Philippines (2008) ~ 02.Vito: port to the islands

From Bacolod (where the closest airport is) its a bit more than 100km to the small port of Vito village. It is considered part of Sagay city, Negros Occidental province and serves as a gateway to my mothers island, Molocaboc.

Vito port, our pump boat to the left.

"Jean Cathline", my familys pump boat came to pick us up, together with a few more cousins and relatives. A pump boat is an outrigger canoe powered by a small gasoline or diesel engine. They are a utility boat in the Philippines, used for nearly everything from inter-island transportation to fishing. 

A kid was swimming on the edge of the port. Next to it was a busy pump boat with quite a few people on board and lots of laundry hanging on the ropes.

My cousins and aunt getting themselves ready in the pump boat, everybody happy and excited! 

Vito port and my two uncles on the left, getting ready to take us to the island. It was a beautiful day! 

Looking around me in the port life was going on as usual. Many students use tiny rowing boats like this one to go to school and back.

Almost everybody on the pump boat, ready to go! Destination, Molocaboc island, where my rest of the family is. Was excited to see them again, its been almost 10 years since my last visit...

Additional information

GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).

Bacolod Silay Airport: 10°46'36.0"N 123°00'54.1"E

Vito port: 10°54'26.4"N 123°30'53.6"E

Click below to read the connected previous post:

Philippines (2008) ~ 01.Bacolod : arrival and meeting family

Morocco (2014) ~ Casablanca : arrival, hammam and breaking the fast

Fatima and Keuza, our lovely hosts in Casablanca. At the roof of their house, hanging the laundry. Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and our arrival point.

Panoramic view of Casablanca from our roof. 

Rooftop passer by. 

The beautiful Morrocan house. 

View from our balcony, residential area of Casablanca. 

During the morning time it was nice to sit in the balcony and watch people going on with their lives. 

Arriving we were presented with two djellabas, gifts from our hosts! Djellaba is is a long, loose-fitting unisex outer robe with full sleeves which is traditionally worn in Morocco and throughout the region. And the first place they took us what the hammam!

The hammam we went is "Le Pacha", one of the most luxurious in the city. It would be a good introduction to go to an expensive one for the start and then try everything else (we did). Arriving, two people direct the cars where to park, everybody is coming here for this hammam. Really expensive cars, mazerati, mercedes benz etc., guess the elite of Casablanca is here. Going inside we check what there is to offer, the prices range up to dh700 (~€63). We decide on something for dh180 (€16) which will take like an hour and includes all kinds of stuff, the full experience. We pay and then go separate of course, I go to the mens section. Asking if its alright I don't speak the language, the girl assures me its no problem.

Going through the 1st door there is a room with a toilet and a shower which seems that nobody uses. A guy tells me for hammam I need to go downstairs. Going down there is another lobby and two small places where you undress to your underwear. The people are very helpful and smiling even though we can't communicate. A guy gives me a basket which I understand I am to put my clothes and anything for storage. I follow what the others do, but I take with me the small bag with everything for shower and a spare underwear. They lock it and give me the lock key in a bracelet to wear. I proceed to another room where there are many people, all men, stairs and layers and many massage beds. I notice the guy who led me in, leaving my stuff somewhere and he has some plastic wrapping and a small black thing. The black thing eventually is a piece of soap to use it in the sauna but I didn't know so I never used it. I am led to the sauna room and left there. Around 5-6 people at that time are in, all chilling in the smoky wet room. I find a place in a corner and sit. Everybody has the black small soap and they rub it on themselves and also rinse from time to time. I stay like a good 15 minutes until my body is full with sweat and I get out, not knowing what to do next. I go to the place where my stuff is, immediately the guys working notice me and two come, the one who brought me here is going to be my hammam masseur. We go up and to one of the massage beds which is next to some running water. I lay down and using a glove he scratches my whole body, from top to bottom front and back, removing any dead skin, even on the face. After that I get up and rinse myself with water. Then he puts the plastic wrap on the massage bed and tells me to lay on. He applies a hot liquid sand all over my body, front, back and then wraps me (sushi maki style) with the plastic all over my body, leaving only my head out to breathe. Immediately I feel the heat all over my body like massaging. Lets me roast for like 10 minutes and then he washes me with water, washes the massage bed as well. By that time I think we are done but he tells me to wait, in a way that there is more coming! Once again I lay down and he takes my bag and starts looking inside, as if searching for something. He must be shocked to see there all kinds of stuff (haha didn't know what to bring as nobody told me, stuff that include ear batons, a boxer, insect-repellent etc. etc.), I understand he is looking for soap, so I get up and find it for him. He smiles and then applies soap to all of my body and gives me a full body massage, front and back. Finally he washes all my body from the soap, tells me to sit and shampoos my hair as well (!!), gives me a handshake and says thank you and now I know Im done.

Walk towards the end of the room to take a proper shower being all wet with my boxer when I realise I have forgotten my towel. I use my wet boxer for towel, put on the dry one and get out. I am directed to another room where people change and relax laying on a wooden bed, at the same time the guy brings me my clothes and stuff. I go out and while waiting for the girls a guy who was next to me in the sauna strikes a conversation. He is around his 70s I would say, speaks excellent English and has been in Greece, he recalls some of the places in my home country and that he enjoyed the food. Tells me I will enjoy Chefchaouen (next destination after Casablanca) and that many artists go there to relax, smoke etc. He wishes me a good time in Morocco...
  ...and thats how our Casablanca day one started!!!

Fatima and Keuza explaining us about Ramadan. 

Being in Morocco during Ramadan is a very interesting experience. You should definitely be careful not to openly eat and drink on the streets as almost everybody is fasting as long as the sun is out (nobody will tell you anything but you should be careful out of respect), most of the eateries are closed either way. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad according to Islamic belief. This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. Dates are usually the first food to break the fast; according to tradition, the Prophet Muhammad broke fast with three dates. Following that, Muslims generally adjourn for the Maghrib prayer, the fourth of the five daily prayers, after which the main meal is served. Traditional dishes are often highlighted, including traditional desserts, and particularly those made only during Ramadan. Water is usually the beverage of choice, but juice and milk are also often available, as are soft drinks and caffeinated beverages.

Additional information

GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).

Hammam Le Pacha: 33°33'49.6"N 7°37'44.3"W

China ~ Beijing (2011) : Jingshan Park & the Forbidden City

 "Let me take a photo of you!" told me one guy while I was admiring the Forbidden City from the top of the hill in Jingshan Park... in this way I got my tourist photo. 

My video featuring Tiananmen area, Jingshan park and a bit of couchsurfing in Beijing.

The whole area around the Forbidden City is amazing, too many places, beautiful parks and things to see. I've heard you can have a good view from Jingshan, the park north of the City so I headed that way.

One of the corner towers while going around the moat surrounding the Forbidden City.

Jingshan park has a mere entrance of 元2 (totally worth it), as soon as I got in my ears caught the sound of some traditional organ.

This guy was busking, nice music and big smile. 

Going up the artificial hill of the park named "Prospect Hill". Im expecting some nice views on the top. 

View of the park facing towards Di'anmen inner street. Jingshan is an imperial park covering 23 hectares. Formerly a private imperial garden attached to the grounds of the Forbidden City, the grounds were opened to the public in 1928.

Closer view on the north entrance to the park, through Di'anmen inner street. 

The view of the Forbidden City from the park. It was the Chinese imperial palace from the year 1420 to 1912 (Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty). It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.

Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8.886 bays of rooms. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

 I really love these roofs!

The Forbidden City, the culmination of the two-thousand-year development of classical Chinese and East Asian architecture, has been influential in the subsequent development of Chinese architecture, as well as providing inspiration for many artistic works.

Eastern view from the park, towards Qionghua Island which has the Beihai park and the White Pagoda.

Girls dressed in traditional Chinese dresses have set up a business here, you pay a small fee and you can take photos with them to take home. 

Many tourists here but many locals as well, dressed up nicely to have the photograph with the Forbidden City on the background. 

Walking down I see some people having picnic on tables and reach an open area with four gates full of local people and kids running around. A bit further a woman is playing some kind of traditional flute while others are practicing tai chi. 

Most of the groups were playing hacky sack, caught this middle aged guys who really surprised me with their agility and technique! 

Walked towards the Bell Tower and passed by many restaurants. Was tempted but then I saw a convenient store. A girl greeted me and to my surprise I found vegetarian instant noodles, she made it for me with hot water and gave me also a mini fork to eat!!! Only 元4 and another 元4,5 yuan for four pieces of small chocolate bread, a real bargain. Waited a bit until the noodles were ready and went outside on the pavement to enjoy my lunch. Rain had started and I saw people running with their umbrellas, bicycles and moto-bikes with their waterproofs, others waiting for buses. Food was delicious, opened my umbrella open and went on my way. Found a nice hutong and went in to have a look, so beautiful small narrow streets, felt like forgotten in time. A little girl with her pink umbrella was playing in one alley with the rain, the perfect picture, if I had a waterproof camera on my neck. For the finish of my lunch I got some vegetarian dumplings only 元1,2 each!! 

 Before the rain started I walked into another hutong which -at some point- looked abandoned and ran down. Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.

 Since the mid-20th century, a large number of Beijing hutongs were demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, however, many hutongs have been designated as protected, in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. Nevertheless, my host and many more people told me that there were more plans for hutongs to be demolished giving way to lucrative businesses...

Previous days dinner with my host Tian (right) and another couchsurfer, a Polish girl staying for a night (left).
Tian is a great host, very friendly, easy-going, lots of fun and tons of information to share about culture. She had three female hamsters, she was thinking to rent her place and move to Tibet to live there. 

Coming back home that night I found two mooncakes waiting for me, a gift from my host, so sweet! 

Additional information

GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).

Jingshan Park: 39°55'30.4"N 116°23'48.6"E

Click below to read the connected previous post:

China ~ Beijing (2011) : Tiananmen Square

New Zealand (2011-12) ~ 01.Flight from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

While going around South East Asia I had subscribed to receive news from various airlines operating in the area just in case we get a good bargain on any flight. One night in Saigon (Vietnam) I received an email from AirAsia, a low cost carrier based in Malaysia. They were having a new line all the way to New Zealand, flying to Chistchurch. Return flight from Malaysia for... €300!!! I couldn't believe it. Put some thought into it since we were running pretty low on money and I knew New Zealand would be expensive but we were certain we would be able to get some job and earn some money there... so the next day it was click click and we were going to New Zealand soon enough, on Christmas day... the funny thing is that after we took the flight, they stopped flying to New Zealand... so we were some of the few people who flew back then with such a low cost. As I checked their website they have renewed flying to New Zealand from Malaysia since 2016, for the same ridiculous price...

This was our aircraft from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Christchurch New Zealand.

Departing, managed to get a photo of one of the really beautiful mosques in Kuala Lumpur. 

The flight was not full and we were sitting side by side on a two seats place. The staff was friendly but during the flight EVERYTHING had an extra charge. Nothing came for free, not even a blanket.. Drinks, blankets, even the screen to watch movies, you needed to pay for. Asking for some hot water to make our own instant noodles was kindly declined, as we were informed they were selling the exact same noodles thus unable to provide hot water for people who had their own. Still, you couldn't beat the price of that flight so all these details were not so important.

It took around 10 hours to fly the approximately 8700km from Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch... we arrived just a bit before midnight on Christmas day...

Additional information

Air Asia website: https://www.airasia.com

Philippines (2008) ~ 01.Bacolod : arrival and meeting family

That year went to the Philippines with my mother to visit family. June, rainy season. Arriving in Manila airport where we would take another inland flight to Bacolod, we were greeted with smiles by many relatives.

My mother holding CJ, Tiny, auntie Olive, Cathline and Charizza.  

People in the Philippines are in general always smiling and ready to help you. Many of them are also in low income, so they always expect a small tip in everything they do. Its not mandatory but its a good gesture. Two policemen helped us a bit in Manila airport=tip. Guy helped us with the luggage=tip (well you would tip this guy either way). But you need to be careful about that as well, for example you have your bags inside a local long distance bus and you arrive somewhere, you see many people running towards the bags, some of them just to take them out of the bus and ask for a tip, maybe some of them to take advantage of the commotion and snatch something. It happened to me and my uncle while transporting some material to build a house.

In Bacolod we were joined by some more relatives and my auntie Elina, they took us out at night for a bit of sightseeing. Arriving in Bacolod airport the security measures were a bit more tight, removing shoes to check the soles, full body search etc. And then, as soon as we pass through the check I spot a weird character ready to go through. Westerner, white long hair, age around mid 50s, big beer belly wearing an open shirt, cowboy hat. As soon as he goes through the security scanner it goes "beep beep beep"! Police guy comes to search him, he opens a bit his shirt and I think I catch a glimpse of a gun with a waist holster, he opens up his wallet which is full of bills and pass a p1000 to the cop, then walks away. Three more cops come but when they go to the weird westerner they laugh and the "suspect" waves them with his hand that everything is alright. Walks away nice and easy... me very shocked!

A schoolgirl with her uniform riding the jeepney. These jeepneys are the most popular means of transportation in the Philippines. They collect and drop people anywhere on the street on a specific route.

In another occasion visiting Bacolod, visiting some more relatives.

My uncle there was running a junk shop which was a good business.

All kinds of stuff waiting to be sorted out in my uncles shop.

What I found very interesting, my uncle was a printing shop as well. And the printing machine was operated manual by hand! Placing and removing the paper one by one while the machine was working!

A bit dangerous you should be fast enough and be careful with your hands.

Bamboo is the way to go high up working with tall buildings, here painting. No safety precautions, no nothing...

At one occasion I was happy that we managed to be in Bacolod city with my grand mother Othelia. Together with my uncle, my mom and some more relatives we took her to eat in Pizza hut for her first time. I was so happy to see my grand mother eating pizza!

Additional information

GPS coordinates for places in this post, click on them to be redirected to the exact point in google maps. Click on the names to be redirected to their official websites (if applicable).

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport: 14°30'44.2"N 121°00'59.5"E

Bacolod Silay Airport: 10°46'36.0"N 123°00'54.1"E