Butanding Interaction

”Jump now” the direction comes from our BIO (butanding interaction officer) and we push off the edge of the boat plunging into the sea. I stick close to our guide watching his hand for when he starts to point emphatically. I can’t see anything in the slightly murky blue water but I’ve come to trust that if I direct attention the right way soon I will see the distinct spots of a whale shark approach.

This time, our seventh jump into the ocean, we’re positioned perfectly and the butanding, or whale shark, appears right before us it’s large mouth pointed directly at us. A quick kick of the flippers and I position myself just above it. I watch it’s large graceful form float past then begin a strong stroke to swim with it. I don’t want to stop following it, fascinated by its flat head, visible gills and unique spotted pattern. It is easy to go into an almost trance watching it casually swim below you, at least until you have to fight your way through the next crowd of tourists waiting in its path. Luckily I’m a stronger swimmer then most out here today, and the deceptively lazy float of a whale shark is surprisingly fast, so I get minutes of feeling like I’m alone in the world with this amazing creature.

I finally give up when the whale shark descends deeper into the ocean and becomes a fuzzy outline. Raise my head and look for the boat, climbing back onboard with a sense of exhilaration. There is a huge smile on my face as I settle back on the side of the boat, slipping my fins back on, waiting for the next order to “jump now.” This has been my best day in a long time.

If you want to see the whale sharks I highly encourage you to visit the more ethically and conscientiously run experience in Donsol. They limit the number of boats and tourists allowed out each day to minimize the stress on the whale sharks. They don’t feed them, relying instead on maintaining the environment to their liking. It means you aren’t guaranteed to see a whale shark, but if you come in season the chances are high. We jumped into the water eight times, and I only missed sighting a whale shark one of those times.

A visit to the DMZ

One of the things that mom and I both agreed upon for our visit to South Korea is that we wanted to take a trip to the DMZ, the demilitarized zone along the border of North and South Korea. The only way that you can do that is to book a tour through one of the many companies that goes to pretty much the same stops. We ended up doing a full day joint to the DMZ and the JSA. One of the selling points of the company we used was that a North Korean defector spent the day with us and we could ask questions to gain a better understanding of what life there was like, why people try to get out, and what it takes to actually get out.

Our day started in the DMZ, with a trip down the third tunnel. Called this because it is the third tunnel that South Korea discovered. Discovered? Yes, North Korea had dug (at least) four tunnels under the entire buffer zone along the demarkation line that would allow them to come up well within the South Korean half. As you can imagine the discovery of these tunnels threw South Korea into an uproar. Today the third tunnel is more of a tourist attraction. We got on a "tram" (think seats like a low key rollercoaster) to go down and down. Then we were able to walk down to the first of three barriers that block the demarkation line, and peer through a small window to the second barrier. While an attack from North Korea does not seem likely to come this way anymore, there is still plenty of defence of this possible point of entry.

Our next stop was at Dorasan Observatory where it is just possible to see the electric poles that designate you are looking at North Korea. At times repetitive music would drift in the air, propaganda being played from "propaganda village" across the border. Frankly, we didn't have a clear enough view to make this all that interesting of a stop.

View into North Korea from Dorasan Observatory

We then stopped at Dorasan Station, which is a fully functioning train station ready and waiting for when the border opens up. They claim they are not the last station in the South but the first station to the North. Kind of crazy to imagine how much money has gone into building rail lines and stations for a path that is not allowed to be travelled.

The highlight of the day though had to be a visit to Panmunjom, the site of the Joint Security Area (JSA) along the border. There we were instructed to leave everything except for a camera behind and were joined by an armed guard to visit the famous blue conference room. In the JSA, the demarkation line separating North and South Korea is a clear concrete divide. Guards from South Korea stood partially shielded behind buildings eyes firmly fixed on the North.  

We were given about ten minutes in the conference room where the armistice was signed. Yes, technically, I crossed over to North Korea on that day. We were well warned not to attempt to exit the door on the far side of the building, however pictures were encouraged! So of course we had to take a few. Proof that we were actually in North Korea....by about 5 feet.

We used Panmunjom Tour Company and were pleased with our day.

Walking Seoul's Wall

 

When I get to a new city I like to walk, and walk, and walk. Being on my feet gives me a chance to get a feel for the place and as I like to spend as much time outside as possible is a natural choice for one of my first days of a visit. For Spring Break this year my mom and I travelled to Seoul, South Korea and realised we had an extraordinary choice for where to walk - alongside part of the old city walls that ringed the original city. There are actually five different sections of the city wall that have marked paths along or near them, as well as 4 main gates to check out and 4 smaller gates. 

     

We ended up choosing one of the more gentle sections to walk, the Naksan Mountain Trail which starts at Hyehwamun Gate and goes until Heunginjimun Gate. Coming in at a little over 2 kilometres it is a fairly short walk (although perhaps for uphill then we had anticipated). We were able to walk along the old walls (partially renovated, although you could still see the three different types of stone blocks used from different time periods) almost the entire way. There were several places to stop for views of the bustling busy city of Seoul. 

        

However I think my favourite part had to be the imposing giant city gates. Often set in the middle of a circle amongst busy city streets, they had amazing paintings on the underside of each gate. It definitely paid to look up! I saw dragons, phoenix, turtles, and deer along with some other creatures that seemed to be a cross of some mythological being and an animal. These vibrant colours and well preserved images were well worth a stop to check out.

In fact, we enjoyed walking the walls of Seoul so much that later in our trip we decided to head out to the town of Suwon, where we could actually walk the entire loop around their town walls. These walls were in remarkably good shape, and we were able to walk along the top of several sections. Technically these walls are part of Hwaseong Fortress, dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. The walls stretch over five and a half kilometres in total length.

 

It was interesting to see the difference in the walls from the interior and the exterior. We realised fairly early on that we were walking the inner trail of the walls. This makes the walls seem not quite as impressive as they actually are - as there is a raised dirt mound on the inside, allowing for defenders to reach the arrow slits and canon points of the walls. When I wandered outside one of the gates and looked back at the walls I realised that the walls were at least twice as tall as we had been experiencing. Quite an engineering feat back in the 1600s. I have to admit that I think walking the walls in and around Seoul was one of my favourite things about the city.

Manila American Cemetery

Over the Memorial Day weekend I decided that it was finally time for me to go visit the Manila American Cemetery. After all, I can see it from my bedroom window, but had never gone. Unfortunately for me I had forgotten that it was Memorial Day weekend, and so I headed over for the normal opening time of 9 am. If I had been an hour earlier I would have been able to attend the memorial service that is held every year. Oh well. I still stopped to admire the wreaths that are donated by different organisations, one of which is always the school I work out. Since we were originally founded as the American School, it seems fitting that we play a role in this day.

The cemetery has to be the most peaceful location within walking distance of my apartment. Covering 15 acres, the cemetery is an oasis of green set up in a circular design. At the heart is a memorial hall, two curved open areas contain walls engraved with the names of over 36,000 Americans and Filipinos, the Tablets of the Missing,  who died in the region during World War II but whose bodies were never recovered. 

    

The green rolling grounds hold another 17,184 headstone, commemorating more of those lives lost during the war. It has a hug impact to see cross after cross, with a few stars intermixed, stretching out across the hill. At the same time the symmetry of the lines and curves is eye catching. This weekend there was an American and a Filipino flag in front of each headstone. Decorations that were put out by volunteers the previous day. 

May's Museum: MO_Space

By the time May rolled around I wasn't really up for much of a outing to a museum. Instead I decided to stick closer to home, in fact within walking distance of my apartment. On the top floor of a furniture store there is a small two room gallery that has a rotating set of exhibits. MO_Space is an artist run gallery. Dedicated to showcasing work from Filipino contemporary artists the exhibits can be quite a contrast.

This month the two rooms were set up as two different exhibits. I quite enjoyed the brightly coloured paintings on the wall and the floor in Patrick Cruz's people without property. Each time I went back to look I noticed more details (many of which reminded me of Native American legends). It was eye-catching and vibrant.

The second room was a compilation of work by different artists along the theme of visionary. There was a lot more variety in these works, some of which I struggled to find the connection to (not the ones pictured about, these were two of the three with a religious theme). However it pushed me to consider what it means to be visionary.

MO_Space

Bonifacio High Street, BGC

11am - 8pm

Free entry through Mo Design Store

Masungi Georeserve

I've chosen to not travel during more long weekends this year then in any other year of my teaching career. Some of it has been intentional, but often it has just been a case of not getting myself together enough to organise a trip. I found myself in the same position at the end of April, and decided that even if I wasn't going away I had to do something. I've been wanting to visit Masungi Georeserve since I had heard about the trip friends took there. You have to reserve a tour, and weekends are usually busy, but I hoped that having Monday and Tuesday off would open up some possibilities. Sure enough, there was one slot available on Tuesday morning. Of course, you can only reserve for a group of 7 or more people. So now, where to find 6 other people who aren't traveling for the weekend and would like to go? Luckily for me I mentioned it to Lindsay and within 12 hours she had found enough people that I could go ahead and book. 

Masungi Georeserve has existed for the last 15 years, although they have only opened to tourists in the last 5 or so years. Originally it was a region with a lot of illegal logging that was depleting the natural resources of the area. Once the conservation group was established, they were acknowledged to be so effective that they have been entrusted with watching over a larger area. A day trip to Masungi gives you access to just a small region of the conservation area.

A trip to Masungi is part hike part ropes course. There is a designated path through the limestone crags and trees, with eight different rope obstacles. Some you climb up, some you climb down. There is a giant metal/rope spiderweb where you can enjoy the views and the feeling of being above the greenery. Tire swings and hammocks made for nice short breaks. Through it all, I was just pleased to be out of the city and back into nature. A definite treat. After our hike, we headed up to Silvan their restaurant which used produce grown locally for one of the best meals that I've had in the Philippines so far. All in all an enjoyable day.

 

Masungi Georeserve

6:00-13:00, Tuesday - Sunday

Reservations required

Discovery trail takes 2.5 - 4 hours (depending on how many photos you take)

Touring Bohol

While mom was visiting I had a 3-day weekend and so we headed to Bohol. The last time I went I just relaxed on the beach and in a pool. This time I wanted to see all of the main tourist sites. So I arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and do a tour of the island of Bohol. Since I didn't really know much about what was on Bohol to see, I just told them I wanted to see the main sights. In my mind that equated to two - the Chocolate Hills and tarsiers. Of course we got much more than that.

Our first stop was at the site of the blood compact, complete with statue commemorating the event. The sandugo occurred in 1565, between Spanish explorer Legazpi and Bohol chieftain Datu Sikatuna. The each cut their arm, let blood flow into a cup of wine, and exchanged glasses to drink. This ritual of friendship was the first treaty between Spain and the Filipinos. Of course when I returned to school a local teacher told me that wasn't the actual spot...but at least I learned a bit more of the history of the island.

From there we stopped at Baclayon Church or the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. It is a coral stone church dating back to 1727. Strikingly simple on the outside the church surprised with its ornate paintings and decorations inside. We got a chance to look at statues of some of the local saints some of whom mom and I had never heard of. Unfortunately the church was mostly destroyed in 2013 by an earthquake, and so the current structure is the repaired and renovated church.

Do you want to dress up like a butterfly? That is the question we got asked as we left the reptile area and headed towards the butterfly garden (funny how I said I didn't want to see snakes and yet we still had to traipse past their crowded metal cages). In my head I was thinking those fabric wings that you see on kids, then I realised that they had a class wall of dried butterflies and you could stand on one side while the guide took a picture of you as if the wings were on your back. Kind of interesting. I was much more interested in the small butterfly garden. Where we saw a moth bigger than my hand, some fascinating butterflies with almost translucent wings (you could see the colours of the flowers through the wings) as well as many others. I've always had a fascination with butterflies, ever since the monarchs used to stop in our backyard on their migration south. When you're able to go out under the trees, clap your hands, and see thousands of them flutter their wings, how can you not?

After the early morning flight and several stops I was hungry! So off we went to Lobok River cruise which included lunch. It took almost an hour long wait before we got on a boat, this was clearly a popular tourist destination. While it was kind of nice to relax and watch the scenery on the river, I must say the food was hardly worth paying for. However, being in a covered area while the mid-afternoon rains come day made it a good choice for that time of day.

Finally, finally (!) we headed to what I wanted to see. The chocolate hills are one of the two things that Bohol is particularly known for. With over 1,000 hills scattered around 20 square miles there is what feels like an endless view of these. We happened to be visiting during the wet season, but during the dry season they are brown hence the names. The hills are made of karst, or limestone, that has been weathered away to form these hills. Although I must admit I enjoyed the legends we were told about the origin much more. My favourite was the tale of a giant who fell in love with a mortal. Upon the death of the mortal, the giant was heartbroken and cried. The tears dropped as he walked away forming the hills.

Rain prevented us from seeing the tarsiers the day we arrived. While upset, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. There are two places to see tarsiers on Bohol, and one of them has a better reputation for conservation and care of the animals. We would not have gone to that one as part of our tour. Instead we scheduled an early pick up for the day we flew out and head to the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. As you head in signs remind you to be quiet. These animals, the world's smallest primates, are nocturnal and sensitive to sound and light. It makes visiting them somewhat questionable, and so it important to do so in as ethical a manner as possible. Mom and I were assigned a guide for the two of us, keeping the group extremely small (and therefore more quiet). He and the other guides had gone out in the morning to find where 6-7 tarsiers had settled themselves for the day, and he lead us along muddy trails to visit those that were within the region opened to guests. The rest of the nearby forest has restricted access to help the conservation of these endangered species.