Hey, everyone! Greetings from Southern Leyte in the Philippines – a place I had literally no idea about until maybe five days ago. I am finally, finally in warm weather again after like a year of sweaters and coats. Since I’ve left Japan, I’ve been on three different islands – Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte. I intend to visit a couple more before my time here is up – which is still more than a couple weeks away!

Bohol

When leaving Japan, I had the oddest airport experience of my life. I didn’t have to wait in a single line that entire morning. Check-in? No people, no problem. Immigration? No people, no problem. Security? No people, no problem. It was almost comical just how smoothly everything went. I couldn’t believe it! Perhaps it was making up for shitty airport experiences of the past haha.

Also… I was able to get a somewhat decent photo of Fuji the day before leaving!

My flight was from Tokyo to Cebu. I arrived in the afternoon and basically had one evening in Cebu before taking the ferry to Bohol the following morning. Cebu City wasn’t all that impressive to me. From the get-go, I was reminded of my time in Fiji. A tropical area with lots of stray dogs/cats, polluted air, poverty, and garbage everywhere. But… paradise, right?

For dinner, I had Jollibee, which my friend Yvonne said was an absolute must. Luckily, there was a location only a few minutes from my hostel. Yahoo! AND I had my first proper halo-halo, which is this… delicious ice cream-y dessert. Ube ice cream, shaved coconut ice, jellies, fruits, etc. UGH – so yum!

I got up early and took the two hour ferry from Cebu City to Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Tagbilaran felt smaller, but still had a similar vibe to Cebu City. Again – stray dogs, polluted air, garbage everywhere.

I checked into my hostel and… it was beautiful. It was a sanctuary, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the town. A historical location, the heritage house has Japanese tunnels built underneath it. Much of the furniture and paintings were vintage. I ended up chatting with the owners on a couple of occasions during my visit – Ray and Gloria. Ray is from New York and Gloria is from Bohol. They have been together for 28 years. I enjoyed chatting with them during my stay.

I had five nights in Tagbilaran City. Early on, I realized it wasn’t technically the tourist “hotspot” in terms of locations in Bohol. That was Panglao. But still, it didn’t matter where I was.

I needed a few days to just recharge – not do much of anything at all. So that’s what I did! I think my first day there, I literally just sat on the front porch, looking at the greenery and the occasional birds. I saw some pretty butterflies, too. There were also geckos hanging around. I think gecko sightings will be a regular occurrence during my time in Southeast Asia. They make a funny chirping noise every now and then. Cute!

I kind of made friends with two of the staff – Jimar and Rodnell. They were both from Tagbilaran and we had a number of conversations while I stayed at the hostel. I enjoyed getting to know them. (Befriending them also worked in my favor because they ended up moving me from a fan-only room to a room with A/C…. which was definitely needed.)

One thing that the Philippines has definitely provided me so far that Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan didn’t really, is connection. And not only connection, but connection with local people.

During three of my five nights, I went to a nearby restaurant called Veganize Bohol. Run by two young guys, it was the very first vegan restaurant in Bohol. I ended up talking with them for about ten minutes as we talked about where I’m from, their experience with their restaurant, etc.

While at times I felt bored during my chill time in Tagbilaran, it was definitely needed. I have been on the go in a big way since I’ve left the States, and relaxation was mandatory.

Tarsiers & Chocolate Hills

I had one mission in the Philippines. That was to see a tarsier. What is a tarsier? Only the second-smallest primate in the world. I just looked up the first – it’s a mouse lemur and it’s not nearly as strange-looking as the tarsier.

Tarsiers are found in only a couple of places in Southeast Asia. Bohol is the only place in the Philippines where they still exist. They’ve gone extinct on a lot of the other islands. They can also be found in Malaysia and I think Indonesia as well. They are very tiny and they’re nocturnal, so it can be pretty difficult to find them.

During one of my days in Tagbilaran, I was walking around town. A tuk-tuk driver asked me if I needed a ride. (Well, a LOT of tuk-tuk drivers asked, constantly.) I told him that I didn’t, but that I was interested in going to the Tarsier Sanctuary the next day. He ended up convincing me to go that afternoon for an affordable price. So, off I went!

There are two places to see tarsiers in Bohol – one is a Conservation Centre, one is a Sanctuary. Which sounds better to you? Well, apparently the Conservation Centre is a bit of a shitshow – kind of like a zoo. The Sanctuary has a much better, more ethical reputation. So that’s where I went!

After paying 150 pesos (like $2 USD) for the entrance fee, I was asked to watch a quick, informational video about the tarsiers before we went into the sanctuary. Tarsiers are nocturnal, as we’ve already established, but they’re also very sensitive to loud noises and flash photography. We were asked to be as quiet as possible while observing the tarsiers. Noted! An interesting fact… tarsiers have been observed to bash their heads in when they’re enclosed in a cage. They’re one of the only creatures who would rather die than be in captivity. Wild.

After the video, a guide took us through the forest. The sanctuary is semi-wild, so I guess the tarsiers are able to come and go as they please. We were able to see three tarsiers. Two were very high up in the tree. I was like – aw, man, I didn’t even have a chance to bring my proper camera (because the visit was unplanned)! But I was still able to see just how teeny tiny they were. And how big their eyes were!

However, the third tarsier was low enough in the tree that I could reach out and touch it if I’d wanted. The tarsier’s tail must have been three times the size of its body. And while it was sleepy, it still looked around from time to time, checking out its surroundings. Tarsiers can’t move their eyes, so they actually have to move their head instead.

While I was glad I was able to get such a close encounter with the tarsier, I was disappointed that it was so brief. I think we were in the sanctuary for all of eight minutes! So… I decided to return another day. And on that day, there were not three, but FOUR tarsiers! That time, the guide I had walked through the area much slower, allowing us ample time to observe the tarsiers. Yay!

On another day, I went on an organized tour to the Chocolate Hills. It was supposed to stop at the sanctuary as well, but, as seemed to be the theme of the day… it stopped at the more unethical place instead. I was pretty unsatisfied with that tour, but the price was good and it was probably cheaper to see the Chocolate Hills than if I’d hired a tuk-tuk.

The reason I didn’t like the tour is because so many of the attractions it was stopping at… I didn’t want to support. One of them was a little mini-zoo, where you could hold a ball python snake or have a sugar glider put on your head for a photo opportunity. NO, THANKS! One of the attractions was an ATV ride (literally no one in our group did this). There was also a river cruise with a lunch buffet but it just didn’t seem… worth it? So a few of us didn’t do it. Apparently, that was nice, though.

So, for like a seven hour tour day, the only thing I got to see was a) some really nice views of Bohol’s countryside and b) the Chocolate Hills.

The Chocolate Hills are famed for their appearance during the dry season, where the grass is brown and “chocolate”-y. The hills were allegedly formed when Bohol was still under the sea. Coral compacted, turning to limestone, erosion, etc. Cool! I can’t say I was utterly impressed, but it was a pretty view, for sure! As Rodnell had said, they’re a bit “overhyped.”

And then, rested, I moved along to Panglao.

Panglao & Napaling Reef

Panglao is only about a half hour away from Tagbilaran City. Originally, I was only going to stay five nights in Bohol. I planned to see the tarsiers, go snorkeling in Panglao, see the Chocolate Hills, and then move on to whichever island I wanted to see next. Because I spent so much time relaxing early on, I extended the Bohol stay. I spent three more nights in Panglao.

The Panglao hostel was a total switch from the one in Tagbilaran. More people, and… there was a pool! And palm trees! While it was a hostel, it felt more like a resort. It was really nice. Because I didn’t arrive until the early afternoon, I spent my first day just chilling out. There were a few interesting critters hanging out at night. One evening, I saw a praying mantis. The other evening I saw a huntsman and accidentally ended up getting it killed. I spooked it and it crawled to the side of the door to my room. I didn’t want to open the door because I was afraid it would get in. Someone else saw, told staff, and… staff killed it. RIP little guy. I’m honored to have the last photograph of you alive.

I didn’t know exactly what I would be doing in Panglao, but all I knew is that I really wanted to go snorkeling. I originally heard Balicasag Island was a great spot, but after researching further, I found out its incredibly overcrowded and the coral is suffering for it. I decided not to participate.

On my second day, I took a tuk-tuk to Napaling Reef, which was only a fifteen minute ride. Once there, I was swarmed with fees. An environmental fee… an entrance fee… and then a fee if I wanted snorkel/mask/fins. Luckily, I have my own. This is one thing about the Philippines that has been kind of annoying. There are fees for EVERYTHING, everywhere you go. Even when I went on that Chocolate Hills tour, every single place we stopped at required a fee. 100 pesos for the Chocolate Hills, 150 pesos for the tarsiers (if you chose to go), 1000 for the buffet, etc. The tour was not inclusive at all – it was literally just paying for the driver haha. Even with the ferries – you pay for the ferry ride, but then you’re also paying for the marine fee, etc. Any way they can upcharge… they do. I hate that lol. Oh… and another thing I hate is that so many of these places never have change. So, if I only have a 1000 peso bill, the clerk will be like, “sorry… smaller bills?” It doesn’t make sense. Three people just went in, paid the 250 peso fee… why don’t you have change for me? It’s madness!

Anyway. I didn’t know much about Napaling Reef, but I’d heard from some other people that it was really nice. I couldn’t believe that after so much time, I was about to be reunited with the sea. Oh, how sweet it is!

Before entering the water, I became friends with Natalia and Diego, two pilots from Chile who were paying their fees the same time as me. We talked in Spanglish and then went on the snorkel adventure together.

I was pleased with the temperature of the water. So warm! And the visibility was incredible. There were little fishies swimming about all over the place, but the main event at Napaling was… the sardine run! These sardines swam this way and that, becoming one giant mass. It was hypnotizing, watching them swim together. These sardines were easily the largest school of fish I’ve ever seen. At times, I found that they were completely surrounding me.

When the sardines would get spooked, they’d create a little hole in their wall, and then it would eventually fill back in. Honestly, it was fantastic. I could have watched them for hours. I ended up doing two snorkel sessions that morning. Technically, we needed a guide, but he was kinda like “good luck!” after he saw we were doing well and I was able to stay in longer. Good lol.

I also saw a few very tiny eels. Any time I’ve seen an eel, they’ve been on the larger side, so it was cute to see them so small for once.

All in all, I was thrilled to have gone to Napaling!

My last full day in Panglao was Good Friday and much of the stuff in the area was closed. I was thinking about going back to Napaling, but when I’d asked one of the staff if they would be open, they kinda just shrugged. I figured I would be seeing more sardines in Moalboal anyway, so I decided to skip it. Instead, I chilled at the hostel, swam for a while, read a book, etc.

Southern Leyte

One thing I haven’t yet mentioned is that the Philippines has over 7,000 islands. I read the other day that of those, 2,000 were only discovered in the last twenty years or something. Many of them don’t even have names. So, I’m sure you can believe me when I say, it has been pretty difficult for me to decide which islands to go to. My original plan in the Philippines was this:

Cebu City > Bohol for tarsiers > Malapascua for thresher shark diving > Moalboal for sardine run > Cebu City > Donsol for whale sharks > Manila.

I have since ruled Malapascua out because you really need an Advanced Open Water certification for that, and I’m only Open Water certified. A reason to come back one day! I also decided to unfortunately rule out Donsol, which was a very difficult decision to make. Donsol is the only place I’d known of that had ethical whale sharking tours, but… lord, the commute was just WAY too far, and involved a plane ride which I wanted to avoid if possible. (Oslob, Cebu is also a popular area for whale sharks, but unfortunately they feed the whales which has disrupted their migratory nature… so it is not something I want to support.)

While I’d asked the internet over and over again what I should do, ChatGPT suddenly alerted me to ANOTHER place that ran ethical whale shark tours. In… Southern Leyte? Where the hell is that? Turns out, Leyte was an island just east of Bohol. Okay… okay? Should I do it?

I must admit, creating my Philippines itinerary has made me a bit of a stressball at times. I’m like WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO? Should I go to Siquijor, should I just go to Moalboal from here, should I go up to Manila and just spend some time in Palawan?

Anyway. It seemed that the universe conspired to provide me with another option for whale sharks – in Southern Leyte. Soooo, here’s what I did.

I took a 30min tuk-tuk from Panglao to the Tagbilaran City bus terminal. I took a van packed with 17 other people on a three hour trip to Ubay, on the completely opposite side of the island. I waited for two hours, then took a two hour ferry from Ubay to Bato. I took an hour-long van ride (again, packed with like 12 other people) from Bato to Maasin City, and finally, I took a jeepney one more hour from Maasin City to… Peter’s Dive Resort in Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte.

I knew it was going to be a journey to get there, but the journey seemed far less daunting and complicated than getting to Donsol (which would have been a flight from Bohol, then a 12+ hour bus ride, then ANOTHER 12 hour bus to Manila at the end of it).

Peter’s Dive Resort offers whale shark tours, but they also do diving. I figured, hey, if I don’t see whale sharks, I’ll at the very least do a refresher course for diving since it’s been two years.

On my first evening, I was exhausted from the 11 hour journey. It was… a long day. And I hadn’t eaten enough. So I stuffed my face, showered, and went to bed. I very quickly fell in love with the area though. The dive resort is literally right on the water and has some beautiful views. It has a remote, relaxing vibe and everyone here is here to dive or see whale sharks! Like-minded.

On my first day, I did my refresher course for diving. There were four others in my group. We practiced our skills in the pool and later in the day, we took the boat out to do one dive in the ocean. The visibility, much like Napaling, was unreal! It was so good. I think it may have been better visibility than the Great Barrier Reef, honestly. And there were so many fish!

I found Nemo (a clownfish) tucked away in coral. I saw two green sea turtles – but also, a HAWKSBILL turtle for the first time in my life. I saw some interesting starfish. And… well, a lot of fish I don’t know the names of. But there were a lot of them and it was a lovely time.

While my dives felt somewhat rushed in Australia, this one felt like it lasted a long time. I really enjoyed it and am super glad I’ve refreshed my skills. In the coming months, I’m hoping to go on a lot more dives! Also, thanks to my parents, because a little “boost” they gave me a couple months back has helped pay for these excursions! Love you guys!

I went on two more dives on my final day in Leyte. I was paired up with David, an Australian guy from Perth funnily enough. We saw so much incredible marine life! Countless fish swimming around, clownfish, stone fish, lionfish… I have wanted to get video of a lionfish for ages, so I’m really glad I was able to. There were different varieties of starfish, even some of the feathered starfish. I wish I’d been able to see the feathered starfish swimming because they are SUPER cool – but maybe next time. Oh, and we even saw a couple of nudibranchs. Yay! It was an absolute success. I wish I had another week here to just dive, dive, dive haha. I love being in the water. Isn’t that obvious?

Searching for Whale Sharks

My whale shark tour was scheduled for my second full day in Leyte. I woke up early, popped my contacts in, had breakfast, and waited with the others to board the boat. I had talked with others at the resort in the previous days, and they had all done the tour. I confessed that I was worried I wouldn’t see anything, that sometimes I’m cursed with these types of tours. Remember the manta ray tour back in Coral Bay, Australia? $400 Australian Dollars and all I got was a swim with a tiger shark! Kidding. But yeah, I didn’t see manta rays then and ALMOST didn’t even see manta rays in Fiji!

Anyway. I was trying to tell myself – it’s okay if you don’t see a whale shark. But then I would also tell myself, BUT I WANT TO see a whale shark. (Someone had said to me, “they’ve seen whale sharks every day in April so far. You’d have to be pretty lucky not to.” WELL, don’t jinx it, buddy! And actually, as I type this, a tour literally just got back and… they did not see a whale shark today. Oof.)

Well, off we went. Me and five other French-speakers. It was a little over an hour to get to the marine sanctuary where the whale sharks supposedly hung out. And we were only allotted three hours in the area to try and see a whale shark. Others had told me that if the three hours were up and we still hadn’t seen anything, we typically are granted permission to stay a little longer until we sight something. But… an hour went by, and nothing. Another hour went by… still, nothing.

Another boat came to the area eventually, so we had an additional set of eyes helping out. The water was a bit choppy and it was pretty cloudy out. Not really ideal conditions for wildlife spotting.

Then there was some movement. The guides got excited, and the boat started heading towards something. “Manta, manta” they called out. We all put our gear on and were told to jump into the water.

And there it was, a manta ray! It was doing acrobatics, spinning around and around. What a beautiful sight! I’d seen the manta in Fiji, and while it was an intimate and beautiful encounter, it was very calm. This one was doing somersaults in the water as it swallowed up its food. Incredible!

Mantas can swim very fast, so eventually it escaped our vision. We got back on the boat but then “manta, manta!” And off we went again, watching the manta. It was a bit chaotic, if I’m honest. A number of bodies all clambering to see the same thing. Bumping into each other, etc. Someone knocked my snorkel out of my mouth accidentally – TWICE! I’m sure I accidentally smacked someone with my fins at some point.

And then there was not only one manta, but… two! And not many people saw the other one, so I almost had it all to myself.

I was overjoyed with the manta experiences – I guess I got my money back for the Coral Bay manta I never saw haha. I think this is how it is for me. I’ll hope to see one thing, but then end up seeing something else. Like in Coral Bay, I didn’t see a manta, but I saw a tiger shark, etc.

I knew our time was almost up and I was feeling slightly discouraged. I swam back to the boat and then one of the guides shouted “butanding!” which is Tagalog for “whale shark.” They pointed down, and sure enough, there it was, swimming under the boat, almost directly underneath me.

Whale sharks are big. They can be really, really big. Our guide said this one was at least seven meters, or 21 feet. And while my brain recognized that, yes, this is a big creature… it didn’t feel quite as big as I envisioned it to be haha. But, man, how beautiful was it.

Unfortunately, the water was pretty murky – due to the choppiness/wind I think. But I was able to observe the beautiful, spotted creature as it weaved through the water. It was a serene moment, just a few of us on the scene. And then… all hell broke loose as everyone else swam over haha. Splashing and kicking and blah blah blah.

We were able to see the whale shark a few more times – at one point I was almost directly behind it, watching its body snake through the water. It would come up and then dive back down. From the boat, on occasion, we would see its fins as it grazed near the surface.

I think we got maybe three or four swims with/near the whale shark. They swim INCREDIBLY quickly. I am in relatively decent shape and can hold my own when it comes to swimming, but LORD was this whale shark fast as hell! Still – I got a glimpse of its eyes, its patterning, its incredibly massive body, and its tail. It was definitely a success.

I am really glad I made the effort in getting here from Bohol. It was a long commute day, and it was a total gamble in terms of whether or not I’d see a whale shark, but… I did. And it was amazing! I do hope to see them again one day (Exmouth, Australia in July…?). Fingers crossed. But if not, I’m grateful for the experience I had.

I’d talked with Connie the day prior, a woman whose been doing some dives at the resort for the past week. She told me how she wouldn’t want to do the tour again. Too many people jumping into the water, all chasing after the whale shark. It’s too chaotic, too crowded. In some ways, I agree. I prefer snorkeling or diving and seeing something that I didn’t expect to see. That is the magic of these encounters, right?

In talking with Connie, she said something very sweet. She said she had heard my voice and it was unlike anyone else’s. She said I think about what I’m going to say when talking with someone to match my opponent (aka the person I’m speaking with). She also said I seem like a sensitive young man. How kind is that?!

Miscellaneous

On my last night in Japan, I was able to meet up with… Haruka! A friend I met in Queenstown, who is originally from Japan. She helped me to fulfill a dream of mine, which is to sing karaoke in Tokyo haha – just like Scarlett Johannson in Lost in Translation. It was such a fun time. We sang for an hour. Haruka knew no English songs whatsoever and I knew no Japanese songs. We found common ground in singing the Sailor Moon theme song – her in Japanese, me in English. It was cute. After, we went for my final Japanese meal. It had to be ramen, of course.

After trying probably twenty different flavors of Kit Kats, I can officially confirm that peach is the ultimate flavor. It was so damn good!

And unfortunately, not 24hr after pinning my Majora’s Mask pin to my backpack… it fell off without me knowing and I lost it. I was really stewing about that my first night in the Philippines. I was so thrilled to find that pin! Damn it.

In Tagbilaran City, I had to re-up on dental floss. I went to the supermarket which had a massive aisle of toothbrushes and toothpaste… but no dental floss to be found. I asked an employee but he just seemed confused. I ended up finding it at the local pharmacist lol. Wild.

When I was headed to the tarsier sanctuary for the first time, I asked the driver if he knew where I could find some calamansi juice, per Yvonne’s recommendation. Well we found some and I bought a drink for myself and the driver (Reul). It was served in basically a Ziploc bag with a straw. When Reul finished his drink, he pulled over and tossed the plastic bag and straw onto the side of the road. I was shocked. But then I had to ask myself – what does it matter if I’m using a proper bin anyway? Is it just going to end up in the same place?

When talking with Ray and Gloria, the owners of the hostel I stayed at in Tagbilaran, they told me how a lot of expats will come to the Philippines and… “buy” girls. They suspect that their next door neighbor is a pedophile and has “bought” a girl to live with him. Apparently, this is a somewhat common thing. Unfortunately, they can’t do anything about it because the girl or her family actually need to reach out to the police about it. Nobody else can.

They also told me that there was a big typhoon within the past couple of years and there were massive power outages in Bohol. Blackouts continued for six months. SIX MONTHS!

One funny thing about being in the Philippines is that everyone calls me “sir” when I’m ordering things.

I did have a semi-argument with a tuk-tuk driver one day. We agreed on a price to take me to/from the tarsier sanctuary (my second time) and halfway there, he said, “and it’s X amount for one way.” I was like nooooo, that’s not what we agreed on. We went back and forth a little bit but I was trying to hold my ground. It’s not like the price was super expensive but it was the principle of it that irked me. I felt frustrated. Because I’m a foreigner, I’m automatically seen as wealthy and am able to be taken advantage of financially. No, fuck that! Anyway, we didn’t talk for the rest of the ride to the sanctuary. Later, I ended up giving him what he was asking for anyway because I felt bad. I apologized and explained my feelings and he apologized, too. I’m not perfect, y’all! But I don’t like when people try to squeeze more money out of me when we’ve already agreed on a price.

Art of the Week

I ended up drawing this picture of the tarsiers and giving it to the staff at the first hostel in Bohol. Jimar seemed really touched and actually taped it to the wall at his reception desk right away. So sweet! I’m not sure if I’ve totally captured the tarsier’s likeness but… I am happy with how the drawing turned out!

Reflections

There have certainly been some complicated feelings since being in the Philippines. The poverty, polluted air, stray animals, etc. have been hard to digest. I’ve seen it before in Jordan, in Fiji… but it is still tough. I definitely feel humbled and grateful for the way in which I grew up. I have a lot of privilege and I’m aware of that. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is sort of the somewhat recent “ethical” tourism and how that maybe impacts locals. I talked with a few people about this and I would say something along the lines of, “ethical tourism is a fairly recent thing. And while I want to view wildlife ethically… I also wonder how that impacts the locals. Because so many people are into the ethical tourism now, are we taking away an income from the locals?” Both parties that I talked to said – well, those organizations are likely not giving much money to their local employees to begin with. They’re hoarding it for themselves, etc. The answer to “giving back” to these impoverished communities was to support local businesses (buying fruit from food stalls, volunteering, etc.). I will definitely have to be more mindful of that and try to do some volunteer work while traveling.

Because of the poverty, the air, etc., I can’t confidently say I’m “IN LOVE” with the Philippines. But I can say there are certainly aspects of the Philippines that I do love. I’ve loved having conversations and interactions with some local folks. I’ve loved snorkeling with the sardines and seeing the tarsiers in Bohol. I’ve really loved seeing the whale shark, manta rays, and all the fishies in Southern Leyte.

I still have a little over two weeks here. I’m looking forward to getting to know the Philippines even better during that time. I hope by the time I leave, I can say I really love it here!

Tomorrow morning, I take a ferry from Maasin City to Cebu City. I will likely stay overnight there and then get a van down to Moalboal where I’ll stay… I don’t know – a week? Moalboal, like the place I’m at in Southern Leyte, is right next to the ocean. I will likely be doing even more snorkeling and potentially diving. Exciting stuff!

Until next time, sending you all my love. x