Hello Halo-halo
Trip Start
Aug 27, 2007
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3
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Trip End
Aug 31, 2007
Boljoon, Cebu,
Philippines
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The bus was comfortable and air-conditioned - and expensive by Philippine standards. It passed through lush green countryside and along beautiful coastal scenery, the most spectacular being the last leg into Boljoon. We stopped at the old stone church, supposedly the oldest in Cebu, though a man we talked to there told us the Carcar church is even older. The church was under restoration so there was scaffolding everywhere
01 On the bus to Boljoon
. We also had a look at an old wooden building used as a school house during Spanish colonial days.We then took a bus back to Argao, another air-conditioned vehicle from the rival company. We sat right at the front and had a great view through the large windscreen. At Argau we visited the Church of San Miguel Arcangel, with its original organ brought from Mexico. The whole area surrounding the church is like a Spanish plaza. We also visited the Argau Hall of Justice, a colonial building which has been used for many purposes over the years.
We were hungry by now so decided to find some lunch. There was a place specializing in lechon, a whole roast pig which is sold by the kilo. We ordered a quarter kilo with some rice and pickles, a substantial meal for less than A$2. It was absolutely superb, far better than any Chinese roast pork we've had at high prices. The skin was crunchy and the meat melted in our mouths, not too fatty and not salty as with a lot of Chinese pork - a truly memorable meal. (Apologies to any Muslims or Jews reading this.)
The next transport we got was the cheapest, but least comfortable, a jeepney running between Argao and Carcar
02 On the bus to Boljoon - Motortricycle Transport
. At Carcar we explored the town plaza, in the shape of a rotunda with statues, and spent far too long trying to locate the so-called "Heritage Street", which was not named as such, a street with many old wooden Spanish-style houses and, in particular, the "Bahay na Tisa" (House of Tiles). We also had a look at the local church, once again surrounded by European-style structures and statues.Finally, we picked up a non-airconditioned bus back to Cebu City, which was just as comfortable as an air-con bus except that the driver drove like a maniac, taking little notice of school-zone warnings, on-coming traffic or anything else that might impede his progress. He did have a framed picture of Jesus above him so he probably felt that was protection enough. On the walk back from the bus terminal we stopped in at a fast food restaurant for a halo-halo. This is a popular Philippine dessert, which we had not tried before. It is very like the Malaysian ice kacang - crushed ice with coconut milk, red beans, corn, colourful sweets and, in this case, a scoop of yam ice-cream on top. A bit sweet for our taste, but quite refreshing. I tried to buy a coffee for Yoong, but their way of serving coffee was to give a cup of hot water and a packet of three-in-one. No way of having it without sugar so I had to return it. But we kept the hot water, which was enough to satisfy Yoong. At least at breakfast, the coffee, milk powder and sugar are all served separately along with the cup of hot water
03 On the bus to Boljoon
.We took a final jeepney ride back to Kukuk's Nest and we walked down the road to find an Internet café. The first one was full, but they directed us to one across the road. It was cheap at 15 pesos an hour but it couldn't access YouTube, and it kept doing weird things like opening lots of windows all by itself. We gave up on it and decided to go back. On the way we saw another place - a posh-looking place doubling as a pizza restaurant. We had to wait until a terminal was available, but it was a pleasant enough place to relax in, and I had a chance to get this journal up to date. After an hour of checking the forty-something e-mails we decided to stay for dinner and ordered a spaghetti bolognaise and chilli chips. No pizzas after yesterday's marathon. I ordered a Red Horse beer, which was on the menu, but, for some reason, they couldn't put the bottle on the table so they gave it to us in one and a half glasses. Very refreshing, and quite a decent meal, though the servings were a bit small.
When we got back we discovered some changes in the bathroom. We had pointed out yesterday that the water in the basin was not going down, and noticed later in the day that two staff members were in there for some time trying to fix the problem. Now, suddenly, there is a new tap and new pipes. Very impressive in a country where many things tend to happen slowly, if at all.
Raymond's Travel Page
