Philippines - Puerto Princesa

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Suzanne here...

I could easily have spent one more night in El Nido. But most of the hotels were booked up and we couldn't face slogging around looking for a room. Alhough there isn't that much to do in Puerto Princesa, the hotels are better value. So we decided to go back and treat ourselves to a nicer hotel there.

The van from El Nido dropped us off directly at our hotel. This always makes a huge difference, saving loads of time and hassle, so we were grateful. We pulled up into a wide driveway, next to a little fountain. Behind us we could hear mutterings of "well this definitely isn't ours" and "ooh, this is really nice". This was gratifiying as it's usually us who says this about other people's hotels, while we're the ones dropped off at some shonky budget option!

Our choice was Hotel Fleuris. Still under £50 a night, but admittedly a bit over a backpacking budget. I didn't care. As soon as we arrived I loved it. Huge open spaces, high ceilings, sweeping staircase, all granite and tile and smelling of polish. Uniformed reception and door staff. A bar and coffee shop. Basically, a real hotel. The family run places are great, but it does mean 'reception' tends to double up as their living room and you have to step around granny shelling peanuts or pajamed children watching TV everytime you pass through. This isn't a big deal, but I have to admit it was nice staying somewhere a bit more western for a change.

Our room was equally amazing. We'd treated ourselves to a suite. Actually it wasn't techically a suite as there was no separate bedroom. But the room was huge with a massive bed, sofa, desk, full-sized fridge and a dining table and chairs. The bathroom had a bath and a separate shower. Not a shower head next to the toilet! This probably made me happiest of all.

That night we arranged to meet some friends, Mel and Howard. Well, as I'd met them once about four years ago, and David had never met them, it would be more accurate to say they were friends of friends. But, we were all in Puerto Princesa at the same time which seemed a good enough reason to get together. We were chatting away like we'd known each other for years before ordering the first drink. Partly this was down to the shared friendships, partly due to shared interests (i.e. rock and travel), and partly because we'd been reading each others blogs so had got to know each other that way. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed their company. The meal at Kinabuch's while nothing exceptional was perfectly nice. We struggled to find a bar afterwards so David and I suggested a plastic table outside a convenience store. Classy! Especially as we think we may have been sitting next to a sign asking people (in Filipino) not to drink beer there. We had a couple, then Howard found an actual bar where we finished off the night. We all got on so well that we planned to meet up again the next day.

Breakfast the following morning was simple, but with some choice at least, and served in a proper, posh(ish) resturant. The day was our opportunity to see all the sites of Puerto Princesa. It didn't take long. The park at Plaza Cuartel was interesting, if a little harrowing, as we learnt about a Japanese massacre of American soldiers in WWII. We also wandered around the cathedral, down to the port, and just generally looked around town. You can easily see the sights in half a day, unless you fancy the couple of out of town sights (we didn't personally).

While we were out we picked up some bread and peanut butter for lunch. I love peanut butter so was rather excited. It was a good enough excuse to go back to our lovely, amazing hotel where all the staff were so kind and smiley and remembered our room number every time. Well, the peanut butter tasted like crap. Vaguely peanutty sugar paste. Yuk. The bread wasn't great either. Oh well, win some lose some. Our room had not been cleaned so when they came to do that we decided we'd sit in the piano bar which was closed so it was just us with plenty of space and no irritations. We got a bit of research and a bit of blogging and reading done there.

We met Mel and Howard at Tom Tom's. A German owned place in one of the back streets near their hotel. Although it was our suggestion as David had spotted they did German beer! Once again it was a great evening with ok food, nice beer and great company. We even got a bit of rock, including Guns 'n' Roses and KISS. They had a morning bus to catch and I was still feeling poorly since catching David's cold in El Nido, so it wasn't a late one. We were very sad to say goodbye though.

Our final day on Palawan was supposed to be at the Underground River. But we'd heard from more than one source that it is a whole day of travelling and waiting for a 45 minute experience. In the end we just couldn't be bothered. This may have been a lucky decision as after a bad nights sleep I felt worse than ever. The weather had taken a turn and it wasn't pool weather either. So we walked to the nearby Robinson's Mall. Not the best mall, but to my relief I did get some ibuprofen. I was still feeling crappy so we got a trike back. Only 50 pesos which was good.

With Mel and Howard gone, and me feeling ill, I would have been happy just to stay in our beloved hotel room. Still, we'd told the owner of the Palaweño Brewery that we would return. So we went there, just for a couple. She recognised us, so we were glad we'd made the effort. I stuck to my favourite, Honey Koelsch, and David had the IPA and Hunter Brown Ale, which he enjoyed. We has a good chat with the owner, and ended up trying to explain the band Lordi (who we are seeing in LA next month) to her!

As I was flagging and missing our lovely room (I know, but it was so nice) we picked up a couple of takeaway pizza's from Greenwich, near our hotel. Sadly they turned out to be a bit disapointing. A bit sweet with barely any tomato sauce. Perfectly edible though, and we had wine and music so it wasn't all bad. We really did not find great pizza in The Philippines. Yellow Cab was about the best. But, it's not exactly their traditional cuisine so I can't complain too much. I had to go to bed before David as I felt terrible. Luckily the size of the room meant this was not a problem.

We enjoyed Palawan a lot. Not so much poverty as we'd seen elsewhere in The Philippines, and blessed with a stunning landscape. We were sorry to leave. Especially as Cebu Pacific has totalled ballsed up our flights and changed a three hour wait in Manila to nine hours. Grrr. We had a final breakfast, packed up, and after my initial point-blank refusal to leave, got a free lift to the airport. I love you Hotel Fleuris.

So that's our Philippines trip over. It's been great actually. A month is a long time, but the thousands of islands, all with different characters, meant we did not get bored. Really glad we made it part of our trip.

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Photos

Puerto Princesa - When Bloggers collide
Out with the Teesside Travellers, Mel and Howard, for a wonderful night out

Puerto Princesa - Cathedral
Suspiciously like Buddy Christ from the film Dogma