This relatively small Volcanic Island is just like a little Hawaii in the Philippines.
The summer months here in the Philippines are March, April and May. So mark your calendars and experience the best island paradise in the Philippines.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Camuigin - The Island Paradise of the Philippines
Cagayan de Oro City is said to be the gateway to the best island paradise in the entire Philippines.
This relatively small Volcanic Island is just like a little Hawaii in the Philippines.
This relatively small Volcanic Island is just like a little Hawaii in the Philippines.
Night Cafe in Cagayan de Oro City
OK... Night Cafe in Cagayan de Oro City is supposed to be one of the city's attractions to tourists.
"Night Cafes" are done by closing down the main streets in "divi soria" (the center of town I was talking about in earlier posts) and then people put up tables and chairs and then you (the customers) can buy some grilled food.
After hearing about this from John, our guide. I was excited but this quickly turned to horror and disgust when I was actually there in the Cagayan de Oro Night Cafe.
OMG!!! It was probably the dirtiest food place I was witness to and I've been to India.
I had nothing against the food cause I could see that it was the same glorious Pork barbecue I've had in the days here what I had problem with was the place. IT WAS DISGUSTING!
"Night Cafes" are done by closing down the main streets in "divi soria" (the center of town I was talking about in earlier posts) and then people put up tables and chairs and then you (the customers) can buy some grilled food.
After hearing about this from John, our guide. I was excited but this quickly turned to horror and disgust when I was actually there in the Cagayan de Oro Night Cafe.
OMG!!! It was probably the dirtiest food place I was witness to and I've been to India.
I had nothing against the food cause I could see that it was the same glorious Pork barbecue I've had in the days here what I had problem with was the place. IT WAS DISGUSTING!
Imagine all these people crammed in the streets without bathrooms to say the least. No place to wash your hands and do other stuff. If you wanted to pee you could go the the nearest Mc Donalds and use the bathroom there (which is really inconvenient).
I said DISGUSTING because I saw a man pissing on the sidewalk just a few meters away from one of the tables. I mean come one! They maybe drunk but still if you're going to put up this NIGHT CAFE you might as well make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen. I won't ever go back to the night cafe ever again.
The night cafe FYI is only active on Fridays and Saturday nights I think from early evening until 2 in the morning. Another thing that irks me is the TRASH and GARBAGE that is left on the street after they pack up. OMG! It was like the street was a big pile of garbage. (I was then told by John, our guide, that there are street sweepers who will clean up the mess every night cafe- Ok. They really have a hard job on weekends I guess.)
White Water Rafting in Cagayan de Oro CIty
Eh.
It's really not something to be proud about. I mean... the ride was OK but there were more boring parts of the ride than the more OK parts. The water was dirty and the rafting tour guide was talking and talking about the mountains being underwater or something. We... know.... jeez.
Anyway.. I am bitching again.. must be that time of month.
to sum up my rafting experience in Cagayan de Oro. Eh... It was ok but it was not great. You can actually do something more productive that waste the entire day on this trip. That's right you will waste most of your time with this boring trip.
No pictures. Didn't have fun.
It's really not something to be proud about. I mean... the ride was OK but there were more boring parts of the ride than the more OK parts. The water was dirty and the rafting tour guide was talking and talking about the mountains being underwater or something. We... know.... jeez.
Anyway.. I am bitching again.. must be that time of month.
to sum up my rafting experience in Cagayan de Oro. Eh... It was ok but it was not great. You can actually do something more productive that waste the entire day on this trip. That's right you will waste most of your time with this boring trip.
No pictures. Didn't have fun.
The Food!!!! :) :(
You're probably wondering about the smiley and the frowning icons...
Allison and I were brought to this wonderful place just within the city. We were told that this was how the Philippinos (That's what the Philippine People want to be called) enjoy their barbecue. (before reaching this place though we passed I think 5 more restaurants specializing in barbecue)
SO we ordered the house special. It was a K-bob of pork slices that were grilled to perfection!
In the course of our stay we tried out a few other foods as well such the "a dobo" and the "menudo". The food here is great!
Now for the :( part of my title.
I got to eat Balut!!! for those of you who are in the know!! some of you may already be laughing or sympathizing with me at this point. For those of you who don't know what a balut is let me describe it to you.
A balut is a duck egg that is cooked with the growing duck fetus inside. So in essence it is an aborted duck fetus!!! :( :( :( I couldn't get past this fact, and needless to say. I didn't finish mine whereas Allison was all enjoying the moment. She slurped that mother down like it was no body's business. daymn...
The reason for that is I had both a beautiful and somewhat horrifying experience with the Filipino cuisine.
Let's start with the beautiful...
The people here love their PORK!!! and this suits me fine because I enjoy my daily RED MEAT requirement. (Is there even such a food group)
Allison and I were brought to this wonderful place just within the city. We were told that this was how the Philippinos (That's what the Philippine People want to be called) enjoy their barbecue. (before reaching this place though we passed I think 5 more restaurants specializing in barbecue)
SO we ordered the house special. It was a K-bob of pork slices that were grilled to perfection!
In the course of our stay we tried out a few other foods as well such the "a dobo" and the "menudo". The food here is great!
Now for the :( part of my title.
A balut is a duck egg that is cooked with the growing duck fetus inside. So in essence it is an aborted duck fetus!!! :( :( :( I couldn't get past this fact, and needless to say. I didn't finish mine whereas Allison was all enjoying the moment. She slurped that mother down like it was no body's business. daymn...
Cagayan de Oro City - The People
The People are great. Maybe it's because i am a foreigner or something but the people do seem generally friendly. It is my first time in the Philippines and this is my first city here. It's great being around these people.
There's a down side to this though. I see some children on the streets. I have come to accept this as a norm for developing countries where there is a wide gap between the elite and the derelict but still it shatters my heart looking at them. I gave a few of them hot meals. Anything to help. :) Wish I could do more.
There's a down side to this though. I see some children on the streets. I have come to accept this as a norm for developing countries where there is a wide gap between the elite and the derelict but still it shatters my heart looking at them. I gave a few of them hot meals. Anything to help. :) Wish I could do more.
There aren't a lot of them here (I wa told that there are more in Manila as it was a bigger city) but don't you think that a single child on the street is one too many? :(
DAY 1, DAY 2
DAY 2 was something entirely different. Our guide,showed us around. He had a car but most of the time we were on foot wandering about and experiencing this and that. Our first stop was a place he called "divi soria" I don't know the literal translation of this word but it seemed like it was the town or city central.
It was a small place and it was quaint. Since this was the center of town we had easy access to other areas from here.
JEEP!!!! :) :) :)
I rode on a transport vehicle that is called a JEEP, or "Jeepney". This is a weird bus. I mean it is sort of like an extended Wrangler type jeep that was used by American GIs here back in WW2. Oh.. 'Merica, your influences never ceases to amaze me.
Arrival
I arrived in Manila and got a connecting flight to Cagayan de Oro City as was arranged by our guide. (we plan to go to manila before leaving for America) We were tired and torn. Jet Lag set in but still optimistic as hell to visit this city.
Arriving at the airport here in Cagayan, we were picked up by our guide, John Evangelista. We then checked in an apartment here for a month. (I'll name the place after I get home)
The rates were good. They are not really low but they are reasonable. In this same apartment there were other tourists from the west, a couple was from Germany and another was from Canada. So the place we rented is not at all unknown to the westerners.
Arriving at the airport here in Cagayan, we were picked up by our guide, John Evangelista. We then checked in an apartment here for a month. (I'll name the place after I get home)
The rates were good. They are not really low but they are reasonable. In this same apartment there were other tourists from the west, a couple was from Germany and another was from Canada. So the place we rented is not at all unknown to the westerners.
Philippines
I am currently in the Philippines now in a City called Cagayan de Oro. It is said to be a City of Golden Friendship and this is well shown by our (i am traveling with my friend, Allison) guide, a local we met through a common friend back home (Chicago).
So.. I am currently staying here in Cagayan de Oro for almost a month now and I am trying to write about my experiences here in this span of time.
So.. I am currently staying here in Cagayan de Oro for almost a month now and I am trying to write about my experiences here in this span of time.
Introduction
My name is Bianca Evans. I am an American traveler (of sorts) and I (try to) blog about my travels. Although I am not that good in blogging. I am only a beginner you see. Anyway, I'll try my best.
Places I've been to
Canada (Does this even count? LOL)
Mexico (spring break beybeh!!!)
France
India
Hong Kong
Philippines
Places I've been to
Canada (Does this even count? LOL)
Mexico (spring break beybeh!!!)
France
India
Hong Kong
Philippines
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)