Manilla's a bad introduction to the Philippines. It's severely under-developed for tourism, most people spend a day or two there before hopping on another plane or boat. I caught a flight for Puerto Princessa, on the beautiful island of Palawan - the last frontier of the Philippines. At first I wasn't exactly sure where to go from Manilla - there's seven-thousand one-hundred and something islands to choose from, with maybe 100,000 beaches - if combined they would form the longest beach in the world! El Nido seemed to be the quiet haven I needed after being in big cities. From Puerto (as the locals call it) I get a minibus (600 Pesos) up to the northern tip of Palawan. It takes six hours and the roads are barely roads in sections! I read that El Nido can be inaccessible in the monsoon rains.
The town is a tightly-packed and spilling onto the beach. It's surrounded by the same karst limestone formations I saw in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam - they sit on the same fault line. This is where Alex Garland gained inspiration for "The beach" - but told everyone it was Thailand so they wouldn't flock here. My instant thought is with Ton Sai (Thailand), but there's no rock climbing here - and the beach (and food) is better in Thailand IMO (grilled chicken and papaya salad ANYONE!?) The local vibe is extremely laid back - if you're doing nothing you're doing too much! After diving and snorkelling I did "nothing" as much as I could handle, but then had to do something as I'd booked two weeks here - as Cebu pacific airlines decided I needed an onward (or return) ticket or I wasn't getting on the plane (I had to quick-book something in the airport - how much time do you give yourself in this situation, knowing nothing about where you're going!? I'd also like to add that this isn't a government requirement, and I've never done it anywhere else in Asia yet (I hate planning ahead - who knows what you might want to do?? So it's put me on edge a little - I've planned the next three flights!
I now have a daily routine as follows: After breakfast I hire a kayak for three hours and find some deserted beaches (it's easy). Back for lunch time in my favourite cafe "The Sanctuary". They serve a delicious red bean salad and the best coffee in El Nido (none of this 3 in one instant shit - c'mon, what is this stuff???). After lunch I hire a mountain bike for a two hour sweat-fest punctuated by diving into the sea at various beaches. I'd also like to run on the beaches but, sadly, as with most Asian beaches, there's some litter with occasional broken glass and tin-can tops. To counter-act this daily goodness the evening is spend stuffing myself with an incredible local dish called pork adobo, which is fatty pork stewed in vinegar and garlic, and served with rice - I'll be cooking this when I get home, guaranteed! Beer is stupidly cheap at 40 pence a bottle (San Miguel) so it's rude not to have one... or two.
The town is a tightly-packed and spilling onto the beach. It's surrounded by the same karst limestone formations I saw in Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam - they sit on the same fault line. This is where Alex Garland gained inspiration for "The beach" - but told everyone it was Thailand so they wouldn't flock here. My instant thought is with Ton Sai (Thailand), but there's no rock climbing here - and the beach (and food) is better in Thailand IMO (grilled chicken and papaya salad ANYONE!?) The local vibe is extremely laid back - if you're doing nothing you're doing too much! After diving and snorkelling I did "nothing" as much as I could handle, but then had to do something as I'd booked two weeks here - as Cebu pacific airlines decided I needed an onward (or return) ticket or I wasn't getting on the plane (I had to quick-book something in the airport - how much time do you give yourself in this situation, knowing nothing about where you're going!? I'd also like to add that this isn't a government requirement, and I've never done it anywhere else in Asia yet (I hate planning ahead - who knows what you might want to do?? So it's put me on edge a little - I've planned the next three flights!
I now have a daily routine as follows: After breakfast I hire a kayak for three hours and find some deserted beaches (it's easy). Back for lunch time in my favourite cafe "The Sanctuary". They serve a delicious red bean salad and the best coffee in El Nido (none of this 3 in one instant shit - c'mon, what is this stuff???). After lunch I hire a mountain bike for a two hour sweat-fest punctuated by diving into the sea at various beaches. I'd also like to run on the beaches but, sadly, as with most Asian beaches, there's some litter with occasional broken glass and tin-can tops. To counter-act this daily goodness the evening is spend stuffing myself with an incredible local dish called pork adobo, which is fatty pork stewed in vinegar and garlic, and served with rice - I'll be cooking this when I get home, guaranteed! Beer is stupidly cheap at 40 pence a bottle (San Miguel) so it's rude not to have one... or two.
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| My beach :) |
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