Teaching in Taipei: CNY 2k13

One of my favorite parts about living in Taiwan is that only a month or so after Christmas break, we have another holiday - Chinese New Year! Because Christmas was a little hectic, Jordan and I decided that what we needed was a relaxing beach vacation rather than a crazy adventure, so we set out for Bantayan Island in the Philippines. I left the planning of this trip up to him, and [per usual] it was perfectly executed. Getting there took a bit of time since the island is off the beaten path, but it was well worth the two flights, 2.5 hour taxi ride, and ferry ride to get there. Not to mention the midnight flight!

The hotel we stayed at was pretty sweet - made entirely out of bamboo! Unfortunately the management was a little disorganized, so we had to bounce around rooms, but we made it work. And when all you're doing is laying on the beach all day, it's not that big of a deal!

6 am arrival in Cebu after leaving Taipei at midnight - I was tired!

Cool bamboo room!

View from our balcony. Hard to believe the color of the water!

Already lounging and perfecting the tan [don't worry Dad - I wore sunscreen!]

Day 2 at Coral Blue Oriental!

The water on our island and the surrounding ones was some of the clearest and bluest I have ever seen. You could see straight down to the bottom! We did one day trip out to Virgin Island, and took about 100 photos because we couldn't get over the colors.

Land ho! After a little shaky boat ride, we spotted Virgin Island.

Unfortunately the snorkel gear they provided was ancient, and also really small...lol.

We made it!

I still can't believe how gorgeous the water was!

And one of my favorite parts of the trip was the fact that the manager of the hotel had an awesome pug named Max. I spent lots of time playing with him...and tried to convince Jordan to steal him for me, but he refused. Sigh.