How to get to Leyte?
1. Take a plane to Tacloban
2. Travel by land from Samar
3. Take a plane to Cebu then ride a fast craft/ship to Leyte
In our case, we took a plane from Gensan to Cebu (45 minutes - 1 hour). Then took a fast craft via 2Go. The travel from Cebu-Leyte takes 2 hours via fast craft but if you take the ship, it would take 6 hours. The ship is a lot cheaper though. I think the ship costs somewhere around 300 while the fast craft costs around 700 (for economy. Business class costs around 900-1000).
Tips on riding fast crafts
1. Economy & Business Class
Economy class are on the lower deck. Business class are on the upper deck. The perks of being in business class would be the comfy seats and less crowd. You would also be given a juice and a fudgie bar. That's pretty much all the difference.
2. Don't check in your luggage.
You can check in your luggage (costs P2.50/kilo) but I would suggest you don't. Why? The porter only carries your luggage to the craft. When you arrive at your destination, you would have to haul your luggage out the fast craft yourself.
3. Know where your luggage is placed.
After settling in the fast craft, look around for your luggage (if ever you checked it in). All the luggages are placed infront of the entrance. They surround the stairs leading up the business class. You would actually find it hard to locate your luggage if it's black - most of the people use black luggages.
4. Be vigilant. Be quick.
After the craft docks, mayhem ensues. One of the downside of riding on a fast craft would be the fact that you won't have security over your luggage. Passengers just take luggage as they go. Plus, even if the you haven't finished hauling all your luggages out, the craft allows new passengers to come in.
During our first ride from Cebu-Leyte, my friend lost her luggage. She thought the porters were gonna get the luggage for us (we payed them to - we checked in our luggage after all). I got my luggage out on my own though. Since everyone seems to be doing so. Thank God her luggage was found at the end just as the craft was about to sail back to Cebu.
But seriously, our teacher complained off to the officials but they did nothing. So yeah. Most probably, if you lose your luggage in a fast craft, people and workers won't give a shit about it. It's basically survival of the luggage.
Ormoc Leyte
Language: Cebuano/Bisaya
Mode of transportation: Tricycle (P8)
Sights to see:
(According to Wikipedia. Wasn't able to visit any of it except for the Centennial Park which is located at the heart of the City)
1. Lake Danao
2. Tongonan Hotsprings National Park
3. Leyte Golf and Country Club
4. Pineapple Plantation
5. Centennial Park
6. Church
You could go see Lucy Torres too! Hahahaha
What to try/bring home:
1. Pineapple
The locals takes pride in their pineapple! A lot. They even gave Pineapple-shaped trophies to the NSPC winners.
2. Binagol
3. Moron
I haven't tasted the Binagol. But Moron... unexpectedly tasted the same as the Moron in our own province. That's just me though. It might be different from yours :) Don't pass up the opportunity to try their local delicacies!
Tips for Davao/Mindanao tourists:
Don't buy their Durian candies and Pastel breads. Those came from Mindanao. Don't waste your money buying those when it's available back home and a lot cheaper :)
During the time that we were there, they were having their fiesta. Hence the stalls and umbrellas.
See those sculptures to the right? They're part of the Centennial Park (just in front of the Ormoc Gymnasium, beside Andok's)
Tacloban, Leyte
Sights to see:
1. General Douglas Macarthur Landing Memorial
2. Santo Nino Shrine
Don't be fooled by the exterior and the name! We nearly were. It is not a church. Beside it is a church but Santo Nino Shrine is not a church. It is actually the home of the Marcos's (remade). The entrance has an altar and looks a lot like a church but surrounding it are rooms. Very very extravagant rooms.
Don't rely on the tour guide. This tour would probably the worst one (if you're a frequent traveller). So yeah, act like a ninja and snap pictures like crazy. You're given more or less a minute or two to every room. The tour guide talks fast like Nicki Minaj about the meaning of each room, the history, and the stuffs inside it. After that, he/she would exit the room, turn off the lights and launch into another round of talking.
3. San Juanico Bridge
The view is surreal - even the bridge. The bridge was really great. Unlike most of the bridges in Philippines that looks like it would topple down any moment, San Juanico was well maintained. It looked as good as new!
People aren't actually allowed to stop and take pictures but we kind of broke the rule. ...because we are cavemen and women who hasn't seen a bridge as pretty looking as San Juanico... lol. It was a lil bit scary though. The bridge would vibrate whenever cars pass by and I kept on having suicidal thoughts - jumping from the bridge to the really pretty pretty waters below.
I also imagined seeing an Octopus with a turtle near the small islands. The elementary pupils actually agreed with me ;)
...Even the entrance looks like the entrance of a church...
Our money has been used well by the Marcoses
Baybay, Leyte
Sights to see:
1. Church
I forgot when their main church was erected (around 1800s I think), but it's really creepy. For me. But I find the rocks they used to make the church pretty interesting. There's also a mini museum beside the church. The tinderas selling beside the church are also very accommodating. They sell these candles where the colors mean something - like red if you're praying for romance/relationships.
2. Old houses
3. Harbor
What to try:
1. Seafood
Try asking the town folks where to eat :) Eat at karenderyas instead of posh restaurants. During our stay there, we ate at a karenderya where the raw seafood was laid in front of us. We just have to choose which seafood and what kind of cooking. Their rice was really cheap too! P5 per rice. I was also amazed at the way they cook and wrap their rice. It was wrapped in coconut leaves and was shaped in triangles.
2. Transportation
Photo by Sir Butch Ferrer
Tell me about your experience of Leyte :)
No comments:
Post a Comment