Day 208 Feb 28 2015 Santander Philippines

Lilo-an ferry terminal on Cebu Island

Riding the jeepney to Dumaguete City on Negros Island

Belfry in Dumaguete

self explanatory

catching the ferry back to Cebu Island

Day 208  Feb 28 2015  Santander Philippines

Today we went to the neighboring island of Negros.  It is about a 20 minute ride across on the ferry.  The ride to Negros was a bit rough but not bad, the ride back was rough.  Isabel started to feel sick and the front of the boat was bouncing up and smashing back down.  On Negros we went to the city of Dumaguete where we had a late lunch and walked down the boardwalk.  We also went to see the belfry which was built in 1811.  It was build to warn the inhabitants of Muslim marauders who would come in search of slaves.  We made sure we were back at  the house before dark as we had no desire to take a tricycle down the highway at night, many of them do not even have lights.  We spent a fair bit of time planning the next step of our trip as our plans have now changed; we just don’t know to what.

Day 207 Feb 27 2015 Santander Philippines

Whale sharks in Oslob

swimming with the whale sharks

The water was cool and hit hard

transportation into Tumalag Falls

Tumalag Falls

my idea of a fancy presentation! 

Day 207  Feb 27 2015  Santander Philippines

The first stop of the day was at a local market to purchase some food for the next few days.  We got chicken, fish, squid as well as some vegetables.  We tried to take money out of the only ATM in the area but it was off line so tomorrow we have to go to a neighbouring island where hopefully we will have better luck.  After the market we went to Oslob to go swimming with the whale sharks.  It was very cool to be swimming so close to such a large fish.  Isabel freaked out when a whale shark swam very close to her with its mouth sucking in water and wanted to get back in the boat.  After the whale shark swim we went to Tumalag Falls ticket area.  We paid 40 PHP for the entrance and 150 PHP for 3 motorcycles to take us into the falls and back.  At the falls the kids and I went swimming.  The water was cool as was the area around the falls from all of the mist.  When the falling water hit your head it actually hurt a bit.  It is a very nice water fall.  The rest of the day was spent swimming, reading and doing homework.  We got an e-mail from Airbnb saying that we had 3 options.  #1. Look for a new host and they would refund our original purchase price plus 20%.  #2.  Take a refund on our original purchase price if we could not find a suitable place in the area.  #3. They would assist us in getting compensation from the host for the lack of amenities.  We are going to go with option #1 or #2 as without the pool and beach we are in a pretty isolated area.  If we had a pool and beach like we were supposed to it would have been a very nice place to relax for 15 days.

Day 205 Feb 26 2015 Santander Philippines

are you sure you want to do this?

getting ready for a tricycle ride down the highway 

swimming in front of the rental house

best entertainment in a while

Day 205  Feb 26 2015  Santander Philippines

I started the day by going snorkeling in front of the house, there were lots of nice corals, anemones, and small colorful fish.  I had to be careful not to get hit by a ferry as they pass very close to the house.    We decided to go to the grocery store in the afternoon.  When we tried to lock the screen door on the house (the glass door lock is broken) the frame rail pulled away from the house.  We had to leave everything unlocked.   We took a tricycle to the town of Santander which is just over 9 km away.  Evy and one of the kids rode in front I rode in the back with the other.  It was scary when a large truck or bus would catch us and then pass.  They did not slow down at all just honked the horn and pulled over to pass.  When we got back the kids played with the puppies for a while then went swimming.  After supper the kids did some homework.  We still have not heard anything from Airbnb but are still hopeful that we can get out of here early.

Day 205 Feb 25 2015 Santander Philippines

David looking after the runt of the litter

What we expected from the ad on Airbnb

the reality of the beach (at low tide its a rocky beach)

view from deck 

the kids loved playing with the puppies

Day 205  Feb 25 2015  Santander Philippines

 Since we arrived in Santander at 10 pm we did not have a chance to examine the rest of the property we had rented.  According to the pictures and description on Airbnb it was supposed to have a beautiful white sand beach and a swimming pool.  What we ended up at was a one room house with 2 beds.  We complained and got an additional building with another bed in it.  The swimming pool turned out to be an inflatable kids pool which has holes and is being stored in a junk room and the sand beach must be in another country because it is not here.  The owner had even gone so far as to post a photo on Google Earth under a different name showing the sand beach in front of his house.  We are in contact with Airbnb so hopefully we can get a partial refund and leave this place.  Now for what we did today.  We did nothing other than go for a short walk, read, make the kids do some school work and watch the sun set.    The kids on the other hand had a blast playing with the 4 puppies that are here. 

Day 204 Feb 24 2015 Santander Philippines

Day 204  Feb 24 2015  Santander Philippines

We caught a cab from the apartment to the airport at 8:45 am to catch our 1 pm flight.  The airport is 18 km from the apartment we rented and it took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to travel the distance.   The first 4.8 km took 2 hours and 20 minutes and I was starting to get worried that we would not make the flight as the driver had said that the traffic was jammed all the way to the airport.  When we were about to board the plane the airline announced 1 hour delay with the flight leaving at 2 pm instead of 1 pm.  We boarded the plane shortly after 2 pm and waited on the tarmac until 3:15 when we finally took off.  This was the first flight of the trip that has been delayed.  When we got to Cebu we were happy to find the driver waiting for us.  After a 3 ½ hour car ride to the house we rented we found it quite a bit different then we had been expecting.  We were expecting a 2 bedroom house, what we found was a large single room with 2 beds, the kitchen and washroom are in a separate building.  We complained to the driver whom is also the nephew of the owner and also sent the owner an e-mail.  We are supposed to get another building tomorrow with another bed in, not the best solution but better than nothing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Day 203 Feb 23 2015 Manila Philippines

Impetigo on Evy's leg 

Day 203  Feb 23 2015  Manila Philippines

The doctor that we took David to see in Cambodia lived up to the poor standards that Cambodian Doctors are famous for.  The doctor had said it was an allergic response to something and prescribed a cream called norash.  It is indicated for the treatment of diaper rash among other things. I had my doubts at the time  as I had never seen an allergic reaction spread with a little blister starting close to the original site breaking and forming  a new  ulcer.  David posterior has still not healed and now Isabel and Evy have the same skin problem showing up on their legs and on Isabel’s scalp.  We are going to try an antibiotic ointment called Mupirocin 2% as Dr. Google’s diagnosis is Impetigo.  We went to for a ride on the MRT to a outlet where we could buy ferry tickets.   We arrived at the store only to find that it had closed for the day about 10 minutes earlier for a monthly meeting and would not be open till the next day.  On the return trip to the house we hit the MRT at rush hour.  We let 3 trains go by until we saw one with sufficient room for us to squeeze into it comfortably.  I could look over the heads of the majority of the people on the train, now I know what it feels like to be tall.

Day 202 Feb 22 2015 Manila Philippines

Arriving at the Enchanted Kingdom

Disk-O-magic

EKstreme Tower

Air Race

End of the day

Day 202  Feb 22 2015  Manila Philippines

This was a day for the kids as we spent it at the Enchanted Kingdom about 50 km from the apartment.  Getting to the park was easy as we took the MRT to a shuttle pick up point and took the shuttle to the park.  Isabel was so excited when she found out that she could go on any rides that she was bouncing up and down.  At one of the rides she was measured by the attendant to make sure she was tall enough.  You could see Isabel growing on the measuring stick as she started to lift her heals to make sure she would meet the height requirement.  The attendant almost burst out laughing at Isabel’s unnecessary but obvious attempt to cheat the system.  Towards evening we decided to take the 9:30 shuttle back to Manila only to be told that it was booked solid.  We asked customer service how we could get back to Manila and were told to take a tricycle to Waltermart, walk across the street, flag a bus going to MRT or Ayala.  The tricycle is a motorbike with a side car designed for 1 ½ people.  Isabel, David and Evy sat in the side car and I sat on the back of the motorcycle.  Apparently I was supposed to sit side-saddle as when the driver jumped on the kick starter he crushed my toes under his foot.  The tuk-tuks in other countries are much more comfortable than the tricycles here.  When we got to Waltermart we were asking directions on where to catch the bus.  An American gentleman approached us and offered us advice on catching the bus.  He recommended that we take a tricycle to the bus station and catch the bus there as by the time the bus got to Waltermart it would only be standing room.  We took his advice and had a very easy trip to the MRT station in Manila and to the apartment.

Day 201 Feb 21 2015 Manila Philippines

Day 201  Feb 21 2015  Manila Philippines

Evy woke up not feeling 100% so we took it easy and did not leave the apartment until noon.  We then spent a few hours in an internet cafe sending forms for a short term car lease in Europe.  After the internet cafe we took a taxi to the Gateway Mall where we ate a late lunch and walked around the mall.  We were back in the apartment by 5 pm where the kids played video games and Evy and I had a nice nap.

Day 200 Feb 20 2015 Manila Philippines

day 200 brownies

Kuala Lumpur airport entertainment

Day 200  Feb 20 2015 Manila Philippines

We took a taxi to the airport in Kuala Lumpur.  The flight to Manila took 3hours and 20 minutes and the 19 km taxi ride to the apartment we rented took just over 1 ½ hours.  This is the first apartment we have rented over AirBNB that does not have hot water.  Normally we check for this luxury but somehow we missed it when renting this place.  Evy is not planning on taking a shower for the 4 days we are here.  I will take a cold water shower daily as I feel gross after a day of sweating.  There are two convenience stores on the ground floor of the building and a fast food restaurant called Jollibees where we ate supper.  David wants to go back to the restaurant as the glazed chicken tastes like his favorite chicken wings from Gillies in Kincardine.  When Evy went to bed she was shivering and cold with a head ache. The master bedroom is the only room in the apartment that has an AC.   As a result she slept on the lower bunk in the kids room with Isabel sleeping on the top bunk.  I got to sleep in the master bedroom sharing a bed with David the kicker Ulak.

Day 199 Feb 19 2015 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Day 199  Feb 19 2015 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

We had a lazy morning with Evy and I reading, Isabel watching TV and David playing games on his iPAD.  In the afternoon we took a cab to a market where Evy bought new sandals.  The ones she bought in Vietnam were not comfortable.  The market was followed by a trip to a mall next to the Petronas Towers.  At the mall we bought Isabel 2 shirts to replace the ones destroyed by the last laundry place, we still have to purchase replacement shirts for Evy and Me. 

Day 198 Feb 18 2015 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

the excitement for the day --Homework--

Day 198  Feb 18 2015 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

We woke up at 4:30 am as we had to take a plane to KL at 8:30.  We got to the airport at 5:50 as the airport counter was supposed to open 3 hours before the flight.  The counter did not open until  almost 7 am meaning we could have stayed in bed for an extra hour.  The taxi ride to the hotel took about 45 minute but the taxi driver seemed to have a hard time keeping his car in the correct lane and it got worse when he answered his phone.  Evy figured he might have been stoned or drunk.  After we got settled into the hotel we went for a walk to checkout the area.   The number of closed stores reminded me of Detroit.  It turned out that the majority of stores in the area have Chinese owners or employees.  They were all closed for the Chinese New Year.  The kids finished the day by doing school work.  We are definitely not keeping up with the school work as we had planned.  I am more concerned with Isabel than with David as David is a good reader and a possibly better speller than I am.  We have been doing Isabel a disservice by not making her read or write on a regular basis.

Day 197 Feb 17 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

walking around Siem Reap

David after a sip of beer

Happy brother bugging an unhappy sister

the new "matchypooh" outfit

Day 197  Feb 17 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

Today is our last full day in Cambodia.  Even though we had bought a 3 day temple pass we decided to not go to the temples as the kids had seen enough.  We spent the day walking around the market in Siem Reap and relaxing around the hotel.  At the market Evy bought Isable and herself matching dresses.  When we started the trip they had matching shirts which Isabel loved wearing at the same time as her mother. Unfortunately Isabel’s shirt got stained and had to be thrown away.  Isabel was very upset at loosing what she called “matchypooh” so Evy had promised to buy a new “matchypoo”.  The new “matchypoo” are two identical dresses that made Isabel ecstatic when they first put them on. 

Day 196 Feb 16 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Feeding the monkey bananas and lotus flowers

Pink Lady (the temple not me!)

Pre Rup

Day 196  Feb 16 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

We hired the same tuk tuk and the same guide as we had yesterday and spent the day exploring more temples.  The first we went to was Angkor Wat which is the most famous temple of the 300 temples in the area and is also a UNESCO world heritage site.  The next stop of the day was the Banteay Srey or the Pink Lady.  It is called the Pink Lady as it is the most decorated and the stone has a pink hue to it.  It was in miniature size compared to the other constructions in the area but very beautiful.  The last temple of the day was Pre Rup which was build around 961.  This was the biggest temple that the kids were allowed to climb.  At Angkor Wat and others anyone under 12 was not allowed up the temples for safety reason.  We were there in the late afternoon and the view from the top was nice.

Day 195 Feb 15 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

Angkor Thom

Bayon

Ta Prohm

more Ta Prohm 

Day 195  Feb 15 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

We hired a tuk tuk and a temple guide for the day.  The first temple we stopped at was Angkor Thom where we visited Bayon, the Royal Palace and the Elephant Terrace.  The next stop was at Ta Prohm, which is where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed.  The third stop was Prasat Kravan which was a brick temple made in the 10^th.  The stones for the temples were brought from 60 km away by elepant in the dry season and by raft in the monsoon season.  

Day 194 Feb 14 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

anybody want a nice juicy snack of .................SPIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hotel pool in Siem Reap

Day 194  Feb 14 2015 Siem Reap Cambodia

We hired a car and driver to take us from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, a distance of 320 km.  The trip cost us $70 usd and took 8 hours including 2 stops.  The first stop was at a market that the taxi driver said was for Asian tourists.  The vendors were selling cooked bugs and spiders and other delightful looking snacks as well as fresh fruits.  The second stop was at a restaurant for lunch, when I was leaving the WC I saw the driver getting some money for taking us to the restaurant. It is a common practice here and we did not mind at all, as the food was good and the restaurant was clean.  The driver told us he gets paid $150 usd per month by the company he drives for.  He drives the same rough road every day, sometimes one way and occasionally it is a round trip. When he stays in Siem Reap which is 3 or 4 times a week he sleeps in the car as a hotel is too expensive.  It is this kind of conversation that makes me realize just how fortunate we are to live in Canada and to have the job and benefits that we do.  When we got to the hotel Evy and I went for a short walk to find a laundry and a store where we could buy a few supplies.  

Day 193 Feb 13 2015 Phnom Penh Cambodia

cool restaurant in Phnom Penh

Royal Palace

Probably a good thing I am not in this country anymore

model of Angkor Wat at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Day 193  Feb 13  2015  Phnom Penh Cambodia

The first place we visited was the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital where we had a doctor look at a sore on David’s posterior.  He had a sore that started as a bug bite about 2 weeks earlier and grew to an open sore about 3 X 3 inches.  It was not showing signs of improving so to the doctor we went and with a cream we left.  When we were searching the internet for doctors we started to get worried.  One of the articles we read was about how in 2008 prospective medical students took to the streets.  They were protesting because the University of Medicine in Phnom Penh refused to admit any student with a score of less the 50% on their entrance exams.  After the protests the University recanted and admitted anybody that had 25% or better.   Other articles were about doctors buying their credentials, not having any or as nurses posing as doctors.  We contacted our insurance company and went with their referral which seemed to be good.  The Royal Phnom Penh Hospital must only cater to foreign tourists or rich Cambodians as there were very few patients evident in a very new hospital.  Our visit only cost $36 USD and included the cream, it will be a few days before we see if it works.  The other place we visited was the Royal Palace.  Evy enjoyed the visit; however the kids and I were not overwhelmed by the experience.  They did have a nice fish pond with a cool model of Angkor Wat in the center. 

Day 192 Feb 12 2015 Phnom Penh Cambodia

A tree where the Khmer Rouge smashed babies to death

Stupa containing thousands of skulls

Bou Meng one of the 11 survivors out of 20000 that did not!

Entrance to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

In the tuk tuk on the way to the hotel

Day 192  Feb 12  2015  Phnom Penh Cambodia

Today was not what I would call an uplifting day.  I felt like I did when leaving the first Nazi death camp I visited in Poland 20 years ago.  We spent the majority of the day at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek near Phnom Penh followed by a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.  The museum which used to be known as Security Prison 21 or simply S21 started life as a high school in the 60’s.  Entering the stupa at the Killing Fields which contains thousands of human skulls is a surreal experience.  The sculls are all cataloged as to how its owner was killed, with an example of the type of murder weapon used.  Later we came to a mass grave where women and babies were buried.  There was a tree next to the grave where babies’ heads were smashed before they were thrown in the grave.  The babies were killed in front of the mothers.  We continued the tour and came to a sign that said “don’t step on the bones”.   I was looking in pit we were standing beside and asked David if he saw any bones.  He pointed to the ground at our feet and there they were.  It was hard not to step on the bones.  After the Killing Fields we went to S21 where we hired a tour guide.  She shared some of the experiences suffered by her mother at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.  We saw one of the 4 children that survived S21, he works as a ground keeper at the museum.  We also met two of the 7 adult survivors of the prison.  They were there selling books they wrote to raise awareness of the horrors that happened at S21 and to raise money for victims of the genocide; we bought both books.  The authors requested that we read the books then donate them to a library in the country where we live.  We spent the rest of the day hanging around the pool while David read one of the books.