Loboc, Bohol (Apr 19-22): Tarsiers, Chocolate Hills, and Some Quiet Time

The journey to Loboc was quite tedious, so I was glad that the other three girls at my hostel were going in the same direction. We booked a shuttle to pick us up from our hostel in Moalboal for 8am on Wednesday morning, which took us to the town centre. Then, we were told to get onto another bus, which would take us to the city of Cebu. The bus only had four open seats – it was packed! Thank goodness we got on it when we did because when more people got on, they had to stand until some seats opened up. The price of the bus was only 171 pesos ($4.16), so it was cheaper than my last one, but this one didn’t have air-conditioning. The open windows sufficed, as long as the bus was moving (which happened less and less as we approached Cebu). I was sitting beside Daniella, but there was an older man behind us who kept tapping each of us on the shoulder and gesturing for food. Even though we shook our heads no probably ten times each, he continued to go back and forth, tapping each of us on the shoulder or grazing an arm. I started feeling uncomfortable so when the bus stopped for the bathroom break, we moved to the back of the bus with Cecilia and Jadene. We got to Cebu, booked a Grab to take us to the ferry terminal, and then went to book our ferry tickets to Bohol. The ferry was 800 pesos ($19.45) and wouldn’t leave for about two hours, so we went to find an ATM before checking into our ferry. The process of checking into a ferry was a lot more intense than I was expecting. We had to pay just to enter the terminal, and then if our bags looked too big, we had to check them in (luckily, my bag was small enough so I got to avoid doing that). We were finally called to board the ferry, which would be a two-hour ride. The time went by quickly, and we arrived in Tagbilaran City. Once we left the ferry terminal, we were bombarded by people asking if we needed a taxi. As we were all heading in different directions, we said our goodbyes and then I was on my own again. I walked towards the Tuktuks since they’d be cheaper, and I asked to go to the bus terminal. They tried charging me 120 pesos, but I said it was too high. So they said if they take 3 people, it would be 50 pesos each. I sat next to an older woman, and we waited for a third person to join us. But after a long time of waiting, they asked if it would be okay to pay 75 pesos each with just two people, so we agreed. I’m pretty sure the Filipino lady paid less than I did, but I didn’t understand what was going on. When I gave the driver 100 and asked for change, he gave me 50 back, so I didn’t ask any questions. The lady and the tuktuk driver were telling me that it’s very expensive to go to Loboc, so I was nervous about what the bus fare would be. I found the right bus and waited to pay. However, we kept driving and driving, and no one had come to make me pay for a ticket yet. I kept checking my Google Maps, and after about an hour, I saw that I was coming close so I went to tell them that I’d need to get off the bus. They said it would be 50 pesos ($1.34), and I was shocked at how cheap it was! I walked the five minutes to my accommodation (Michelina Princess Guest House), and met the owners. They were so friendly, and were extremely excited when I told them that I was Canadian because their daughter had just moved to Montreal. Since I had gotten there just after 5 and it was about to get dark, I decided to take a walk around the town. There wasn’t much to it and I honestly struggled to find a restaurant to eat at. I didn’t see any other tourists and I felt like I was constantly being watched. There were quite a few men who would ask where I was going or ask if they could come with me, or they’d ask how old I was or if I had a boyfriend. Multiple times, I was asked if I was alone, so I’d have to lie and say that I was meeting up with friends. As a solo female traveller, this was one place where I didn’t feel the most comfortable, especially after it got dark. It was one of those places where I would have liked to have someone on the phone with me while I walked, just so they’d know that I made it to my destination safely. I’m not sure if I’ve become more cautious now (because I was definitely more naive as a younger traveller), but something just felt off at times. I definitely didn’t need three nights in the town! If I were to do it again, I would have only booked 2 nights maximum, or I would have stayed at Panglao Island, which is where a lot of tourists seem to stay. I thought Loboc would be a good place to stay because it’s closer to the tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills (and this WAS actually nice because I got to see everything earlier in the day, so there weren’t as many people). However, it’s probably best for people who can ride a motorbike. Anyway, onto the search for a restaurant… It seemed like a lot of stuff was closed, but then I realized that they open the restaurant when you walk in. I had walked into a bistro asking if they were closed (since it was just a family playing cards), and they said no and showed me to a set of potluck heaters. I decided to pass (as I wasn’t sure how long it had been sitting there, or if it was gluten-free) and continued on my search. Luckily, I finally found a place called Amando Cafe. Again, it seemed closed but when I walked in and asked, they turned on the lights and said they were open. It seemed like a place where they were just cooking meals in their home kitchen, but the food was good so I made sure to go there everyday that I was in Loboc. Daniella messaged me and asked what I was planning for the following day (her and Cecilia were staying at a place outside of Loboc), so I asked if they wanted to join my tuktuk tour. I was actually really happy that they joined because it wouldn’t have been as fun doing the tour alone, and if they didn’t come, I would have gone three days without talking to anyone.

The next morning, the tuktuk driver was supposed to pick me up at 8:30. I scheduled breakfast for 7:30 and they brought it 15 minutes early. Then, the hostel driver came 20 minutes early! I rushed to get ready and then we went to pick up Daniella and Cecilia. The tour was 1300 pesos for the three of us and would stop at multiple places, but then we would have to pay entrance fees for each of the stops. We skipped quite a few (zip lining, butterfly gardens, ATV, etc.), but we made sure to stop at the tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills. We made a quick stop at the Bilar man-made forest, which was pretty intense when you realise that all of the trees would have been planted by hand. We then went to the Tarsier Sanctuary, which was PRETTY much the reason I decided to come to the island. Tarsiers are nocturnal, so we were told to stay quiet. Many of them were sleeping, but there were a few that were looking around, which made them even cuter! They’re one of the smallest primates in the world, and are about the size of a palm. I was so surprised how tiny they were! And I think they have one of the biggest eye-to-head ratio of most mammals. After getting a bunch of (mostly blurry) pictures of the tarsiers, we continued to Chocolate Hills. We were under the assumption that we could hike around Chocolate Hills, but that wasn’t the case. There was one steep pathway of stairs to go up one hill with a bunch of people on it. But the views were still so nice! Apparently during the dry season, the hills turn brown, which is why they got their name. Our hills were a bit more green, but it really was a spectacular and somewhat odd sight. After we finished soaking up the views, we realised that we sped right through our tour and weren’t sure what we’d do for the rest of the day, so we decided to get smoothies on the hill. We asked our tuktuk driver if he could take us to Pangas Falls, which would be an additional 500 pesos because the road to get there was EXTREMELY rough. When we got there, our driver said that we could only stay for 30-45 minutes, or we’d have to pay 100 pesos for every additional hour. The weather had completely turned around and it started raining as soon as we got there. But we got the whole thing to ourselves (minus one couple who came and left just to get an Instagram picture, it seemed). Going behind the waterfall was cool as well, and the cave was so green! After enjoying some time in the water, we changed and went back to our tuktuk. He dropped us off in town, and we went for a late lunch, took a quick walk around town, and then parted ways one more time. They were leaving the next morning and I still had one full day, so I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I headed back to my room to relax for a bit, and I pondered taking a tour the following day. I was given the options of fireflies, whale sharks, and dolphin watching (!!), but I decided to just have a chill day. Because we had such a late lunch, I wasn’t really hungry at dinner time, so my “regular” restaurant had already closed. Therefore, I decided to walk 20 minutes along the highway in the dark to get to one of the other restaurants. This was one of the walks where I didn’t feel completely safe, especially when walking by a group of men or having a stray dog run up to me, barking. However, I made it to the restaurant! It was pretty fancy, but I actually found that the food wasn’t as good compared to the home-cooked place. After dinner, I walked back to my hotel and relaxed before bed.

The next day was my chill day. I decided to walk 25 minutes to a cafe on the river, which also rented out paddle boards. This was another fancy place – they even had a security guard! But once again, I felt like the food was sub-par. I got an omelette and then asked about paddle boarding. They said it would cost 800 pesos ($19.49), which I thought was pretty steep! Especially compared to the other tours. So I decided to pass and head back to my accommodation, where I just worked on my blog and did some housekeeping items that I had to get done. For dinner, I went to Amando Cafe one last time, and it was once again an amazing meal! The next day, I would have a flight in Cebu at 12:20pm, so I’d have to take a tuktuk back to Tagbilaran City, and then take a ferry to Cebu. I booked my tuktuk for 6:30 the next morning, and settled in early for the night. And that was my time in Bohol! Love always

Manila & Moalboal, Cebu (Apr 14-19): Sensory Overload, Canyoneering, and Sardine Runs

Last Friday, I arrived in Manila just after 10pm. I quickly got off the plane and arrived at a booth where everyone was showing their phones to an officer. Confused, I went up to the counter to see what they were asking for – I specifically remembered reading that I wouldn’t need a visa to enter the Philippines. Apparently, I still had to apply for an electronic travel authorisation and show them the QR code. They pointed me to a corner and told me to apply on my phone. I wish I had known about it earlier, as it took so long to fill everything out! Once I finally finished, I was able to pass through the counter, and then I had to wait in the long line to go through passport control. Even though I had renewed my passport in 2019 (when my last passport had filled up), and despite this being the fourth country that I’ve been to since that time, this was the FIRST stamp that I got in my passport! By the time I finished everything, it was already after 11pm and I was exhausted. I bought a SIM card with unlimited data, and requested a Grab (the Philippines equivalent to Uber). As soon as I got to my hostel, I remembered how superior most Asian hostels are compared to Australian and New Zealand hostels (and for a quarter of the price!). My hostel had a privacy curtain, a shelf with my own plug-in, and lockers to put all of my stuff in. At some of the Australia hostels, we were lucky to get one plug-in to share between 6 or 8 people, typically never got a shelf, and rarely got a locker, AND paid minimum $40 for it. I think I got to my hostel just after midnight, so I had a shower and went straight to sleep.

The next morning, I got up and went to have breakfast at the hostel. One thing that I didn’t do at the airport (because nothing was open) was exchange some of my money. Since the hostel wouldn’t accept US dollars, I had to walk around looking for a currency exchange. As soon as I stepped out of my hostel, I was overwhelmed with the sights, smells, and noises. I had forgotten that Asia was complete sensory overload! A lot of places weren’t open yet and wouldn’t open until 10 or 10:30, but I was finally able to find a place that could exchange my money. And of course, someone was outside waiting for me so that they could ask if they could have some! I HAVE noticed that a lot of the people here are quite in-your-face. I feel like other places in Asia were like that, and maybe I’ve forgotten about it. Or maybe my patience and tolerance levels aren’t as high now (thanks, teaching!). But there seems to be a lot more people who want to sell you stuff, whether it’s a ride on a tuktuk, or food and drinks. My most common words that I use everyday are, “No, thank you!” Anyway, I went back to the hostel to have breakfast, which as soon as I said I couldn’t have toast, they suggested a salad. I was staying in an area further out from the city centre (Makati), but I made the brilliant decision to walk to the city centre. It was ONLY an hour and a half, and surely I’d see more if I walked, right? That was true, but I also didn’t realise that it was “feels-like” 39 degree weather, and that my body was still used to dry weather with zero humidity. I started off strong! Everyone was quite friendly, and if I had to estimate the amount of ‘hellos’ that were said to me, I would say about 83. My first stop was (of course) Tim Hortons. I ordered an iced latte and holy smokes, was it ever sweet! It was good, but I’m still not used to the amount of sugar that is included in some of the food and drink here. I continued my walk, but I noticed that as I got closer and closer to the city centre, the ‘hellos’ became less frequent, and there were more people who just wanted to sell me stuff. After an hour, I was sweating and felt slightly nauseous, so I stopped at a McDonald’s to get some fries and a cold drink, and then I continued on my way. I walked through the Intramuros area, and then I walked to Binondo, which is apparently the oldest Chinatown in the world (since 1594). I stopped to get a bubble tea and enjoy some air-conditioning (again, SO sweet), and then I tried to decide what I was going to do for dinner. Already, I knew it was going to be a struggle to get gluten-free food. No one seemed to know what gluten was. I could say I can’t eat bread, but how was I going to avoid soy sauce, noodles, oyster sauce, etc.? I decided that I was just going to test it that night, just to see what would happen. But if I was going to eat gluten, I wasn’t just going to get ANYTHING to eat. I was going to get my favourite dumpling, xiao long bao, which I haven’t been able to eat in years because I’ve never been able to find any that were gluten-free. Not only was I going to get xiao long bao, but I was going to get the BEST xiao long bao in Manila. So of course, I researched and I settled on a place called Cafe Mezzanine. I got there and the line-up was going down the stairs from the second floor. But I was determined. So I waited and waited and waited. In a hot, humid staircase with no air conditioning. And started to feel more and more nauseous and more and more dehydrated. But I finally made it to the front of the line and was able to order my xiao long bao! They said the food would still be about a half hour wait, which was fine as long as I could chug some water – I wasn’t going to change my mind now. I finally got them and my mouth gladly welcomed the taste. It was completely worth it! It was so nice to finally have my favourite dumpling again! I decided to head back to the hostel, but this time, I took a Grab home (I wasn’t about to walk an hour and a half again!). After about an hour, I started to feel a bit itchy but I decided to hold off for as long as I could. Ideally, I wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t have a Benadryl. But after two hours, I could physically feel a rash on my chin and I was so uncomfortable, so I took the Benadryl and went to bed. I felt okay the next day, but the rash was still there. I realised I wouldn’t be able to eat everything that I wanted… I felt lost, as I had never done a trip to Asia without gluten before.

The next day, I was going to the airport to fly to the island of Cebu. I had only decided to stay in Manila for 2 nights/1 day, which was more than enough for me. There was a girl in my dorm that was also going to the airport at around the same time (but to a different terminal), so we asked our accommodation if they could book us a Grab to drop us off at our terminals. The Grab came and told us he’d go to her terminal first, so off we went. We stopped at the terminal and she confirmed, “This is terminal 4?” He said yes, so we wished each other well, and she left. Then he drove ten minutes to my terminal. As soon as we pulled up, I instantly knew that he had switched the terminals around because I saw a big sign that said terminal 4. I got out anyway, asked if there was a shuttle to terminal 3, and was told that they never know when it comes. So I booked another Grab to take me back to terminal 3. I still got through security quite quickly, looked for something to eat, and decided to pass on eating since I wasn’t sure what would be gluten-free. The flight was only about 45 minutes, and we actually left a half hour early and arrived a half hour early. Once I got to Cebu, I walked to the buses, and hopped on one that would take me to the North Bus Terminal. I was trying to get to Moalboal, which would leave from the South Bus Terminal, and the only way to get there would be by taxi from the North terminal (so confusing). Since the North Bus Terminal was connected to a mall, I decided to get food there. Sushi seemed like a safe bet since I could say no soy sauce. I got a salmon and cream cheese roll but interestingly, they also added mango and raisins. And I was unexpectedly delighted with the flavour! Who would have thought that all of those flavour combinations would be so good?! By the time I finished, it was after 3pm, so I figured I should hurry since I still had a 3-hour bus to catch (which had no set times – it just leaves after the next one comes). I went to use the washroom, but the line-up was so long, so I just requested a Grab to take me to the South Bus Terminal. When I got there, I asked where the bus to Moalboal would be and coincidentally, it was JUST passing by (leaving the station), so everyone yelled at me to jump on. The bus cost me 209 pesos ($5.05CAD), and even though it was only about a 90km journey, it would STILL take 3 hours. After 2.5 hours, the bus stopped for a bathroom break. I was so relieved since I still hadn’t gotten to go, and I ran off the bus. However, I saw that there was a man collecting money to use the toilet and it would be 5 pesos. I only had a 100 bill with me and asked if he had change, but he said no. I then went to the food vendor to ask and they said no. I later realised (after 3 days of being on the island) that everyone was VERY reluctant to give change and break their bills. They wanted exact change for everything, which made it extremely difficult to buy things since most of us would only have 1000 peso bills from the ATM. I went back to the bus after I realized I’d have to wait to use the washroom at the hostel. So note to fellow travellers: always use a toilet if there’s one around, and always carry around change just in case. I finally got to Moalboal and was hounded by people asking if I wanted a tuktuk. I agreed to take one to my hostel and he charged me 150 pesos ($3.62), which I realised later was pretty steep. I got to my hostel (Pig Dive Hostel), and it was honestly one of the best hostels I’ve stayed at. The staff were so friendly, the place was absolutely spotless, and it was only about 12 bucks per night! I walked towards the town to find somewhere to eat, but since it gets dark by 6pm, I was pretty much walking in darkness due to a minimal amount of streetlights. Surprisingly, the first restaurant (Thailicious) I passed had a sign that said “Gluten free options available” so I went in. I asked what the gluten free options were and they said Pad Thai, but with sweet and sour sauce. It was interesting! Not quite pad Thai, but it was still good. I then walked back to my hostel and got ready for bed.

On Monday, I got up quite early and had breakfast at the hostel. I wasn’t too sure what I was going to do that day, but when I went to the front desk, I saw that 3 people were signed up to go canyoning in 20 minutes. The trip was 1500 pesos ($36) for a 6-hour day (lunch included), which seemed like a pretty good deal to me. I asked if it would be possible if I joined and they said yes, so I quickly went to get ready. A vehicle came to pick us up at 9am and there were already quite a few people in it. In total, there were 6 girls, and I think 4 or 5 guys. We drove for quite awhile and then stopped at a tiny building, where we would drop off all of our stuff. We were all kind of lost, wondering what we should bring. We were told not to bring anything (“Even water?” “No.” “Even sunscreen?” “No.”) So I just took my camera, and we were given helmets and life jackets, and told to get back in the car. They drove us to the beginning of the trip, where we were told we could take a zip line for an additional 600 pesos, or we could walk 45 minutes. Five of the girls opted to walk (including me), while the rest of the group opted for the zipline. This was when all of us started regretting not bringing any water or sunscreen. The walk ended up only taking about 15 minutes (they must try to scare you into paying for the zipline), and we actually beat all of the people who were doing the zipline. They told us to wait at a table, and all of us were sitting there, sweating profusely – the humidity was something none of us were used to. I think the guide sensed that he might have 5 girls passing out, so he asked us if we’d rather go wait in the water, and of course all of us were more than happy to go. When the final girl finished her zipline, they separated us girls from the guys (which was fine with us!), and we started. In my group, we had Annik and Hannah from Germany, Daniella and Cecilia from the US, and Jadene from the UK. The water was so refreshing, and had such a beautiful blue to it, and the sights were gorgeous! We started by going through some caves and then we got to our first jump, which was 4 metres. I was already nervous, and got even more nervous when I was told that it was the smallest of the jumps. I survived, but I inhaled quite a bit of water multiple times throughout the day haha it was such a fun day, and I had a great time with my guides and with the girls! One of the guides basically just took my GoPro from the beginning and became our personal photographer for the day. I didn’t get my GoPro back until the end! The last jump was 11 metres, and we were told that we wouldn’t get our lunch if we didn’t jump. I saw some people hesitating when they went to the edge to jump, and I saw some people just running for it. I decided to run for it because as soon as I saw how high it was and I questioned doing it, I was already in the air and I couldn’t turn back. It was much easier to jump when I didn’t have to know what I was jumping into – I should have done that for all of the jumps! We also did a rope swing, which was so fun! It was a great day exploring Kawasan falls, and I’m so glad that I made the last-minute decision to do it! After the long walk back to the building, they served us lunch. There was a lot of fried chicken, noodles, and spring rolls, so I was kind of concerned, but I didn’t want to make a fuss. Plus I was incredibly hungry (it was about 2:30 by that time) so I just ate. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel anything from this meal, so I wondered if the more gluten I had, the less that I’d react to it. We shall see – I’ll continue to experiment! We went back to the hostel and showered, and then I decided to walk into town. I caught the very end of the sunset, and then met up with Jadene, Daniella, and Cecilia for dinner at a place called Venz. I tried the chicken sisig, which is a sizzling Filipino dish with rice, but I don’t know what kind of sauce it came with. However, I DID start to feel itchy after eating this, so my body must just pick and choose when it wants to react. After dinner, we walked back to the hostel (which is about 20 minutes), and then just hung out until going to bed.

On Tuesday, I knew I wanted to check out the sardine run. I found out that Daniella and Cecilia were planning to go as well, so I joined them. We found a place that did snorkel rentals and they charged us 200 pesos ($4.83) each – so cheap! I was so shocked when I finally got to where the sardines were. There would have been millions of sardines swarming together – it was really quite magical! It was so cool watching them swim in different shapes. However, the current was quite strong so we kept getting pushed down the beach. When we tried to swim against it, we just kept wearing ourselves out, so we swam back to the beach and got mango smoothies (obviously). We decided to go back to the hostel for a bit, then went out for lunch. We went to The Three Bears, and I got a chicken curry. It was probably one of the best curries I’ve had in a long time – it was different from other curries as it was really creamy. It was almost like they put a can of mushroom soup in it – I loved it! After lunch, we took a tuktuk to White Beach. It was quite a long ride and when we went to pay our driver, we were surprised when he told us that we could pay him when we return – that he would wait for us at the beach! We met up with Jadene there and enjoyed a few hours in the sun. Compared to the Western Australia beaches, I didn’t think it was THAT great – the sand was a lot coarser and unfortunately, there was a lot of litter surrounding the beach and in the water. There were also stray dogs everywhere. But it DID beat the beach that was in town, and it was just nice to be by the water. We headed back to town right before 6, walked back to the hostel to shower, and then looked for a place for dinner. We found a place that looked amazing and served seafood, but they said that they had an hour and a half wait time, so we settled on somewhere else. There, I tried the Chili Garlic Shrimp, which was quite spicy, but it was still really good! After dinner, we walked back to the hostel and then chilled before bed. Conveniently, we were all planning to go to the same island the following day, so we prebooked our breakfast for the next morning and booked the shuttle for 8am. And that was my time in Moalboal! So much to see and do, and I loved it! Love always

Western Australia: Part 2 (Monkey Mia, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Lancelin, Perth: Apr 6-14)

My time in Australia is officially over (until I’m invited to a wedding or something!). The last part of my trip went quite well, and the highlight was definitely Monkey Mia, so I’ll begin with that! I started the drive to Monkey Mia, which would take nearly four hours. There weren’t very many places to stop at, and my phone didn’t have service for most of the trip. However, once I got closer to Monkey Mia, I was able to stop at Shell Beach. The water at the beach has an extremely high salinity (similar to the Dead Sea), so one of the only animals that has evolved to live in the area are cockles. The entire beach is COVERED with cockle shells! It was pretty cool to see and I would have loved to jump in the water to see if I could float any better, but I wanted to get to Monkey Mia. I continued on the drive and stopped at Eagle Bluff Lookout, which was a short boardwalk along the coast with extremely nice views! I stopped in Denham (the only town in the area) and picked up a gluten-free pizza to heat up for dinner. Then, I got to Monkey Mia, checked into my dorm, and realised that I was the only person in an 8-bedroom dorm that night! I went straight to the beach, where I saw my first emu up close. My fight or flight response kicked in and I had no idea what to do, but luckily it just continued on its way. The guide at Monkey Mia said that they’re like big seagulls and that they can get quite aggressive. I stayed at the beach until sunset (which happens at an early 6:20pm), and then I made my pizza and spent the evening chatting with a family from Perth.

The dolphin encounter was at 7:45 the next morning, so I got up nice and early to be one of the first people there. The resort has permits to feed only two of the dolphins (who are 25 and 30 years old), and they’re allowed to feed them up to three times each day. Each feeding, the dolphins get three fish (300g total), so that they’re given 1kg each day (which is 10% of what they would normally eat, so they still have to rely on hunting their food). It was so amazing to see the dolphins coming closer and closer, and I couldn’t believe how close they came to shore! It was a really special day! I stayed for the second and third feedings, and there seemed to be fewer and fewer people each time, which was great. I spent the rest of the day on the beach and walking along the jetty (where there were two sea turtles if you waited patiently enough). The dolphins would come to the beach throughout the day, just to check things out. I went back to my dorm to see that there were other people who had moved in. I met Dave, an Irish guy who lives in Perth, so he and I went down for Happy Hour. It was Good Friday that day and Western Australia has a weird rule that on Good Friday, you’re not allowed to order a drink unless it comes with food. So we were forced to have an early dinner and then see how many other drinks we could order without food afterwards. The next day, I was leaving, which I was extremely sad about! The dolphin guides had said that they were looking for a volunteer to help the following week and I seriously considered cancelling my plans so I could fulfill my 10-year-old dreams of being a dolphin trainer. Dave and I grabbed some coffee and then headed to the dolphin encounter so he could watch it for the first time and I could watch it for the last time. This time, there were SO many people there – I couldn’t believe it! After the first encounter, I started my drive to Coral Bay, which was going to be a 6-hour drive.

Again, there wasn’t really anywhere to stop on the way to Coral Bay, other than a grocery store where I stocked up on more food. I got to Coral Bay around 4pm and checked into my 2-bedroom dorm. Luckily, I got it to myself for both nights. The girl I met in Kalbarri had told me that her roommate in Coral Bay was sitting in the room and a baby brown snake came under the door, went around the room, and then left. Apparently, the babies are the scariest because they don’t know how strong their venom is and therefore can be quite dangerous. A lot of the people at the hotel had placed towels in front of their doors to stop any snakes from going into their room. I headed down to the beach to check out the sunset, then came back to have dinner and enjoy a chill evening. I wasn’t really sure what to do in Coral Bay, as it seems like most things require booking an extremely expensive tour (Manta Ray tour – $250, whale shark tour – $500!). The cheapest tour was an hour on a glass-bottomed boat for $100, but I didn’t want to be spending my money since I still have two and a half months of travelling to do. During the last coral spawning season, a cyclone went through so the coral all died (it should get better again in a few years). Therefore, renting snorkelling equipment seemed kind of pointless as well. Coral Bay was quite underwhelming, somewhat disappointing, and extremely busy. Mind you, after hanging out on a beach where dolphins swim by every once in awhile, I don’t know if any other beach will compare haha. If I were to do everything all over again, I would have spent 3 nights in Monkey Mia and only 1 night in Coral Bay. Or maybe even stop my trip in Monkey Mia. I had read about the Shark Nursery, which is an area along the coast where mama sharks bring their baby sharks during high tide so that they’re protected from the open waters. However, the season ended in March but I was hoping that I would be lucky. Unfortunately, I wasn’t but I still got to enjoy a beach completely to myself. At about 12:30, I headed back to the hostel to have a quick lunch, then headed towards Paradise Beach. Google led me in the worst possible way to get there and I found myself scrambling through bushes and up and down steep hills, while being scared that I’d run into a snake (I didn’t, but I saw two kangaroos!). I walked along Paradise Beach and then walked back towards Coral Bay to enjoy a couple hours of beach time. The rest of the evening was the usual chill evening – come back, have dinner, shower, relax.

On Monday morning, I headed to Exmouth, which was only a 1.5-hour drive. Since I had to check out by 9:30 at my last place, I got to my hostel quite early. They said I’d have to wait until 1pm, so I just went into town, had lunch, and checked out some of the shops. I went to check into my room, and there was a French girl and German girl in my dorm with me (both left the next morning). I decided to drive to Turquoise Bay, which was a 45 minute drive, but it was completely worth it! I’m really glad that I decided to go on Monday because I tried to go again the day after, and the parking lot was completely full. After spending a couple hours on the beach, I headed back to my hostel, had a shower, and then the German girl and I went to a nearby food truck for dinner. The next morning, I got up early and headed back to the Cape Range National Park. I started by going to the Mandu Mandu Gorge hike (about an hour away). I didn’t love this hike to be honest. The first half of it was on a big pool of rocks, and I’m not a fan of walking on uneven rocks. I then ended up getting lost halfway through because the sign’s arrow wasn’t going the right way. After coming back and realising where I had to go, I wasn’t in the best mood and then found out that I had to go straight up and then straight down cliffs. I think at one point, I said out loud, “I’m over this.” After finishing the hike, I drove another 20 minutes to go to the Yardie Creek hike. This one was a shorter one that still required some going up and down cliffs (but only one was really bad). The view was a lot better too! I also saw two snakes on this hike (not sure what kind though). I decided that I’d stop at Turquoise Bay on the way back, but that was when the parking lot was full, so I kept driving back towards town. I stopped at the lighthouse, which was another nice view, and then went back to the hostel. At this point, I was exhausted! My new dorm mates came, which seemed to be a dad with 4 teenage boys (three grade 12’s and one grade 9 – the grade 9 ended up sleeping elsewhere), so as a newly retired secondary teacher, I was a tad horrified to see that. And they seemed quite surprised to see me too, as the dad said he booked online and requested 4 beds, not realising that they’d be in a dorm. I decided to go to the grocery store to get dinner, and then work on my blog. I tried to go to bed early that night as the next day would be my big driving day. I had to do 11.5 hours of driving, and I realised that it was the exact same amount of daylight that there would be. I was kind of concerned about having to drive in the dark so I tried to look for accommodation that would be closer so that I could shorten the drive. However, the prices of accommodation had skyrocketed so I was stuck having to drive to Lancelin.

I woke up before sunrise so that I could leave right at sunrise (6.30am). The sun started setting just after 6pm and that was when I really started stressing out, keeping my eyes peeled for kangaroos. I eventually caught up to a trailer so I just stayed behind it, even though it was going 30km below the speed limit. I got to my hostel at about 6:40pm and I was starving! I checked into my room and asked one of the girls where I could get food and they said that the grocery store would close in ten minutes. So I hopped back in my car, got to the grocery store with five minutes to spare, and sped around the store looking for something to eat. Gluten free options were VERY limited, so I felt bad making the cashiers wait. However, I eventually found a heat-up meal that I could eat. I went back to the hostel, ate, and then relaxed in bed. The next morning, I got up early again, left the hostel just before 8, got to my hostel in Perth just after 10am so I could drop off my stuff, and then I made it to the car rental place just in time for my drop off at 11am! I took the bus back to Perth and spent the afternoon getting my stuff organized – did laundry, showered, packed, and went to the currency exchange. Dave (who I met in Monkey Mia) was coming back to Perth that day as well, so we met up for dinner and drinks, and were randomly joined by two others. It was a good last night in Australia! My flight was at 9am the next day, so I had to get up at 5:30 so that I could get to the airport on time. I was stressed about making 7kg, as Air Asia is supposedly really strict. I spent so much time stuffing my pockets – I had two travel belts, where I stuffed a lot of my electronics, I had a scarf with a secret pocket, I had a small fanny pack-type bag, and I stuffed my pants and my jacket. And I don’t think they could tell at all! Totally joking.. I wasn’t fooling anyone. So I was surprised when I got to the gate and they didn’t even weigh my bag. Then had to spend another ten minutes on the plane unstuffing everything. But I’ll probably have to do it all over again when I transfer in Kuala Lumpur to get to the Philippines. That’s all for now! Love always

Western Australia: Part 1 (Perth, Fremantle, Rottnest Island, Geraldton, Kalbarri: April 1-6)

Where do I begin? It’s been quite a long time since I’ve sat down to write a blog, but that’s not to say that I haven’t been trying. I’ve set reminders on my phone, told myself that I’d write a post the following weekend, which turned into the next weekend, and so on. For some reason, I haven’t been able to find the motivation to write. Which is weird because blogging has always been a stress relief for me. I think a part of me is wondering where should I start – should I catch everyone up on the last two years? Should I talk about my teaching experiences and why I’ve decided to quit? Should I write about some of my past trips, such as Hawaii or New Zealand? Maybe those posts will come eventually but for now, I’m going to write about my current trip. And forgive me, cause I might be a bit rusty.

As many people know, I’ve decided to leave Australia (I’ll probably have to do a post about that too). However, Western Australia has ALWAYS been on my list and I knew that I 100% wanted to go there before leaving. And that’s where I am now! My flight was at 9:15 on Saturday morning, so I didn’t have to leave for the airport until 7:45. Unfortunately, my mind was racing the night before and I didn’t get much sleep (probably due to me worrying about the weight of my bags). However, I sped through security and got on my 4-hour flight (so weird that my flight to New Zealand was shorter). I arrived in Perth at 10:40am and then had to figure out the transportation system. Once I finally figured out how to find the bus, I got on for the long journey into the city. I spent the day walking around, exploring all of the streets and arcades, and walking down to the water. A couple of my friends (Alexa and Asbrand) were coming back to Perth after exploring the southern coast of WA (I would eventually be heading north), so we met up for dinner at a Mexican restaurant close to my hostel. It was so nice to see them and get a chance to catch up!

On Sunday, I went to Rottnest Island. First, I got the train to Fremantle – a smaller town south of Perth. They were having a Sunday market so I quickly checked it out before I had to catch my ferry at 9:30. The main reason anyone goes to Rottnest Island is to see the quokkas, and they quickly made the $80 ferry ride worth it. Quokkas are nocturnal so they typically sleep during the day. However, since there’s so many people (and food), a lot of them will wake up from a slumber just to see what’s going on. BUT when one quokka finally wakes up, a whole crowd of people will rush up to it in order to get a selfie. I loved seeing the quokkas, and I probably spent more time hanging out with them than I should have. The day was pretty chill, and I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach before catching the ferry back to Fremantle at 4:30. I went back to the market to finish checking it out, and then headed back to Perth for the night.

On Monday, I was starting my drive up the coast! I picked up my rental car at 11am (even though I still had PTSD from the last rental, which I’ll ALSO have to write about sometime). I made a few stops along the way, and the first one was Yanchep National Park, where I walked along the koala boardwalk. It was like an “I Spy” game, searching for koalas along the boardwalk. There were supposed to be 9 koalas hidden inside, but I think I was only able to find 4. I continued on my way to Lancelin Sand Dunes, where many people were renting snowboards to go down the sand hills. I decided against it because 1) I was short for time, and 2) I didn’t want to be spending days digging sand out of all of my cracks and crevices. I don’t even snowboard on snow – I wasn’t going to have my first faceplant in the sand! I continued the drive to Nambung National Park, where I went on the Pinnacles desert drive. It’s a short 4km drive through the desert, and the sight of the Pinnacles is spectacular! It was really cool to see all of the random structures in the middle of nowhere, and I even got to see a couple of kangaroos! I had forgotten that the sun sets just after 6pm here, and I realised that I wouldn’t be making it to my hostel in Geraldton while it was still daylight. I was extremely paranoid about driving in the dark after seeing so many dead kangaroos on the side of the road (seriously, there are tons!). However, I made it to my hostel safely!

I only spent one night in Geraldton since it was really just a stopover to Kalbarri. That morning, I went for a walk around town just to see what it was like. It definitely felt like a retirement coastal town, but it was cute! I then made my way towards Kalbarri. I stopped at the Pink Lake, which was really neat to see. I’m not sure what actually causes it to turn pink, but I didn’t feel like walking through it. I made quite a few stops on the way to Kalbarri. Kalbarri has a national park and half of it is coastal, while the other half is within a gorge. I made most of the coastal stops on the way to the town since it was on the way. The views were amazing, and it was so cool to see the lines along the limestone rocks. I stopped at the Natural Bridge, Island Rock, and the top of Pot Alley. Since I was only wearing flip flops, I decided to save all of the hiking stuff for the following day. I stopped at the tourist centre and was told to head to the gorge as early as possible, and to bring 3-4L of water. A lot of people have died in the gorge because of dehydration since it typically feels 10 degrees warmer in the gorge than it does in town. I was also told that the river had flooded the day I got there and that they hadn’t had rain for weeks before that. Because of this, the hike that I had wanted to do was shortened (I could only go up to the 3km marker and come back). When I went to the grocery store to get food, I was shocked to see how high the prices were (and not so shocked to see little to no gluten-free options). I realised that this would likely be the same for the rest of my trip, since there would no longer be any of the main grocery stores that are found in the cities and bigger towns.

The next day, I left the hostel at 7:30 to head to the National Park. My first stop was Nature’s Window, which is likely one of the highest Instagram photos that people seek out. When I arrived, there was only a small family there at the time. Little did I know that when I’d return after doing my hike, there’d be a lineup of people waiting to take a picture. I did the Loop Trail up to the 3km mark, and then did the 3km back. During the first 200 metres, I was seriously considering going back to my car. The trail included climbing up and down rocks, with a steep drop on either side of you, and I figured that it probably wasn’t the best idea to continue on my own. However, I saw another hiker and they said that the trail would flatten out, so I’m glad that I continued. The views were so nice, and it was amazing being able to see all of the colours of the rocks. After finishing the Loop Trail, I went to the Kalbarri Skywalk. The Skywalk had two grated projections that went out over the gorge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it! After enjoying the view for a bit, I drove further south and stopped at a picnic table for a quick lunch. Then I did the shorter Z Bend Canyon Trail, which ended with another spectacular view! By that time, it was 12:30pm and the heat was at its peak. My body couldn’t take it anymore! I headed back to the coast to check out Pot Alley one more time, but this time I actually went down to the beach part. After spending some time there, I went back to the hostel to take it easy for the rest of the day. I hung out by the pool, chatted with one of the people staying in my dorm, and had dinner.

On Thursday, I was heading to Monkey Mia – the whole reason for my trip! I stayed in Kalbarri for the first part of the morning, since they do pelican feedings everyday at 8:45am. A man had started the tradition years ago and whenever he didn’t show up, there’d be a traffic jam that day because the pelicans would go to his door to figure out where he was! Now the feedings are done by volunteers, both of whom were 70+. Unfortunately, someone had their dog off-leash and the dog went chasing after the pelicans, so they wouldn’t come back up to the feeding area. Everyone then had to go down to the water to feed them, but I missed out on the commentary and information that the other volunteer was sharing on the hill. It was pretty neat to see pelicans so close, as we can usually only admire them from a distance in Saskatoon. I then started the trip to Monkey Mia, which I’ll save for the next post. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Love always