Thread: Singers,flippers and ties.

My first big street gunfight in Manila was in 1990, a month or so after I arrived. I was driving to work, when this large crowd of people came running down the street, flowing past my SUV on both sides. Being a new guy, I hung a u-turn, to go with the flow and also get clear of whatever all these people were running away from.

We rounded a corner, and I could see rounds hitting cars and walls and cops returning fire. Bank robbery in progress. Everyone shooting full auto. Rounds impacting all over the place.

Everyone laughing at me when I got to work. Seems that Flips always run towards the excitement......Live and learn.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

My first big street gunfight in Manila was in 1990, a month or so after I arrived. I was driving to work, when this large crowd of people came running down the street, flowing past my SUV on both sides. Being a new guy, I hung a u-turn, to go with the flow and also get clear of whatever all these people were running away from.

We rounded a corner, and I could see rounds hitting cars and walls and cops returning fire. Bank robbery in progress. Everyone shooting full auto. Rounds impacting all over the place.

Everyone laughing at me when I got to work. Seems that Flips always run towards the excitement......Live and learn.

Always amazed at the amount of firearms openly displayed in Manila whenever I visit. Never yet met a Filipino I have wanted to shoot or have shoot me.

Took the same tour with Carlos (good, but some of his opinions were over the top - I did step away from him for a while incase a thunderbolt came from the sky to wipe him out :-)...and had the same experience with the cab after the tour was over. We had actually walked back to the entrance to go to a little gift shop there, but could not find a cab after! One guy wanted 800 to get to Makati...he lowered it to 500 after about 10 minutes. We walked for about 45 minutes before we found a cab (and I think it was around 200php fare).

No gun shots when I was there....

Originally Posted by crocman

visit. Never yet met a Filipino I have wanted to shoot or have shoot me.

That's the amusing part; my one time Filipina friend told me that armed robbers who burgle houses never shoot. ....

Originally Posted by danno5

Took the same tour with Carlos (good, but some of his opinions were over the top - I did step away from him for a while incase a thunderbolt came from the sky to wipe him out :-)...and had the same experience with the cab after the tour was over. We had actually walked back to the entrance to go to a little gift shop there, but could not find a cab after! One guy wanted 800 to get to Makati...he lowered it to 500 after about 10 minutes. We walked for about 45 minutes before we found a cab (and I think it was around 200php fare).

No gun shots when I was there....

Carlos certainly takes to his job with a lot of nationalistic fervour or pride if you like. He certainly has no love of the Catholic Church and the part it played in his country's past. He recently spent time in jail for offending religious feelings. On our tour I noticed a few of the older Filipinos grimacing at some of the things Carlos said and some even slipped away from the tour.

Little generic houses.

Originally Posted by Ronin

Originally Posted by crocman

visit. Never yet met a Filipino I have wanted to shoot or have shoot me.

That's the amusing part; my one time Filipina friend told me that armed robbers who burgle houses never shoot. ....

Maybe the good guys have got more guns or bigger ones than the bad guys.

Next stop Tagbilaran Airport in Bohol to catch a ride to Alona Beach Panglao Island. Every stop we made we would work to the same formula,my mate and the Lizard Ladies would collect our bags while I would head off to to do battle with the local touts over the price of a ride. We always needed a van. There was only 4 of us but Christ we had a mountain of luggage. As soon as I had procured the transport we were off.
Alona Beach



For some reason Alona Beach was the place that proved to be the hardest place to get some decent digs. We ended up at a place called Regents Park Resort where we received the absolute best service I have received anywhere in the world. The hotel itself was nicely presented but the rooms were a little dated and we were a five minute walk to the beach but kids who ran that place more than made up for any shortcomings.

Local Billabong



Crocman getting ready to try out the Billabong



This is the path through a resort that we had to go down to get to the beach.






Besides getting to relax on the beach, Alona has its fair share of restaurants and bars along the beachfront path. The place is sort of set up along the same lines as a smaller version of Boracay. As we had flown into a category 1 tropical storm, the weather for the first couple of days was not that great so those bars got quite a hammering. One place that proved to be a favourite was called the Alona Coco Vida. They have a house band called Sacrifice who keep the place lively.

The beach path



Besides the beach,another reason for visiting Alona was crocman could do a bit of diving.

Just booked for a days diving a Balicasag Island.



This guy Jaguar was our DM for the day and was a bloody good guide.



When we went out it was fairly overcast so although the vis was fairly good it was still a bit gloomy down below. When we dropped off the boat for the first dive conditions weren't too bad but when we came up fifty minutes later the white caps were breaking over our heads. I will only post a couple of pics here but will start a new thread in the dive forum later.

Turtle on our first dive.



Nudibranchs.

[IMG]http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag159/crocman123/0fc983856c484d99ca8ade9d1297bf48_zps400c553b.jpg[/IMG

Will post some more of our trip through Bohol Later.

nice post

Originally Posted by crocman
The Park Regis set us back about $180 Aus a night which was reasonable

I got quoted $289 Au a night near Darwin Airport for an extra night last week, the Companys Corporate rate was $150 with meals, /\ thats not to bad

Originally Posted by mingmong

nice post

Originally Posted by crocman
The Park Regis set us back about $180 Aus a night which was reasonable

I got quoted $289 Au a night near Darwin Airport for an extra night last week, the Companys Corporate rate was $150 with meals, /\ thats not to bad

Man that is harsh,especially during the wet. I lived in the Darwin Casino for four months courtesy of the boss, he must of been earning a fortune to pay the rates they were asking, even back then.

As for the Park Regis I got a good deal off agoda. I organised this whole trip for four people for four weeks online with no agents. Got some damn good deals by doing the research.

Ahhhh good old Darwin, one of the most expensive places on earth for accommodation (along with Perth)

Enjoying the thread Crocman.

Pics and itinerary info are great C man. Keep 'em comin'.

Originally Posted by chassamui

Pics and itinerary info are great C man. Keep 'em comin'.

Will do Chas,thanks for following. At the moment I'm stuffing around working out how to upload the videos I took while diving.

I dived at a couple of good spots including Balicasag in the Phils and the Similans and richeliu rock in LOS.

Originally Posted by MeMock

Ahhhh good old Darwin, one of the most expensive places on earth for accommodation (along with Perth)

Enjoying the thread Crocman.

I remember a couple of boys I knew paying $400 a week back in '94 to live in a lean to out the back of the house they were supposedly renting. The house itself was unliveable but the lean to was right next to the pool and had leccy for the beer fridge so all was good,oh yeah and the Berrimah was just up the road.

Ok a couple more dive pics.

But it wasn't all diving and finally catching some sun while we were in Bohol.we got to do a fair bit of sightseeing as well.

We took a boat trip up the Loboc River.



While the river is quite picturesque the boat trip itself is a little bit hokey. You pay for the ride and a meal and they throw in a guy on a guitar as well. But boat don't leave till the boat is full,so while you wait for more tourists to arrive all the pre cooked food sits there getting cold. Not a trip I would really recommend.

While you are on the river you come across a village of the local Ati Tribe. These guys are famous for their wild lizard taming skills and their amazing ability to get stupid tourists to pay for pics of them.

http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c81677e.jpg

Me on a suspension bridge over the Loboc.

We also took a trip the very unique Chocolate hills.





And we also visited a reserve where you can get up close with the worlds smallest primate, the Tarsier.

After Bohol we headed to Boracay,which proved to be a bit of an ordeal with late planes,changed arrival destinations and drives through the Panay countryside.what should have taken 4 hours ended up taking 13 hours, but we arrived safely if a little bit tired and cranky.

Our new camping ground,the Boracay Regency.

Originally Posted by crocman

While you are on the river you come across a village of the local Ati Tribe. These guys are famous for their wild lizard taming skills and their amazing ability to get stupid tourists to pay for pics of them.

Your taking the piss now i reckon crocman


They were quite persuasive

We were staying next to the boracay regency, awesome looking place

^^so which one are you BLD?

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

We were staying next to the boracay regency, awesome looking place

Yeah mate it was a pretty good place to lay your head.maybe a touch impersonal,but then again I only wanted them to make the bed not get in it.

The rates we got on agoda were pretty good. Just a shade over the two hundy mark and we were there for eight nights.

All along white beach there are countless hotels,bars and restaurants. A couple that are well worth a visit are Pats Creek Bar and the Bom Bom bar. They are next to each other just down from D'Mall. Both places share the same vibe and tunes. On a good night you might catch Ferns Tosco or TJ Armand. One place we gravitated to quite often was Ngi Ngi Noos. This joint is a favourite with expats who want to while away an afternoon or get hammered at happy hour.