I swam with whale sharks without knowing how to swim, Philippines

I can't swim. I have to say that first, because the biggest moment of this story happens ten steps from the shore, above roughly twenty meters of water.

I can't ride a bike either. Motorbikes, forget it. And I'm not a big fan of water.

While I was working construction in Korea and saving money, the Philippines was always on my mind. Swimming with whale sharks in Oslob had been a dream of mine for a long time.

On the day I was supposed to fly from Korea to Cebu, there was a typhoon in the region. My flight got delayed by about 24 hours.

Cebu, doing nothing

I didn't have a big plan for Cebu. For a few days I lived without feeling like I had to do anything. In the mornings I woke up, walked the streets near the hostel, and sometimes tried to get lost on purpose. I bought breakfast stuff at the shops.

There was a small bakery nearby that I went to all the time. I'd take my MacBook, sit there, eat the cakes I loved and think of ideas for my channel.

After construction work, sitting in a bakery eating cake is one of the best things that can happen to a person.

A few days later I left the cakes behind and got back to the real plan. I got on a bus from Cebu and headed for Oslob.

The back seat

I got on the bus and was just getting ready to lose myself in the view when someone called me from the back. Two girls and a trans person were sitting back there, waving me over.

At first I pretended not to hear. They called again, and again. I held a meeting with myself in my seat, should I go or not. In the end I'm a guy who loves to talk. I got up, walked to the back of the swaying bus and sat down.

Pretty quickly I found out that one of the girls was talking to a Turkish guy on Snapchat. Thousands of kilometers from Türkiye, even on the back seat of a bus from Cebu to Oslob, a Turkish man had managed to slide into someone's messages. On behalf of my people I felt both proud and embarrassed.

While we were talking about this, one of them got motion sick. Then threw up. The back seat lost its good mood in a second.

That was exactly my welcome to the Philippines. Two girls, a trans person, a Turk on Snapchat and vomit.

Alfonso Tent and a compliment in Russian

In Oslob I went to a tent hostel I had booked called Alfonso Tent. I pitched my tent, ate something, then dropped by a small cafe nearby.

Behind me sat Alex, his brother and a Filipino friend of theirs. Alex's brother was talking in Russian about my hair, saying it was long and nice. I turned around and said thank you in Russian.

They were shocked and asked if I was Russian. I told them I was Turkish and that I spoke Russian because I had lived in Kazakhstan. That's how the conversation started. It turned out they were also going to see the whale sharks the next morning. We agreed to meet at six.

Rain

That night, while I was sleeping in my tent, it started to rain.

In Korea I had thought about buying a rain fly for my tent but I hadn't. I regretted that decision with my whole heart. All I had was my raincoat, so I tried to throw it over the tent. That night I learned that a raincoat made for a person can't save a tent.

In the end I asked the hostel owner for help. For 50 pesos he gave me a tarp and I saved my tent.

Twenty meters

In the morning I went with Alex and his brother to the whale shark spot. We were going to scuba dive, and it cost around 3300 pesos each. I didn't have enough cash on me, so Alex paid the missing 1300 pesos.

They gave us the gear, we put on the masks and listened to a short briefing. It was going to be my first dive ever. I couldn't swim and I didn't like water. Maybe I didn't like water because I couldn't swim, I still don't know which.

We started walking from the shore in our fins. We had only taken ten steps when the water suddenly got deep. I was ten steps from the shore but there were about twenty meters below me.

When I lifted my head I saw them. Not one, several. As big as buses, gliding through the water with their huge bodies, passing right by us. When one of them came straight at me I didn't know what to do. As I tried to push myself back with my fins, one of the staff pulled me away. Luckily everyone had a staff member next to them. For someone like me that was an especially good idea.

It's really hard to describe what I saw in that moment. I was in the same water as animals many times bigger than me. Their huge mouths and the way they glided with almost no effort were hypnotizing. At the same time I could see the corals and other sea creatures.

The strangest part for me was not being able to talk. For someone who has spent his whole life chatting with people, all I could do was breathe in, breathe out and watch.

I can't explain how happy I was when I got out of the water. I told myself I want to do this again, just like after the bungee jump in Kyrgyzstan. I had kept the promise I made to myself on the way to the Philippines.

1300 pesos

Underwater, Alex had asked me to film him, so I recorded him for about ten minutes. The next day when he asked for the videos, I told him I had no internet and would send them when I found a connection. I also reminded him of the 1300 pesos I owed him.

Alex didn't want the money. He said the videos I shot would cover the debt.

When I left Oslob I wasn't only thinking about giant fish, I was thinking about my new friends too. Alex was 52, but who cares, a friend is a friend.

Moalboal and Siquijor

After Oslob I went on to Moalboal. There I met up with Eren, who I knew from Korea. At the hostel we met two Polish travelers, Oleg and Richard, and spent most of our time together.

One day Oleg suggested Siquijor Island. I had never even heard the name. Without thinking much we decided to go. First we went to Liloan Port, from there a ferry to Dumaguete, then another ferry and the island.

In the Philippines, Siquijor is known as the island of witches. We stayed about two days. Parties, waterfalls, beaches. We also rented a motorbike.

I landed like a cat

Eren was trying to learn to ride the motorbike. I sat on the back, because I can't even ride a bicycle.

Sitting back there, a scenario started playing in my head. If Eren falls, what do I do, how do I jump, how do I protect myself. I was imagining it step by step.

Then we really did fall.

Eren on the ground, the motorbike on the ground. And me, I threw myself so well that I landed on both feet, almost like a cat. I turned off the engine right away, helped Eren, and we picked up the bike.

Months later I told Eren about it. I joked that maybe the bike fell because I kept thinking about falling. Sometimes you find yourself living the exact thing you built in your head.

A shower in the waterfall

The hostel we stayed at had no water. To wash, we went to the waterfall. That's what being a traveler is like, sometimes you're looking for a hot shower, sometimes you wash in a waterfall.

After a while Eren and Oleg decided to go to Bohol Island. My road was different. I had been dealing with my Vietnam visa for a month and my 90 day visa had finally come through. I went back to Cebu.

What you need to know before going to the Philippines

Visa and eTravel

• Turkish citizens can go to the Philippines visa free for up to 30 days. Check the rules for your own passport. If you want to stay longer, you have to get an extension at the immigration office before your time runs out.
• At entry they may ask for a return ticket or an onward ticket to another country. Keep it ready.
• You have to fill in the eTravel form within 72 hours before your flight. It's free and gives you a QR code at the end.
• Only use the official site, etravel.gov.ph. Sites that ask for money are scams.
• Rules can change, check before you go.

Money

• The currency of the Philippines is the peso.
• Most ATMs charge a fee per withdrawal, so take out a bigger amount once instead of small amounts many times.
• In the cities cards work, but in places like Oslob, Moalboal and Siquijor almost everything is cash. Don't end up without cash like me, withdraw before you go to the islands.

Getting around

• In Cebu city people use Grab.
• Buses to Oslob and Moalboal leave from the Cebu South Bus Terminal. The ride to Oslob takes about 3 hours, tell the conductor where you want to get off.
• To get to Siquijor, go from the Oslob side to Liloan Port, take a ferry to Dumaguete, then another ferry to the island.
• On the islands the easiest way to get around is a rented motorbike. If you can't ride, sit behind someone who can, and wear a helmet.
• June to November is typhoon season. Flights and ferries can be cancelled, leave some space in your plans.

Oslob and the whale sharks

• It starts at 6 in the morning and lasts until noon. The earlier you go, the fewer people there are.
• There are two options. Going out by boat and swimming with a mask and snorkel costs around 1000 pesos. Scuba diving is more expensive, we paid around 3300 pesos each. Camera and fin rental are extra. Prices change, ask there.
• Touching the sharks is forbidden. Putting on sunscreen before getting in the water is also forbidden, wear something with long sleeves instead.
• If you can't swim, don't worry, you can do it like I did. Everyone has a staff member next to them.
• If you're staying in a tent, don't forget a rain fly.

Places to see

• Cebu. Magellan's Cross and Fort San Pedro.
• Moalboal. Huge sardine schools and sea turtles very close to the shore.
• Siquijor. Cambugahay Falls, Salagdoong Beach and Pitogo Cliff.