It's More Fun In The Philippines

Travel by Ferry in the Philippines is a great way to experience the way the locals travel. It is very economical and also a fun way to travel. When planning my trip, I knew I was going to have to go from Iloilo to Bacolod.

I Google searched available ferries and found they leave Iloilo several times a day going to Bacolod and it is about a 45 minute trip.

It was another one of those mornings that you always dread. You see we had been staying with my wife’s family for about five days. We always stay with them when traveling to the Philippines. We have a great time, get close once again to all the kids and then inevitably the end comes. This was one such morning. We hadn’t been there for about three years. Here we were leaving again. That morning is always a somber one. Last time the little ones didn’t even want to get out of bed because they knew we were leaving.

It sounds hard but I have found that the less said the better unless you want a real emotional tear jerker. I find it hard to even look at the kids that last day. We loaded our backpacks into the Sikad and headed towards the main road to hail a taxi that would take us to the Port.

It was a steamy morning in Pavia combined with the emotions of the departure I found myself wondering what lied ahead because I had never been on a ferry like the one I was about to ride.

We got the taxi and journeyed to the Port where we would buy tickets. We had decided to only take what we could carry this trip. We had purchased back packs this trip and vowed that we would be traveling light. It’s always interesting when on a new adventure in the Philippines. We hadn’t done this before and did not really know the ropes.

We arrived at the “Ocean Jet” station and spied the ticket window. I made my wife get the tickets. A little trick I always use because she knows the language and it makes it a lot easier.

It never ceases to amaze me how muggy it gets in the Philippines. It always seems when you are in a new or confusing situation that the heat and humidity help play a role in escalating the stress level a bit. We purchased the tickets and basically stood around looking dumb for a while. Something just didn’t feel right.

I was getting that feeling I often get in the Philippines when you suspect that maybe you don’t have all the information that you need ..
I had already been tricked once by these gentle people on a trip to Banaue. We stood outside in the sun and the heat feeling confused when the “good Filipina” at the counter prodded us to go inside the building and wait for the ferry. I thought it would have been nice if she would have included that little bit of info earlier and save us the sauna bath that we were now experiencing. It seems sometimes that in the Philippines that you are kept on a “need to know” basis most of the time.

We entered the departure waiting room to find a dark, dank, dirty room filled with plastic chairs.

To say it was air-conditioned would be stretching the truth a little.

Of course their definition of cool and mine are not always the same. It really sounds like I am complaining and maybe I am a little but I really do love traveling the Philippines I just marvel at the way things are done. The restroom facilities were basic. By basic I mean almost non-existent. One door led the way through and then two door separated the guys from the girls. Both doors were raised up like on a platform. I entered the lalaki (men’s) room to find that the door would not latch. Of course it was extremely filthy. It was not that it wouldn’t latch that bothered me, it was that the door wouldn’t even close while I was trying to make use of the room.

Boarding the Ferry is always an experience.  I think that there are two schools of thought when it comes to getting in line.  I have observed this in the Philippines and it seems to be consistent throughout. 

One group thinks it’s OK to sneak, cheat and jump line with no concern as to who was here first.

It seems as long as no one objects they will go all the way to the front.  These folks aggravate me to no end.  The boldness of these people amazes me.  For such a “polite culture” there are always these opportunist that show up at every event.  I usually resort to a Kano blocking technique.  If they are bold enough to try to get through, I am bold enough to stand right in their way.  If they still try, I will continue to block them and then to engage them by looking directly in their eyes.  That way they know that I know what they are up to and they will back off at that point.  That tactic will usually work.

The second camp is different entirely from the first.

They will usually sit and wait for the call to board.  They may have waited for an hour but then all of a sudden realize it’s time to get on board.  They then will get out in the aisle and exchange hugs, say goodbye to friends or relatives.  Maybe re-sort their baggage.  All of these things could be done prior to leaving but they choose to wait till the end and stand in the middle of the aisle blocking would be boarders of their chance to get a good seat!

We boarded the Ocean Jet and were on our way.  The ride on these things is pretty cool.  They boats are in very decent shape and the overall experience is pretty nice.  It is amazing how cheap it is to travel in the Philippines.  The 45 minute ride cost us each around three dollars. 

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