Hit by a dengue virus

Alone in my hotel room, I experienced severe headache, body malaise, high grade fever and worst it was raining like a storm in the island of Malapascua, if I go in convulsion due to fever, no one will be able to respond to my call. I realized that this is one of the drawbacks of doing solo backpacking where no one will be able to care for you in times like this, good thing I have several paracetamols and 2 liters of water to cool me off.

The following day in the morning, my fever had subsided but I could still feel the pains around my joints and I became weak that I could not bear to carry my backpack. It was also raining that time. My hotel is located approximately 20 minutes on foot to the port area. The owner took me a motorcyle and brought me to the port area, I was little wet because of the rain. 

From Malapascua port, I travelled to Cebu City proper for close to 5 hours due to the frequent stops. Finally, I had a rest at Sugbutel and continued to take Paracetamol due to intermittent fever. The next day, my flight was 5:00am to Davao. 

As soon as I reached Davao, I took a Complete Blood Count and Platelet count determination in a private laboratory and it revealed that my platelet was 102 (the normal range is 150-400). Confirmed. It was dengue.

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Unexpected Malapascua Trip

  It was 6:00 when I left Camotes Island bound for my next island trip around Cebu, on my mind was Bantayan Island but things turned out not according to plan. 

Initially, going to Bantayan Island was my original itirenary. About 5:00pm in Camotes, I took the last trip to Cebu  via SuperShuttle Ferry to Danao City, Cebu although there is an early morning trip to Mandaue. But going to Bantayan, Danao port is the shortest way.

The ferry is like a barge that can carry buses or huge vehicles using Roll On-Roll Off (RORO) trails.

The ferry leaves 10 minutes delayed because of some cargos and I reached Danao City around 7pm. Since Im trying to save money, I opted not to stay in a hotel and just go internet cafe’s and wait for the Bus in the town center to Bantayan. Getting around Danao is using a tricycle, as usual drivers ask for double priced fare. After using the internet for  2hours, I had my dinner at a local pizza restaurant near a plaza and city hall. I spend more than 1 hour and used again the internet to look for some fun activities in Bantayan.

Around 1 am, I waited for a bus to Bantayan Island and so I rode a Ceres Bus bound north. On the bus was the sign DAAN BANTAYAN. So I told the conductor to book drop me off to a port on the way to Bantayan Island. I felt feverish already this time while in the bus, Im so sensitive to the wind blowing at me. I chilled and got really dizzy along the way. At first,  I had to stand up for 40 minutes because the bus was full until one left and I replaced his seat. 

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Harbor View Hotel, Camotes

I stayed at Harbor View resort in Camotes and to my surprise I was the only guest in this 8 room resort. For P600 my room was overlooking the bay. For those who are afraid of big bugs, this resort is not for you. I encountered really huge spiders in this resort. 

The resort has different room accommodations from single to family. All toilets are shared.

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Buho Garden, Camotes Island

After the cave tour, we went back to Camotes town called San Francisco to eat some snacks and I found out that my cash is short, I could not pay the hotel accommodation. Unfortunately, the only 1 ATM in Camotes is closed every weekend so I had to call my friends to send me cash using ML Luiler or Cebuana Pawnshops, good thing 2 of my friends responded postively and sent me P1000 each.

 After the snack, we went to my last stop but it was the best that the island has to offer, its the Buho Garden. Nestled along the limestone rock, the feeling was like El Nidoish. 

Because of my underwater frenzy shots, my camera during this time was in low battery mode. The place was great.

No Camote in Camotes

While on the road to another destination, I noticed that the islands main produce were corns and not camote (Sweet potato). There were lots of cornfields but no camote-fields. I wonder how did the island got its name.

Next stop was at Timubo Cave. The cave holds a crystal clear water, you can see even the rocks below. I love this place. 

Camwhoring underwater.

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Overnight in Camotes Island

I was greeted in Camotes Island in total darkness. 

When I arrived in Camotes Island from Cebu, there was no electricity. According to some locals, it was their problem for quite sometime now because of the broken power generator. 

To get to Camotes Island, you can ride the Oceanjet Express from PIER 1 inZ Cebu for P350. The trip departs at 4:30pm everyday and will take you to the island for 2hours. Another way to Camotes is through Danao port in Northern Cebu. 

When at the port, I hired a motorcyle and asked the driver to take me to a cheap hotel. It was very scary trekking along the road during that time because there was no electricty in the streets. The driver took me to HARBOURVIEW RESORT, a 15 minute ride from the town center where I had my dinner at the local barbeque stalls. With the same driver, I arranged him for me to tour around the island, I agreed on the P500 rate for the whole day trip. 

The next morning when I woke from the hotel, I noticed that Im the only one in the resort and the last guests from outside the island was last June. The driver picked me up at 8:00am as we agreed and started the tour even without breakfast coz I had a full supper last night. 

The first stop was at Santiago Bay Beach, when I went there, it was low tide and there’s nothing much to see in the island. I noticed some garbage around the shores, if they would want to keep the tourism business alive, people must start to pick these rubbish. Its an eye sore for tourists. 

Forget the thumb in the photo’s above.lol. Sometimes yoy need to teach your driver to use the camera properly, this is one of the perils of travelling alone. Next we moved on to the Lake Danao Park. It reminds me of the lake in Negros Occidental.

I wished I can do some kayaking here but there were no such facilities but a family boat for you to rent. 

Next we went to a local beach resort, Consolacion Beach. I decided to take a short dip first before the next destination.

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Going to Olango Island

Slept for only 2 hours, still feeling exhausted from work, my alarm clock woke me up for another exciting journey to Cebu. Good thing my small rented room is near the airport, in just 15 minutes by taxi Im already at the airport. Since, Ive been to Cebu for some couples of time already, this time I wanted to visit the nearby islands around Cebu, first thing on my mind was Olango Island, famous for its bird-watching but someone told me that this time was not good for bird-watching so I skipped it out and decided to visit the new adventure park around the island. The next thing on my mind was Camotes Island and Bantayan Island. All this for a 4 day travel, this has got to be one of my Amazing Race kind of trips. 

So along with my small backpack, shades and my budgeted pocket money I went to a small port along Hilton Hotel in Mactan Island. From Cebu Airport, take a yellow jeepney and drop off at Marina Mall. From Marina Mall, ride a jeep again to Hilton Hotel, look for the Punta Engano sign on the jeep. Better to ask the driver to drop you at the port area. 

Olango Island is reachable through a small pumpboat for about 30 minutes and the fare costs you P10 only. Once I reached the islands port,    the only way to move around was hiring a pedicab. The island was very small, I hope someday they will promote using bike instead of motorized cabs. I payed P100 to the driver to take me to Talima Adev 

There are 2 ways to Talima Adventure Park, one is this DIY trip while the other is to use the Talima boat facility. You can contact them ahead and there are scheduled trips posted at the port. 

During my visit last August, the park was still on its soft core opening. Most rides are not yet available and needs improvement. I decided not to get wet and just stayed at the restaurant area. They charge P100 for the entrance.

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Best hostel experience in Saigon

 When I was in Saigon, I had a pleasant stay at Nga Hoang Hotel, for me, it is one of the best hostel I’ve every stayed in my backpacking trips around Southeast Asia. The hotel is located in the tourist district of Saigon, Pham Ngo Lao and around this district are travel agencies, various hotels, restaurants, pubs and a park.

I knew the hostel from hostelworld.com website, although I was just walkin guest, Im glad they have still plenty of beds. My room was a 10 bed room with toilets and baths and the place was airconditioned. The owner was very friendly and accommodating. She doesnt require you to deposit or pay money while you stay, she will collect it during your last day and normally, they will take your passport with you as security will do its rounds every night. 

For as little as $4 US dollars a night, you will also have a free breakfast; french bread, fried egg and coffee. The place is also WiFi ready in all rooms. Thats why I gave a rating of 9/10 on this hotel. 

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