When we were contemplating living in China, one of our goals was to see as much as possible while in Asia. Given the fact that our children's international school has both Western and Chinese holidays, we thought we'd have lots of time to travel without taking them out of school. As is common in those before-you-know-what-you're-talking-about ideas, we found out after we got here that EVERYONE in China travels during the national holidays (especially Chinese New Year, February-ish depending on the lunar calendar, when schools are closed down for a month) making it not only difficult to get good tickets but also undesirable to stay in the country or in our "resort city" which can be inundated by visitors. Also, by the time December rolled around, we were really wanting a bit of a break from China. We justified a lovely vacation on White Sand Beach in Boracay, Philippines by telling ourselves that we will likely not have another chance to travel there; it's not China, but it's still new and exotic to us! I will not trouble you with all the trials of getting this trip planned but, suffice it to say, we were glad when everything was in order and tried hard not to think about what was going to go wrong at the next turn. We pulled the kids out of school a day and a half early so that we could spend a week on vacation and still be back in our (temporary) home for Christmas Eve. What we did not quite realize when booking a trip to one of the 7,000+ Philippine islands was that it would take us pretty much an entire day to get to our resort...a plane ride, a three hour lay-over in what must be the most boring capital city airport, another plane ride, a bus ride (mercifully booked in advance with the hotel and accompanied by guides who had our name on a placard in the airport--didn't you always want to see your name on one of those?!), a very dark ride on an out-rigger boat with huge orange life vests and one nervous 9 year old daughter and a van ride to the door of our place. Whew! Thankfully the restaurant was still serving dinner at 9pm when we finally arrived.
We did plenty of relaxing beach- and pool-side but also found time for some little adventures. Only the second half of the photos are on my computer so I'll have to start with the end of the week. We found the only place along the beach that offered sea kayaks and took turns paddling and enjoying the view of the supposedly less expensive and also less crowded end of the beach. We think we'll have to look for this kind of kayak once we return home--sitting up higher in the boat was so much more comfortable than the sitting-in-the-water type I've used in the past.
We had to do a bit of dodging of the other watercraft but managed to avoid any collisions.
Gene and Liz made it to the top of the highest peak on the island on their dune-buggy foray. The big mountains in the background are the island we landed on and took the 1 1/2 hour bus ride across, the strip of ocean in between was crossed in the dark. The island is sort of bone-shaped with a long skinny area down the middle and two larger sections at either end. This view is of the windier side, home to the kite surfers (see below) and a not so perfect beach (a bit too rocky to attract the tourists who don't kite surf).
Another view from the buggy riding trip. We so loved the clear skies and were thrilled to see stars at night! Oh, the things we hardly notice until they are gone...even though we live in a rather clean city by Chinese standards, I still don't see enough stars for my liking.
The pollution machine that Daddy really wanted to try--the two more sensible members of the family stayed back at the beach! Good thing, too, since I found out later that they drove the thing on the roadway for part of the time. They had a blast!
Along the walkway to the other side of the island there were several little fenced-in yards that housed numerous roosters, each tethered to a numbered sandwich board. I used my keen sense of deduction to figure out that these birds are used for cock-fighting battles. They also did a good job of making sure no one took a relaxing nap as they made noise all day long. We were glad to be far enough away from them to not have to deal with that, a benefit of staying in the "high rent" area.
The girls didn't want to make the trek but Gene and I were sure glad we did. The two ends of the "bone" made a protected cove of sorts that was a haven in the late afternoon for windsurfers and kitesurfers. I have no innate need for speed, nor the upper body strength, to try such a sport, but they were amazing to watch!
This is the "sidewalk" that ran the length of the island, right off the back decks of the hotels, bordering the beach. It was lined with all types of little bars and restaurants and, unfortunately, people hawking their various wares. We tried not to let it get to us too much, we all have to make a living after all, but it was quite tiresome to be asked repeatedly if we wanted to buy sunglasses, have a massage, go for a sailing ride, get our hair braided, etc. We found that walking along the beach was a little more peaceful, but it was also in the beating sun. One our 15 minute walk to the kayak place, Amanda counted 27 solicitations!
We had a family room, with a separate bedroom for the girls and a little front porch with a bistro set. Our balcony in Xiamen is nice, but the front porch was much more like home for us (and we didn't have to constantly wrestle with those nagging little thoughts: what if I forget that it's a bad idea to throw my coffee cup over the railing...what if I accidentally toss my wedding ring over the edge...I've heard that other people don't have these thoughts, but Gene and I both do!)
We said a silent prayer that none of us would need to avail ourselves of emergency medical care, and another for those people who have no choice but to use this place...I sort of over-looked the fact that there is rampant poverty in this area and we were all reminded to be thankful for the blessings we've been given.
We enjoyed glorious sunsets almost every night (and discovered that our camera has a "sunset" setting!) All in all, we had a great time in Boracay and had a bit of a hard time leaving.
When we were contemplating living in China, one of our goals was to see as much as possible while in Asia. Given the fact that our children's international school has both Western and Chinese holidays, we thought we'd have lots of time to travel without taking them out of school. As is common in those before-you-know-what-you're-talking-about ideas, we found out after we got here that EVERYONE in China travels during the national holidays (especially Chinese New Year, February-ish depending on the lunar calendar, when schools are closed down for a month) making it not only difficult to get good tickets but also undesirable to stay in the country or in our "resort city" which can be inundated by visitors. Also, by the time December rolled around, we were really wanting a bit of a break from China. We justified a lovely vacation on White Sand Beach in Boracay, Philippines by telling ourselves that we will likely not have another chance to travel there; it's not China, but it's still new and exotic to us! I will not trouble you with all the trials of getting this trip planned but, suffice it to say, we were glad when everything was in order and tried hard not to think about what was going to go wrong at the next turn. We pulled the kids out of school a day and a half early so that we could spend a week on vacation and still be back in our (temporary) home for Christmas Eve. What we did not quite realize when booking a trip to one of the 7,000+ Philippine islands was that it would take us pretty much an entire day to get to our resort...a plane ride, a three hour lay-over in what must be the most boring capital city airport, another plane ride, a bus ride (mercifully booked in advance with the hotel and accompanied by guides who had our name on a placard in the airport--didn't you always want to see your name on one of those?!), a very dark ride on an out-rigger boat with huge orange life vests and one nervous 9 year old daughter and a van ride to the door of our place. Whew! Thankfully the restaurant was still serving dinner at 9pm when we finally arrived.
We did plenty of relaxing beach- and pool-side but also found time for some little adventures. Only the second half of the photos are on my computer so I'll have to start with the end of the week. We found the only place along the beach that offered sea kayaks and took turns paddling and enjoying the view of the supposedly less expensive and also less crowded end of the beach. We think we'll have to look for this kind of kayak once we return home--sitting up higher in the boat was so much more comfortable than the sitting-in-the-water type I've used in the past.
We had to do a bit of dodging of the other watercraft but managed to avoid any collisions.
Gene and Liz made it to the top of the highest peak on the island on their dune-buggy foray. The big mountains in the background are the island we landed on and took the 1 1/2 hour bus ride across, the strip of ocean in between was crossed in the dark. The island is sort of bone-shaped with a long skinny area down the middle and two larger sections at either end. This view is of the windier side, home to the kite surfers (see below) and a not so perfect beach (a bit too rocky to attract the tourists who don't kite surf).
Another view from the buggy riding trip. We so loved the clear skies and were thrilled to see stars at night! Oh, the things we hardly notice until they are gone...even though we live in a rather clean city by Chinese standards, I still don't see enough stars for my liking.
The pollution machine that Daddy really wanted to try--the two more sensible members of the family stayed back at the beach! Good thing, too, since I found out later that they drove the thing on the roadway for part of the time. They had a blast!
Along the walkway to the other side of the island there were several little fenced-in yards that housed numerous roosters, each tethered to a numbered sandwich board. I used my keen sense of deduction to figure out that these birds are used for cock-fighting battles. They also did a good job of making sure no one took a relaxing nap as they made noise all day long. We were glad to be far enough away from them to not have to deal with that, a benefit of staying in the "high rent" area.
The girls didn't want to make the trek but Gene and I were sure glad we did. The two ends of the "bone" made a protected cove of sorts that was a haven in the late afternoon for windsurfers and kitesurfers. I have no innate need for speed, nor the upper body strength, to try such a sport, but they were amazing to watch!
This is the "sidewalk" that ran the length of the island, right off the back decks of the hotels, bordering the beach. It was lined with all types of little bars and restaurants and, unfortunately, people hawking their various wares. We tried not to let it get to us too much, we all have to make a living after all, but it was quite tiresome to be asked repeatedly if we wanted to buy sunglasses, have a massage, go for a sailing ride, get our hair braided, etc. We found that walking along the beach was a little more peaceful, but it was also in the beating sun. One our 15 minute walk to the kayak place, Amanda counted 27 solicitations!
We had a family room, with a separate bedroom for the girls and a little front porch with a bistro set. Our balcony in Xiamen is nice, but the front porch was much more like home for us (and we didn't have to constantly wrestle with those nagging little thoughts: what if I forget that it's a bad idea to throw my coffee cup over the railing...what if I accidentally toss my wedding ring over the edge...I've heard that other people don't have these thoughts, but Gene and I both do!)
We said a silent prayer that none of us would need to avail ourselves of emergency medical care, and another for those people who have no choice but to use this place...I sort of over-looked the fact that there is rampant poverty in this area and we were all reminded to be thankful for the blessings we've been given.
We enjoyed glorious sunsets almost every night (and discovered that our camera has a "sunset" setting!) All in all, we had a great time in Boracay and had a bit of a hard time leaving.
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