Exploring the Area

Sunday, June 1, 2008--Dumaguete (Continued)

After leaving the cyber cafe, I walked out to the beach areas within town. They aren't very nice beaches. Most of the people there were fishing rather than bathing. Then I walked back into town along the waterfront.

Many people were along the promenade that lines the waterfront in town. I enjoyed watching them and smiling and saying hello to various ones. Many Filipinos react to just a smile and a raising of the eyebrows as a form of greeting.

I thought about looking for a place to eat, but I was starving for some reason. I just decided to go across the street to a Shakey's Pizza and eat rather than wandering to find a local place. Shakey's is still in business throughout the Philippines and in some other parts of Asia. Unfortunately, their pizza is rather plain. The dough has little flavor, and the toppings are rather sparce. Anyway, I had one with a combination of meats and vegetables and it satisfied me for the evening.

Monday, June 2, 2008--Dumaguete and Valencia

I decided to make a trip out of town to Valencia, a town part of the way up the mountain that is behind Dumaguete. The town is known for its beautiful gardens in its city park and in the front yards of its homes. I caught a jeepney up there after searching for where to catch it for some while. The place the tourist office told me I could catch it didn't work because the street was closed for rebuilding. Anyway, I saw a jeepney with Valencia written as a destination and ran and grabbed onto it. It stopped soon and everyone got off. But the driver told me to get on and I made the trip back up the mountain with him and a few other passengers he picked up.

The town was interesting. It was cooler up there. And it has so many blooming flowers and colorful plants. Some of the homes are very nice, and I found out that it is a popular place for foreigners to live. (The Philippines is one of the countries which will let foreigners settle if they establish a bank account of a specific size and can prove that they have a minimum monthly income.) The city park in the center of town is one of the prettiest I have seen on this trip. I wandered the city for a while just looking at the houses and their gardens. Then I decided I might as well WALK back to Dumaguete rather than take the jeepney. It is downhill all the way. So I set off. It was longer than I expected. I would guess it is somewhere between 12 and 15 km (7 and 9 miles). It took me almost 2 hours to make the trip. I stopped at a large supermarket on the edge of town and bought a Coke Zero to keep me hydrated. And by the time I got back, my feet and legs were filthy from the dirt on the side of the road and kicked up by the passing vehicles.

Dumaguete has no traffic lights. It seems strange. And there are no stop signs either. When people get to an intersection, they all have to slow down and figure out when is best to try to maneuver the way they want to go. In a way, it puts the vehicles in the same situation that pedestrians usually have--of having to be cautious and move only when they safely can. But for pedestrians, it means there is never any time when traffic from any direction is stopped!

The university is alive with students today. It is the beginning of the term. Everyone is paying fees, visiting with friends, etc. Traffic is unbelievable now on the streets around the campus. And so many students ride motorcycles which they must leave on the street, since the university is fenced and gated with no access for cycles. That means that the sidewalks on the through streets are congested with parked motorcycles.

I've heard that the cafeteria on campus is a good place to eat. I don't know if I will be allowed to go there or not. I may try to have dinner there tonight. But there is another place just off campus that my guidebook recommends that I can try if the cafeteria isn't available to me.