Philippines....woooooo

So, summer break came and went. And it came awfully slow and went awfully fast!

I decided to head over to Boracay Island in the Philippines. I have heard great things about it from the other teachers (and from Filipinos) so I decided to just pack up and go. So I booked my tickets....and headed to Seoul the night before to stay with a friend.

Once in Seoul, she decided to treat me to flavored soju...and once we woke up the next morning, I had missed my flight and she was late to her English Camp. NOT a good start to the holiday. So, after going the wrong way on the subway for an hour, I spent $100 on a cab to the airport, at which none of my tickets could transfer to a later flight, so I had to pay for ALL new tickets. Not fun.

After my crazy trip (rebooked flights, sleeping in airports, assigned seats that didn't exist, ferries, etc)...I arrived Saturday morning at the hostel.

I MADE IT TO THE ISLAND!!!

Upon my arrival, I immediately met up with 2 of my korean friends (Will and Amelia) and started my adventures.

Day 1 (Saturday): Island Hopping! The 3 of us headed to our own boat and went out to Crocodile Island for snorkeling (and getting stung by jellyfish). Afterwards, we were taking to Puka Beach where the sand is made of puka shells and its quite and UBER relaxing.

Island Hopping Buddies

The blue starfish were my favorite things underwater!

Once we finished our day of island-ing, we grabbed some grub, then laid on the beach till the PUB CRAWL! Amelia and I suited up in our yellow pub crawl shirts and headed to the first bar. There we met a bunch of other pub crawlers, and our night began! We spent the night making friends, and taking tons of photos.

We're ready for fun!

My Pub Crawl #1 group :)

Day 2 (Sunday): Helmet Diving! Amelia and Will left in the morning, so I was left to my own devices to find something to do. Luckily, there was a couple at the reception desk about to go helmet diving, so I joined in, and we convinced another guy (Andrew) to join us.

What is helmet diving?? It's when you go underwater with no snorkel, no scuba gear, JUST a helmet filled with air. You're tethered to the boat, so you can't go far. You can't go far anyways, because it is HARD to walk underwater!

Me and my helmet divers!

These are what we wear

The group!

Apes just fish-watching in her helmet.

Helmet diving was neat. I've been snorkeling AND scuba diving, so it was a different experience to have. It was weird actually having nothing on your face directly, just the helmet covering your whole head. I kept forgetting I could look up and down, I just kept looking forward at the fish. The guys in charge gave us some bread to feed the fish as well, so that was cool watching them come to us for food.

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch then Andrew and I walked down to station 3 to see what it was all about (we were staying in Station 2, with the most activity). We found lots of seafood buffets (which we tried out later in the week). That night there was a party at a bar called "Juice" and it was "coyote" themed. Needless to say, we suited up, and went out. Later in the evening, a bunch of other people from our Hostel (Frendz) came and we ended up partying in a huge group. 

Day 3 (Monday): Ariel's Point! Before even hitting the island, I had already heard about Ariel's Point. It's a cliff diving site with GREAT food, and an endless bar. So of course, I was planning on going. I convinced my helmet diving friends to come along, and then recruited one of my pub crawl buddies (Josh) from Saturday night to join. We boarded the boat, then set sail to the Point! On the boat, we had some beers and a good time. Once at the Point, we had to trek through caves to get to the top. Then, it was JUMPING TIME! There are 3 levels you can jump at: 5meters, 8meters, and 15meters. I got nervous at the 5meters, and couldn't do it at first. Everyone was watching and there was too much pressure!! Once we got served food (the best Filipino food I had on the whole island), I snuck away and jumped 4 TIMES! One of the girls (Marquia) caught me, and she came down and they brought us canoes. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, canoeing, and just enjoying life. But then...it was time to go. BOOOO.

Heading to the boat.

Ariel's Point!

Caves to get in

Scaredy Cat...not being very adventurous

Canoe Time!

Once back on land, we got ready for the Pub Crawl. Yup - I went again! The helmet diving group wanted to go, so of COURSE I had to join them. And it wasn't hard to convince my fellow pub-crawler, Josh to do it again.

Some of the girls.

Some of the #2 pub crawlers.

Day #4-5 (Tuesday/Wednesday): I'm in a MOVIE! On Tuesday, no one wanted to do ANYTHING! Most people were exhausted from the pub crawl, but I was exhausted from the last 3 days! So, I met up with the helmet divers for lunch, and then on my way to the beach chairs, I ended up in a movie! I mean, of COURSE I ended up in a movie, right?

So here's how it happened.

"Ahh, I'm exhausted from lunch, I'm ready to nap on the beach chairs" I think as I walk towards our chairs. But wait, what is this crowd of people standing around? Hmm, weird. Oh wait! I know those 2 guys in the middle, I'll go ask them. So I walk up to the 2 guys that stay in my guesthouse and ask them what's going on.
"Oh, we're in a movie."
"A movie?" I ask. 
"Yeah, just stand here, and you'll be in it to."
"Ah, ok cool."
So I stand around chatting for a while, and then the director comes up and asks if I'm one of "RJs Girls". I tell him I don't know RJ, and then "RJ" appears.
"You wanna be in movie?"
"Sure. I've got no other plans today."
"Ok, sign and print your name here, we will have 2 scenes today."
"Ok." So I sign and print my name. Then I'm tired of standing so I tell him I'm going back to shower and get my bathing suit on. He tells me to return around 3pm.

....and that's how my movie career started. I was in 3 scenes over 2 days:
Scene 1: I lay on the beach bed with my friend. We "pretend" to nap. The stars are beside us having their scene. I napped for real so I have NO idea what the scene entailed.
Scene 2: I chat with my friend on the beach chairs. Then I stand up and SAY (yes, I got a line!) "I'm getting in the water" and then I run to the beach.
Scene 3: My "island boyfriend" (he's had a different girl in each scene!) and I are walking to a fire show. Then the main characters ask us to take their picture by a sandcastle. My bf takes the picture, then we continue walking to the fire show and take a seat. I also get fire on me because the director didn't plan a direct path.

So there ya go....Apes is an Actor. Look for me on the big screen at the movie: "Status. It's Complicated." 

The comedian getting dolled up beside me.

The island boys...look for them on the big screen!

My view from my position on set.

The rest of Day #4-5 (Tuesday - Wednesday): So, after filming each day (and getting paid) I met up for dinner. Tuesday I went out with my helmet divers (it was their last night) to a seafood buffet - crabs, oysters, mussels, It was PHENOMENAL!! Then we went to a hashish lounge on the beach and watched the fire shows. Then, that became the ONLY night I went to bed before the sun rose...I was passed out by 11pm. 

My first plate.

Yeah, it was pretty cool.

My favorite fire dancer...she wore a tie because it was classy.

Wednesday before the shoot, Andrew and I made the hike up to Puka Beach. It was about an hours walk, and it happened to be the hottest and sunniest day all week. Of course. Once we finally made it to the beach, we immediately ran into the water, and then napped on the sand (by sand, I mean the puka shells that made up the sand). After we were well rested, we took a tri-bike back and then I got ready for the next 2 scenes of the movie.

I made it to Puka Beach!

Adventures to Puka Beach.

After the movie, I had Mexican food and margaritas with my co-star, Ludmila. Then I headed out to see my buddies at the bars. 2 of the pub crawl guys had said they went out Tuesday and didn't see me, so it wasn't fun. So I had to make sure to see them tonight. I finally found them at the late night bar (Summers) and we hung out outside with a tower of cocktails. We saw plenty of my hostel friends come and go, and they always stopped to chat.

Day #6 (Thursday): Scuba Diving! My island boyfriend (Dalan) from the movie was a dive instructor so when I mentioned diving, he said he'd take me. So Thursday afternoon we met up and he took me to..MY FIRST SHIPWRECK!!! I went down 28meters (about 100feet) and got to go around and INSIDE the ship. I explored the cargo room, then engine room, and even took a rest on the mast. The fish were SO big, and being inside the ship wasn't scary at all! I DEF want to do another shipwreck dive. The only problem is that I still have problems equalizing between meter 2-5. But once I am set, I am good to go. I need to work on this!

Here I go.

Rocking out on my first shipwreck dive.

Lionfish.

Going down?

This fish was SO bright!

Taking a rest on the top of the ship. NBD

Dalan and Me!

I TOUCHED THE BUTT!!

Great time!

After an AWESOME Indian dinner with some newcomers to Frendz, it was time for my 3rd and last pub crawl. I hustled back to Frendz, saw Josh and he greeted me with "Where's your shirt!! It's our last PUB CRAWL!" Silly Josh, I was getting a new one that night :)

That nights pub crawl was the biggest one yet. There were a bunch of us repeating from other days, and a TON of new people in general.

Day #7 (Friday): Pair sailing! Friday morning I met up with Ludmila, and we went off to go Pairsailing!!! We got to the boat, waited out turn, and up we went!

Apes in the air!!!

Air Selfie

I'm on top of the world.

 It was a little scary being up only held by a parachute. I think Bungee Jumping gave me a fear of heights. But, it was still a great experience. I'm happy I went with Mila, as she was hilarious up in the air.

That night we went out for food and drinks, and while I was PLANNING on making it an early night, all my friends persuaded me that it would be easier to stay up till my ride came (4am) then to wake up on time. Of course, I decided they were right. So we stayed up till it was time for me to go. I was able to have one last night out with my group, and made it back with time to spare for my pickup.

...and then in a flash, I was on the ferry leaving the island. My Philippines holiday was over. I enjoyed meeting everyone I did, and I think I did about everything I could do on the island. I miss it already, and would go back ASAP, but there's still more places that need me to visit.

Till next time Philippines...

Salamat,
Apes :)