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Blogs from El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, Asia
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June 1st 2013
Coron Town So after an hour long flight we finally land at Coron just on sunset. Phew! Any later and the plane would have turned around and gone back to Manila; no lights on the landing strip we are informed by a local. A throng of folk waiting to leave are lined up on the runway and it’s all hands on deck to get the bags off so the return flight can go back to Manila with some daylight in the sky. Baggage collection is done in 5 mins – quick or what (we’d had to put it in the hold as we’ve stashed away a bottle of rum for the boat trip; it’s election time in the Philippines and there’s a ban on alcohol sales for 4 days starting today!!). Outside the tiny ... read more
April 25th 2013
The small town of El Nido, famous for it's stunning surrounding islands and idyllic beaches, is a place we had been looking forward to seeing since we were last in the Philippines, and after the last week of trekking we couldn't wait to top up our tans and relax, but we had to get there first. After over 24 hours without much sleep we were both looking forward to an early night in Puerto Princesa (PP) and as such had reserved a room at a decent sounding guesthouse in the city so we had somewhere to go to straight from the airport. Just what you want after an overnight bus, a hot day in busy Manila and then a flight is to arrive at said guesthouse only to discover it is in a sketchy area in ... read more
April 1st 2013
It was time for my annual leave again and for the 2nd year in a row I have planned a “mini travelling” trip for me and my girlfriend. We had strategically timed our holiday to be around the Easter bank holidays and so we actually had 17 days to spend in the Philippines. This was my 3rd visit to the country I fell in love with in 2010 and my 2nd back to one of our favourite destinations – El Nido. Despite being warned by travellers and blogs all over the internet of the development and tourist boom in the area, we still could not resist the magnetic draw of this place. I had spent quite some time making sure our travel to the Northern tip of Palawan was as time efficient as possible. All of ... read more
The luxury of showers and air condition
Published: March 27th 2013Asia » Philippines » Palawan » El Nido
March 27th 2013
El Nido was a great place. We stayed in a small hotel owned by a French guy named David and a Swedish guy called Tommy. The restaurant/bar had amazing view over the beach. Our first night we sat at the bar chatting with Tommy and David when we found out they make there own rum shots... And unfortunately for us we had to try them. They tasted good but didn't feel to good the next day. We also met a great Philippine couple that night that ware also on holiday and it was really interesting to talk and see how our life's are different when growing up in the European countries or here in the Philippines. Our room in El Nido did not have an air condition and as I am no fan of them and ... read more
March 27th 2013
The journey from Puerto Princessa to Palawan's tip, the archipelago El Nido, was a rather pleasant but crampy 6 hour minivan ride. We arrived in the early afternoon, picking a random accommodation from wikitravel on Corong Corong beach, a quiet and tourist-free beach about 2,5 kms down the road and hopped into an overpriced trike to take us to Lorenzo. Lucky for us, Lorenzo had one beach cottage for 800 pesos left and we took it. We enjoyed the quietness and clear waters of Corong Corong before heading back into town to check out the restaurants. The next day we decided to buy a snorkel and head out into the water of Corong Corong beach to check out the coral just off the coast. It wouldn't be the best snorkelling we we going to do on ... read more
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Bye Bye Hong Kong hello Philippines
Published: March 21st 2013Asia » Philippines » Palawan » El NidoMarch 21st 2013
We finally left Hong Kong yesterday and I say finally as we're not big fans. Nice to have seen it but not somewhere we have to go again. We tried to go over from Hong Kong Island to The main island on Tuesday but when we ware about to go over with the ferry it started pouring rain. Instead we walked through tunnels and shopping malls around the city to avoid the rain. Katrin managed to lose her jacket she is going to through away after the trip the day before so when the rain stopped we went to the bar we thought she forgot it at. And guess what it was still there and the staff was waiting for us to come back to get it. So we had a few coronas before going back ... read more
2 Weeks in the Philippines
Published: February 28th 2013Asia » Philippines » Palawan » El Nido » Miniloc
February 28th 2013
Having been to the Philippines last year in March, I knew that I needed to go back. The beaches, weather, people are what make this country as spectacular as it is...I could really see myself living there! I started off in Cebu city...played some poker and toured around a bit but my real intention was to get to the beaches. So, a 4 hour bus ride and hour by....I guess it would be called a ferry....I arrived on Bantayan Island. It was really laid back with a few tourists but not many. I booked a boat tour through the owner of my bungalow to Virgin Island and rented a motorbike one day to cruise around the island to see some other beaches, a cool old church and a bunch more. I even busted out some karaoke ... read more
February 20th 2013
After getting checked into our hotel, dowing a couple San Miguel's, and showering all the dirt and grime off our bodies we grabbed some dinner along the beach and toasted to a great day of riding. We witnessed a beautiful sunset and were really looking forward to island hopping the next day. We had seen too many pictures and videos of some of the beaches that we were going to experience and now it was time for us to see them for ourselves. Breakfast eaten, bags packed, we then waited in the hammock for everyone to get down to the banca boat and head out island hopping. We were bummed at first with the morning clouds hovering over us but were hopeful for the afternoon that the sun would pop out of the couds. After everyone ... read more
Hurry, a hidden paradise for a short time only...
Published: February 2nd 2013Asia » Philippines » Palawan » El Nido
February 2nd 2013
After a five hours ride in a packed minivan with our wedding cloths/bags on our laps, a couple of tourists with the rest locals we finally arrived to our honeymoon destination. The road getting to El Nido is half sealed and the minivan fly’s along stopping occasionally along the road to drop off and pick up more people. When we finally arrived it was a pitch black village where we could hardly see each other and the driver informed us that it is our last stop. The locals just disappeared into the darkness on the small village paths leaving us wondering what to do. Our eyes finally adjusted to the candle light when we saw some tricycles and the friendly drivers offering us a ride to our hotel which was a big relief for us and ... read more
January 21st 2013
Rano ako obvykle smer 2km do mestecka a pekaren. Zas tam bol ten skurveny zobrek,asi sa nad nim volado zlutoval,tlacil do hlavy kolace,ktore zapijal dzusom. Nasral by som mu,kurve. Z pekarne smer nazad ubytko,zbalenie batohu a smer moja plaz. Prekonal som par skla a uz aj bol na plazi. Okolo 10/30 tu bolo dokopy 6 ludi. Neskor dosli aj dalsi ale ziadna tlacenica. Pohoda,klidek,tabacek. Neaky chalani tu brnkali na gitare,dobre sa pri tom zaspavalo. Jeden chalan sa vysplhal na plamu a zhodil kokosi. Na plame boli zarezi tak sa mu tam slo v pohode. Z batohu vytiahlo svajciara a dal sa do otvarania kokosu. Spomenul som si na sobotu,jeden talian tu rozbijal tiez kokos ale taky stary,co predavaju u nas na vianoce,s dvojnasobnym nozom a mal dost problemov s tymLenze tento chalan mal asi prax,po 10.min ... read more
