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An epic journey has taken place over the last week or so; we've been constantly on the move, over Indonesian land & sea, and through many far-flung, internet-free towns and villages. As a result, we've been unable to conclude the Filipino chapter of our adventures. But now, with a days rest and a quick internet connection, its high time to finish telling the tale - sorry to have kept you all waiting so long!
We left you last boarding a bus back to Manila, after our exhilarating, whirlwind romp around the countries Northern region. Fortunately, there was no repeat of the Sagada to Vigan episode, and our bus arrived in Manila a little before 6am - bang on time! Rather annoying actually, as no restaurants were open yet and we had to settle for a gourmet McDonalds brekkie. Once the impossibly-shaped eggs and sausages had been washed down with an early morning sugar fix, we split into two groups - the girls hitting the modern area of town, home to many a shiny mall, while James headed back to the hostel for a shower and internet session. A simple task, you would assume, but only once we were too far apart to turn back, James realised Hannah had the key to his bag. Cue much begging and pleading with the over-zealous, bag-searching security at every monorail stop, and a rush around the nearest supermarket for some much-needed (but questionably-designed) fresh clothing. James eventually got his shower, donned his fetching 'City Boy' vest, and went about his day.
The three of us were reunited at one of Manila's confusing array of airports and, once the girls had finished their giggling and mocking (oh, the hilarity!), we boarded our flight to Puerto Princesa, capital of Palawan. Palawan is advertised as the Philippines 'last frontier', untouched by mass tourism and offering a whole host of beautiful beaches and fantastic diving/snorkeling opportunities. The daily flights from Manila, and the fact that everyone seems to be heading here at some point, suggests its not such a secret hideaway but, compared to similar locations in many other Asian countries, its still relatively unvisited. We'd booked ahead at a friendly, traveler guesthouse on the outskirts of town (first dorm bunk of the trip!) and reached here by nightfall.
With less than a week before Lou flying home, time was of the essence, so we were up early the next day for a tour to the nearby Subterranean river. This is Palawan's premier tourist attraction (closely followed by El Nido) and always followed by the slogan - 'The World's Longest Navigable Underground River'. From end to end the water runs for about 8km, 5km of which is navigable by boat. However, due to time and staff constraints, each boatload of tourists only travels about 1.5km down the river before turning back. A little disappointing, but it was still well worth the journey. The subtle splish-splash of the boatman's oars, and the single flashlight eerily bouncing of glistening rocks created an otherworldly atmosphere, and the immense 'Cathedral Cave' with its 200ft high ceiling was worth the trip alone. The boatman's superb commentary, filled with golden nuggets of info like - 'That's the bat cave.... we're not allowed in there, its full of bats. If I was batman I could go in there. But, I'm not batman, I'm Boatman. It just sounds like Batman....' - added a welcome dose of unintentional comedy to the whole experience. Back in PP that evening, we found a fantastic buffet-style restaurant, with a very chatty and helpful owner. The food was delicious and great value, and we were even permitted to drink our own wine - this wasn't our last visit here!
The early mornings and high tempo traveling, that had defined our Filipino experience so far, carried on into the next day; we were on the go by 6am, heading up to El Nido in the far North of the island. Even on this paradisaical island, there were still reminders of the notoriously-bad Filipino travel attitude, with our driver declaring we couldn't actually leave until he'd changed the minibus' tires - yes, all four of them! El Nido is THE place to go in Palawan; framed by the stunning Bacuit Archipeligo just offshore, this vast collection of limestone karsts boasts hidden beaches, secret lagoons, untouched coral, and many other treasures. The daily routine here is to join a tour on one of the little 'bangka' boats for a day of island-hopping and snorkeling. We located a beautifully sedate guesthouse on the aptly-named Sunset Beach (just outside of town) and then signed up for one of these tours leaving the following morning. The day started well, with visits to of couple of beautiful lagoons, featuring gin-clear waters and stunning karst scenery. This was followed by a freshly-prepared lunch on the beach - grilled fish, rice, seasoned salad and fruit - all included in the $10pp tour price. Post lunch, things only got better; we stopped for a good hour at a well-known snorkeling hotspot, where we were treated to immaculate coral and a vast array of beautiful tropical fish - slightly better than what Newquay has to offer. Another secret lagoon, only accessible by scrambling through a hole in the rock wall, was the penultimate location for the days tour, and there was just time for a beer on a secluded beach, before returning to town. A truly unforgettable day, proving that El Nido more than deserves its reputation as a paradise. Back at the guesthouse we had a rather challenging round of cold water showers with no electricity - the water also running out didn't help matters! Eventually, kind of clean and almost presentable, we ventured back into town for another Palawan specialty - tasty, fresh seafood. Again, our expectations were surpassed, and we're currently looking into the price of property here.
The next day, we decided to slow the pace and take time out to really appreciate this place. So, we enjoyed a lazy morning, a relaxed breakfast, and a suitably lengthy time lounging on the beach and splashing around in the sea. Lou also found a possible new career direction with a non-too-shabby attempt at trimming Hannah's mane. Our recuperation was successfully completed with an even better seafood spread than the previous evenings, and a game of scrabble over coffee at a new-age bar (rock 'n' roll!).
We set out for more island-hopping the next day; this time aboard a privately-chartered vessel. The cost was a little more, but still great value as we now had more control over where to go and for how long, and also more opportunity to chat with our two friendly boatmen. As we set out, it seemed impossible to top the previous tour, but this trip turned out to be even better! The day began in a similar fashion to before, with another hidden lagoon and great snorkeling. But, then we visited perhaps our favourite destination in the whole archipelago - the unassumingly named 'Secret Beach'. We stopped at one of the many limestone karsts, looking no more spectacular than any of the others. However, guided by our boatman, we swam down, under, and through a hole in the wall to resurface in an astonishingly beautiful coral garden, complete with a tiny shoreline and sandy beach - how anyone first discovered this place is a mystery to us. We spent sufficient time snorkeling around the coral, teeming with aquatic life, before retiring to another tiny, empty beach for lunch. The spread was identical to the previous occasion, just as fresh and delicious, but less shipmates meant more food for us! Fully sated, we gave our tummy's suitable digesting time by sunbathing on deserted 'Long Beach', and then headed across the water to visit Mantiloc Shrine. A Christian monument unlike any other; with a beautiful location, in the middle of a remote group of islets, its enough to make religion seem like not such a bad idea after all..... There was just time for a little shell hunting on the aptly-named Helicopter Island, before heading back to El Nido again - simply superb!
The girls enjoyed a couple of extra post-dinner drinks to mark Lou's final night with us, while James (who'd been deaf in one ear since the first snorkeling trip) went for some moderately-successful 'Ear-Candling' therapy. The next morning was a depressing one, as we reluctantly left this utopia, and made our way to PP for Lou's evening flight. Back in the capital, there was just time for another visit to our favourite restaurant, and some last minute souvenir shopping, before Hannah bid Lou a tearful farewell (James stayed strong for them both).
So, back to the gruesome twosome, and we still had a couple of days in Palawan before moving on to Malaysia. It had been almost 24 hours since our feet had been caressed by sand and sea (shocking, we know!), so, to remedy this appalling situation, we decided to spend the night on one of the nearby islands that make up 'Honda Bay'. We left most of our gear at the hotel in PP and, with a suitably-lightened load, set off for some more island action. First stop of the day was Panden Island - a very nice beach, but no snorkeling opportunity and a little too busy for us (we fear El Nido may have cursed us with impossibly-high standards). By 1pm we were back on the boat and heading to Snake Island. Once docked, we found a very nice old lady who owned a ramshackle tent that she was willing to loan us for a couple of pounds. With accommodation sorted for the night, Snake Island became our home for the next 20-odd hours. All the other tourists had set sail back to the mainland by 3pm, so we had the place to ourselves (minus the old ladies family). More snorkeling and swimming filled the rest of the afternoon, followed by a much-needed beach run and a Filipino-version pot noodle tea. The biggest treat of this excursion came late in the day, when we were treated to a vibrantly colourful sunset and far-off lightning storm (enjoyable from our safe, dry distance). Foolishly assuming that the day's fun was over, we retired to the tent for the night..... only to be awaken in the early morning by something (or things) crawling under and around the tent. Hannah was obviously scared, but James put his 'game face' on and, with his torch beaming, he (slowly,timidly) burst out of the tent. Surrounding our tent, as far as we could see, were hundreds of crabs (some absolutely huge) going about their business under the cover of tourist-free darkness. Momentarily stunned by the light, it was an amazing spectacle, before they all scuttled off as quickly as they had appeared - not something you see every day!
The first boatload of tourists arriving gave us a rude awakening the next morning (very keen beans - it was 7am!) and the place was absolutely heaving by 12pm. So, we made our exit earlier than planned, and, in doing so, had time for a quick stop on Starfish Island (with plenty of the island's namesake on display) before docking back on the mainland. Returning to PP in the late afternoon, we had a difficult time deciding how to spend our last night in the Philippines - a thoroughly depressing prospect. Still, we soldiered on, and decided that a fancy local restaurant (highly recommended by the guidebook) would make a suitable send off. The recommendation was well-deserved, and we devoured a shared set-menu of regional specialties, before heading next door to a local handicraft store. To commemorate our fantastic time in the Philippines, James bought a shark-tooth necklace (yes, he's that cool now!), and Han purchased a giant, wooden mask (presumably, not to wear). Suitably souvenired, we flew back to Manila on the morning of the 15th, got to know the departure lounge very well during our 5 hour transfer time, then continued on to Kota Kinabulu, Malaysia.
But, that's a new country, the next stage of our journey, and a separate entry for the blog. We'll write again soon... xxx
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Auntie Anne
non-member comment
Sounds absolutely awe inspireing