Tacloban City, Leyte
13 September 2015 - From Davao, there are no direct flights to Tacloban City. You can only fly through Manila or Cebu. So instead of the expensive air fare, I opted for the more adventurous and cheaper option. I took a bus! The whole trip lasted for about 26 hours for me! From Davao Overland Transport terminal, there was a 12nn trip to Tacloban which would last around 21 hours, but I missed this one. So a conductor told me to take the Butuan bus and either catch the 12 noon trip, or wait for another five hours to get on the next bus to Tacloban.
(On a side note, when I got off a taxi at the terminal, men came flocking towards me, asking me where I'm going, and grabbing my bags. I had to yell at them to stay away from me. First, I can pull my trolley bag, and then I only have a shoulder bag with me which is not heavy, so I don't need any help. Second, I feel like I am being harassed as several men came towards me when they saw the taxi stop. This same scenario happened almost the rest of the trip, in any bus terminal or port area, where guys just flock and ask you where you're going and trying to get your things from you. I know they are only trying to help and earn some money by doing so, but most of the time they are just so threatening and harassing. I hope the government and transport groups could pay attention to systems that would work better for porters and passengers.)
So anyway, I got on the bus to Butuan and paid P490, travel time around 8 hours, because the bus stopped at every terminal in every municipality. When I finally arrived in Butuan City, the bus to Tacloban just left, so I waited for another five hours for the next bus. I spent time drinking coffee and eating cup noodles. There are several stalls there and I also happened to charge my phone battery, with a charging fee of P10. There are a lot of trips to Cagayan and Davao in the evening, so waiting was not boring and staying at the terminal for a few hours felt safe.
Finally, when the bus to Tacloban arrived, I gladly took a seat. When I tried to put my big bag inside the storage space beneath the bus, a guy helped me load. I gladly thanked him and sat inside the bus. A few minutes later he came for me and asked me for a fee. He specifically asked me for P20 (for carrying my bag! Which I didn't even ask him to do! I could have done it myself!) So anyway, I was pissed off but I know he wouldn't leave me alone. I checked my coin purse and I only had P15 change in there so I told him that's all I had and he left unhappily. It was around 1:45 AM when the bus to Tacloban left Butuan City. The bus fare was P650.00.
At around 5:30 AM the bus arrived at Lipata Port in Surigao. Passengers had to get off the bus and purchase our own ferry ticket, terminal fee, and another fee that costs P5. After getting the ticket, I realized it was a Red Cross charity ticket. I was surprised that in this part of the country they seemingly charge by force to donate to Red Cross. Anyway, the ferry ticket and Red Cross donation totaled P142, and then there was a terminal fee of P16. It was raining hard that early morning, so we waited around 40 minutes before we were able to board the ferry. The trip took only around 45 minutes, and then we were already in San Ricardo, Southern Leyte.
After getting off the ferry, I had to look for our bus (before getting off, we were reminded to look at the bus number to make sure we don't get lost). The ride from San Ricardo to Tacloban took another eight hours. Riding from Mindanao and then Visayas, I could totally sense and see the difference of the landscape. I know I am already in a different island, in a different province, with a different language. I enjoyed the trip, but I couldn't wait to see the person waiting for me in my destination.
Finally, the hour has come. The bus arrived at Tacloban New City Terminal around 1:40 PM. From the bus terminal, we took a tricycle to downtown where my hotel is located. Tricycle special fare is P100. I checked in at GV Hotel which cost P775 per night. It is relatively a cheaper option in this city, where most hotels tend to be over-priced after typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. Most of the hotels needed some restoration and renovation and with the tourists and humanitarian workers flooding the city, hotels are back to good (and expensive) business. So this room I got had an aircon, TV, and private toilet (but no hot shower!). The space was small, and generally not clean and neat. But since I had no other affordable option, I just closed my eyes at night so I could sleep fast.
During the day, I spend time at PhilRads office in San Jose area, where John also works and stays. The jeepney (or multi-cab) fare from downtown to San Jose is P9 per way. I would have to warn you that I had to squeeze in to fit inside a multi-cab if it's full. From the Rotonda area going to the office, you can walk for around 10 minutes, or ride a pedicab that cost only P5, (but we pay P10 each because we feel like we're so heavy! Poor drivers!).
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| Invading PHILRADS Office! |
There's lots of pork lechon around the city. Meals cost around P50-P200 per person depending where you eat and what kind of food you are looking for. If you keep an eye, there are places that sell fruits and vegetables for reasonable price, but pork is really the most common food all over the place. I also noticed that they are not fans of soupy food.
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| Hanging out at their lechon place! |
There are tons of restaurants and coffee shops around the city,but I tried the local places. For dinner once, we went to a grill park near the city hall and had a satisfying grilled squid and barbeque for only P266 (including rice and drinks). Another evening, we tried the lechon park and had satisfying meals too for around the same price.
I had a chance to cook here,and as if being spoiled, a random lady knocked on their door selling crabs. It was only P180 for 1 kilogram. I was so excited, bought it, boiled it in salt, pepper, garlic and soda,, and then it was gone. :) It was a tasty treat!
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| The tasty treat! |
A popular place to hangout is the Robinson's place. Beside it is Go Hotels which is also a really nice place to stay if you could afford it. I stayed there twice before and it was really worth it and in a nice location. For grocery shopping and other options, you could also visit SaveMore, which is near the market. I've walked around the market shopping for fish and vegetables too, and prices are also pretty decent, especially if you know how to haggle.
We watched the movie Heneral Luna at Robinsons for only P155.5 each. We enjoyed the movie, and then a few days later it became popular through social media and was extended by most cinemas nationwide.
Places to visit in Tacloban are the: MacArthur Park (aka Leyte Landing), and the Sto. Nino Shrine where you could tour the Marcos mansion and their extravagant rooms.
San Juanico Bridge
There was a place which I couldn't distinguish whether it was part of Leyte Province or Samar Province. It is somewhere in the middle of San Juanico bridge, the longest bridge in the country connecting the two provinces. It was built during Ferdinand Marcos' era, and legend has it that he built it as a symbol of his love for his wife Imelda. But of course, he used the government money, and it was actually part of his public service.
From downtown, we took a jeepney going to the New Terminal, which cost P8 per person. There are buses and vans going to Basey, Samar that can drop you at the entrance to San Juanico Bridge. We got on a van and had to pay the full fare of P30 each. We got off a few meters before San Juanico. From the starting point of San Juanico bridge, up to the end, John and I walked hand-in-hand.(Wait, we had to stop to take some selfies and quarreled a little bit when he couldn't take a nice photo of me, and all the photos I took of him were great!) But yes, it was a great experience! We walked around 45 minutes including all the selfie and emo moments in the middle of the bridge.
When we arrived in Sta. Rita, Samar, we waited for a jeepney to get back to Tacloban. The fare from Sta. Rita to Tacloban was only P8!
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