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South East Asia Escapade

January - March 2023
What was supposed to be a holiday in the Philippines has turned into an indefinite adventure. Read more
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  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 22

    Siquijor with the Girls

    February 8, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    We did: the most waterfall tour climbing up 13 different waterfalls in a beautiful jungle, some waterfall jumping, ate at some nice restaurants, went partying and teamed up with the germans I met in the hostel (the Memhölz crew - Phillip, Andreas, Kilian and Natalie), and even managed to drive up dirt paths through the most amazing jungle forest to San Antonio where we got a traditional healing massage and Hilot session.

    There is an indigenous healing and magic tradition which has traveled down through generations from parents to children which makes Siquijor renowned for its magical energy. It is said that a lot of Phillippinos are afraid of Siquijor as people used to come here to consort with witchez to conjure up curses, make a sort of voodoo doll, among other things. The healers collect plants with special properties and make special herb potions and burn lovely smelling incense and make healing smokey fires.
    The full body massage we had was a combination of knot realeasing, descompressing, deep tissue and lymph massage with a special oil (smelled of eucalyptus, menthol, among others) which created blood vessel dilation and tissue stimulation making you feel like the energy is running through you as they swiflty move their strong hands over you giving you a floating and peaceful sensation.
    After the massage you are brought into the healer for a Hilot cleansing session. You sit on a chair as the healer burns his incense and herbs under the chair and moves the smoke around your head and back for about 5-10min.

    We ended up getting along so well with the Memhölz gang that we even talked about possibly doing a group trip exchange, they come to Mallorca and we go to visit them in Memhölz and see Bavarian Castles.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 24

    Bohol Touring

    February 10, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    After saying goodbye to Siquijor we spent a day touring the Loboc River, Man Made Forest and the famous Chocolate Hills. We treated ourselves to a lush resort with a fabulous group massage. What a fun girly day filled with lots of great conversations and funny moments!!Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    1
    Day 26

    Panglao with the Girls

    February 12, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    After a failed try at partying around Panglao we started the day at a very nice coffee shop and proceded to chilling on Dumaluan Beach in a fabulous resort.
    From here we moved on to the north west of Panglao to another great sunset spot amid a mangrove forest.
    This amazing day was topped off with the choiciest dinner of the trip!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 28

    Bye bye Phillippines

    February 14, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Cati and Xisca left and Magda and Antonia continued on to discover Moalboal while I decided to stay put in Panglao.

    I spent a day diving on beautiful Balicasag Island and another day planning my next leg of the trip, Indonesia!! It just so happened that my chilling and organising day coincided with yellow and red alert monsoon rains. How nice to hide out at the hostel under a traditional hut lounging on bean bags and hammocks to the soothing sound of rainfall.

    On last day traveling out I was lucky enough to meet up with Magda and Antonia on the flight from Cebu to Manila and spend some of my long day's travel well accompanied.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 30

    Bali - Uluwatu

    February 16, 2023 in Indonesia

    My first impression of Bali was it's vitality, the traffic and the busy city feeling compared to my experience in the Phillippines. Driving around on a motorbike is definitely a challenging experience given the chaotic traffic. Also one drives on the left here. There are so many little businesses and things to see while driving around!

    I appreciated from the first moment the westernised cafés, restaurants and the abundance of fruit and vegetables which I so missed over the last few weeks.

    I made my way to Uluwatu Temple to see the sunrise and check out the famous Kecak Dance. Here I bumped into a solo german traveler, Sandra, and her driver, Gusti, who seemed happy fir me to tag along with them.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 31

    Bali - Canggu and Seminyak

    February 17, 2023 in Indonesia

    Sandra asked me if I wanted to join her on a day of exploring the hipstery neighbourhoods of Canggu and Seminyak, and as I had no plan whatsoever I decided to join her after a morning session of Iyengar Yoga. What a blissful feeling to be back doing some Iyengar, yet it was quite forgotten after experiencing the crazy traffic in these busy neighbourhoods. Oh the heat, dust, dirt and fumes!!

    We started out having breakfast in a trendy café and visited Echo Beach in Canggu. From here we drove through rice fields and very crowded and small streets to Seminyak beach where we chilled at a resort for a while.
    From here we moved to have a late lunch / early dinner, also in a nice café. Seminyak is decked with stylish shops and art galleries, among cafés, restaurants and bars.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    1
    Day 33

    Bali - Uluwatu

    February 19, 2023 in Indonesia

    I went to another yoga class and ended up driving around Uluwatu all day with another person in my yoga class just chilling from café to café, discovering Bingin, Padang-Padang and Uluwatu. It's astonishing how when traveling alone, one never really isn't alone!

    Laura arrived late last night, and given the monsoon rains this morning we treated ourselves to a traditional balinese massage with a milk flower bath afterwards. There are definitely worst ways to escape the rain!
    I finally threw out my plastic bag of a poncho I received as a present at the half-marathon and bought myself a proper asian rain poncho. There will be a photo next time it rains!

    After lunch the sun came out so we made our way to Padang-Padang Beach (it became famous due to a scene in the Julia Roberts film, Eat, Pray, Love) and from there to a nice sunset spot above Suluban Beach. We stopped on one or two resorts along the way, to catch a sneaky look and see if there were nice sunset views.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    1
    Day 34

    Flores arrival

    February 20, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After a full day in Bali Laura and I decided to catch a flight out and begin the real adventure in Flores and Komodo. We flew in over the astonishing islands of Komodo into Labuan Bajo which immediately put oir brains to work as to what we could do here.
    After a nice lunch at our hostel and a bit of a rest we set out to walk along the main street and see what they had to offer... we knew there were 2 day / 1 night tours of Komodo National Park, we also knew of the existence of diving liveaboards which seemed especially appealing to us (diving being one of our top priorities) and also we had the contact to a local guide of the island of flores.
    It is currently rainy season here, although it's not raining much, and hence low tourist season. The islands are covered with a lush green blanket thanks to the rains and tourism is quiet as opposed to the busy summer season when the islands are shades of brown and busy with visitors.
    We were directed to the person in charge of one of the only 2 liveaboards available this time and learnt that there were only 2 other guests on the trip and it was starting that same day! So lucky us!!!
    So the next morning bright and early we were taken in a dingy to our boat, the QueenEsia. A boat with lovely cabins (with AC!), 2 dining areas, a rooftop loungimg area, a diving area and 6 crew to cater for our every need. What a luxury!
    Our divemaster for the trip received us, explained the workings of the boat and crew to us and the general diving briefing. We were impressed by how professional the proceedings were!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    Day 35

    Diving Komodo 1

    February 21, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Our first dive of our 4 day liveaboard trip (total of 14 dives) was a mindblowing experience. Our divemaster had explained that some divers called this spot "turtle city", and we understood why as from the moment we submerged we could ser turtle upon turtle perched on the amazing coral reef. Considering it is rainy seasom right now and the waves are higher than in dry season we had perfect conditions.
    Not only did we sight countless turtles, but also a black tipped shark, 3 huge cuttle fish and lots of fish.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia Escapade
    1
    Day 35

    Diving Komodo 2

    February 21, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Next up was Mawan reef, a renowned Manta spot. The Manta come here to get cleaned by the reef fish, otherwise known as "cleaning station".
    We submerged down into this shallow reef where the Manta drift in the currents and get cleaned. As a diving experience it wasn't the most exciting as we basically just perched on the floor, sometimes hanging on to rocks or coral so as to not get pushed away by the current, and observed these creatures huge wafting over us. It was quite the experience having these 3 to 4m wide creatures swim around us. They have such a gentle flapping movement you almost forget your are underwater and that they're not flying animals.
    We also saw a ribbon eel and other fish, but we were rather awed by the Mantas and couldn't keep our eyes off them.

    Unfortunately, the gopro fogged up on me and the footage I have of this dive isn't as nice as I would have liked it to be.

    After that we were taken to a beautiful beach in between dives on Siaba Kecil island.

    And to our amazement, everytime we emerged from a dive, we were met with either a meal or some sort of snack waiting for us on the boat.    Read more

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