Bantayan Island We only stayed at Bohol for a day before getting the ferry to Bantayan Island, the north of Cebu. We got to the ferry port around 3pm after a 3 hour bus journey and another ferry before that, and a jeepney and a tricycle! The guy at the ticket office said that the boat had been cancelled because of a typhoon that was coming in, just great, so everyone was trying to sell us accommodation, but the locals weren't to bothered so I thought why should we be, just sit back and wait and sleep wherever we can I guess. It was great having my laptop, and I watched a movie or 2 whist waiting for the boat to get in. the boat came in around 7pm and we were allowed to sleep on the boat so that was good, although instead we just got a crate of beer and drank with the locals and the crew members. We were told that we would be leaving at 6am first but we actually left at 3am. Well what a ride, jeese it was harsh, a one hour trip took almost 4 because we were literally on the Ocean as the Typhoon came in. It was really rocky and there were times that I thought OMG we are going to die, and nothing like that ever phases me, so it must have been bad. We eventually got to the island safe and sound, and we checked in at kiwi Kottages, Santé Fe. It's a few minutes' walk from the beach, and a beautiful one at that….and that's saying something because I've become quite the beach snob these days J we met up with Doug and Agnes's friend Edward. We all stayed together for 2-3 days before the others left, and I was all alone again….but not for long. The family who run Kiwi Kottages (Hard Kock Kafe) took me under their wing. The owner's Vaughan (from New Zealand) and his wife Jing (Filipino) were right up my street. Good fun, liked to party and most certainly liked a drink! I am currently in Australia (Rainbow Beach) and after coming back from my Fraser Island trip I was saddened to receive an email saying that Vaughan Brady had passed away…….It is since then that I have continued with my blog. It has been quite difficult here in Australia to keep up to date as there are so many trips and things to see and do, but I am going to make every effort to make my Bantayan Island Blog something that his family and friends will like to read as the majority of it is about how he became a true friend who I will never forget. So why does Vaughan Brady, Jing Jing and everyone else at The H.K.K and Bantayan Island have such a special place in my heart….well it all started on the very first night that I arrived. After vowing that I was going to use my time here as a detox place and not drink a drop of alcohol, that soon changed, when I sat alone using my laptop and was offered a Gin and Tonic and to sit with the very kind Vaughan and Jing. Whilst sat at the table with him and his family with all the girls, Steffi Rae aged 4, Theresa aged 7, and Jonelle aged 9 it wasn't long before I was teaching them the Americano dance, and it wasn't long after that they was teaching me how to dance, Theresa is such a mover, and I can say she most definitely gets it from her mother, Eloisa. After many Gin and Tonics, and the passing around of a glass of Red Horse (It's kind of tradition that Filipino's share just about everything, especially Beer. There is just one cup and they fill the cup up with beer and pass it around in a circle, until you're either walking in circles or pass out) and with the children put to bed, Mamma and Papa (Jing's parents) did some babysitting whilst, me, Vaughan, Jing, Phillip (Jing's brother) Romeo (Jing's cousin) Mario and Celine (Jings's other cousin's, she has a huge family) and Shane, Ray, Joe (all Ex Pat's) Brandon and Maria (who I also spent a lot of time with, they even took me to a c*** fight, not a pretty sight, and we had a flat tyre on the moped on the way back, I'm going to stay with them in Beijing one day) Vaughan and I hit the Jeepney that Vaughan had, had made 3 months ago that is decorated with dancing Cockerel's and Steffi Rae's name it was time to hit the bar, Route 66. Sounds very L.A but wasn't quite that sophisticated, It's a small tin shack karaoke/lady boy bar, with the main entertainer being Daniela (one of the Lady Boy's) and of course Mr Vaughan. Moments after arriving at Route 66 it wasn't long before I was greeted as Ma'am Carmen and dragged up onto the stage to sing, I chose, for some reason "Leave me breathless" by the Corrs (I think the main reason being that I didn't know of the others on the list) It wasn't long after that Vaughan took over the stage with his straight to the point sense of humor and really ripped into the lady boys (but in a very understanding banter sort if way) He also took over the microphone and belted out Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world" and "To all the girls I've loved before" These songs were his songs and he sang them at every opportunity he had. The first few days I spent at Bantayan wasn't the best weather, due to the typhoon. So I spent most of my time with the kids in the bar area or on my laptop, but when the sun did decide to make an appearance I made my way to a place called "paradise" the beach that was called Kota Beach and right on the doorstep, there would often be just me on the whole stretch, but I remember one day in particular there were 4 of the local boys, maybe aged around 5-8 who got some coconut and broke it up for me, they ran over and asked me to try it "is it delicious Ma'am" they said, and boy it really was, apart from the few gains of sand that id also took a bite of. I asked them if they wanted to share but they smiled and ran off. I remember often feeling guilty that I hadn't been around the island and seen many of its attractions like the Cave's and Virgin Island, but Vaughan always said to me, "You're enjoying it, you relax, it's nice that you feel comfortable here, you fit in well" and I really did start to feel like part of the furniture. It'd been a long time since I felt so relaxed and not a care in the world; I can't remember the last time I'd been so settled in one place, even before I left to go backpacking. But it wasn't just Vaughan, Jing and the other 700 members of Jing's family that made me feel welcome. There was Larry, my Bana (Husband in Filipino) what a friendly kind and caring gentleman. Larry would call for me on a daily basis towards the end of my stay on the island and he took me to meet quite a few of his friends, who we shared beers with. Larry shared so many stories with me as did Vaughan. Larry told me all about his ex-Chinese wife who turned out to be crazy and how he lived the high life in Manila but is at peace in Bantayan, and Vaughan shared stories from his time spent in New Zealand, Australia his sky diving business and how he visited Wales and was one of the first people to step on the turf of the Millennium Stadium when it was being transformed from Cardiff Arms Park in 1999. Larry was also an amazing cook, every day he'd make me something new to try, he had his hot and spicy balls and his creamy balls, and his leche flan were all winners with the locals, and most definitely me, he also made me a garlic burger for the airport the day I left, it was delicious. I still also have the hanky that he gave me and sprayed it with his favorite aftershave, Calvin Klein, Free. At 64 years Larry is most certainly young at heart and new how to dance and charm the ladies, however he wasn't out to charm me he was just a good friend. The other Ex Pat's, Shane, Ray ,Fish, Toddy, Terry and another Larry, were also very good to me, Shane was kind enough to share his collection of movies for me to put onto my laptop, Ray paid for me to stay a night at a luxury hotel and paid for me to have drinks at the bar, Fish gave me his son's contacts (who I am actually staying with right now) as he said it'd be good for me to attend an Aussie wedding, which we are going to next Saturday (18th Sept) should be fun! Toddy and Terry have both given me contacts for New Zealand and Australia, and American Larry made me delicious food, including the shredded pork roll and potato salad. It was a running joke that Id either marry Fish's son or Vaughan's son as I am going to be staying with them both, one thing Vaughan did say to me was "I can't believe you're single, a good looking girl like you, you wait till you get to Oz, you'll have your pick, and I can assure you, you won't be single for long, he won't necessarily be Aussie but you will meet someone. Hey you never know you might end up with my Rhys, he's a handsome mother f*cker, imagine that, I could end up being your father in law" my reply was, "And I would love nothing more than to have a father in law like you Vaughan" He used to call me the Party Animal, if it wasn't that it was P*ss Head, he didn't mince his words but with all good intentions. I found out today that Jing Jing is still going to New Zealand, so I am going to make every effort to make sure I meet up with her and little Steffi Rae, I am also going to meet up with his ex-wife Bernadette on the Gold Coast. He told me many stories, including one of his daughter Allanah was the youngest to ever do a Skydive at the age of 4 and that she even got a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Vaughan was a Skydiver and set up a famous Sky Diving business over in New Zealand many years ago, I'm even more excited to do a sky dive now, and it will be done in his memory. R.I.P Vaughan Brady xxx

The day that I left Kiwi Kottages and Bantayan Island, was really sad, the night before Jing had made me a delicious banquet and we all sat down and ate together. The afternoon that I left Vaughan gave me a big hug and said "We'll see you in new Zealand hopefully" as him and Jing were going to be there the same time as me, as he was going to visit his daughter and meet her new baby. Fortunately Jing and Steffi are still going over so I hope that I will get to see them. I got on the ferry to take me back to Cebu City and again I wasn't alone for long. I sat next to a Filipino lady called Sonia; she was from Cebu and travelled with me the whole way there. We stopped at Carmen for a toilet stop and she "Kindly" introduced me to Balut (One of the Filipino delicacies, which is a hard-boiled egg with an unformed ducks embryo inside) she taught me the way to eat it: 1) Crack it open at the top 2) Add salt and vinegar 3) Suck out the "soup" or Juice in the egg shell 4) Enjoy! Whilst travelling on the bus to Cebu City she asked me where I was staying and how I was getting there. I told her and she picked up the phone and called her husband to bring the car over to the bus stop and her and her daughter Hazel drove me to the hotel. They couldn't believe how posh it was; I explained that it was being paid for by one of the men from Bantayan and that I had been looked after well during my stay in the Philippines. We had some photographs taken together and they shortly left. The hotel I stayed at was called the Montebello, the nicest place I've stayed during my backpacking adventure. I didn't know which swimming pool to use first or whether to hit the bar or restaurant. So I decided to hit the bar. Sat on the stool sipping a very good white wine, finally, good wine, there were 3 lads sat next to me. I walked over and asked if they spoke English, they did indeed, Gregg and Rory were from Newcastle, but now living in New Zealand and Sydney and were on holiday, and Jesse was from Cairns, my next destination. We drank together till the early hours, and I don't know how I didn't miss my flight, oh I do actually, because it was delayed, thank goodness.