In 2020, a small island in the southern Philippines was named one of the world's top 100 resorts, ranking even ahead of Palawan and Long Beach, which is the surfing resort of Siagao. #发现菲律宾 #
So far, people have had to accept the helpless fact that vacation travel is not something that should be considered at this stage. Even if you still have most of the places on your travel list before the pandemic that you don't check in, you'll have to wait patiently for the day when everything gets better.
But a local friend, apparently not wanting to wait any longer, made up his mind to head to Siago, a long-awaited surfing destination, a week before his 29th birthday.
The friend's name was Anson, and he was born and raised in Chinese Filipino. From a well-off family, he doesn't have to worry about three meals a day during the epidemic like other Filipinos. The only thing that bothered him was when he would be able to walk out of the office on Friday and lie on the beach early Saturday morning with a raw beer.
The lockdown follows the Philippine Tourism Board's "Balikan Ang Pilipinas" campaign to save tourism, which aims to encourage Filipinos to travel to the various islands for vacation. At the call of the event, Anson, who had long wanted to vacation to Siagao, booked a flight to Siagao with his girlfriend a week before his birthday. As for the risk of the epidemic, Anson's answer is very Filipino: if... That's God's arrangement.
That's it, Anson brought us a special set of "Siagao Travel Guides During the Epidemic".
With the help of Facebook, Anson found the travel document requirements at the time (early July):
*Negative result for virus test report
*Hotel or resort reservation letter filed with the local tourist office
*Proof of personal identification (driver's license is sufficient)
* Electronic Health Code Pass
* Itinerary code app Traze
Anson's two-seat flight departs from Manila and stops at Cebu Airport before reaching Siagao. In Manila Terminal 3, in addition to the stricter epidemic prevention requirements, the whole process (check-in, waiting, etc.) is no different from before the epidemic, although there are many fewer waiting passengers than usual, but the entire terminal is still operating normally.
But at Cebu Airport, Anson was disappointed to find that the busiest airport in the past was now open with only one Happy Bee, and the other vendors were all locked.
Finally arriving at Sayak Airport, Anson found that the local ministries of health were even stricter than in Manila, filling out a four-point personal information declaration form before walking out of the arrivals hall, but for Anson, for the holiday paradise ahead, it was all bearable.
Passing through this coconut grove before the ride, Anson was full of emotions, and this ordinary island road also made him feel extremely excited after being trapped in Manila for more than a year, and the excitement was exactly the same as when he first set foot on the island.
On the way to the famous surf spot Cloud 9, Anson passes by General Luna, which was once a gathering place for tourists, restaurants, cafes and gift shops are still open, but it is difficult to see tourists.
After arriving at Cloud 9, Anson could hardly believe his eyes, and the crowds on the beach were crowded, as if the tourism industry here had not been hit too hard, but then it was discovered that these were locals and surf instructors, not tourists.
As Soon as Anson got off the bus, they were surrounded by surf instructors, each hoping that Anson would be his student for the next few days, including some master surfers who had to book a few weeks in advance.
There are fewer tourists, the whole Cloud 9 will belong to Anson in the next few days, and the coaches they choose can finally go into the water to show their skills, and under normal circumstances, they should be guided by the senior students of the instructor.
After settling on his surf plans, Anson also booked the next trip: Naked Island, Sugba Lagoon (freshwater lake) and Tayangban Underground Caverns. The itinerary was all arranged, and Anson also arrived at his booked hotel villa, Mango Tree Resort.
Compared to the hotel that Anson had booked in Long Beach, the price of this hotel was about 40% cheaper, but the hotel that opened before the epidemic still gave Anson a big surprise.
They booked a double-storey family villa, but Anson didn't expect it to look like the photos on the website. Staying here for the next few days, Anson is a little uncomfortable thinking about the sacrifices that the owners have to make to maintain it.
A bittersweet trip
Day 1
Anson's trip officially began, and in addition to the daily surfing experience, Naked Island was their first trip, and on this island without any man-made buildings, Anson became the first tourist to set foot here in recent days.
At least a dozen crab boats moored in the small docks for crab boats, and according to one of the captains, tourists who had previously traveled to Naked Island often had to wait here for hours to board the boat.
Day 2
From the hotel, Anson arrived in the town of Del Carmen by tricycle, accompanied by beautiful scenery along the way, and the 40-minute drive did not feel long at all. Then we took a boat ride to the Sugba Lagoon, where the water quality was the clearest ever seen on Anson's trip, with schools of fish swimming at the bottom of the lake.
But as seen at Cloud 9, the dozens of people on the lagoon shore were all local vendors and guides, and Anson was the only tourist of the day. A staff member told them that before the epidemic, there were at least 500 tourists a day here, and now they feel very lucky when only a few tourists arrive every day.
Day 3
The Tayangban Underground Cave is the last of Anson's travels, and while the underground river has already been experienced on Palawan, this underground cave is more interesting because it takes a walk to experience the whole process. For Anson, who loves photography, this walking tour of the underground cave is the most satisfying for him.
However, as before, they are still the only tourists here. The tour guide who led them on the trekking expedition said that before the epidemic, he had to bring at least 50 tourists down every day, so busy that he could hardly eat normally, and for a whole week, Anson was his only customer.
On the last day of the trip, Anson chose to spend time at the hotel and began to share the feeling of the trip with friends. Although this trip to Siago was completed, Anson's feeling was: bittersweet.
The island that once fascinated him had more or less lost some of its island charm due to the impact of the epidemic, and as the only group of tourists at that time, Anson felt most not the excitement of standing on the surfboard, but the helplessness that the epidemic brought to those who made a living from tourism.
On the day of his return to Manila, Anson wrote on his social platform account: I will work harder to pray that the epidemic will end soon!