Blogs from Palawan, Philippines, Asia - page 39

Day By Day Christian Ministries: Lakbay Palawan April 24-28, 2007. I'm back travelling with churchmates. I'm thankful that our church has a heritage ministry where it educates us about our culture, tradition and history. Lakbay (Travel) tours are organized throughout the year within our country (Philippines), as the saying goes, "Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan." (Don't be a foreigner in your own land). I like to travel but there are times when I don't have someone to go with me or my friends are not travelling. The Lakbay tours of our church offers us an organized tour on budget. We meet churchmates (some we know, others we just meet during the trip), it's a venue to meet new friends as we travel together for several days. The tour is open to church members, their ... read more

Of all the places I’ve seen, Palawan won my heart. The pristine beaches, impressive landscapes and diverse marine life never cease to amaze me. I was astonished how clean and unspoiled are the surroundings. The atmosphere is very laid back and somewhat serene. It is the ultimate eco-tourist’s paradise. Palawan is home to a number of indigenous groups with a strong sense of community. The locals are quite happy living a simple life. They are good-natured, very friendly, hospitable and dedicated in protecting and conserving the environment. If only mainstream filipinos follow the lead of the people of Palawan when it comes to conserving and protecting mother-nature, then eco-tourism has a great potental to flourish in the Philippines. Finding Nemo We landed in Puerto Princesa (capital city of Palawan) after an hour flight from Manila. We ... read more

After quiet Port Barton, El Nido, on first impression was busy, dirty and noisy. Our accomodation was rank and everything else was full adding to our (slight) despair. However, we finally struck gold and found a wee place outside the town, right on the beach and checked in there. It was newly opened and still quite basic (no sink, no toilet seat/flush) as the owner plans to upgrade as he makes money. We had a great view of the sunset which you can't get in El Nido due to the surrounding islands. All was well again. The town itself turned out to be quite nice. It is surrounded by high cliffs and the bay is full of limestone rock islands jutting out from the sea. We found a restaurant that made the best pizza and had ... read more

My last day in the Philippines and I am very sad to be leaving this wonderful place. The only thing that is keeping me going is the prospect of meeting Ruth in Singapore for the rest of our travels. I have had another great few weeks. My last week in tacloban was spent teaching the local youth club swimming. Although most of you will know my long swimming and lifeguarding past, teaching is very difficult. It requires patience! I think that is one of the things I have learned the most here. It was really fun teaching them and actually very rewarding too. Some of the better ones can even swim butterfly now. I also had the celebration of Nw year. This started fairly calmly with some drinking, dancing with my awesome partner Ton ton (follow ... read more

Tuesday, January 9th The exciting overland transportation fun continued this morning when I joined three Italians from Mary’s in organizing a minivan to take us further Northward on the Island of Palawan. Leaving Sabang early in the morning, we sped down the RFH (Road from hell) until we reached a rain slicked muddy incline and the van came to a spinning, wheezing stop. Instinctively, we all got out and started pushing from behind while the driver spun the wheels and plenty of mud onto us trying to break the van free and get up the hill. After about fifteen minutes of wiggling the van up and down, left and right, one final triumphant push got us back on the road again. After another hour of speeding along the road at maniac speeds, our minivan started sending ... read more