Photos et lettres des Philippines, de France et d'ailleurs

It is always with a twinge in my heart that I leave my Mag-abo house and the Philippines while being also happy to return to France, to see my family and friends.
So, on November 30, I flew to Manila at 1pm and then the next day to Singapore and Paris. The flight to Paris went well except that a French passenger asked me to shut up because he wanted to sleep while I was talking quietly with my 78 years old neighbor, a keen photographer at a much higher level than I was.
Well for once, I was talking to someone on a plane but I came across an awkward customer. He was not alone at the same time as another yelled a Singaporean flight attendant, saying he had started working at age 16 and had not had the opportunity to learn English and that she should speaks to him in French.
Yet they were seniors returning from a tour in Bali thus I foreshadowed what to expect back in my country, especially in the Paris area. Namely that I would find equally pleasing people and unpleasing as well.

It is true that tour operators exaggerate offering to their seventy--year-old customers a trip to Bali in 12 days is not reasonable because they have already three days trip and then it remains only 9 days there with a lot of tiredness.
Well let us go back in the Philippines, so after my trip to Ormoc and while awaiting the arrival of my wife, I considered a four-day trip to Sipalay less than 200 km from home and top tourist attraction in the Negros Occidental province.
On October 4, I hit the road for a route I knew well and I arrived at Easy Diving Resort in Punto Ballo Beach for lunch.

(The picking of rice near Sipalay)

Easy Diving is in my opinion one of the best resorts in Sipalay. Managed by a Swiss its guests are mostly German-speaking people. The only problem for me is that the bungalows located on a hillside and climbing up and down the stairs did not please my crippled knee osteoarthritis.

(In front of Easy Diving restaurant)

(Sipalay, Punto Ballo Beach)

http://www.sipalay.com/english/index.htm

In this season the place was almost deserted, but I met a Filipino couple from Manila. The two were computer engineers working at home at night for Microsoft hotline in the United States. Thus without knowing it, Americans were being helped from Manila.
Like myself they were not divers therefore I proposed them to accompany me the next day for a little road trip with my 4x4 hunting for original photos.

(Sipalay surroundings)

On October 5, we went to the countryside and I could see how the wealthy citizens of Manila were ignorant of agriculture and nature. That is why they nicknamed me the rural foreigner.

(My Pajero and the rice fields)

(The threshing of rice)

(The drying of coffee beans on the road)

(Kids riding the national beast of burden, the carabao)

The next day on October 6, I took them back into the hinterland and then to visit the other tourist beach of Sipalay, Sugar Beach. We had lunch in another resort, Takatuka Lodge. It is a place I like and where I have already spent two days before. The owners are a French-speaking Swiss woman and her German husband.

(On our way to Sugar Beach)

(The restaurant and a cottage of Takatuka lodge)

http://www.takatuka-lodge.com/

Unfortunately for vehicles other than two wheels, the resort is not accessible by road and we must take a boat to go by sea or a tricycle to reach it by road, crossing a very fragile bridge.
The next day October 7, it was time to go back home or while and befor my wife Dhana arrived I had many things to do to maintain the property in good condition. A septic tank, which filled by itself was to be fixed. I had to change the beach gate completely eaten by salt and rust. Then technicians cannot find the perennial problem of my auto-voltage-regulator, which fault occasionally sends a frightening 250-260 volts instead of 230 volts. For after my departure I had also to anticipate the change of my bamboo cottage's thatched roof.
October 21, the eve of the arrival of Dhana I flew to Manila. I spent the night at the Hotel Rothman on Adriatico Street with rooms always of good value for money.
On 22, I waited for my wife at the Manila International Airport and we took a taxi to get to the Bacoor house of my sister in law Leng, located 16 km from Manila.

(The Bacoor house)

(Part of the family arrived with this Jeepney)

Sunday23, a big Dhana's family reunion was in fact planned to celebrate the completion of renovations of the small family house and also to celebrate our 30 years of marriage though the anniversary was last January.
There was a lot of emotion during this meeting because some family members had not seen each other for many years.

(The food is ready)

(The blessing was given by 3 female pastors)

(My wife was charged with emotion)

(It is also the celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary)

(The whole family picture)

On the 24, my wife and I went to Manila to meet Bessie, our friend we had seen for the last time in July in Brittany during another family reunion. Bessie again treated us like royalty and offered restaurant, massage and manicure-pedicure for me as well.

(Manucure and pedicure for everybody)

October 25 was the day we boarded the Cebu Pacific flight bound to Dumaguete where our friends Eva and Gerard waited to drive us home.
We did nothing special during Dhana's vacation, as she needed to rest. However, like every year, his sister Leng visited us for a short week. Earlier we had had the visit of our couple doctor friends from Manila who stayed a few days with us.

(Our Manila friends Mavic and Paeng)

(From left to right, Dhana, Marguerite and Leng)

Of course, but I have written about it, October 13 our Doberman puppy, named Gordon arrived from Manila by plane.

(Arrival of puppy Gordon)

Once my wife had left, there were only 12 days left before my own departure.
It passed very quickly but I found time to send to my home theater surround processor for repair in Manila because of a weird electrical noise. I hope to find it back on my return, because cinema is my only distraction when I am alone at night at home.
I arrived in France December 2, anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz, the coup of Napoleon III and of my own birth.
This Saturday, December 17, my wife received an SMS from Dodong, our housekeeper who informed us of the typhoon Sondong that hit the Philippines during the night of Friday to Saturday. The seawater entered our lot, plants and flowers were destroyed and a tree fell on our power line adding a problem to the general power failure. Finally, we had only very insignificant damage after all.
It was only later and the following day that I learned the full extent of the disaster, that struck the Philippines in a region usually spared by typhoons. In the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, only 173 km from our house, they are more than 650 dead and 900 missing according to the International Red Cross.

Our area of ​​Dumaguete, to a much lesser extent, has not been spared and there are 41 dead and a lot of damage.
Always the poor suffer the most, this region had never been directly affected by a typhoon and therefore the necessary steps were not taken. Add to this the classic ingredients of dwellings built of bits and pieces along the river or mountainside, deforestation, overpopulation, poor relief and everything comes together to increase the number of victims. Water and electricity are still cut and there are even no more coffins to bury the dead.

What a sad Christmas for them!