tour of the Philippines. . .

whew! it feels like we need another holiday to recover from this last one! oh wait. . .we are on a holiday. . . for a few more months anyway! :) our days in the Philippines were booked solid with little trips that we didn't even have time to update the blog. . .here is a glimpse of our short month there. . .

since i haven't been back to the motherland in about 18 years and it was rob's first time, the one thing that really stood out was the crazy traffic!!! there are rules, but the drivers have their own way of abiding by them. . .one major mode of transportation are the jeepneys. . .most of them are overloaded with decorations just like the ones below. . .

another mode of transportation are the tricyles. . .a motorbike with the sidecab. . .technically it's only supposed to fit 4 maybe 6 (tiny) people. . but we saw several filled to the max. . like the one below. . .it's amazing they don't fall off on the side of the road! :)

our favourite one is the family bike!. . .rob was fully amused by this. . .and in our days there, we saw some with 5 even 6 people. . mind you, small Filipino people :)

TRIP 1: Cebu - the city of my birth. . . we visited the hospital where both JR and i were born. . .we even met the doctor who delivered me! yes, i was a c-section (sorry, mom!) and to top it off, we toured the delivery room where i was born! :) i took rob to the back of the hospital where we used to live. . . these are the steps that lead up to our old apartment in Cebu. . .

we took a side trip to Bohol . . . a whole 3 hours away by ferry. . .spent the day there where we marvelled at the Chocolate Hills. . .how in the world were these formed? you tell me! :)

saw the smallest known primate in the world, the Tarsier . . .kind of creepy looking little animals. . .rob fed it a cricket. . .they may be small, but they're fast. . .the cricket was gone in no time!

rob made a friend with a baby Philippine monkey. . .it sat in his arms for a while and started twirling his arm hair! :)

TRIP 2: Bacolod - where i spent grades 1 & 2 also my Dad's hometown. . .here we spent an evening with the relatives. . .about 30 of them . . .had a mini-party with the main dish being the famous Bacolod chicken inasal. . .yum yum. . . rob learned how to eat rice with his hands! :) the relatives were amused and very impressed! :) haa haa haa :)

Bacolod is also the land of sugar cane. . .this is how they harvest it . . .i think those are the same trucks when i was here over 20 years ago. . .unbelievable!

here are the steps that lead to our old apartment at Central Philippine Adventist College aka CPAC. . .not the same as when we were there. . . the stairs used to be bigger :)

TRIP 3: Boracay - world famous white sand beaches. . .this time the whole Ferrchuk family went on this 3-day trip . . .it was a superfabulous time had by all! :)

we arrived on the island by pontoon boat. . .

we arrived to our hotel by tricycle. . .

we arrived to paradise. . .

even more of a paradise to rob when he found "Gretzky 99" parked on the beach. . . :) we had foot spas, ate good food, went island hopping. . .it was a good time on Boracay! . . . we were sad to say goodbye to this island. . .

TRIP 4: Palawan - a beautiful island to be explored. . . we checked out some local sights and animals, spent a day snorkeling and explored underground caves. . .

rob was the only one brave enough to hold a 3-year old croc! it was a fiesty one. . .

off to Dos Palmas for a day. . .it was perfect for snorkeling and basking in the sun. . .bobert and rob get their gear on. . .

i found nemo!!! :)

the day we went to the underground caves was a bit of an adventure. . .after a 2 hour ride on rough roads. . .we went on a 20 minute ride on rough seas. . .ahhhh. . .it was the first time they made the trip in 4 days as the seas were too rough. . .mmmm. . .they were still rough in my opinion. . . but we made it! :) my knuckles were white. . but but it was worth the trip! :)

entering the underground river caves. . .we saw many rock formations resembling shapes from the fruit and vegetable section to Hollywood. . .the rocks came alive if you used your imagination. . .our river guide made it both an interesting and amusing ride!

outside the caves, the water was a gorgeous blend of greens and blues. . .

back on the boat to revisit the rough seas. . .ahhhh. . .i think i'll stick to land and air for a while!


we saw some amazing views on the trip back. . .

finally spent some time at my parent's house! it was nice to unwind after all those trips. . but definitely had an incredible time! . .our last Sabbath afternoon was spent at Tagaytay. . .a beautiful area not far from where my parents live. . .

the guys drooling over the beautiful golf course. . .

the view from the top. . .

the Ferrchuk family. . .it was a superfabulous holiday!!! :) :) :)

safe from typhoon

just in case you're wondering. . .typhoon Durian didn't hit where my parents live. . .just had some thick clouds and a bit of wind, but nothing more. . .thanks for thinking of us. . .please pray for those affected by the typhoon. . . thanks :)

flight to the Phils. . .

so last sabbath, Andrew decided that we needed to see more of Brisbane. . .so he took us around the city for an afternoon drive and we checked out some new sights! thanks Andrew for making sure we did more than just work in Brisbane! :) then at the end of the week we said goodbye to our temp work there. . .sad to say that i will not be missing telemarketing! :) haa haa. . .i can't believe i actually worked there for one month! :) made some new friends as you will see from our cheesey pose below! :) then off to the Philippines we went. . .after a very turbulent flight via Malaysia, we arrived to the island paradise! :) greeted by a bouquet of bananas and mangoes at my parents' home, it was a nice end to our journey! :) here are some kodak moments. . .

a view of the city from Mt. Cootha. . .Rob and Andrew strikes a pose. . .

hanging out at the University of Queensland :)

lovahs walking along the path at the city botanical gardens. . .

Rob and Andrew check out a game of soccer - shirts vs. skins

"You're number is being called today to receive $4000 worth of food, entertainment, services and gifts for one $99!" . . . yes, that's what we had to say! and that's just the beginning of the script! :) these are some of my "co-workers" :)

KLIA - Kuala Lumpur International Airport . . . very nice. . .we treated ourselves to breakky at Starbucks. . . i can't believe how inexpensive it was! :) Annie, you would have loved it! :)

our welcome basket when we arrived at my parents' home in the Philipines! YUMMIEEEE!!! i think Rob and I ate half a bunch this morning for breakky. . .yum yum yum! :) a bunch of bananas cost $2 USD . . .wowee. . much better than $12 AUS per kilo!

early morning view out of my parents' front door! :) looking forward to more island scenes! :)