You know that feeling when you watch a funny movie and you realise you have to go back to work the next morning, on monday. That knot in your stomach at the idea of it ? Well that's what I felt in the plane to the Philippines. I have never been to Asia before, only one short stop over in Hong Kong before Oz 9 years ago. And I wasn't by myself as I had met a group of french people. I didn't know what to expect in the Philippines.I had a vague idea of the poverty on one side and the beautiful beaches on the other one but was it ok for me to walk around a big city like Cebu by myself ? Would I be asked for money all the time ? Would I be safe enough ? So many questions...There was only one way to find out. Go out and check but obviously only after asking a local if it was ok ;)

And it was ok ! No one asked me for money (not in Cebu at least), no one tried to rip me off (only the taxi from the airport who set a flat rate higher than those in the city but there was nothing I could do about it). There's nothing much to see in Cebu, only a very big and nice church and Fort San Antonio. So it took me a couple of hours to check these out and have a look around at the small shop and stalls there and get an idea of what costs what. Very important detail. On day 2 I took the ferry to Tagbilaran. I slept though my alarm (well, it was on silent...) so I was just on time for the ferry. It's a 2h ride. And to reach the hostel it was another 15 min by tricycle and another 40 min by jeepney. Not too bad considering how remote it is. I can't really say that I was impressed by the place. I know that I am not used to asian countries but I still believe some places are better than that. I mean the room is fine, the bathroom too, I'm not bothered by the cold water shower as I'd been warned but the restaurant is expensive.So was our tour that didn't event last the day. We went to all these touristy places. The kind of places I don't like.And that's a reason why I usually don't do tours.And they're no different from anywhere else. You go to a butterfly sanctuary, or what they think it is as they keep touching and manipulating butterflies so tourists can takes pictures. You also get to visit a python sort of place where all sorts of animals including marsupials and birds are in tiny cages. Then comes the tarsier sanctuary. This one wasn't too bad. We got to see 3 tarsiers sleeping. Only 3 but at least they seemed to be free (to what extent). So I am aware locals are trying to make money and tourism is definitely where the money is but I still think that animals should remain free.

When we got back from our tour, our guide agreed to drive us to Alona Beach. Apparently a really nice beach, very popular with tourist. Well sorry but there again I wasn't impressed AT ALL ! I was told that it was because of the rain but for a beach to be nice, it needs a bit more than just sun. Obviously we didn't see the amazing colours but we did see the dozens of restaurants, diveshops and other shops and food stall along the 2m wide beach a few metres away.This place is absolutely far from nice !! Maybe the colors are amazing when it's sunny but even then I wouldn't like it. So I decided that I wouldn't spend one more night here and would go to Siquijor tomorrow. Unfortunately the accomodation I chose there is not available so I'm gonna stay another night in Panglao and study for my interview.Oh, yeah, it will probably be passed by the time you read this post but I got a job interview for a job I really want, at the Panamerican Games in Toronto :).So tomorrow studies and the next day I'll be off to Siquijor, hoping for the weather to get better. I've only seen rain since I got off the ferry yesterday