11 – 15 June N4 28.812 E118 36.972 – Semporna N4 30.309 E118 37.368 – Bumbum Island N4 38.941 E118 39.429 – Sibuan Island We met the WWF Malaysia Semporna team in their quaint office on stilts at the end of Dragon Inn, by the marina. They were busily preparing several community activities when we […]

11 – 15 June N4 36.021 E118 46.884 – Pulau Bohey Dulang N4 37.586 E118 38.830 – Seaweed farming community N4 44.678 E118 40.712 – Purse Seiner fishing grounds Maybe it was our good vibes and positive aura.  We got lucky this time in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. On to the second leg of our expedition, […]

30 May – 2 June 2009 N12 54.310 E123 33.956 We have not been back to Donsol in six years, and the many tight, long hugs we received were enough proof that we had left good friends there. It was truly a heart-warming “Welcome Back Home.” But Donsol has changed. It has bloomed. We were […]

29 May 2009 From summers 2000 to 2003, we prided ourselves in being the first to organize tours for European tourists to see whale sharks in Donsol. We stopped when we immigrated to Australia. We have not been back since, and tonight, we will make our long bus pilgrimage to the land of whale sharks […]

11 – 15 May 2009 N11 08.170 E119 39.287 Our pilot was none other than Jewelmer’s boss JB, as Jacques Branellec is fondly called. Upon hearing of approaching bad weather in the coming days, he immediately offered to fly us around the pearl farm and neighboring islands. He had the two back doors of the […]

11 – 15 May 2009 N11 08.170 E119 39.287 When we saw mariculture listed amongst the subjects WWF wished us to document, my first thought was Jewelmer. For many years, we have longed to photograph a pearl farm to see how the famed South Sea Pearls came to be. An organic jewel made by a […]

9-10 May 2009 N11 08.994 E119 19.267 Lunch in a resort such as MIR and LIR means you are spoilt for choice. When asked, “Where would you like to have your lunch, ma’am?” I’d scratch my head and ask, “Where would you suggest we go?” Every place sounds and looks like paradise, with palm trees, white […]

7 May 2009 N11 11.064 E119 23.431 We first visited the El Nido Town to pay a visit to the dynamic Woman Mayor Leonor Corral. Mayor Corral took the time to give us an overview of her conservation efforts and initiatives and reiterated more than once the value of collaboration with NGOs such as the […]

6 – 8 May 2009 N11 08.994 E119 19.267 Shifting gears from on-the-ground land subsistence activities to first class tourism, we travelled from eastern Taytay islands to the posh Miniloc Island Resort in the western part of Northern Palawan. We have had to rough it for a full month now, and being warmly welcomed by […]

2 – 4 May 2009 N10 48.790 E119 37.216 The need or want to consume live reef fish is enormous for a Chinese. I talk from experience as I am Cantonese and have uncles and cousins who own Chinese restaurants in Manila.  Growing up, every lauriat or Chinese feast attended was a full meal of at least […]