Blogs from Palawan, Philippines, Asia - page 5

*waiting to hear back from support on fixing the picture uploader. Sorry.* That small van might have been crammed but I am thankful we did it. After 2 stops in Puerto Princesa it was down to Calvin and I and the 2 Swedish ladies. The driver was having a hell of a time trying to find our hostel, Banwa Art House. After stopping 3 different times someone finally informed him that it burned down. Another Lonely Planet fail. We ended up staying at Your Space with the Swedish girls for 250 pesos each, a night. We were in the dorms the first night, but were asked to move to a private room so "you and your husband can have private time." I asked her if it would still be 500 pesos, she said "no, 700 pesos." ... read more

So happy to be off that ship. We stayed in a large air con room filled at least 30 bunk beds. The sea was calm. The bathrooms were horrendous. Squatters. Have you ever tried to squat and per while flying across the ocean? It's tricky. At the port we hailed a tricycle to Krystals Lodge. 50 pesos for the ride. The lodge was a cute bamboo hostel built on bamboo stilts above the water. It was open, allowing us to feel the cool ocean breeze as we hung out in our swaying hammocks. 80 pesos a night for a cute but small private room with a mosquito net hanging over the bed. In the dining area of the lodge was a bookshelf filled with all kinds of books. I was excited to pick one out, lay ... read more

Friday 8th April 2016 We were collected from our hotel at 11am and climbed aboard the Daytripper mini bus. This was very comfortable and even provided us with some water and dried banana. The journey ahead of us would take between 5-8 hours and we would be driving north along the coastal road to El Nido. The journey was uneventful but did offer some amazing views of the sea and inner jungle. We stopped a couple of time for food and toilet breaks, but most of the time we slept. After only 5 hours of driving we arrived in El Nido and was dropped off at our hostel, ‘OMP’ (Our Melting Pot). We were welcomed by the guy on reception who seemed very happy that we had stayed at their sister hostel in Manila. He showed ... read more

I had a really laid back day in Manila relaxing by the pool and sleeping in an incredibly comfortable bed. I had a very early morning flight to Puerto Princessa in Palawan then caught a bus straight to El Nido as soon as I got off the plane. It was a nice ride across a beautiful island. I arrived in El Nido mid afternoon and settled in. There were a few Finnish guys staying at the same place that I checked in to so we hung out at our beachfront cottages having some beers and watching the sun set. We met a Croatian couple who joined us for a really nice seafood dinner and then had more beers at the beach bar. We also found a local gambling establishment with some really fun games. I came ... read more

Palawan Our next venture was to swim with whale sharks off the coast of Puerto Princessa, Palawan. Out to sea the fisherman act as watchman to spot schools of fish feeding on plankton at the water's surface. This, along with seagulls circling overhead are the areas where you are most likely to find wild whale sharks, also feeding on the cryll and plankton. We left the Puerto Princessa port in search of these spots with the hope of catching a sighting of a wild whale shark. After a few failed attempts, the crew instructed us to quickly jump into the water with our snorkels. As I nervously looked down, approximately two metres below my feet I could see the distinctive spotted pattern of a 9ft whale shark gracefully gliding through the water. Unfortunately, this rare and ... read more