i keep a diary

March 13, 2012

Philippines Part Two: Aileen & Ryan's Wedding in Bohol

Back to Part One

Tuesday, March 13th

meredith
We woke up bright and early, and when we wandered into town to find something to eat...
hotel ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ meredith
...we ran into Aileen & Ryan!
On the walk back to our hotel, we noticed another exclusive amenity that they'd failed to mention when we'd checked in: our very own trash lot!
meredith
Post-breffis nap.
asleep ˆ bed ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ meredith
me, meredith
A little later that afternoon, we rented a scooter and drove over to...
helmet ˆ scooter ˆ sunglasses ˆ me ˆ meredith
me
...Bohol Bee Farm!
menu ˆ me
The restaurant is set atop a cliff's edge overlooking the ocean.
ocean ˆ scenic overlook
meredith
The food was sooo good! Mango and cheese salad to start...
food ˆ salad ˆ meredith
...then ALL OF THIS!
food
Halfway through our meal we had a little visit from whatever this terrifying half-spider half-scorpion thing this is.
bugs ˆ creepy ˆ spider ˆ wtf
After our meal, we signed up for a tour of the farm!
farm ˆ walking
The tour finished with a trip to the bee hives! (Look at the lady in the background grimacing. EW, BUGS! Hahah).
bee ˆ bugs ˆ farm
Movable frame-hives!
bee ˆ bugs ˆ farm
meredith
Meredith was one of the few people to take our guide up on the offer to hold one of the screens. Haha.
bee ˆ bugs ˆ farm ˆ hat ˆ meredith
So pretty!
bee ˆ bugs ˆ farm
me
Awkward waving / thumbs up!
awkward ˆ bee ˆ sign ˆ thumbs up ˆ wave ˆ me
We got back to our hut at Reggae Guesthouse...
...just in time to watch the sunset. Meredith hung out and relaxed and I went down to the beach...
...to get a massage. So sore from all the traveling.
I got WORKED. This was the first massage I ever had where they served me fresh juice and some kind of fruit-dessert afterwards.
I got back to the hotel to find Meredith getting liquored up at the bar and chatting in French with the rest of the hotel crew.
bar ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ travel buddies
bertl, fraggle, meredith
We went into town and had a late dinner on the beach with Bertl & Fraggle. Haha.
beach ˆ food ˆ travel buddies ˆ bertl ˆ fraggle ˆ meredith

Wednesday, March 14th

me, meredith
We got up super early on Wednesday morning and walked down to the beach...
sunglasses ˆ me ˆ meredith
...to meet up with people from the wedding party to go scuba diving!
aileen
Aileen getting ready for the first dive.
boat ˆ diving boat ˆ aileen
me
Mer snapped this great action shot of me getting wet!
action shot ˆ best ˆ boat ˆ diving boat ˆ scuba ˆ me
aileen, meredith, ryan w
Warming up and drying off between dives!
best ˆ boat ˆ diving boat ˆ aileen ˆ meredith ˆ ryan w
Lexi coming up the ladder...
boat ˆ diving boat ˆ ladder
...from her first dive!
The weather took a turn for the worse right after our second dive and we had to fight our way through a storm to get back to land.
The storm left just as quickly as it came!
bilbo, fraggle
Hung out with these two jokers for a bit...
bar ˆ best ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ thumbs up ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
aileen, meredith
...and then later that evening, we headed over to the Aileen & Ryan's hotel to check out where the wedding reception would be taking place.
pool ˆ aileen ˆ meredith
Not a bad view at all.
ocean ˆ scenic overlook ˆ sunset
bilbo, fraggle
Later that evening, after some solid warm-up drinking at Reggae Guesthouse, Bilbo, Fraggle and their other friend, Jesus (orange shirt, obvs) took us down the street...
bar ˆ travel buddies ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
bilbo, fraggle, meredith
...for a disco ball dance-party at their favorite nearby bar.
dance ˆ disco ball ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle ˆ meredith
Bilbo was in charge of drafting dance floor recruits...
fraggle, me
...and encouraging shirt removal.
travel buddies ˆ fraggle ˆ me
Bilbo was prone to randomly assaulting Fraggle on the dance floor. Which eventually led to...
...Fraggle coming onto the dance floor from a running start and T-BONE tackling Bilbo like a sack of potatoes. Hahah.
Fraggle showing us how he can eat with his feet at 2am.

Thursday, March 15th

After a nice breakfast at a hotel down the street...
...we went back to Reggae Guesthouse...
...and relaxed while we waited for our taxi to arrive to drive us to...
...the Philippine Tarsier Foundation! The tarsier is the smallest primate in the world, but they have the largest eyes (compared to the body size) of all mammals! The foundation has this neato tarsier skeleton on display. Check out the size of the eye sockets!
Our guide leading us into the sanctuary!
Despite the sanctuary being very large, our guide knew all the places to look and within a few minutes, he'd managed to spot...
...the elusive tarsier! We went around for a better look...
...and there he was! So sneepy!
They are very sensitive to light and noise. Despite our best efforts to be quiet, the second guy we spotted woke up when he heard us coming.
Oh, just you guys? Going back to sleep.
Next, we went to a nearby mall so I could go shopping for...
...for a nice shirt to wear to the wedding. (I'd only packed one bag and didn't have room for any nice clothes!). You'll do!
We ate at the Bohol Farm restaurant we spotted in the mall!
Later that evening, we went over to Aileen & Ryan's hotel for a pre-wedding evening of activities. We loaded onto buses...
...and drove over for a tour of one of Bohol's ancestral houses.
Our guide getting ready to lead us into the house.
Interior of one of the rooms.
Neato flower display.
aileen
Aileen unwrapping a custom-made pair of wedding dancing shoes for when the heels come off at the reception.
excited ˆ gift ˆ shoes ˆ wedding ˆ aileen
After a tour of the house, we went a makeshift theater in the basement where a bunch of local students performed a really cool shadow puppet show...
...entirely composed of paper-cutouts on sticks!
Bus ride back to Alona Beach.

Friday, March 16th

On Friday morning Meredith and I went down to the beach for...
...breakfast.
So the really tall palm tree in the middle of this photo? If you look up near the top you may notice...
...the guy who shimmied forty feet up there with barefeet in order to cut down some coconuts!
Digested my meal on the beach reading this classic from the library or Reggae Guesthouse. (About UFOs in NY's Hudson Valley)
A little before noon, I met up with Alex and we went for a quick dive off one of the nearby reefs.
That evening, we went back to Bohol Bee Farm for a big pre-wedding dinner celebration. Here's Aileen & Ryan welcoming everyone.
After dinner, a band came onstage and with a songbook of songs anyone could sing! Aileen kicking things off.
Aileen and her dad!
aileen, meredith, una
Meredith, Aileen, Una & Sam!
baby ˆ aileen ˆ meredith ˆ una
We arrived back at Reggae Guesthouse to find the bar mysteriously deserted.
bar ˆ reggae guesthouse
bilbo, fraggle
Turns out there was a heated doubles ping pong match taking place in the yard!
ping pong ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
bilbo, fraggle
Bilbo + Fraggle = THE DREAM TEAM!
ping pong ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
bilbo, fraggle
Each time they lost a point, they would SCREAM at each other in French about whose fault it was. Here's an action shot of Bilbo cowering during one of Fraggle's particularly heated arm-flapping tirades. Soooo good.
ping pong ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
The other big news of the night was that...
bertl
...Bertl had gotten tattoed at the bar earlier in the evening. Bilbo said "It looks good, but I don't why he wanted a tattoo of my toilet mural!" He took us into the bathroom...
lion ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ tattoo ˆ thumbs up ˆ travel buddies ˆ bertl
...and showed us that the tattoo guy was also the bathroom mural guy! Hahaha.
bathroom ˆ lion ˆ mural ˆ reggae guesthouse
bilbo, fraggle, meredith
At some point during our night of drinking and storytelling, I told Fraggle & Bilbo about how my friends used to photobomb each other with our balls out. This of course instantly became their new favorite game. I'll spare you the hundreds of photos I have of these guys' balls.
bar ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ travel buddies ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle ˆ meredith
bilbo, fraggle
Well, except for this one. Hahaha.
best ˆ brained ˆ drunk ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle
bilbo, fraggle, meredith
This invariably led to more physical violence.
bar ˆ best ˆ laugh ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ travel buddies ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle ˆ meredith
bertl, bilbo
We ended up drinking until pretty late in the night.
reggae guesthouse ˆ bertl ˆ bilbo
fraggle, meredith
Fraggle treating us to some hot, carved-bamboo jazz flute.
best ˆ drunk ˆ flute ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ wonky ˆ fraggle ˆ meredith
bilbo, fraggle
Chhati came out of her room around 3am and insisted that the bar be closed. Fraggle argued for just ONE MORE BOTTLE of rum, OK? No, go to bed!
bar ˆ reggae guesthouse ˆ bilbo ˆ fraggle

Saturday, March 17th

alex h
Despite the previous evening, I still somehow managed to wake up in time to meet Alex down at the beach...
alex h
...and get our gear together to do two more dives before the wedding! (You're not supposed to dive 24 hours before flying so this was our last day to dive!)
scuba
alex h
After gearing up, we went over to the fantastically named Hayahay, for some breakfast.
sign ˆ alex h
alex h, me
They had superhero-esque wetsuits! Me and Alex with our DM about to get wet.
best ˆ diving boat ˆ ocean ˆ scuba ˆ thumbs up ˆ alex h ˆ me
Our room's vacancy at Reggae Guesthouse was unfortunately up, so after I returned from diving, we had to pack up our stuff, say farewell to everyone...
hotel ˆ reggae guesthouse
...and carry our stuff over (in the rain) to a hotel that had a room available that was a little closer to the wedding hotel.
hotel
After getting settled into our new place, we got dressed up and took the bus to the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, Bohol. (Unfortunately, a bunch of this church was destroyed by the big earthquake in 2013).
church ˆ wedding
me, meredith
Inside the church.
me ˆ meredith
alex h, meredith
College reunion.
alex h ˆ meredith
The wedding party filing in.
church ˆ wedding
aileen
Aileen's entrance was right out of a movie! Limo with the brights, wha?
best ˆ wedding ˆ aileen
aileen
Soooo good.
wedding ˆ aileen
aileen
Aileen with her dad.
best ˆ wedding ˆ aileen
aileen
Hugging mom.
best ˆ hug ˆ wedding ˆ aileen
The ceremony...
church ˆ wedding
aileen, ryan w
...was lovely.
wedding ˆ aileen ˆ ryan w
aileen, ryan w
Congrats, Aileen & Ryan!
wedding ˆ aileen ˆ ryan w
aileen, ryan w
Bubble shower exit.
wedding ˆ aileen ˆ ryan w
After the ceremony, all of the guests loaded up onto...
wedding
meredith
...these really cool buses with fold-out seats that converted the aisle into ANOTHER ROW!
bus ˆ portfolio ˆ wedding ˆ meredith
bertl, me, meredith
On our walk over to the reception, we ran into Bertl on his scooter and got a chance to wish him farewell!
helmet ˆ moon ˆ scooter ˆ travel buddies ˆ bertl ˆ me ˆ meredith
aileen, meredith, simone
That's my kind of cocktail!
coconut ˆ girly drinks ˆ aileen ˆ meredith ˆ simone
The reception was fantastic!
aileen
Aileen, her mom and two of her sisters.
wedding ˆ aileen
A little after ten...
...the dance floor started heating up and Aileen's friends presented her with...
...her custom, bejeweled wedding dancing high tops!
aileen, jess f, kerri
Rihanna, obvs.
dance ˆ wedding ˆ aileen ˆ jess f ˆ kerri
Twist & Shout!
The Philippines are hot! After several hours of dancing...
...everyone that was left pretty much ended up in the pool!
CHICKENFIGHT!
chickenfight ˆ pool
aileen, meredith, una
A little after 1am, we said farewell! Congrats, Aileen & Ryan! Thanks for having us!
wedding ˆ aileen ˆ meredith ˆ una

Sunday, March 18th

After an early breakfast at our new hotel's convenient CHILLOUT BAR...
...we headed to the airport to catch a flight back to Manila. Spotted these two dudes on the way performing ADVANCED scooter moves. (Backwards, wearing flip-flops and holding a fucking 27" cathode-ray TV set! But don't worry, he's got a sorta-helmet on).
hardcore ˆ moving ˆ scooter ˆ tv
Modern Sufi philosophy. Dug it. Free download on Kindle. Universal Mysteries. Super quick read. After this, I started...
book
...this! The second Murakami book I read. I didn't like this as much as I liked The Windup Bird Chronicles, but I still really enjoyed it. A Wild Sheep Chase
book
After arriving in Manila, Meredith and I headed to Manila Ocean park where we'd reserved a room at...
meredith
...Hotel H20. You can choose between having a window that looks out onto the bay, or having a room with an aquarium-wall!
aquarium ˆ bed ˆ hotel ˆ meredith
meredith
The aquarium isn't very wide, but it wrapped all the way down the corridor. So there were always new fish swimming into your room! Meredith spotted...
aquarium ˆ hotel ˆ point ˆ meredith
...this triggerfish!
aquarium ˆ triggerfish
After getting inspired by our room, we decided to check out the OCEANARIUM downstairs.
aquarium ˆ tickets
First thing we saw when we walked in was this massive saltwater crocodile. Wow.
crocodile
Seahorses!
A horned boxfish! So beautiful. Look at the amazing hexagonal-cube honeycomb pattern of the armor under his scales!
Sawfish!
Swimming around shooting the shit with his buddy, Ray.
Despite the complex having several restaurants, this was our veggie option! Haha.
If I didn't eat eggs I would've probably died on this trip.
me
We had a nice relaxing evening of admiring the view.
aquarium ˆ bed ˆ feet ˆ hotel ˆ me
me
Totally mesmerizing.
aquarium ˆ hotel ˆ me
Later that evening, Meredith and I booked a very weird appointment at the hotel's spa. After checking in, we were led to separate rooms that each contained a very large tub of water...
hotel
...that was teeming with gara rufas, tiny fish that love to nibble the dead skin cells right off your body.
doctor fish ˆ fish
It was hands-down, one of the strangest experiences I've ever had in my life. The minute I dipped my into the water, thousands of fish swarmed around it, fighting for room to nibble! It was equal parts tickle & horror! It took me at least ten entire minutes to lower my entire body into the water. One of the creepiest things I've ever experienced. The entire time I was in there, I just kept thinking "I AM FOOD! I AM FOOD!"
doctor fish ˆ fish
Another action shot of the teeny little nibblers!
doctor fish ˆ fish
We decided to go big for our last meal and go with Shakeys.
fast food in foreign countries ˆ pizza

Monday, March 19th

Up at 6am the next morning. We said farewell to our awesome hotel...
aquarium ˆ hotel
meredith
...and began the long journey home. Four hour flight to Japan.
asleep ˆ flying ˆ meredith
meredith
We had just enough time at Narita to grab a sandwich.
airport ˆ food ˆ sandwich ˆ meredith

Tuesday, March 20th

Fourteen-hour line.
airplane ˆ flying ˆ tv
ellen, piper
Ellen stopped by at 7am to reunite us with our hound! Thanks so much for watching her, Ellen!
gift ˆ ellen ˆ piper

1 comment

  • chrismay 29, 2014

    I have to admit that I think my favorite part of your trip to the Philippines was your stay at The Reggae Guest House. It looked like you two hung out with some pretty memorable characters there. I'm glad there were no other accomodations available that night you checked in. Serendipity.