El Nido - Puerto - Manila

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We take a minivan to El Nido, we were packed like sardines for 4 hours, there was just enough room to get your legs to squeeze in sideways. We arrived in Corong Corong, a couple of km away from El Nido, we are booked for 2 nights. It has its own beach and meant to be quieter than El Nido, and beautiful sunsets. We walk down to the beach through a guest house, the beach is dirty, people living in huts on beach, rubbish in sand, cannot walk along the beach without invading people’s privacy, dead jelly fish washed up –we don’t like it. We catch a tricycle to El Nido, 2 minutes over the hill.

El Nido is a bigger village than Port Barton, but again a few back streets with guest houses and stalls, the bay is filled with wooden boats for diving and island hopping, and the beach lined with guest rooms, rather than bungalows, and restaurants and bars. We turn right and walk along the beach and back street – hmmm – it may need to be a Beam Me Up Scotty moment. Lets go back to the start and turn left, and this, we like; small long alleyway with restaurants, guest houses, and Art Café and Shop and Mezzanine Bar, both modern, very clean and nice decor, great menu, wine! We are happy now.

When we return to Corong Corong we investigate further down the beach and find a cool beach bar where we watch the sunset at the Happiness Bar, eat fresh hummus, and watch a boy making very large bubbles with a bucket and a large slingshot.

After 2 nights we move into El Nido to stay, spending pre dinner drinks at Mezzanine every afternoon whilst watching the island hopping boats coming in, then moving to Art Café for dinner. They made their own fresh bread and we dined on scrumptious garlic bread, guacamole and raw fish. Wine was about NZ$6 and at times small glass, beer NZ$2. Mezzanine our favorite bar had 2 4 1 cocktails at NZ$7 during happy hour. So on a backpackers budget I have learnt how to sip wine very very slowly!

The restaurants on the beach don’t look clean. Went for drink at one where the dog did a big jobby against a table in front of us and then went wandering into the kitchen and it did not get shooed out of restaurant or kitchen – yuk!

We take an island hopping tour, which is very cool, we have to wade out in the water to get to the boat, as you can see from the pic they take up a lot if room, with their catamaran type sides. Carl holds up high our bag so it does not get wet, the water is up to our chests, shame I did not do the same with my camera around my shoulder. Bugger, there is my camera having a swim. So you will notice the quality of the pics from now, all taken on a $40 phone!

We get dropped to snorkel in lagoons in the middle of high cliff rocks (same but not as impressive as Krabi or Ha Long Bay), we eat freshly BBQed fish on an island, and swim on a beautiful beach that had big nets that kept the jelly fish out. It was fantastic our first swim in 8 days! The temperature every day is still early 30s, there is no acclimatizing, you are hot. The island hopping tour A was good the reefs we got dropped at were beautiful but with so many tourists the fish were in hiding. The last drop was the deepest and had the most fish but it was when the clouds opened up and it monsoon rained. The last stop was at a beautiful beach to swim, but the entire shore was covered in boats except the netted off area and there were hundreds of people. If you can afford it go on a private tour. We tried to get on another tour with art café but they don’t run every day. I did think they were over-priced for what they were.

We head back to Puerto Princesa for one night before we fly back to Manila for two nights, spend one afternoon walking around the biggest mall in Asia – 5 km mall! We were talking through a department store past the electronics department, and there was a shop assistant singing karaoke in the shop, we have TVs turned on display, they have karaoke!

One day we spend in our room with Carl having food poisoning.

Palawan Overall

We were disappointed overall with Palawan, everything we read led us to believe we would spend weeks swimming in beautiful beaches, but that was not the case. Maybe 4-5 star holiday on outer island, but not in Palawan itself, even the island hopping beaches were not the best we have seen in Asia, although we only did one island hopping tour as they were $100NZ. WIFI everywhere was so frustrating, slow, would cut out all the time, and power went out quite a bit. Food was sooooo sweet. Other than the raw fish the local food was tasteless and fish was overcooked.

We did like that they did not rip you off, no need to barter, there are set prices by government for tricycles, island hopping tours, etc and large signs with penalties, e.g. smoking while driving, over charging, speeding, etc. Transport was very cheap. You could get cheap local food but we did not like it so eat a lot of western which you pay like NZ$8-12 for main course. Arts had delicious garlic bread, 3 slices for NZ$2. Beer was cheap NZ$2 for little bottle of local beer. Fresh juice was expensive.

We were rapt that we had come in the season where there are no flies or mosquito, we had been warned they were pretty annoying at times. If you are thinking if visiting below is info on our accommodation, transport and prices.

We get to spend 3 nights in 3 different countries. Philippines, Malaysia and Sri Lanka!

Accommodation

El Nido, Corong Corong – Buenos Haven – Citrin – Agoda – NZ$70

When paid more than our budget in Corong corong to get a well-reviewed room but when we arrived they had over-booked, something about blackout and did not get Agoda email, but we heard a generator during many blackouts. So they sent us across the road to their new hotel for one night, which was great, small room, no view, but new so very clean – Citrin. The second night was at Buenos which is not the money, it was 15NZ more than Citrin for a window and larger room. So we walk around El Nido and find Bulul for 3 nights. In middle of town. I would not recommend staying in corong corong and these guest houses were way over priced

El Nido – Bulul – walk in – NZ$60

This is in El Nido town, main road, but far enough away from bars to be quiet. Room good but they have 2 beds in it so very full not much room, but second bed good for luggage. Great to have deck with table and chairs. Only 4 rooms but they have outside reception all day and then security guard at night! Staff excellent. I would stay again. They do need to do some maintenance though, bathroom door hanging on one hinge.

Puerto Princess – Blue Lagoon – Agoda – NZ$50

We stayed one night at Blue Lagoon, it had a swimming pool, wish we had stayed there when we arrived instead of Charing house but had been booked out, so book early. The pool was really clean, great temperature and only negative in room was the small bed, like king single. But Carl did not mind sleeping on the floor!

Manila – Tunes Hotel – Agoda – NZ$65

Great hotel, all the normal amenities. 2km to mall of Asia, restaurants downstairs, great selection of TV channels. Nothing else in upmarket area though except an amusement park we saw in distance.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We arrived late and stayed one night in KL at Tunes which is at the airport. If you are sensible you can go to the mezzanine floor on level 2, go down the end to the small elevator and there is a walk way. OR you cannot be sensible and walk out front and play road runner with the buses and get there that way, which we opted for. Great hotel for one night stop over. The new air Asia airport, KLIA2 is amazing, considering it is a budget airport there were literally hundreds of shops.

Transport

NZ$ = 30p

We paid 700p to get to El Nido from Port Barton in minivan, next time I would ask how many in van cos we saw other vans doing same route with much more comfort, and yet there were no higher price options. Alternative was bus to Roxas then wait for another bus to El Nido, too hot for that many hours of travel. We paid from el indotoPuerto 500p to get cherry air conditioners bus, good ride.

Tricycle from coring corong to el indo is 75p

Air Asia airport terminal 4, international in manila is very basic, they don’t even have an automated baggage belt at departures, they weigh on old scales and put to the side and guys come and manually carry them out!

Getting a taxi is nuts, we were 3^rd in line and took 20 minutes. They only allow yellow taxi to collect, but there are not enough yellow taxi or they go to the terminals that are not the budget airlines. White taxi are not allowed to pick up but as they drop passengers off arriving passengers run and hop into empty taxis. So either book a car to grab a taxi that is dropping off passengers. The queue could take hours. Always confirm with driver taxi is metered or barter price no more than like 250p.

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