Island Living
Life in the Philippines
Perks and Complications of Living on a Rock
"Everything was going wrong!" I screamed out of frustration, from lack of sleep and worry. My 2 y.o. caught a bacterial infection that sent her fever shooting through the roof. This is exactly the last thing anyone deserves while living on an island with very limited specialists and medical facilities.
My husband and I were
tempted to brave the 1-hour boat ride and 3-hour bus trip in pursuit of top
hospital care from any of the reputable medical centers in the city, but we
weren't sure my baby girl can physically handle the long journey.
In fact, this was the
final piece after a seemingly domino effect of crazy events. It blew my lid off
when I thought the digital thermometer accurately measuring her fever nearly
broke.
Right. When it rains, it
pours. Take that, El Nino!
{This is going to be a long read. Feel free to grab a cup of coffee or tea}
In my previous post, we
spent blissful 3 weeks in a low budget beach front resort. Here we met fellow
travelers who came and went, some we didn't get along with, while some became
good friends.The time spent there made us learn more about ourselves while interacting
with strangers.
My baby girl celebrated
her 2nd birthday with the help of the resort family and some fellow guests.
They sourced the freshest seafood directly from the fishermen's fresh catch of
the day and the yummiest birthday cake from a local baker. She had great
fun and so did we.
Much as we would have
wanted to stay in that resort, we had to move to a private apartment with our
own kitchen for the real experience of living on the island. We knew being away
on our own is the best way to gauge, if we are really suited to this island
life.
House Hunting
Weeks prior to our move,
we have made arrangements with an island based foreign gentleman that I will refer
to as Mr. Guy (not his real name), to take over his 2 bedroom rental bungalow
for a month. While he is off for his summer vacation in his home country, we
will cover his rent for the month while we have a cheaper fully-furnished
accommodation.
Yohann, my husband went
for a quick ocular visit. He found it to be rough on the edges. Yet,we all assumed
that we could adjust. Mr. Guy asked us to give an answer immediately since his
ad online landed him several inquiries.
Having just arrived on
the island then, we still had the mentality that there might be a shortage of
monthly to long term apartment rentals. Needless to say, we gave in despite
being offered a nicer looking 2 bedroom house further away from town.
It was only when we
confirmed taking Mr. Guy's apartment that we found a better and fair priced
accommodation that is best suited to our family's needs and standards.
We definitely felt a
pang of regret. We didn't want to offend one of the future friends we consider
having on the island by canceling. Yet, we kept that "ideal
accommodation" in mind and pre - booked it for the time our promised
rental period lapses.
Moving In
It was supposed to be a
win - win right?
Absolutely not.
That was the beginning
of the domino of seemingly hilarious but not so funny at that time episodes. As
we dragged our backpacks through the dilapidated bamboo fence that looked like
it was going to collapse completely anytime, I found myself in one of the
dustiest houses I have stayed in after a really long time. I wasn't born
with a golden spoon. This comes from a girl who spent summers at my grandparents'
house situated in a densely populated urban jungle. I also spent
vacations in rural huts in small villages where toilets are situated away from
the house.
I suppose my many years
living abroad, I was accustomed to a certain standard of cleanliness and our
mistake was, my husband and I assumed that staying in a foreigner ' s home
means easily meeting our expectations.
OCD Much?
I don't mean to rant, it
was also our fault for not checking thoroughly, the we-
should-have-ran-our-fingers-on-each- surface-kind. I also won't deny that we
can be perfectionists with an obsession for order and cleanliness.
Still, I found my
Bambang child within frowning with disgust and frustration.
The Gigantic House Guest
Anaïs started napping in
the bedroom. We moved the other bed closer to hers to prevent her from falling.
I shrieked when we found a gigantic spider larger than the size of my phone! I
didn't know whether I should hit it with my size 6 flip flop. These things move
really fast!
I grabbed the house keys
to walk a couple of kilometers under a scorching 2 pm heat to look for an
insect killer spray. Once I reached the mini mart which seemingly felt
countries away, I was drenched with sweat. Who cares if I could knock down
anyone who's lucky enough to smell my tropical odor? Lol.
Yay! Spider, I am coming
for you. Sorry animal conservationists, I just can't sleep next to them and I
know they always come back even if you drive them away.
I promised I would never
ride one while I was back in Manila, but I succumbed to hailing a pedicab, a
bicycle with a passenger side seat. I cringed at the thought of walking back to
the apartment and risking sunburn and dehydration.
Et voila, only to find
out that I couldn't open the main door because I have lost my keys. The only
available set of house keys .
Dumdum me, lost keys
"You must be
kidding me," my husband growled. He was obviously not happy. My dreaded
moments under the torturous tropical sun became a reality. It left me no
choice but to retrace my steps from every sandy alley, nook and crevice that I
passed. I also perused each aisle of the mini mart. No one there saw the keys
after asking each of them.
Luckily, I spotted the
same pedicab driver. He smiled and he was kind enough to hand me the house keys
before I finished my sentence. The keys fell out of my pocket during my
ride.
A huge sigh of relief,
indeed.
The Real Deal
Honestly, it seemed like
the place hasn't been cleaned for a year. The sticky ant infested tiled
flooring made our feet charcoal black. There were gigantic cobwebs. A centipede
traversed the kitchen towards the bathroom like an illegal immigrant crossing
the border. A swarm of mosquitos attacked us through the open eaves at night
under a ceiling-less living area with the traces of afternoon heat
penetrating the galvanized roofing. There were blankets of dust on every
furniture. The television wasn't working with the poor reception. We had to
find space in the packed fridge.
Don't get me started on
the dusty sofa with smaller breed of spiders and other insects that I dare not
know but believes to be a great addition to an entomologist's insect
collection.
In fairness, the
separate toilet and bathroom were clean. However, judging by the look of the
place, we would spend 2 weeks cleaning it and we would need to invest in good
cleaning stuff in order to turn this place around.
I felt bad for my baby
girl because it was definitely not a place for a toddler. Everywhere she
turned, we were screaming, "Don't go there, don't touch that, that's
dirty!" We spent more time preventing her from everything in the
flat instead of just settling in.
Later that evening,
Yohann boiled potatoes and prepared to make an omelette only to find out that
the only pan available was not properly washed. It was covered with remnants of
the previous meal (s) .
With intense frustration,
my husband and I looked at each other and unanimously called it,
"F*ck it, we're going out for dinner." (Oops, pardon my french.
)
Over our meal, weighing
both pros and cons, we realized there was no way we could live there for
a month. "No way in h*ll, " I protested. Maria, my assertive alter ego gave me a mental high five.
Moving Out. Again?
We had a sleepless night
of being bitten by imaginary or un-imaginary insects. Did I mention that an
identical looking spider that we killed reappeared in the shower? I was feeling
extremely bothered about staying there.
The next morning, Anais
started having fever. At 7 AM, we went straight to the "ideal
accommodation" to ask whether there were any available units. We
knew that they're fully booked during that week.
The only available one
they had was a studio apartment without a kitchen. Since a kitchen is a
non negotiable need of ours, we turned to leave with drooped shoulders.
As we were leaving the
property, the care taker called us back and suggested that they can switch the
studio to our preferred apartment since we are staying for a long period.
Imagine our elation when
that happened. We started packing and moving again. Doing that with a sick
child is not a laughing matter.
We spent half a day of moving
and clearing up everything from the dirty apartment, while looking after our
daughter. We were pleased to stay in the quaint one bedroom unit facing a
landscaped garden.
Sick Baby Girl
Anais' fever started
rising, her eyes were puffy and watery with pus-like discharge and worsening
colds. That evening, we spent researching and asking friends on medications
online while nursing her back to health.
The next morning, her
fever spiked at 39- 40 degrees. Her eyes were sealed shut and she was in
pain. Alarmed, my husband and I asked around for the nearest pediatrician.
We were given unclear name and location of the doctor in town. As
expected, we were unable to locate the clinic. Nevertheless, we drove off
towards the direction of the town proper where the island's biggest drug store
is. At 8AM, we were there, begging to order eye medication that requires
a doctor's prescription.
Desperate, I pleaded
with the kind lady at the counter if she could guide us to a doctor in town.
Apparently, there is a pediatrician from Cebu City that comes to the island
once a month for 2 weeks. We were in luck, she was still on the island and was
due to leave 2 days later. Her clinic was just a block away.
To cut the long story a
tad shorter, Anais got the medical treatment she needed and we were able to purchase
the same eye drops and meds at the drug store.
Slowly, Anais' health
improved, despite the worrying level of her temperature. Lukewarm sponge
bath, compress and care kept us preoccupied for the last 5 days. A traditional
healer or what we call, "manghihilot" also came to see her to help
her with her colds and cough through traditional "hilot" massage.
She's getting better and now as I am typing this, it has become my turn to
get sick.
Reading the Signs
Thinking back, I'm glad
we immediately left the dirty apartment, not even a day later. The very thing
that made my husband and I decide to cut our losses were the series of
unfortunate signs while we were staying in that apartment. I can hardly imagine
nursing a sick child there. We have always believed in following our gut
feeling. Writing this post made me realize that despite the series of
frustrating moments, we gratefully had luck on our side as well. We also met a
few wonderful people we like on the island that we enjoy spending more time with.
Lesson Learned
Insect sprays are my best friend? A vacuum cleaner is in my non-negotiable needs list?
Kidding aside, I actually re-edited this post to delete a part about someone. I think it is unfair to write negatively about a person, despite his antagonistic contribution to this story, that I never even mentioned here. The law of karma is something I truly respect so I chose not to write about him.
Nevertheless, I want to add that a lesson I learned here is that life is too short to be bothered by people who show no interest in making friends, who were mean, and/ or who simply do not appreciate us. Since then, I've learned to tame my people pleasing side by pretending they don't exist. In this way, they don't feel obliged to elicit any response to hellos. I stop feeling bad at the same time if they don't return pleasantries. 38 years of pleasing people can be very tiring. I'm now retiring from that. Unknown to them, I send a little prayer of good wishes to them instead and this, makes me feel better.
Kidding aside, I actually re-edited this post to delete a part about someone. I think it is unfair to write negatively about a person, despite his antagonistic contribution to this story, that I never even mentioned here. The law of karma is something I truly respect so I chose not to write about him.
Nevertheless, I want to add that a lesson I learned here is that life is too short to be bothered by people who show no interest in making friends, who were mean, and/ or who simply do not appreciate us. Since then, I've learned to tame my people pleasing side by pretending they don't exist. In this way, they don't feel obliged to elicit any response to hellos. I stop feeling bad at the same time if they don't return pleasantries. 38 years of pleasing people can be very tiring. I'm now retiring from that. Unknown to them, I send a little prayer of good wishes to them instead and this, makes me feel better.
In spite of all the mishaps, both fortunate and unfortunate accidents,
we
are happy where we are today.
Love
& light,
Arni
37 comments
Seriously, I could never live on a tropical island! Unless I owned a huge tea plantation and an army of minions... which is highly unlikely :)
ReplyDeleteA tea plantation with an army of minions sounds like a dream, where do I sign up? 😊
DeleteWhen it rains it pours indeed but I am glad that after all the mishaps, your daughter is already fine. I came from a not-so-pleasant place myself (Sampaloc, Manila) and I grew up seeing insects and rodents in our house, but when I moved out from our house and have been to places where those animals do not thrive, I no longer want to go back to where I've come from.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's a good thing that you guys moved out to a better place and that everything turned for the better in the end. I wish I could live on an island too, it's one of my dreams.
Thanks Marge, recovery is sweet. When I think about my childhood spent at my grandparents' , I had a blast playing street games with playmates who became lifetime friends. I can't imagine I got away with playing hide and seek in scary abandoned buildings.
DeleteI will always treasure them. I wish my daughter gets to play those games here (not the abandoned bldg one though). Speaking of rodents, yes I can do without them. :)
Since you've declared your dream out loud, I won't be surprised if one day you are writing about your new island home.
I have OCD too when it comes to rodents and insects. Who can blame us? They are so so dirty!
ReplyDeleteLesson we learned, we are going to stock up on repellents and sprays and will make pest control and exterminations a must. A proper vacuum cleaner is a necessity but I see a lot of homes here without them. The brooms don't clean much at all.
DeleteI have OCD too when it comes to rodents and insects. Who can blame us? They are so so dirty!
ReplyDeleteLesson we learned, we are going to stock up on repellents and sprays and will make pest control and exterminations a must. A proper vacuum cleaner is a necessity but I see a lot of homes here without them. The brooms don't clean much at all.
DeleteI am so glad the little one is feeling better and I hope you're recovering as well. I would have just burned that place to the ground on finding that spider - YIKES. Thank you for sharing the uglier side of island living (we all need the reminder that everything isn't rainbows and butterflies, even in paradise)
ReplyDeleteHello Rooth, I quite suck at half glass full. Lol. I am thankful though for the health recovery. True, it doesn't stop at coconut trees and white sand beaches. I need to toughen up and develop more skills in living out here.
DeleteHi Arni, good thing baby anais is ok now. I can relate to being super OCD and the truth is we have to be OCD for the toddlers. I hope you'll be able to settle well. Good luck to your family Arni! Prayers for your baby. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Tin, warm greetings from the Philippines.Thank you so much and regards to you and your family too. God bless you always.
DeleteOh my gosh... all I remember is the gigantic spider!!! I am terrified of them! Even in pictures! D:
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that your little girl is ok now!
Hello Jane, spiders are at the top of my freak out list. They're in the same spot as flying cockroaches. :)
Deleteoh Arni! That spider alone would have done me in. I am so glad your little one is okay. :( :(
ReplyDeleteI am so relieved and thankful it all worked out in the end. Though those spiders are really present throughout the island. We see them in dark alleys sometimes. Luckily they're harmless.
DeleteGreat read! This really gives idea to people wanting to be hermits for atleast a little while to enjoy vacation.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks :) The experience definitely changed my romantic view of living on an island. Though I hope I didn't turn the readers off because sometimes the perks are worth the complications.
DeleteOh wow that spider looks HUGE! Glad to hear you found a great spot in the end. Island living is love <3
ReplyDeleteWe were so glad to hear the next day that those spiders are harmless. Thank God, the other days spent on the island brought us special and wonderful moments. :)
DeleteInsects? Rodents? Ekkkk!! I cant deal haha. Always a nightmare when your little one is sick, glad she's feeling much better! 💙
ReplyDeleteIt was such a relief to have her back to her healthy self.
DeleteI can imagine the situation that you went through. I also cannot bear to stay in an unclean house with many unknown companions around especially if we are with out little one. We deserve to stay somewhere safe and comfortable. I am glad to know that you daughter got better already and you are now in a happy place.
ReplyDeleteAfter that experience, we are now very careful in selecting our accommodation. We select based on good online reviews from travelers and then we personally check each recommended place out first, before booking anything.
DeleteOh my gosh Arni. I had goosebumps while reading your post. especially that spider! I am deathly afraid of them. I'm no way an OCD when it comes to cleanliness but what you experienced was really dreadful. I don't think I could last there too for a day. Good thing you guys went with your gut. Kudos to you for braving to live in an island!
ReplyDeleteThanks Darlene, this experience taught us so much. I don't think I'll ever get used to those big spiders.
DeleteI was really happy to read the happy ending! As a mom, I can say that there is nothing worse than having to nurse a sick child when it seems like everything is against you. I am so glad you found better accommodations.
ReplyDeleteHello Christina, this experience made us realize that good accessible medical facility is a top priority and criteria in selecting a place to live.
DeleteHappy to see that the baby is well, but sorry to note that you are catching the infection, hope you get well soon and are none the worse for it. I think these are the hazards of living far away from the urban centre. But then probably we need to balance it out somewhere.
ReplyDeleteBalancing it out is a great point. It reminds me of what another friend said recently, we can't have everything so we need to figure out the pros and cons and choose from there.
DeleteI am mot really afraid of spiders, but if the spiders is that big, I'll go kill it myself, too. Happy you found a better spot. :)
ReplyDeleteHehe, yay to insect repellent :) Thanks Randolph.
DeleteYou're adventurous family to do this. It's good to know that your baby is okay. It made me feel concern about her. I hope next time you will check the place if it will fit your little baby. Still I'm glad that everything is now okay. Keep safe always :)
ReplyDeleteHi There, It's weird that I just found your comment only now 4 years later. Thank you (and sorry for the late reply) , this experiment of ours left us lasting memories of our brief stay on the island.
DeleteHi! me and my partner are planning to live at bantayan island too. We have a 7 yr old kid. May I ask if you can recommend us affordable and reasonable places to rent for long term? Your response is much appreciated. Thank you and God bless your beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteI am sure over the years there has been more residential developments on the island for long term rents. I haven't returned to Bantayan since. I can't seem to find the place we rented on Google Maps nor any booking site online anymore. What about booking a temporary place for a few nights and visit several rentals available there so you could personally check out different properties before booking them long term?
DeleteThank you so much for your reply. Maybe we will just do what u said, book temporary and check out some places there. Hope everything is well with u and ur family! Thank you! :)
Delete