Funny how time flies. Feels like Baguio was ages ago and something far in the past. Anyway, we spent our time in Baguio well while waiting for the next bus. We still had our loyal companions the Swiss with us and we all ate at McDonalds (shame I know) and played cards (asshole ala Swiss rules) in a hotel cafe. Got on the bus to Manila around midnight and once again the bus was far too cold to be able to catch any sleep. To our surprise we got back to Manila an hour earlier than expected and found ourselves in the mad traffic rush (there's always crazy traffic in Manila by the way) at 4.30 am. We immediately went to the next bus terminal to get the earliest possible bus to Legazpi. We were in luck and only had to wait for about an hour and a half. Enough time to stretch our legs and YES I found a diet coke to consume. Ah heaven!! The bus to Legazpi was far from luxurious, but hey the estimated travel time was only 10-11 hrs. It was really stuffy and hot in the bus, but since we hadn't slept very much I was out in no time. This time the trip was 2 hrs longer than planned and we didn't reach Legazpi until late evening. We were starving and dehydrated, but soldiered on to find some food once we had found a place to stay. We ended up at the local pub where drunken Navy Boys were singing away to the videoke (Filipinos favorite past time). It's funny, but they all like to sing very cheesy love songs that no one has ever heard of and not always with the most intune singing voice. Although it can sometimes be a bit overpowering trying to have any meaningful conversation while the singing is in progress, I do think that it is quite refreshing that no one cares how good or bad they are as long as the songs are delivered with strong passion and feeling.
The next day Dan and I were out hunting for a flight to Cebu (in the south) and got hold of one the very same day. Sadly we said bye to our Swiss comrades and quickly went to snap a photo of the Mayon volcano, which was the reason we went to Legazpi in the first place. Arrived in Cebu and planned for the next move. Beach! We decided to catch the ferry to Dumaguete and then have a few lazy days on the beach. Of course, we all know by now that nothing comes easy and the ferry was delayed halfway there due to a generator problem. I am not exactly the best swimmer I know so deep water and boats always make me a bit nervous. The boat breakdown in the dark was not the ideal scenario to keep me happy and I couldn't get off that boat soon enough. Dumaguete was a nice place though and it was all worth it. We finally managed to find a beach but to our disappointment it was cloudy and rained a bit. Typical!! Still got a red nose and a burnt my ass beyond recognition. Sitting on a bus after that was painful!!!
Back in Manila we spent the last day doing a day tour (by ourselves of course) to a nearby volcano in the lake. Hmm wasn't really what we expected and ended up taking a tuk-tuk down and then back up a hill before returning to Manila. I think that is probably the most pointless thing we've done so far but it was still quite enjoyable.
Anyway for those of you utterly concerned about the health of my toe (I know there are a lot of you) it's healing well and I have so far not had any issues with it...knock on wood!
Will leave updates on Cambodia for next time.
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