This isn't meant to be prose. I'm writing so I can remember where I've been because in my head I see pictures of the places, I can recall sensations, I can remember laughter, but I always have a hard time of remembering the finer details, the chronology, exactly how everything falls in place. So this is more of an exercise for me than it is a reference for an audience. One day, my memory might fail me and this will help me recall how I felt, whenever I found myself in a new place. That's the purpose of this exercise.
The first thing I did after the bar exams was to sleep as late as I could. Then, the morning after, I took a shower, sat in front of the TV, and watched all the six seasons of the Sopranos in less than a week, with just food and sleep as interruptions. After The Sopranos, I set-up the laptop in my room and watched the extended version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy; all eleven hours in one go.
Soon after I've had my fill of sitting in front of the TV, I packed a bag and headed to the airport with a couple of law school friends, all new members of the unemployed, to catch a plane to Cebu City. By then I had already been to Cebu four times. But in those four times, I never really got to see what the island had to offer, and I knew it did have a lot to offer. The plan was to take the earliest commuter van, head off to the northern part of Cebu, to the ferry that would take us to the beautiful island of Bantayan.
We landed in Mactan Airport just before the sun rose, had coffee and a bit of breakfast in a carenderia at the transport terminal, where we were to catch a commuter van for the port. Instead of taking a commuter van, though, we ended up renting an Avanza for P1500. It was slightly more expensive but it meant that we could leave at the earliest possible time, and that we had the van to ourselves. On reaching the port, we caught the first ferry to Bantayan. The ferry ride to Bantayan was fairly short. About an hour or so. We got seats in an air-conditioned room where the seats had a comfortable legroom and enough space for our backpacks, so that most of us who had early flights were able to rest.
Prior to the trip, I already booked a family room at the Yooneek Beach Resort. I'm not quite sure if Yooneek survived the recent supertyphoon Yolanda. The basic structure was cement, and seemed solid enough, but based on an aerial view picture after the typhoon, the island had been flattened, save for the terminal.It's a pity as the resort was nice, and there weren't that many beach front resorts that were as inexpensive.We initially mocked the name because, well, let's face it, it's a ridiculous name. But the place was real value for money as it was huge, had internet, had a sala, dining area, closets and a balcony with a view of the sea.
And the sea. Oh, the sea. It was perfectly calm. Unbelievably still. The sand was powdery white, the shore, wide enough for tossing around a frisbee. It was serene, it was beautiful, it was quiet, it was perfect for a couple of bums who had no agenda other than to sit and stare and forget about the impending bar results.
We had no real plans. The following day, we went island hopping. We went to an island right across our shore, where we had lunch. One of the caretakers of the resort offered to prepare lunch for us, which we gamely accepted. Lunch was a feast of grilled seafood and grilled pork and a whole lot of scallops.
For dinner, we walked around the area, and found a small eatery serving native chicken inasal. Then we looked for a videoke place (because that's how we roll). We decided to bike to the town proper the following day. We were told that the route was 15km, one way. By our estimation we thought it wouldn't be a problem but, with the hilly terrain, it turned out to be, well, tiring.
Tiring but fun, just to be clear. Before heading to the town proper, we stopped to check out a famous underground cave which was not really worth the trouble. After taking a dip in the pool (because we paid for an entrance), we left for the town proper. One of our friends who didn't know how to ride a bike rented a pedicab for P150, including the driver. When we reached a steep incline, the driver asked our friend to alight as he couldn't bike up the incline anymore. It was awfully tiring and hot, so we stopped for drinks at a sari-sari store that served chocnut shake, which was refreshing and interesting. An hour or so after, we finally rolled into Bantayan's town proper. It is pretty much like other provincial towns in the Philippines.It had and old church, standing beside the town hall, post office, and other government offices. There was a plaza lined with street vendors selling street food. Nothing of note, but still worth the 30km bike ride there and back, if only for the experience.
We didn't really do much in Bantayan, after that, other than just sit and swim and watch the sunset. You would think that after five months of reviewing for an exam we'd want to move around a bit more but with a sea as still as ice, in an island where everything slowed down just a little, why would we?
The first thing I did after the bar exams was to sleep as late as I could. Then, the morning after, I took a shower, sat in front of the TV, and watched all the six seasons of the Sopranos in less than a week, with just food and sleep as interruptions. After The Sopranos, I set-up the laptop in my room and watched the extended version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy; all eleven hours in one go.
Soon after I've had my fill of sitting in front of the TV, I packed a bag and headed to the airport with a couple of law school friends, all new members of the unemployed, to catch a plane to Cebu City. By then I had already been to Cebu four times. But in those four times, I never really got to see what the island had to offer, and I knew it did have a lot to offer. The plan was to take the earliest commuter van, head off to the northern part of Cebu, to the ferry that would take us to the beautiful island of Bantayan.
We landed in Mactan Airport just before the sun rose, had coffee and a bit of breakfast in a carenderia at the transport terminal, where we were to catch a commuter van for the port. Instead of taking a commuter van, though, we ended up renting an Avanza for P1500. It was slightly more expensive but it meant that we could leave at the earliest possible time, and that we had the van to ourselves. On reaching the port, we caught the first ferry to Bantayan. The ferry ride to Bantayan was fairly short. About an hour or so. We got seats in an air-conditioned room where the seats had a comfortable legroom and enough space for our backpacks, so that most of us who had early flights were able to rest.
Prior to the trip, I already booked a family room at the Yooneek Beach Resort. I'm not quite sure if Yooneek survived the recent supertyphoon Yolanda. The basic structure was cement, and seemed solid enough, but based on an aerial view picture after the typhoon, the island had been flattened, save for the terminal.It's a pity as the resort was nice, and there weren't that many beach front resorts that were as inexpensive.We initially mocked the name because, well, let's face it, it's a ridiculous name. But the place was real value for money as it was huge, had internet, had a sala, dining area, closets and a balcony with a view of the sea.
And the sea. Oh, the sea. It was perfectly calm. Unbelievably still. The sand was powdery white, the shore, wide enough for tossing around a frisbee. It was serene, it was beautiful, it was quiet, it was perfect for a couple of bums who had no agenda other than to sit and stare and forget about the impending bar results.
We had no real plans. The following day, we went island hopping. We went to an island right across our shore, where we had lunch. One of the caretakers of the resort offered to prepare lunch for us, which we gamely accepted. Lunch was a feast of grilled seafood and grilled pork and a whole lot of scallops.
For dinner, we walked around the area, and found a small eatery serving native chicken inasal. Then we looked for a videoke place (because that's how we roll). We decided to bike to the town proper the following day. We were told that the route was 15km, one way. By our estimation we thought it wouldn't be a problem but, with the hilly terrain, it turned out to be, well, tiring.
Tiring but fun, just to be clear. Before heading to the town proper, we stopped to check out a famous underground cave which was not really worth the trouble. After taking a dip in the pool (because we paid for an entrance), we left for the town proper. One of our friends who didn't know how to ride a bike rented a pedicab for P150, including the driver. When we reached a steep incline, the driver asked our friend to alight as he couldn't bike up the incline anymore. It was awfully tiring and hot, so we stopped for drinks at a sari-sari store that served chocnut shake, which was refreshing and interesting. An hour or so after, we finally rolled into Bantayan's town proper. It is pretty much like other provincial towns in the Philippines.It had and old church, standing beside the town hall, post office, and other government offices. There was a plaza lined with street vendors selling street food. Nothing of note, but still worth the 30km bike ride there and back, if only for the experience.
We didn't really do much in Bantayan, after that, other than just sit and swim and watch the sunset. You would think that after five months of reviewing for an exam we'd want to move around a bit more but with a sea as still as ice, in an island where everything slowed down just a little, why would we?
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