. We
then made our way to Crossroads to choose a restaurant, and we ended up choosing wrong the first time. It took forever to get drinks, and then they
finally brought Marlene's dinner. Fifteen minutes later, after she had finished her dinner, and we still hadn't seen hide nor hair of ours, we got up and
left. Paid the cheque for what we had eaten and drank so far, and had the manager telling us that two more of our dishes were just finishing and Johns
steak wouldn't be much longer!! We said Syonara and headed next door to a Thai-Vietnamese restaurant that had us eating and finished in about a
half hour. The food was pretty good too, and will help prepare us for the awesome food awaiting us when we land in Bangkok on Thursday night.

January 31st, 2007: A great sleep at the hotel last night, and I was up early in search of great coffee. We had passed by a nice looking coffee place
on the way to the mall yesterday, so I went to see if they opened early. After texting J & J to get their order, I loaded up on Latte's and breakfast
pastries like mini pineapple pies, coconut squares, banana bread, pineapple squares and breakfast brownies... okay, I made up the name of that last
one to justify buying it at 8 am in the morning!! Back at the hotel, the four of us feasted on our mini pastry buffet and lattes, while waiting for our taxi to
the Cebu airport. While killing some time before the plane loaded, John and I opted for the 1/2 hour neck and shoulder massage that cost a whopping
100 pesos, or about $2 USD. The flight to Manila was quick and comfortable with Cebu Pacific, a no frills airline that reminds me of Westjet back home.
They have great rates, new planes, and like to have fun onboard with games and prizes during the flight. We also fly with them to Bangkok tomorrow
evening... mmm...Bangkok... that means Thailand... that means great food and awesome beaches and hopefully visiting some old friends. Our arrival in
Manila went without a hitch and within minutes, we were whisked off to the Heritage Hotel, a 5 star place that a friend of J & J's lined up for us at a good
rate. It was unload the bags in the room and straight down to the lobby for a nice little lunch. Unfortunately, the San Migs were 150 peso, or about 3
times the price of most other places, all be it still cheaper than a bar back home. While John went to pamper himself yet again today, with a haircut and
facial, the rest of us took a 5 minute taxi ride to the "Mall of Asia", which we are told is the largest mall in Asia. It does have a skating rink and an IMAX
theatre, but it doesn't have the waterpark, submarines and amusement rides like West Edmonton Mall!! We managed to check our emails and wander
around aimlessly for an hour or two before making our way back to the hotel to meet Ike, a Filipino used to be Joanne's brother in law. We had a
fantastic night with Ike, John and Joanne in the restaurant at the hotel. We ate our faces off with the "Around the World" buffet, that had everything from
Tuna sashimi, salmom sashimi, big ass prawns, oysters, mussels, squid, lamb, roast duck, suckling pig, rotisserie chicken, dim sum, custom made stir
fry, assorted cheeses and the rest of the soups and salads that make up a typical buffet. Then it was on to the pastry buffet table with Tiramisu,
chocolate mousse, mango flan, creme caramel, cheesecakes, chocolates and way too many others to list. A final trip to the fruit buffet and you
comeback with a plate loaded with freshly cut mango, pineapple, dragonfruit and some others I can't remember, and I was stuffed!! Of course the three
bottles of red wine we enjoyed helped top off a wonderful meal. We had a great time meeting Ike and the five of us got along great as we closed down
the restaurant for the night singing Beatles and Rolling Stones songs at our table. Johns a pretty good guitarist and drummer back home, I've been
told, so he has a great recollection of the lyrics. The rest of us at the table all grew up in the 70's so we all have a love for the same kind of music... and
did I mention the red wine???... Tomorrow, we sleep in.

February 1st, 2007: Another travel day today, but not till late at night. We slept in and met for the buffet breakfast in the lobby. Lots of fruit and other
healthy options as well as a few artery hardening ones to go along with. We asked for a late check out and zipped off to the Mall of Asia to scope out
our day. We did the usual, checked email, scoped out whats playing at the IMAX, did some window shopping at met John and Joanne at Starbucks
before heading back to the hotel to check out. We had been just going into the internet place when who do we run into? Our friends, Sophie and Julie
from Montreal were walking by with their backpacks just on their way to the airport for a flight to Tokyo. We had time for some quick hugs and a chance
to catch up on what everyones been up to for the last week. We told them about the whalesharks we went to see right after we left them in Alona
Beach. It was too bad they had to rush off and didn't get to say Hi to John and Joanne. After checking out and leaving our bags at the hotel, we went
back to the mall to have a few cold ones before we went to the IMAX to see Night at the Museum. After nearly freezing our buns off in the sub zero
Philippino theatre we had a quick bite and picked up our luggage on our way to the airport. John couldn't get warm after we left the theatre and was still
shivering as we checked in for our flight. We layered him up and managed to get past immigration and almost through security before the
chills/fever/stomach problems got the better of him. He looked pale and felt dizzy, so we had him lie down till it passed. It created quite a flurry of activity
for half the airport staff in the vicinity as they all came over to check on him. Within 5 minutes, we had a Doctor asking him questions and checking him
out while a couple of medical staff checked his blood pressure. By this time, he was sitting up and feeling much better, and the doctor gave him some
meds and instructions. We cleared security and made our way to the gate to wait another hour or so before boarding. John looked much better and
was back to his almost usual self, British humour intact, by the time we boarded the plane. We all dozed on and off for the 3-1/2 hour flight that left
manila at 11 pm. Landing in Bangkok at the new airport was uneventful and we were soon in a meter taxi zooming our way at 140 km/hr down the
elevated highways on our way to the Federal Hotel once again. It was almost 3 am when our heads hit the pillow at the end to another fun day in Asia.
Tomorrow, we see how John is doing and start to show them around our favourite country to visit...THAILAND...

February 2nd, 2007: Bangkok, Thailand... two words I love to use in a sentence, especially when someone asks where I am at the moment. Even
though we didn't get to the hotel till very late last night, I couldn't sleep much and was up bright and early in the Federal Hotel's restaurant for some Thai
food for breakfast. They make a great chicken fried rice and iced coffee, and on my first bite, I knew it tasted just like when I last had it two years ago.
While the rest were sleeping, I worked on the log and wolfed down my Thai food. I went out by the pool and could feel the warm sun at 8 am. Yes, thats
right I said sun and good food in the same paragraph... something thats been missing these few weeks in the Philippines. We got an email from John
and Debbie, who are still back in Leyte, and they said the weather still sucks there. You guys will be happy to know that Friday was a fabulous bright
sunny day here in Bangkok without a cloud in view. When Marlene woke up a bit later, I went back to the restaurant and joined her for a bowl of Tum
Yum, which they do a fabulous job of for cheap, here at the Federal. We hooked up with John and Joanne after breakfast, and John was feeling
noticeably better that yesterday. We showed them the neighbourhood around Soi 11, pointing out all the necessities like ATM's, internet, good
restaurants, jewelery shops and a phone place so we could get a new SIM card for our phones, so they will work here in Thailand. I'll let you know what
our Thai phone number is in an email, for those that want to get in touch with us. We purchased all day passes for the BTS, the overhead train system
here, and made our way to Silom road, near Patpong, so that we could purchase Thai Discover Passes from Thai airlines. These passes allow us to
travel from Bangkok to Phuket, then back to Bangkok, and up to Chiang Mai, then back to Bangkok for one package price. We leave for Phuket on
Sunday morning for a 2 week getaway. Our tour then took us to Patpong late in the afternoon as the street was just closing and the vendors were
setting up their stalls for the night. An Irish pub quenched our thirsts before hopping back on the skytrain for the trip back home. Joanne decided to
take the night off and rest, so the three of us set out for a dinner of roast pig, before jumping back on the skytrain to go visit Patpong later in the
evening when everything was bustling. We decided to leave the crowds of Patpong behind and took John for a Tuk-Tuk ride over to the Night Bazaar
on Wireless road. John liked this one much better as it has a very large beer garden with live music and much nicer shops. Then it was a taxi ride back
to Sukhumvit where we enjoyed a $9 Cdn, hour long massage. On the way back to the hotel, John got propositioned by a knockout in a tiny black
number right in front of the 7-11...

February 3rd, 2007: Up bright and early to get a good start on a full day in Bangkok. I couldn't resist have a Thai green chicken curry with rice for
breakfast as the coffee shop in the Federal makes such good Thai food. I got a $7 haircut before all four of us set out for the weekend market by way
of the skytrain. The weekend market in Bangkok is a busy place equally full of Thais and tourists. You can buy almost everything there from exotic pets
to antiques, clothing, books, art, wood carvings, furniture, food, plants and jewelery to name a few. John and Joanne managed to buy a backpack with
the hope of filling it by the time we leave Chiang Mai in 3 weeks. We came away relatively unscathed with only a small painting of an elephant. The
market is a great way to burn up most of your Saturday and its almost impossible to see every vendor stall without a map and a lot of time and patience.
By late afternoon we left the market and stopped at a pub with wireless internet to check on accommodation for Sunday night in Phuket. We didn't have
much luck online for a reasonable room under $50, so we bought a Lonely Planet guidebook and will wing it when we get to Phuket in the morning. For
dinner, we had made reservations for a restaurant called Bussaracum near Silom road. We had seen a program on TV while in the Philippines that had
been filmed at the restaurant, and the food looked so good. The restaurant serves "Royal Thai" food which is not quite as spicy as other Thai food, but
very flavourful and very beautifully served. The drinks came in pineapples and coconuts, adorned with orchids and were very tasty. It was a nice meal,
a little pricey by Thai standards, but still less than half of what you would pay back home. The skytrain back home and a short walk down Sukhumvit
and we were ready for an early bedtime. Tomorrow is an early wake up for the flight to Phuket.