November 10th - Day 2

Manila - Puerto Princesa

At first we thought we'd be sleeping till quite late... but at 7 in the morning it's no longer possible to grab any sleep. The heat is unbearable and makes you want to run away from your room as soon as possible! Even though we thought about heading straight to the airport we decided to grab our bags, pay for the hostel and try to get a bus into town. Walking on Roxas boulevard, one of the busiest streets in the city is challenging: not only the weight on our back but the heavy traffic and heat make a 5 minute walk feel like a whole hour... we see some policemen and ask them how to get a bus. They promptly reply: "Don't worry, we'll fix you one". The policemen start making some conversation about us, the typical where we're from, etc. and then interrupt us with a: "Wait a second, I need to apprehend this bus". All of this is very natural, stopping buses to check for the papers while talking to tourists seems like part of their every day routine. Manilla is packed with policemen!

After a 5 minute wait, we get on a bus that the police stopped and told us to hop on. 50 Pesos to get into town. The buses are not what you expect from a public service, they resemble the regular tour buses with A/C, TV, etc., all very comfy... BUT totally full! We're the only tourists on the bus and me and my giant backpack are a clear disturbance but that does not seem to bother filipinos. One interesting thing is how quiet the bus is: even though totally full (around 50 people) there's hardly anyone talking, perhaps thinking about the hard day ahead or simply because they keep to themselves. I will find that out later...

One hour later, we reach the center, near the City Hall. We wanted to see the old part - Intramuros - (spanish for between walls) where a maze of narrow streets, small commerce and some tourism take place. Even though the Philippines are invaded by tourists all year round, hardly any of them stay in Manilla. And you don't see many tourists around... Manila is a gigantic city. A metro population of over 16 million people spread over 2.500 make Manila the 11th largest Metro area in the world, and one of the densest. You can feel it everywhere you go, everything is crowded. I'm amazed and how people manage their way around public transportation. There are no numbers on the buses and the stops are 'on demand'. You just wave and a bus will stop, hop on, hop off.

We took a little tour around Intramuros where some schools and Universities are located. Despite being a landmark of the city, it's not particularly well taken care of, not to say it's probably the dirtiest part of the city I have been so far. It's all you expect from a large city like Mumbai or Jakarta: you will see kids playing in puddle of muds, food being cooked in the weirdest conditions and some 'guides' stalking you to show you around walls 'like a local'. Unimpressed by this part of the city, we make our way to the bay area, walking through Rizal park. Trying to cross roads here is definitely a challenge: unless there's an underground or aerial passage, you will have to run and dodge cars, trucks, bikes, you name it.

Despite being in the heart of the city, being in the Rizal park allows you to breathe some fresh air. The park is home of many points of interest of the city, such as the planetarium, the National Museum and Library or the Kilometre Zero marker which serves as the point from which road distances from Manila are measured.

After a short walk we head to the bay and make a quick stop for lunch in a small food stalls. 'Yes, sir', 'Of course ma'am' are expressions you quickly get used to when in the Philippines. People are extremely polite and happy to just talk with foreigners. You will see pots of food standing on a table and you simply pick what you want to eat. We took some sweet and sour pork together with some vegetables as well as a bottle of water, all for 100P - that's less than 2 Euros for both.

Time is getting late and we want to start heading to the airport: we know that it will take a while... We make time for one last stop in Malate. Continuously transforming itself as the center of recreation and entertainment for Manila with more restaurants, boutiques, entertainment halls, bars, discos and novelty stores opening for business, this is one of the busiest areas in the city. But it's getting late and we were just told there is no bus to take us back to the airport so we decided to simply grab a taxi and wait at the airport. One interesting thing about flying out of Manila is that you will have your bag checked for bombs(?!?) even before you are allowed to enter the airport... don't arrive late to the airport if you wanna be on time!:)

Finally we have reached Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan - one of the most beautiful islands of the Philippines and home to one of the 28 candidates for the new 7 natural wonders of the world, a gigantic Underground River located near the small town of Sabang where we will head to tomorrow morning.

As soon we walked out of the airport, a crew of reporters interviews us and asks whether we have come there to see the tunnel. Actually, that's not the main reason... we're actually here for a wedding :) but of course, the river was anyway part of our plans.

We then find a driver to take us to the hostel in his tricycle - this is the most common way of transportation around here and consists of a simple bike equipped with a side card where 2 or 3 people can fit. When in Puerto Princesa, you immediately feel that this a place where you wanna be for a vacation: the main street consists of restaurants and guesthouses, bars, all with a simple but cute decor. There is a lot going on around here, but we booked a hostel a bit far from the busy roads - we were there just to charge our batteries and get ready for the ride to Sabang the day after.

The hostel was a nice surprise: run by a family, the room is tiny but extremely clean, a pleasant stay after the night in Manila. We take a short nap, wake up to cook some noodles, follow with a quick shower and back to sleep...