FabiZRH

Killer Kites!



Has-edera Temple, Kamakura



















JR Yamanote Line any day of the week, at pretty much any time of the day.



The alleys around Omotesando.

__



First Cabin Haneda

I decided to spend my second and last night in Tokyo at Haneda airport, so there would be no hassle getting to the airport during the morning rushhour. This was my "First Class" capsule/room at Terminal 2. 4800 Yen a night. Very clean shared showers and facilities. A good way to save some money for a short night before a flight.



Of course I had to go up to the Observation Deck for some more plane action before calling it a day.



























Many restaurants in Japan make you order outside at the machine, which then sends the order to the staff and only afterwards you sit down. Strange world.



The Japanese curry was very tasty though.

__



The new Tokyo Haneda International Terminal that opened in 2010 is a true gem. I would rate it as one of the most beautiful terminals in the world. I've even seen it featured in design books. Airy, well-thought-out, easy to use, very Japanese.






The landside shopping street.



NH 855 Tokyo Haneda - Jakarta

So the third part of my world tour begins. My next destination was actually Bohol in the Philippines, but I booked a flight via Jakarta, overshooting the Philippines by 3 hours, just to finally get to fly on a Boeing 787 "Dreamliner". Again, I know, a bit crazy, but I'm a plane fanatic. I love trips like that.



ALL THE NEWS WITHOUT FEAR OF FAVOR.



















Lining up on Haneda's 3,000m long runway 16R and off we go.



























ANA is an airline I rate very highly. On this regional flight to Jakarta, unfortunately, the food was not to my taste. Western style meal, but tuned to Japanese tastes, did not work for me.







Overflying Borneo's Kalimantan region which is part of Indonesia.







Short final at Jakarta exactly 7 hours after departing Tokyo.



Philippine Airlines with one of their very new Sharklet equipped Airbus A321s in the end brought me to Manila.



Welcome to the Philippines. Upon arrival at a very wet Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport they made us wait at a remote stand for over an hour before letting us deboard. Manila airport is probably the worst airport I've come across together with Mexico City.


PR 2773 Manila - Tagbilaran

One more flight to go to Tagbilaran on Bohol, a tropical paradise in the Visayas. The Visayas are a group of islands in the Sulu Sea. They are one of three principal geographical regions of the Philippines along with Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, and Mindanao.











Deboarding at Tagbilaran. All the rain in Manila had me fearing another trip to the Philippines would be ruined by the bad weather as it happened to me on Boracay in 2007. Over Cebu we left the clouds behind us, though, and Bohol greeted me with sunny skies. Not one raindrop fell during the whole time I stayed there. August is supposed to be the rainy season in the Philippines. Lucky me!

__



Alona Beach

Here we go. The beach in front of the hotel where I stayed on Panglao, the small island at the southern tip of Bohol, where most hotels are and where all the tourists stay. The two islands are connected by bridges.







Lovely murals in Tagbilaran.











Basketball is played all over the country. It was introduced by the Americans, who colonized the Philippines from 1898 to 1946. Basketball isn't the only thing the Americans brought to the Philippines: Many Filipinos, especially the young, speak English very well, making travel in the country very easy.






Public Transportation in the Philippines. They are called Jeepneys. Originally they were made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II.







































































Bohol is famous for this little creature called Tarsier, a primate about the size of a human fist. Tarsiers are found across the southern Philippines - on the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao - as well as on Borneo, Sulawesi and Sumatra.










Tarsiers have the largest eye-to-body size ratio of all mammals. These huge eyes provice this nocturnal animal with excellent night vision. Their eyes are fixed in its skull. They cannot turn in their sockets. Instead, they can turn their heads 180 degrees.


















The mand-made mahagony forest of Bilar.



















Bohol is best explored by motorbike. Stop whenever and wherever, take in the smells and the magnificent tropical scenery, pure joy! Plus there isn't a lot of traffic and the roads are just fine.







My first look at the world famous Chocolate Hills of Bohol.















Chocolate Hills, Carmen



In many ways the Philippines are unfortunately still very third world: People for example burn their trash in the backyard. I definitely don't love the smell of plastic in the evening.



The Chocolate Hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.








__



As it is just too far to drive back from Carmen to Panglao on a motorbike at night (about 2 hours), I stayed at a bed and breakfast. This one and the next two photos of the Chocolate Hills were taken at sunrise the next morning.







The official count stands at 1,268 Chocolate Hills.

__