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Well I guess this is it for me in the Philippines and though my time here was very much enjoyed I am happy to be moving on. I guess I’m a little tired (going on 2 months), it is really a lot of work to travel here, and doing it solo doesn’t make it any easier. It’s not that you can’t get to where you want it’s just the route that must be taken can be long and exhausting. I’m stoked that I will be able to jump on a bus for a couple hours and arrive in a new destination, easy as that.
The last place I had really wanted to see before I left was Palawan, it is a long narrow island in the west of the Philippines, and said to be the most unscathed place in the Philippines. When my plane arrived to my surprise Flora was at the terminal to pick me up, she’s so lovely really, and we went around and I stayed with her in her place. We hung out for a couple days until she headed off to Port Barton with her family that had came to visit. One little problem
was that it had been hit by the typhoon just before I arrived and then received a lot of rain while I was there. I managed to visit the underground river in Sabang but couldn’t reach the other places because of flooded out roads and the fact that there were no jeepneys going for that reason. A little disappointing but its fine I also visited a Butterfly Farm and Crocodile Farm in Puerto Princesa (the capital city) and just hung out really with some friends Ramon, George and Ryan. The one days Ramon brought me out to a beach on a little scooter and we tried to go fishing in a really little canoe type boat, it seemed like a good idea until we tipped the canoe before we were 3 feet deep in the water. Good times, then on the way back we were attacked but a crazy mutt biting at our ankles while we drove past, so much for getting over my new found fear of dogs, I’m almost growing a hate for them.
Sabang is on the west coast of the island about 3 hours by jeepney from the capital, the main attraction here is
Sagada
Cave Entrance, it was tight the underground river, it is said to be the longest in the world and empties into the South China Sea. We had a quite entertaining ride there, because of the rain the roads were slick, and when we got stuck half way up a hill it was a group effort with people pushing and others pulling with a rope. It was a good laugh and I’m glad we got it up the hill cause who knows what they would have had in mind for us, maybe all sleep there till it dried up There are nice places to stay in Sabang but there is nothing to do in the town at all, good for a rest and a lot of reading. To get to the river you can hike through the jungle, about 2 hours, or get a boat from town. I chose the hike thinking that maybe I’d get the boat back, but it turned out there were not boats because the typhoon had caused huge waves and it was too dangerous. Sooo.. I hiked back, but it was an enjoyable hike with thieving monkeys waiting in trees for unknowing tourists stopping for a snack. It was a good
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The bigest lizards in the Philippines (forget the name) they just hang around, but I guess they will bite experience and I had a quite funny guide cracking jokes the whole time. Also there was a group of guys there doing some filming and what not for tourism, so once again I had my face in a camera helping the tourism industry, it was quite fun. We did a little interview on the boat outside the cave and then a cheesy saying at the end, I forget what it was, something like “come visit the amazing underground river in Sabang, Palawan. He he, makes me laugh, the guys were really cool and funny so it was easy to be comfortable. Hum, yaw so two nights in Sabang was more than enough and I headed back to Puerto after I found out it was not possible to get to Port Barton, where Flora lives, and when I arrived back I decided I better get out of Palawan before I went crazy of boredom. Don’t get me wrong this place is amazing I’m sure of it; I was just in a bad time.
There is only on ferry a week to Busuanga, my next destination, and also only one from there to Manila also on Sunday. Soo.. I had
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the tourism film crew to stay a whole week in Coron on Busuanga Island; witch was about 4 days to long. There I went diving; they are famous for there wreck dives where in WWII the Japanese ships were sunk by the US Nave Hellcat dive bombers on September 24th, 1944. Very cool, but seeing as I am only open water I’m not really supposed to go inside the wrecks, but with a little charm I managed to convince my guide to bring me in. I had to promise not to speak a word, whoops, sorry it’s kind of exciting. SO I got to see where the engine had been, go through hallways, see the gears and though it looks nothing like it had because of all the growth taking it over you could get the picture. I also did a dive in Barracuda Lake, which has no barracudas (????), but what was cool was the temperature change in the water. The top is normal then about 10 meters down it gets really hot, uncomfortably, and then cold again. There is no scientific explanation of why it is like this, but I’m not sure if it’s really even been seriously looked into. So I
was satisfied with my dives and had planned on doing some other things around the island but besides renting a dirt bike and crusin, checking out a waterfall and some hot springs, I found myself quite unmotivated to go anywhere(and the fact that it’s pretty expensive when you’re solo). I did meet some blokes from England and a girl from France so I had company most of the time there and it was quite nice. The place I stayed, Sea Dive, was fantastic; it had a great restraint, bar with free pool, and new rooms for all budgets. Anyone going I strongly recommend staying here the staff is really friendly and happy, you can tell they’re treated well, and the owners and dive staff are great. Sunday came slowly but surely and the overnight ferry was good, my friend Ramon was on and I slept almost the whole night. I’m in Manila again and stoked about my flight on the 1st to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Last night I had the most amazing time. There was an African band at this artsy lounge/night club not far from my hostel. It was incredible!! The sounds of the bongo drums and
other native instruments they were using and the beats, so mesmerizing, I felt like I was on drugs. I danced and danced the night away😊 But.. of course I had forgotten my camera
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ramon
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arozcaldo
hi megan!!!:) i really like your pictures, especially the one in coron! what happend to your phone? i've been texting you the whole day... too bad we were not able to watch Da Vinci code.. hehe. Enjoy your stay in Malaysia...:) take care always... Am gonna miss you.. ---->Ramon