Sam Travels 2015: Corregidor Island, Philippines

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

My travel posts should start with a celebratory "Wooh!", since I don't get to travel much; and when I do, it's always local. But it's still travelling, so...

Wooh Corregidor!!

As of now, I've traveled three times already. Corregidor, Ilocos (my second time going there), and Boracay. Would you believe that? I was able to go to Bora. *cries* this is the first time I've traveled far, like 5 or more hours far without traffic, for more than once in a year. Normally, it's either once or none in a year, but this year went off track from the normal. Thank God for the rare opportunity!

Corregidor is an island that's filled with war history. Particularly, during the Japanese occupation here in the Philippines. The tour has loads of interesting information. The place itself, too! You'll see buildings that are so old that you'll wonder how they're still able to stand. Take note, though. There are no forms of interactive entertainment there except for a show that consists of 100% narration.

I'm not sure if the only company that can take people to Corregidor Island is the Sun Cruises, but this is the specific transport that I usually hear from others.

The port is located near CCP. It's behind the Folk Arts Theatre.

To be honest, I am so amused with the whole cruise-riding transport. Probably because it was my first time riding a real cruise (not bangka/ roro-like). The kind with aircon and has two or three floors. It was also my first time riding a boat that went so distant from the city, to the point that the only thing I see is water and a bunch of other boats. It was scary, yet amusing at the same time. Open water or vast bodies of deep water has been my phobia; and finding myself amused with riding the cruise makes me feel proud of myself. The "Ma, throw away the inhalers! I can ride boats now yay" kind of proud lol.

In our tour, there are some places that we weren't able to go to. Like the caves in the photos below:

Our tour was pure via land. To be able to get to these caves, it's a whole other tour. Our tour guide even said that there, in Corregidor, there are two kinds of tours: the normal or for the Pinoys and whoever version, and the one for the Japanese. As far as I remember, if you were taking the one for the Japanese, going to these caves is one of the itinerary.

So anyway, the pictures were shot while we were still on the cruise. Showing how the only way the caves can be accessible is through boat.

When we arrived in the island, there are these tour buses that waited for us. I loved them, because it wasn't your ordinary tour bus. It was also like a zoo-tour bus, but without the safety fence. However, all things have a negative side, and for this, it's battling the heat. The heat of the Philippines during Summer is no joke, and having the bus standby in some parts can really sweat you up.

This was our tour guide. He's really funny. He made the information alot more interesting.

Here are some homes that was said to have been built before, and was only for the rich.

The Lorcha Dock was where the famous "I shall return" line was delivered.

McArthur with his version of the Hitler pose.

I was kidding.

But hey, it's close enough. ;)

Next are caves found in land where the Japanese also hid in.

The North Entrance is a part of the Malinta Tunnel. It's this big tunnel where the Japanese also hid. Where majority of them hid. I swear, if you saw it personally, you'll see how huge and strong the structure is. It's made of pure stone and it has numbers of small paths that were said to be connected to each other.

This area's turned into a garden, but was once a place for offense. You can see some of the guns used during the war.

notice the bullet marks on this thing; and this is even heavy duty!

Er, super ultra mega heavy duty, I mean.

Here's me with one of the guns. :>

*insert hugot line here*

So of course, the religious image that can be seen here is Buddha, since the Japanese occupied the place.

Now, this is the Malinta Tunnel. I haven't captured great shots inside the tunnel, because: 1. The battery was low, and since I still want it to last until the end of the day, I panicked; 2. Lots of people went in the tunnel. Meaning? Lots of nuisance in taking pictures too; and 3. It was really hot in there, so I was really uncomfortable during the so-called "show". So you'll be seeing a bunch of blurry pictures. heheh, sorry!

So here's how the tunnel looked like! (when it's blurred, that is)

Just to let you know, the "show" is optional. It's an additional fee of 100 or 200 php (couldn't remember the exact because it's been more than a month, since we've went there), and it goes on for half an hour.

Again, sorry for the blurred photos!

Next are some buildings that have remained standing, despite the war and its age. Some of these were hotels, theaters, and entertainment areas.

Next up, the canons! This is the highlight (for me) of the whole tour; and the place where the SLR's battery's died. So expect a bunch of cellphone-quality pictures later on.
The place consists of lots of canons; and they're not just the ordinary sitting-there kind. There are all sorts with different styles of attack. Some are pretty sneaky that maybe if I were there during those times, I would have been bombed instantly lol.

The Battery Way is a tough area for attacking. It's hidden too.

Being in the area gave me goosebumps. I couldn't imagine being there during the war. The place was built with so much stone, and if you look over the holes around the canons? They're deep. They're greatly secured on the ground, and it's really so hard to imagine how people before were able to build those. With technology nowadays, the process would be alot easier; but before, when there are barely gadgets, constructing those things for strength and protection would have been such a long process. Can you imagine that?

Sorry, I'm babbling; but come on! Doesn't its superiority impress you?

Oh, have I mentioned that in these parts, monkeys are evident? :D

Just look at how thick the walls are!

These shelter-like structures aren't as plain as it seems. It's actually like a maze inside. Really dark, and creepy too; but I think it would've been a good place to hide and to do those things that are similar to movies. The shooting scenes where person 1 hides behind the walls, peeks if the enemy is there, then person 1 shoots, shooting the enemy off guard. ;)

My mom, werking it. HAHA.

Here's one of the biggest canons. It wasn't equipped, so it was laying on the side of the road.

This hole was caused by a bomb.

The Battery Grubbs is the main attack place. It has the biggest canons with the sneakiest designs.
This is the "mothership".

And this is where the SLR photos end. :(

I was only able to take few photos here, because I didn't realize that the SLR wasn't taking the photos anymore. These were quick shots before we went back to the tour bus.

These were the biggest canons! I forgot what it was called. It had something like a "two" word in it. It meant that the canon hides after it shoots. It's so cool. Imagine that huge thing descending on its base! Plus, there's two of them (which I wasn't able to capture). This was on the second floor of the Battery Grubbs. The first floor had small canons.

Sad I wasn't able to capture more photos! :(