Caboose

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[Nigeria]Nigerian glossary

2008-02-24

Leaving the Philippines

Filed under: philippines,rtw,travel — kevin @ 13:57

I’m currently waiting until 2255 (local time) so that I can check in online for my Singapore to London flight tomorrow. I’m hoping that if I check in early enough I can choose a decent seat, although BA seem to hold back some of the more desireable ones.

The overnight bus trip down from La Union province was much as expected: freezing cold (air-conditioning vents that you can’t turn off) and lacking in sleep.

Anyway, once I get back to Stirling this coming weekend I’ll upload my pictures and write more about what I’ve been up to in the Philippines.

Relaxing by the sea

Filed under: philippines,rtw,travel — kevin @ 12:33

After a cold week up in the mountains I needed somewhere warm to relax and worked out that I could get to San Fernando (La Union province) without too much difficulty. The guidebook mentioned that there were some nice beaches nearby.

So after a long day on cramped buses I arrived in the little town of San Juan, just north of San Fernando. It’s full of surf resorts, so I just wandered along the road until I found one with a room at a decent price. I ended up with a nice little en-suite room right beside the beach for P500/night at Hacienda Peter’s Surf Resort. They also do lovely meals for only P50 and there’s a fridge full of beer, you just have to tell them how many you’ve drunk.
A beach seen from the veranda of a hotel room. A surfer stands holding his fluorescent yellow board, at the end of a curving beach. Two surfers surfing. The sun hangs just above the sea at the end of a curving beach, with a glowing streak of light reflected in the water and the wet sand.

I had a very relaxing few days there, lounging around, occasionally swimming and watching the surfing. On Friday, when I was leaving, they were holding a surf competition on the beach. Of course, that was the day when there were almost no waves at all, I felt sorry for the competitors bobbing about and desperately waiting for a wave before their time ran out.

Late on Friday night I caught a bus to Manila, the start of my journey back home.

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