Blogs from El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, Asia - page 10

(Day 546 on the road)There are places in the world that are just perfect for people taking pictures of them. And then there are places like the Bacuit Archipelago in the Philippines where I am at the moment, that no matter how many pictures you take of them, their true beauty can never be captured in a photograph. This place here is so amazing I sometimes had to pinch myself to believe it is real. I must say that I don't get this feeling too often these days, this feeling of being completely awestruck by a landscape or a sight, so when it happens I cherish it all the more. I think the more beautiful things I see on my travels the more difficult it becomes to excite me. Don't get me wrong, I am far ... read more

Our last night's sleep in Manila was interrupted by the football - Phil set an alarm to wake up for the Champion's League final at 2am! (Luckily we had a TV in our room so Elly was able to dose through it!) Man Utd didn't play well and lost - Phil was not a happy chappy and the day did not improve much from there... Almost straight after the match had finished at 5am we checked out and got a taxi to the airport. We needed to get cash out, as we knew that cashpoints would be almost non-existent on Palawan Island, but all of the ATMs were Out Of Order or refused to give us cash! We headed into the terminal (you have to show a guard your ticket to enter) and were told that ... read more

Der Jeepney von Port Barton nach Roxas knöpft Touristen für die gut 20 km ganze 150 Pesos ab, was trotz der furchtbaren Straße eine absolute Frechheit ist. Ich bezahlte jedoch wie schon auf dem Hinweg lediglich 100 Pesos, einen Preis den ich für angemessen hielt und kam auch ohne großes Theater davon. Die Busfahrt hinauf nach El Nido ist unter Travellern berühmt-berüchtigt, und das aus gutem Grund. Da wir erst in Roxas zustiegen war in in dem klapprigen, alten Bus kein Platz mehr für die Leute aus Port Barton, so dass wir die fünf Stunden Fahrt auf staubiger Piste in der prallen Sonne auf dem Dach verbringen mussten. Wir hatten dabei noch richtig Glück, da der Bus Matratzen transportierte auf denen wir liegen konnten. Die Fahrt ist landschaftlich interessant da die Landschaft in dieser Gegend teilweise ... read more

Dear All, This could well be one of my last blog entries as I leave the Philippines on Sunday 15th and head back to Singapore. It's yet to be worked through but I’m hoping to visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, or at least one for a couple of weeks before coming home! Since the last entry around the time of my birthday I feel I have really got out and experienced what the Philippines has to offer. After a few days in the office with Aaron and watching Benjamin Button (great film, Aaron cried, I nearly did.....but didn't!), it was time for us to have a few days off so Aaron, his mum & partner friend and I went to Boracay early on Friday for fun, sun and relaxation. Boracay I quote "is the trophy beach ... read more

I met up with Cha in Manila last Wednesday evening and we had a late night chilling and catching up about our travels. It's really nice to see a familiar face and to share my stories with someone in person. By 11am on Thursday morning we had checked into our flight at the new cenntenial airport in Manila to catch our flight to Puerto Princesa in Palawan. Apart from being slightly delayed the short flight went off without a hitch and we were like giddy school girls from the excitement of being in a new place. We checked into a hotel near the bay in Puerto and spent the evening exploring the town. We heard the seafood here is great so we were both up for getting our hands on that for dinner and we agreed ... read more