Diving with Thresher Sharks in the Philippines

Feb 022013
 

Imagine seeing a shark with a long thresher-like tail with a can be as long as the total body length, up close. Introducing Thresher Sharks!

Thresher Sharks can only be consistently spotted in a few places around the world, and one of them is off the coast of the island of Malapascua in the Philippines at sunken island of Monad Shoal.

They’re mostly known for the size of their tail (“upper caudal fin lobe”), which is typically equal to the length of the rest of their body!  Check out this below photo:

Thresher Sharks have huge tails

Thresher Sharks have tails equal to the rest of the size of their body!

Why do Thresher Sharks have large tails?  Thresher sharks are active predators – they use their huge tails not only to swim, but also to swat and stun much smaller prey fish. Whack!   When hunting schooling fish, thresher sharks are known to “slap” the water, herding and stunning prey.

What do Thresher Sharks eat?   Thresher sharks eat squid, octopuses, crustaceans and small schooling fish such as bluefish, mackerel, needlefish, lancetfish, lanternfish, and more.

How big are Thresher sharks?  Threshers range from 8 feet long on the small end, to as big as 20-25 feet long! That’s 2.5 meters to 7.5 meters. 1,100 lbs!  Read more... (807 words, 13 images, estimated 3:14 mins reading time)

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Who needs sunscreen?

Oct 212012
 

While many people in the United States tend to soak up as much sun as possible, the exact opposite is true in most parts of Asia. People go to great lengths to avoid any exposure to the sun – especially on their face, as you’ll notice in this below photo from the Philippines.

To protect your skin from the sun, you could use SFP 50, wear large hats, or you could avoid the sun entirely. If it’s completely unavoidable, why not wrap your face in towels like a mummy. See below.

Smile for the camera!

Fear of sun in the Philippines

Smile for the camera! We asked the guy behind me to smile for the photo. Really, he’s smiling. Can’t you tell?  – Photo taken on the way to Malapascua,Philippines

Who needs sunscreen when you can wrap your face like a mummy! - Philippines

he reeeeeally doesn’t want any sun on his face

 

 

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Snorkeling in the Philippines – Malapascua Island

Jul 162012
 

While I’ve never gone snorkeling with so few fish in Malapascua, Philippines, the water was clear and we had a great group and our first ever encounter with a Sea Snake! I’ll post about the Sea Snake soon, but in the meantime, here are some fun pics from our snorkeling experience below.

With hardly any fish and great visibility, we mostly just played. Our international group of friends were from Italy, Sweden, England, Holland, and the U.S.

Philippines Snorkeling near Malapascua

 I’m often asked, is there good snorkeling in Malapascua?  If you’re looking for clear water, it’s wonderful. If you’re looking for lots of fish, I don’t recommend. With that said, I had an amazing time!

Sea Snake while Philippines Snorkeling near Malapascua - Visit50.com

So I later learned that it’s really not advisable to be anywhere near a sea snake…

Photo of me while Snorkeling in the Philippines near Malapascua - Visit50.com

that’s me!

Gangster! Gabbi has a bloody knife while snorkeling?!? Should I be concerned?

Snorkeling in the Philippines near the Island of Malapascua

Antihas and Coral in the Philippines near Malapascua - Visit50.com

Fish food innovation - Philippines Snorkeling in Malapascua - Visit50.com

Iain created a contraption to portion out bread to fish. He stuffed pieces of break in a plastic water bottle and opened it ever so slightly when he wanted some to float out

Philippines snorkeling - Giuseppe playing at the bottom of the sea

Giuseppe playing at the bottom of the sea and showing off the abs  Read more... (225 words, 18 images, estimated 54 secs reading time)

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Where Rum costs less than Coke

Jul 152012
 

Every now and again the pricing on a menu makes you do a double-take, but not because it’s ridiculously affordable or too pricey. Check out the below menu and see if you notice anything interesting.

On the little island of Malapascua, in the Philippines, at Malditos bar, you can order a Rum and Coke for 60 php ($1.43 USD). A double rum-and-coke, with twice the amount of rum, actually costs 50 php (10 php less, $1.19 USD). Huh?  Want to drink a triple rum+coke? Good news for you, the price goes down another 10 php to 40 php ($0.95). Amazing. The Coca-Cola is actually much much more expensive than the rum. Obviously we ordered doubles and triples!

Notice the Rum+Coke pricing. 60 php, or 50 php for a double Rum+coke, or 40 php for a triple. I thought it was an error but they confirmed – apparently the rum costs less than soda. – We obv ordered the triple.

It looked like an error so I pointed it out to the bartender, but surprisingly it’s correct.  The rest of the menu seems logical, for another 30-40% they’ll make your Gin+Tonic a double or Screwdriver a double.  Read more... (280 words, 13 images, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)

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Frustrating Philippine Time / Filipino Time

Apr 302012
 
Filipino Time - The Philippines is one of my favorite countries that I’ve visited, but one aspect that I certainly don’t miss was their businesses’ apparent lack of appreciation for people’s schedules. Travelers refer to it as “running on Philippine Time” or running on Filipino Time.  Perhaps being “prompt” is a western concept.  The customer’s time is consistently not valued. It was as if the times listed on published schedules were merely guidelines.  Schedules for flights, buses, and boats were often delayed or canceled without notice or reason.
It might be the least efficient country when it comes to reliability of scheduling (Singapore, the country I’d visit next, was easily the best in this area). It would appear there’s a business opportunity to start a company in the ultra competitive shipping/ferry business which can actually be on time (like Cornelius Vanderbilt did in the United States 200 years ago).
I was starting to think we were just unlucky so I did some research; it’s apparently known as an element built into Filipino culture in the Philippines. This article takes a deeper dive into this phenomenon. It’s interesting because this part of the culture doesn’t seem to be present in my Filipino friends in New York.
On a beautiful sunny day, our flight on was delayed again and again and then canceled, “due to weather.” Whaaat?  Local residents said they do this routinely when the plan is undersold. It’s just Philippine Time.  That’s a lovely concept when you have no schedule, but when you have connecting flights, we found this lack of reliability to be really frustrating. Don’t rely on Cebu Pacific or PAL.
Philippine Time - ferry to Maya

We took a 4am van from Cebu City so we'd arrive in Maya to catch the 8am ferry, only to wait more than 90 minutes for the boat to fill up. errrrg! Philippine Time.  Read more... (676 words, 12 images, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

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Introducing Malapascua, now with electricity!

Apr 092012
 

Malapascua Island, Philippines - Some of the friendliest people I met were on the island of Malapascua in the Philippines – we didn’t want to leave!  Everyone seemed to genuinely appreciate having us on the island. Tourism can be a double-edged sword. The influx of money can do wonders for a local economy, but it often strips that town of its own culture (I’m talking to you Thailand, specifically Phuket).

So while tourism isn’t new to them – people have been coming to Malapascua to see Thresher Sharks for years, it’s VERY difficult to get to, and it didn’t always offer electricity. It’s still difficult to get there, but thanks to some generators, the island now has 24 hours of electricity in most hotels. It’s new enough that you see signs advertising that they have 24 hours of electricity; it reminded me of old motels growing up that would advertise on signs that they have color TV. Ooooh!

my new friends on Malapascua island, Philippines

Raymond takes in the view from Blue Coral, our hotel. It was 1500 php per night, so at 750 php that's $17/night for each of us (most I'd spent on lodging in weeks!)  Read more... (291 words, 15 images, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)

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The Moral Dilemma of Buying from Children

Feb 262012
 

“Buy some shells?” An adorable 8-year old asked me this on my first day on Malapascua Island in the Philippines, and proceeded to ask us every day on the beach. While relaxing on my beach chair, I was typically immersed in my book, so I didn’t notice them at first. When I’d finally look up, I’d find myself surrounded by three kids with their saddest faces, asking me to buy shells or hand-made jewelry or some other trinkets.

I was planning on traveling for another 3 months, so there was no way I was interested in having any additional possessions or keepsakes (even ones I might actually want when I’m home). None of that matters, because I’d be happy to help some children and at first glance, any amount of money you give them seemed like a wonderful donation. Then I learned more about it. There’s a bit of a moral dilemma of buying from children.

The kids tried to sell us these shells every time they saw us. Every time.

These are the shells we bought - but I still don't know if it was a good idea.  Read more... (345 words, 12 images, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

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Honeymooning Around the World

Feb 212012
 

Most couples go on their honeymoon for a week or two, or if they’re really lucky, maybe three weeks at most.  Imagine taking an entire year off to travel around the world, together. It’s a mega-moon! Below are three couples that actually did it.

I first heard of this concept from a German couple we met during our thresher shark dive in Malapascua, in the Philippines. After getting married, newlyweds Sandra and Chris left their home in Germany and began a backpacking adventure around the world together. Amazing experience!

ATW Honeymoon! Chris and Sandra after our thresher shark dive in the Philippines

Most people are surprised to learn that it really doesn’t have to cost a lot to travel, especially in southeast Asia.  The big savings comes from lodging – they were spending less than $15/night when we met them in Malapascua, in the Philippines. Consider how much you pay in rent – and imagine how far that money would go towards travel.

I’ll be writing more about around-the-world trips and travel budgeting in upcoming posts, but in the meantime, here’s two couples that are writing about their experiences during their around-the-world honeymoon trips:  Read more... (335 words, 11 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

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7 Philippine cuisines – Halo-Halo, Adobo, Kare-Kare, Balut, and more

Feb 132012
 

While the Philippines certainly aren’t known for their food, below are 7 Pinoy dishes that stand out from my month in the country, and one that I absolutely would not try (it’s a duck fetus – scroll the bottom to see Bourdain eat it).

1. Halo-halo! – it’s #1 not for the taste but for the joy people get just saying the name. It might be impossible to pronounce it properly without smiling. I’m serious – I heard it spoken dozens of times in my month in the Philippines, and each time I’d see a wider smile than the last. I really wanted to like it!  Despite the welcomed enthusiasm, I found it to be disappointingly not that tasty.

Halo Halo! Filippino dessert (Visit50.com)

Halo-halo! Filipino dessert from my first day in the Philippines

What’s in halo-halo?  The name translates in english to “mix-mix” and it’s fitting. It’s always made of shaved ice, evaporated milk, and sugar, and then it appears to be whatever they have to throw in. Red beans, coconut gel, jackfruit, tapioca, corn flakes, jelly beans, yams, plantains caramelized in sugar…yeah throw it in!

You may remember Halo-halo! from Top Chef:  Read more... (544 words, 19 images, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

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Don’t go to the Philippines – you’ll die!

Dec 262011
 

When asking about visiting the Philippines, I kept receiving the same ominous warning each time.  ”Don’t go to the Philippines – you’ll die!”  Based on that advice, and considering that it’s not really near anywhere I was going,  I was planning on avoiding the entire country. But is it true? Is the entire Philippines country dangerous?  I kept hearing about the crime, that tourists actually get kidnapped (OMG!), and between that and how far it was from everywhere else I was planning to go, I initially wasn’t even considering going.

Boracay sunset, Philippines

Sunset in Boracay, Philippines, in March 2011

Spoiler Alert – I lived, and I’m glad I went! The Philippines ended up being one of my favorite countries I visited. They weren’t even on my initial Asia trip plan, but there was so much I wanted to see and do that I stay there an entire month! That’s longer than anywhere else on my trip.  I give a special thanks to Amanda (from Canada) – when I was diving in Sipadan, Borneo, she raved about her experiences there. Then I met Jesper and Louise (from Denmark), and they loved it there too, specifically Bohol.  And on and on. So are the Philippines really dangerous?  Here’s what you need to know:  Read more... (974 words, 11 images, estimated 3:54 mins reading time)

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