Phu Quoc = amazing

Sara and I flew to Phu Quoc (fu wok) island, at the southern tip of Vietnam. It was a wonderful respite after almost 3 solid weeks of go go go with the youth missions trip. This island has the whitest, powderyist beaches I've ever seen and the turquoisiest water too. We stayed at a wonderful spot named Sea Star Resort - I highly recommend it. Palm trees everywhere, glorious beach front, and geckos to greet you where ever you walk. These few days of get-a-away included sunsent traditional dinners right on the beach, island hopping snorkeling trips, motoscooter rides on the red dirt roads, $3 full body hour massages and relaxing days reading a book on the beach under the shade of palm trees. All in all a wonderful place. I will definitely be returning!

The Bat Cave

Sabang is home to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world - the underground river (aka the bat cave). After taking a 15 minute beautiful boat ride to a sandy white beach we walked the monitor lizard path to the entrance of the river. We donned our lifevests and helmets (we looked like a scene from Fraggle Rock) and stepped into our boat that shuttled us through the water cave and pointed out stalactites that looked like various catholic church symbols. The most noteworthy thing was the 60,000 bats that inhabited the cave. There was swooping, chirping, and random dripping from above, hence the minor hats. Tim faced his fear and entered the cave - his reward... Kyle shaved his mustache! After the cave we trekked into the forrest to look for monkeys and monitor lizards. A beautiful day followed by a fun dance party at the church with the youth. Man, do the kids here know how to dance! Thanks for the fun times Palawan!

Noteable things about the Philippines

1) Loud, bad kareoke
2) extremely sugary drinks
3) candy stores everywhere
4) animals everywhere (roosters- I hate them!, goats, water buffalo, dogs, chickens, lizard things...)




5) the gaudier the gnies and tricycles the better (mini cabs)
6) white people are stared at
7) basketball hoops are everywhere and and any flat areas are used as courts (even it it's dirt)
8) families of 4 on a small scooter is considered a waste of space (you can fit at least 2 more on there!)
9) extremely friendly people wanting to know where your from and what you think of the philippines and its' people
10) amazing fruit that produces 365 days a year!
11) beautiful flowers that are in bloom 365 days a year!
12) honking is friendly here, it lets others know you're passing them (lanes are just guidlines)
13) KKK means something very different here... something about heroes. If they only knew what it meant in North America.
14) The cutest kids ever - I have had many a conversation with kids where we're both speaking a different language and it seems to work. They've got the awkward stare down pat!

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15) ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE...

El nido... Neato!

El nido, what can I say? As Jared put it, it was worth the 7hr hot bumpy car ride there leaving at 1am, and it was sort of worth the hot 7hr bumpy car ride home arriving at 11pm the same day. All in all, El nido, the northern tip of Palawan Island, is beautiful. We took a day trip to this paradise and took some local boats to go island hopping. The first island allowed us to explore water caves and blue lagoons with masks and snorkles. The water was so blue and clear it was unreal. We were all in awe. The next island we all played in the surf and some tried to catch Nemo fish in plastic bags (proving more difficult than initially thought) followed by an amazing meal of fresh grilled fish and squid with mangos and bananas. We all fell asleep on the deck of the boat on the way to the next island where we hopped off on to the white powder sand to head up to a hut nestled amongst coconut trees with hammocks to wet our whisltes with ice cold pop in glass bottles and some pringle chips. After dragging our feet to get back on the boat, we headed back into the harbour to pack up for the long ride home. This ride was slightly more painful due to increased heat, sun burns covering the majority of our bodies and the stickness of the seats the church in Peurto Princessa couldn't fast enough. It was an unforgettable day, in so many ways.

Baguio... city in the mountains

One hot day our team took a ride up to Baguio city. It was a windy, steep road in the heart of Launion province. As our van climbed the hills the temperature became cooler, thus bearable. Our first stop was the strawberry fields (insert Beatles song here), nestled into the mountains. We were a little late, so we combinded our forces and were able to pick one basket. No one knows what happened to that basket of berries, but we can say we partook in the Baguio tradition. We then loaded up the van and headed to SM mall for dinner at Jollibees and some shopping. Jollibees is like a glorified KFC, and in my books just as gross. Not a fan, sorry Philippines, not your best product. We then hit the stores to find some great deals. The only problem for me is that filipino people are smaller. Their size 10 shoe, is about a size 8 canadian. So not much luck for me. It was fun to browse nonetheless. We then congregated back at the van for the windy road down the mountains in the dark. It felt like the space mountain ride from Disney Land. And it marked the first time I was cold in the Philippines (minus the initial bus ride, you could have chilled meat on that ice shuttle. Plus the movie they were showing didn't help warm the mood, all brutal fighting scenes with no dialogue).
It was a fun trip to see how people can really live anywhere there is space, be it on a cliff that you need to take a sketchy bridge to or on the side of the road where your kids play.

Life of a rockstar... I mean missionary

One of the huge adjustments about visiting a small town in the Philippines, is the lack of white people, therefore you become the new exciting thing. One hot day, Sara and I arrived early at the local pool in Rosario, Launion. Our group had rented out the entire facitility. The owner approached us and made a point of telling us she had filled the pool with fresh water and had asked all the locals to leave, but they remained to get a glimps of the "Canadians". So here Sara and I were swimming, just the two of us, in this pool with the locals peering out from the woodwork. After being fed a scrumptious meal on the pool side, we did as the locals do here and partook in some videoke (kareoke). We then went to the church service that night to say our good-byes to those attending the youth leadership camp. Our group was asked to sign guitars, sign bibles, take endless photos and become friends on facebook. After a whirlwind of a day we were treated to full body massages that put me out like a light, only to wake up the next morning refreshed and ready to go, with fresh mangos and a cup of coffee and my laundry waiting for me downstairs. What a life, if this is missions, sign me up again and again!
Thanks to all of those who made our trip so amazing and memorable in Rosario, Launion.