Moalboal, Cebu The Philippines

Hi all

A couple of weekends ago my boy and I decided to get out of Hong Kong for a long weekend for a bit of the old rest and relaxation however not being made of money with the main idea of the trip being to chill out we didn’t want to spend all our money in doing so. And so we settled on The Philippines. After a bit of internet researching to work out on which part would be the least likely to get hit by one of those tempestuous typhoons that pass through South East Asia at this time of year I settled on the island of Cebu and the area of Moalboal which is located on the west coast of Cebu. If you look on this map you can see why it’s one of the only parts of the Philippes more like to be sheltered from the storms in the summer months.

How to get there

We used the yellow big bird of airlines, Cebu Pacific www.cebupacific .com which actually fitted the bill well leaving from Hong Kong and flying direct to Cebu Mactan Airport. The flights were just over HK 3,000 for both of us and the flight times worked out perfectly so that we had almost 4 full days of holiday - bonza! To my mind there is nothing more annoying than booking 2 days off work and looking forward to your long weekend away only to travel for 2 days and then only get to relax for 2 day - a non sensical situation.  With this flight schedule this didn’t happen as Cebu Pacific run a flight that leaves HK airport at 1.30am arriving in Cebu at 4am so you can then tumble into a car if your resort can provide you one and sleep the next 3 hours until you wake up in your little paradise. On arrival we headed straight for a snooze and when we woke for breakfast it was like we had been there all along. Genius plan I think you’ll agree. 

Accommodation

We stayed at the fantastic Ravenala Resort http://www.ravenala-resort-moalboal.com/  The place automatically had a very family-run vibe as the staff were super lovely, greeted us on our arrival even though due to the time and lack of sleep I am sure we looked like we had emerged from a crack den. I had picked this place as it had great reviews online but also is owned by a Dutch-Philippine Architect/Artist couple who had taken great pains to try and integrate the design of the resort into the beautiful environment. They had done this with aplomb as the resort was picturesque, subtle and extremely well thought through. There was even a little square cut into the ground and filled with water on the cusp of the beach and the resort so you could step into it and wash the white sand from your feet. All these little touches were fantastic and so so useful!

The room wasn’t luxury but it was clean, cute, air conditioned with a mosquito net over the bed and more importantly was less than a 2 minute walk from White beach. It’s also really really cheap hooraahhh - your looking at Php 3,500 (US$ 75) per room. The bathroom was also just right with lots of space and hot and cold water. Here’s a picture of the bedroom so you can see for yourself (please note the impressively loud bedspread, like one of those optical illusion thingys or where’s wally)

There’s also a really great little beach café where you can waste your evenings playing cards and watching the sunset or just closing your eyes and listening to the waves. There’s a small variety of cocktails to be had and the wine isn’t too bad either. There’s even a pool table if you fancy something more energetic. Needless to say we didnt.

Things to do

The beach, a few meters from our room was simply stunning. whiter than white sand and quite often we were the only ones on there. As you walk down from the resort there is a little shaded area that you can plonk your towel down on, pick up your book, swipe a glance at the beautiful hills on the horizon and drift off into your own little world. Actually on that note I read a fantastic book whilst on my little holiday called 'How to be a woman' by Caitlin Moran, before you judge it as some chick lit trashy, self help manual actually have a read or two of some excerpts or even a review for convenience here you go;  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/26/caitlin-moran-how-be-woman . It is bloody marvelous, down to earth, funny and honest and I think you all should read it. Plug over.

Other than that we had a fantastic adventure snorkeling. I’m not one for snorkeling usually as I get a bit claustrophobic when my had is encased in stuff (this is why I could never be an astronaught or hat maker) however not wanting to look like a pansy in front of my boy I agreed to go with him to the neighboring hotel to see if we could rent some booties.


We clambered in the hot sun along some sharp rocks to get to Dolphin house about 15 minutes up the beach. When we arrived the place felt rather strange and had a weird vibe; as we climbed up the hot steps no one said hello  and there was just this very fat chap in very tight speedos and a hat smoking a pipe on the steps up to the hotel. When we said hello he just stared at us in a very creepy manner and didnt utter a word. The hairs on the back of my neck sprang up and I suddenly became very aware I was only in my bikini.

We then wandered around the hotel until we found a scuba divey looking person who said he would see if he had any booties, as we followed him and turned round the corner we were met by about 20 people showering as they had just been for a dive. This wouldn’t be weird if they hadn’t all looked very like each other, blond haired blue eyed en masse and all very close to each other, almost touching and staring at us with piercing unblinking eyes.  It was like some weird Aryan cult swingers party that wanted to suck these two newbie’s into their world with peroxide. After we found out there were no booties were to be had we quickly skedaddled to the end of the jetty and decided to brave the water without booties. 

Snorkels on with one look to make sure the Aryan zombies weren’t about to attack we swam over the coral that began right next to the jetty. At first it was mainly just colour changing coral with the odd fish. After a couple of minutes we got very very excited as we saw a small school of electric blue fish. We had no idea what we had let ourselves in for…..

As we swam along the coral we suddenly realized we were coming to the end of what looked like a shelf, more and more fish started appearing that were all colours of the rainbow and in various sizes. With each stroke we came upon more and more wonders until we got to the end of the shelf at a DROP OFF – ‘Not the drop off!”. Now I have never seen a drop off before, the only time I know about a drop off is in Finding Nemo and if you have watched this film you will know that I had good reason to be a little bit scared.

It was magnificent. From swimming along only about a meter from the coral below us suddenly the coral disappeared and there was just blue sea for as far as the eyes could see. But it got better. We decided to then swim along this shelf as it provided a fantastic view, as our eyes readjusted to the two extremes before us my boy started frantically waving at me and pointing below our bodies. And there it was, a mahussive mahussive sea turtle, seriously it was the size of the top of an average car. This was the first wild sea turtle I had ever seen but I thought it was the most grand and graceful thing ever. What an amazing moment.

The Food

Everyone I have spoken to about the Philippines has said the same thing. The food is terrible. Unfortunately our resort was no exception and by the end of our holiday I was yearning for a good dumpling. We began by ordering some fish, thinking that as we are next to a coral reef that must be easy....and I ask you how hard is it to mess up cooking a bit fish and rice?hmmmm

When we were told that our fish was being picked up from the market alarm bells started ringing. The food took ages to arrive by which time I’d had one to many rum and cokes and was being sorely beaten at cards. Our tuna arrived having looked like it had been baked in hell taken out and then put back in again. The fish was so cooked that it was tough and rubbery, never something one would associate with a good bit of tuna. Oh no sir.

So from that point it became a game of trying to work out which option on the menu they were least likely to destroy rather than what you actually wanted to eat. However by the end of the trip we had it down. Calamari which we think was from the reef was really really good with chips, the omelet at breakfast was excellent and the BLT was a greggs rather than Pret standard but on the whole edible. Just to make sure that it wasn’t just our resort we also had dinner on our last night at a slightly swankier looking place down the beach, the Serena Beach Resort http://www.clubserenaresort.com/ and here the food was just as bad and portions smaller.

There was a silver lining however. They do make the most spicy chilli sauce I have ever had in my entire life. This sauce was enough to make you wince, sweat and your heart palpitate, and in short it was wonderful. Plus if you smear it all over the crappy food you can’t taste how bad it is! Result!

Tips

1.       Cebu Pacific is the yellow version of Easy Jet so they will charge you for EVERYTHING. Take water and food onto the plane to avoid paying extortionate amounts. Also don’t be surprised when they charge you HK 40 per person just to book your seats – hey when its this cheap there’s always gonna be a catch.

2.       Take booties for snorkeling. My boy stepped on a Sea Urchin which was hugely painful and also meant he had to sit with his foot in a bowl of stinging vinegar while we had dinner. Not funny or cool. Although quite funny when he hopped all the way from the beach to the room, I’ve never seen anyone hop so fast or so far  - just like a possessed kangaroo in the Olympic hop off!

This little jaunt was a perfect getaway from the ever so sweaty heat of the Hong Kong summer, any longer and we would have been bored but for 4 days I was in total bliss. Owing to the welcoming nature of the staff, the beautiful accommodation, the beach and how bloody cheap it was I would certainly strongly consider it as a place to go back to, even on my own if I just wanted to get away from it all. I think this shows how much I enjoyed myself as I normally have a rule not to go back to the same place twice. Although next time I’ll definitely have to take a box of crackers!

Vxx