Malapascua Island, Cebu is a familiar destination for avid divers. Last February, I was privileged to dive the waters of Visayan Sea to see for myself the underwater plateau where thresher sharks can be regularly sighted on daily basis. Though I had to scrap the first leg of the trip to dive in Moalboal at the costs of a new flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Cebu (RM450.00 via Cebu Pacific’s KL-Manila and Tiger Air’s Manila-Cebu), the one dive I had at Monad Shoal was truly amazing.
Let’s go back to the day I travelled from Alor Setar (fly day was the day I had an on-going trial in Alor Setar) right until I arrived in Malapascua. All information are minuted as at February 2015.
The travel from Alor Setar to KL to Manila was smooth going, albeit I would like to mention that on travelling to the Philippines, you must show your return ticket upon checking-in. You will be denied departure for failure to provide one.
Upon arrival at NAIA 3, I went through the normal immigration process and started to figure how I could transport my checked-in bag to NAIA 4. Before exiting the customs check, there was a Cebu Pacific transfer desk for domestic transfer where I left my bag. At 10.30pm, I was told the last scheduled free shuttle to NAIA 4 had left 15 minutes ago and a taxi to NAIA 4 would cost me between PHP100 (RM8.30)-PHP200 (RM16.60) depending on traffic. I was keen to keep my budget at the lowest and started to wander around the terminal. I found a white-coloured, brand new looking bus painted with “Airport Loop Line”. The bus would pass NAIA 4 and is only PHP20 per ride.
On a local bus in Manila, it would be wise to be cautious at all time, given the notorious reputation. I survived the crossing of pedestrian bridge leading to NAIA4 and reached the airport safely. It was quite an experience to have to wait outside the airport which was closed until 3a.m. when it was time for the early fights’ check-in. There was no proper sleeping area at NAIA4 before 3a.m. but there were row of seats for you to sit.
Day 2 | 17.02.2015| Getting to Malapascua Island , Cebu from Mactan Cebu International Airport
I reached Mactan Cebu International Airport at 7a.m. To go to Malapascua, first, I had to go to the North Terminal Bus where I would meet my friend Yam, who did the first leg dive trip to Moalboal alone. I took the metered taxi to North Terminal Bus for the price of PHP155.50. The Ceres Bus to Maya Port costs PHP180. One has to leave before noon to take the last boat of the day to Malapascua Island.
At Maya Port, we were ambushed by locals offering boat services. Since we arrived in numbers, about 10 of us, agreed and put our names on the registration list. Boat from Maya Port to Malapacua, Island = PHP100 per person. The boat ride from Maya Port to Malapascua Island took almost 30 minutes. As it was low tide when we arrived, we had to be transferred using a smaller boat for PHP20 to a big bangka waiting for us 100m from shore. As the PHP20 was not negotiated earlier, the ten of us ruled out the extra PHP20 was a scam. When we asked our resorts about the small boat asking for extra money from what we had already paid for the big bangka, we were told that it was NOT a scam. You can hire a private bangka at the price of PHP1,200.