November 18th - Day 10

Coron town full of surprises

Tunduay rum is not the most pleasant of hangovers! I struggle throughout the morning as I'm looking for options to go to Cebu, Boracay or any other beach-like destination in the Philippines. Unfortunately the prices are not inviting, and any other plan would easily cost us over 150 euros each, plus all the hassle of flying to Manila, then another flight, etc., etc...

And then Don comes around! Don is a local guy who studied Tourism at University and definitely a smart guy! He surprises with some knowledge about Estonia, including a few key sentences... always a good calling card! We start talking about what we're doing around here and he tells us he is organizing some trips around the islands for 3 days/ 2 nights. It's certainly not cheap, about 2x our daily budget but it certainly sounds appealing! Going around random beaches, not worrying about accommodation, food or anything else, and we'd be spending 3 days with someone who knows the place and join other fellow travelers as well!

After some thought, we decided to go ahead with it! So from November 20th - 22nd, we'll be away from any kind of comfy bed, electricity or any other commodity :)

We then relocate to the SeaDive resort where we will be spending the following 2 nights. The place is run by an american who married a filipino woman and the staff at the restaurant is rather impolite, especially taking into account Filipino standards! But well, the place is the nicest and cheapest around so we decide to go ahead and stick with the choice, the room is really nice, unbelievably cheap and the location is just perfect.

One interesting thing about backpacking around the Philippines is the absence of dormitories, very common when you are traveling on your own. At least in Palawan I did not see a single dormitory, most rooms are either double or triple so if are planning to visit Palawan make sure you are ready for that!

After checking in we head to the local market where you can find all the imaginable fruits and we can't resist to buy out some tasty looking mangos and some caramelized bananas. Food is incredibly cheap in the Philippines, you can easily spend 3 euros in a whole day having rather decent meals!

The rest of the day is rather uneventful and we spend pretty much the whole day in the terrace of the SeaDive resort, writing our blogs and just enjoying the view and sunbathing...

In the evening we get a rather unpleasant surprise from Don: the Swedish girls have missed their flight and since we're only 2 now... he can't make the tour. He mentioned that they might arrive on the next flight in the morning and so we could head out to the islands a little later than the usual - hoping and waiting is all we can do. Let's hope the girls make it the morning after and that we can still go on the trip... I was definitely looking forward to it!

We then head out for dinner and sit at the Coron café, just on the corner of Coron's main business street and the one that leads to the main square. You will notice that I often don't know which street something is located because... well, filipinos don't either and neither maps nor streets have names written down (in Manila you could find them but trust me: it's not that easy to get around with a street map there, they really are not accurate - at least the ones I had were not!)

Thirty minutes later I get my food and the waitress, with a big smile on her face tells us: "we're sorry, but we ran out of the fish that the ma'am ordered... would you like to choose something else?" Erm... you could have said that before I thought but... after 10 days in the Philippines I know better than to complain and simply smiled and said that we'll just split the food :)

November 17th - Day 9

Coron town

Arriving at Coron, we decide to take a walk to the town proper (that is how they commonly name the 'center') instead of the usual tricycle. Coron is quite different from what I have seen in the sense that the road and surroundings leading to town are incredibly dirty and the water stinks. It takes us about 20 minutes to walk to town and we immediately try to find accommodation following our Lonely Planet's suggestions. The seadive resort seems appealing but fully booked for the night :( The place looks great though, just on the peer with a huge terrace and sun deck and thus far the cheapest accommodation we've seen: less than 7 EUR for a double room. We book it for the following 2 nights and continue roaming the town looking for a place to spend the first night.

We finally end up at Krystal's lodge who is reluctant in giving us a discount for the room, even though the lodge seemed to be empty (The Filipinos are not really willing to negotiate... the prices are generally honest and the many times I tried to negotiate a discount I came out empty handed). The path leading to it is dodgy, a weird passage way where you walk next to people's houses finally ends up in one of those National Geographic style of housing. Built on the water, it's a quiet paradise on the otherwise hectic town of Coron.

We check-in and split a room with Tim and April and then decide to take a short nap... at 1 we wake up and head to the SeaDive restaurant where we had some light meal start looking around for things to do... we quickly realize that there are 2 things you can do here: Scuba diving and island hopping. There's no beach nearby and pretty much nothing else to do besides those 2 activities. Island hopping is also very costly here, at least 10 eur just to get a boat plus some 2 or 3 eur fee for each beach you visit. Scuba diving suddenly seems to be more appealing... I won't even discuss the prices.

We start growing a little restless and book our tickets back to Europe, early February... At least that is done! We then walk around town and think how to entertain ourselves during the next 6 days around here and stop at Old House for dinner... somehow we start drinking beer and arrive back home already rather tipsy!

Our roommates Kim and Tim also happened to have opened a bottle of Rum and ask us to help them out... we quickly finish that bottle and I head back out to buy a new one! Needless to say how the rest of the night went...

November 16th - Day 8

El Nido by boat... and off to Coron!

The trip starts at 9am and everything is taken care of, including lunch in a small private island. There's no need to set alarms here, we haven't so far managed to wake up after 8am... no matter how late we went to bed or how tired we were.

We gather in the hostel's restaurant and meet an American couple (Kim and Tim) who are also joining us. Turns out that we'll actually be spending some time together as we have even booked the same flight to go to Malaysia... we're having some chat and get interrupted by one local 'inspector' who tells us there's an eco-tourism fee of 200P/each: if you want to check the islands or anything else around it, you have to pay extra!

I am always annoyed by these extra fees but there was really no way around it... so we just pay and go quiet about it! We are then joined by an Australian couple from Sydney and the guy, David, happens to have been born in the Philippines and speaks the local language.

We are taken on a tour to visit many of the islands around El Nido, a true delight to the eyes. Helicopter island (yeah, again Filipinos always name things like that: they look at something and name it according to what it looks like!), the small lagoon where we do some snorkeling and Ly cuts herself, heading later on to the snake island...

Lunch is magnificently prepared by the crew that drove us around. Fresh fish, meat, delicious salad and eggplant make my stomach jump of happiness :) We try to convince the crew to have lunch with us but they quickly deny our request... Although being extremely happy and approachable, the Filipinos are actually incredibly shy. It is also a matter of principle and respect that they don't mix with the tourists and simply mingle with them. The crew leader tells us that the boss will get pissed if he sits and eats with us! Seemingly the rich Filipinos differentiate themselves from the not so lucky ones and you will not see bosses eating at the table with their workers. This does not work with us and we approach the boss and tell him we want the crew to sit and eat with us!

After a long chat (aided by the David's Tagalog and persuasive skills) we manage to get the boss to allow the crew to sit with us. We engage in some talk and at some point as the age: the 2 helpers were 18 and 21 years old, also incredibly shy. They eat a much simpler food than we did (just plain rice and fish) and are even shy to look at us. They will not touch any of the food unless we specifically tell them to try it out...

By the time we are done with lunch, the hour is late and the sunset approaches... but we convince the crew to make one last stop in an island that sells fresh coconuts! Everything is very pure and simple around here, but incredibly stylish and clean if you ask me. The island consists of one small house and a bar, about 10 people spend their day there waiting for tourists to sell them the always fresh coconuts!

We then make our way to land and discover there's another boat that makes the crossing to Coron, at a much friendlier price of 1000P, less than 20 EUR. I am excited about the idea as it would lower the budget and save us one night at the hostel.

At the harbor, we try and ask what time the boat goes: nobody really knows, or at least I can't make myself understood. After some discussion, I manage to understand that it should leave around midnight! We head back to the hostel and start packing and behold... someone knocks at the door and says: the boat is waiting for you, hurry up!!! What?!? It's 10.30PM, this is insane! And how on Earth did they know where I was staying? I guess this is one 'beauty' of small towns... (actually I must say that Filipino schedules are most interesting... they are never late but are hardly ever on time! I don't think we have ever departed late from whatever means of transportation but trust me: if you are going to travel around the Philippines, make sure you are early!!!)

We rush to the harbor, not really properly packed and get on the boat... and this is one interesting story!

There's zero comfort on the boat, not even a place to sit down but about 100 bunk beds laid out next to each other... By beds you should read: wooden boards. The boat has a lower deck where they put dozens of cows and ox, hogs and even some younger goats! I am in awe at the place, about 10 tourists are actually onboard and it promises to be a LONG night!

The stench coming from the lower deck is inviting to breathe through your mouth. The boat is fully packed, some people standing, others smoking next to the 'window'... everything is ready to go! But, of course, it does not go immediately as they told us at the hostel... we waited a good 1 hour before departure!

One hour later, almost everyone is asleep, including Ly who does not seemed at all bothered with the 'bed' nor the bovine smell from the lower decks. I stay up until 3am talking with Tim, find out he's actually a developer and share a bunch of stories from traveling, to work and also the situation lived in Europe these days.

At 3am he gives up and tries to get some sleep while I stick around and keep on reading... I am just unable to get any sleep. The 'bed' is simply to hard for me to fall sleep... if I only had some rum or beer!:)

The sun rises and people start waking up and breakfast is served! Yeah, from the lower deck the bring us some rice and dried fish, along with some boiled egg. By this time I'm starving, and devour the food they have offered. Again the neatness of how they serve meals does not cease to surprise me: the meal is served in a wooden plate, wrapped in a plastic bag that you throw away once you are done eating and the fork is given to you in a bag of plastic, airplane style!

The temperature is rising and we finally see Coron from a distance... we made it!:)

November 15th - Day 7

El Nido by motorcycle

As always we wake up early, before 7. We head downstairs and quickly the manager asks us if we have some plans for the day. I confess I was a bit puzzled on what to do, walking around is not really an option and the beach is not that appealing. There's a small motorbike rental place just in front of the hostel and... somehow they convince to go on a bike tour. We could go and visit the nearby waterfalls and hot springs, or simply roam around and check the surrounding villages. They claim to have some beaches along the path and, given the price (700P - around 13 eur/day) and ease of driving this 125cc bike, we decide to go for it. We pack some things, buy some pastry, and off we go around the island. Not before trying out the bike of course... be noted that this is the first time that I actually ever drove a motorcycle! But, how hard can it be? :)

We started heading north, pass the airport, and head to the waterfalls... the road is easy and smooth at first, concrete road makes the ride easy and painless. However, soon enough, the concrete ends and we are left with nothing but a dirt road, alternating with small and big rocks. Around 1 hour later, we arrive at the Makalit-Kalit waterfalls. We are surprised to see that they are not reachable with the bike, a foot hike of 45 minutes is needed (probably it will take more), along with a guide. The idea no longer sounds so appealing and we decide to continue on and visit the 'virgin', untouched beaches. The road gets tougher and tougher and rain starts pouring down. And imagine what happens on a dirt 'road' with heavy rain... everything gets muddy and slippery! At some point, the bike simply gives up and gets stuck on deep mud: we are up to our knees with mud and think that driving another kilometer in these conditions is probably not such a good idea... some locals come and help me dig out the bike and tells us the obvious: don't go to the beach :) All in all, we spent about 1 hour in this dirt road... at least I got some good learning experience!

The rain is not making our life any easier but we continue heading northeast and drive through other villages until we reach at the beach in San Fernando. We make a quick stop there but don't stay for long as the beach is not really inviting...it is not the white-sand beach you see on postcards but we do use this little break to get something to eat and refresh ourselves. We are only halfway done with the driving and it's already 2pm... and the tank is over 1/2 way gone. It's important to note that we cannot get any fuel during the whole trip so I decide to be a bit more gentle on the RPM from that point on...

The rain keeps pouring down and the bike gets harder and harder to manage... after a few hours and a nearly empty tank, we are back in town! Surprise, surprise: there is no fuel in El Nido so we need to drive another 10 minutes south to Corong corong to get some... we drive through the town a few times and fail to find any fuel. Tried asking a few of the locals but we are somehow unable to explain ourselves: after driving back and forth, one young guy on a bike helps us out by driving with us together to the place... it was a simple store where fuel was kept in old coca-cola bottles :) Fueling up the tank was rather cheap (160P, about 4 EUR) and afterwards we make our way back to town.

Our bodies are sore and tired and we wish for nothing but a relaxed evening and good food. We also decide that El Nido is not really what we hoped for and decide to book the trip to Coron a little earlier, leaving 2 days from then on a boat that goes in the morning and costs 2200P (40 EUR!) for an 8-hour ride. We also decide to ruin our budget a little bit and take one of the island hopping tours the day after... hopefully it will be worthwhile!

This is one problem of El Nido and Coron (that I will tell about further ahead): the towns lack beaches and things to do in general, and everything else is available for a fee which is definitely not cheap by Filipino standards. The boat ride in El Nido costs about 15 EUR per person which is roughly our daily budget for this trip. But we are already here so we decide to go for it :)

November 14th - Day 6

Sabang - El Nido

The day starts early with the check-out and preparation for the trip to El Nido. A lot of the people in the hotel take the same course so we decide to join them on the vans they had scheduled and skip taking the public transportation for now... the trip is long and the road rough. After some farewells outside Daluyon, we leave from Sabang at about 1pm and begin the 5 hour journey to our next destination, El Nido. Arriving there, we use the info from our faithful friend the Lonely Planet book for Southeast Asia and head to the Alternative center. This is a small but stylish hostel-like place in the very heart of the town. The place is nearly fully booked but the owner tells us there is one room still available, just next to the restaurant.

It's hard to put to words how it actually looks like but there's simply a bit of wood (imagine the doors used at bars in the old west... there's very little privacy but we don't care). The room is clean and the whole place looks great, the restaurant being a bit pricey like everything else in El Nido (things are roughly 30-40% more expensive than anything else I have seen so far). The place is built out of solid wood, and the waves hit with some strength on the rooms facing the beach! Our room is upstairs and faces the street so we get nothing but a nice aroma from the kitchen and enjoy the sound of Tagalog all day long... There are no windows in the room, a simple screen separates the room from the street and a fan us there to give the guests some comfort.

The place is a small fishing town in the north tip of Palawan island but, despite being small (population of roughly 5000), this is definitely a touristic place unlike most of what I have seen in Palawan. El Nido is known (at least that is what the Filipinos are trying to 'sell' it as) the Filipino Phuket. Well... this might certainly be misleading. The beach is pretty much non-existent (I dare to say less than 1 meter of sand, when the tide is low) and only a few meters wide. There's not much to do around there and we quickly realize that the initial plan of 3-4 days might just be a little bit too much...

November 12th - 13th - Day 4 - 5

Sabang

Day 4 starts as expected... with a bit of a headache. I try to force myself for a little jog around the beach but I quickly give up and just head for breakfast. Baked beans, omelet, sausages, fresh pressed juice... they have it all. Daluyon (which is tagalog for 'wave' or 'surf') makes me forget that I'm on a backpacker's budget. The room is fancy, with air-con and even satellite TV which I don't even bother to switch on even for a minute as the weather outside is inviting for a swim.

We end up spending the morning at the beach, alternating between lying on the sun and chilling at a hammock strategically placed under the palm trees. The sun is way too strong and even my factor 30 sunblock does not help... I still feel the skin burning.

Other people begin to wake up and we agree to take a boat at 3pm to check the pride of Sabang, the underground river. We head to the tourist 'office' (they like to call offices to a table and a chair on the pavement :) and ask about getting the permit to get and are told that everything is full (what???) and they can't give us the permit to enter the park before 3pm... unless we walk there! Some things are a little confusing around here and although the Filipinos speak English rather well, I still struggle in communicating with them. I just accept and go back at 3 :)

We negotiate the rental of a boat and off we go to the river. There's a narrow path on boards that goes through the jungle all the way till the entrance of the cave. Some monkeys (macaques) are playing around and welcome us to the location - one of us has to hold a flashlight and I volunteer to sit at the front and point at whatever the guide wants me to point at.

He tells me: 'left, right, up, down' and starts paddling... the cave is pitch dark, inhabited by bats and other creatures and the guide starts the tour by letting me know where he wants me to point at. We see many different rocky formations, shaped as giant mushrooms, pumpkins, 'sexy lady', candles, you name it! They are very creative when it comes to figures and we even get a glance to a rock which resembles amazingly close to Jesus's face. For me, the highlight of the trip was the so called cathedral, at which point you have to go and start paddling back. This area is simply gigantic, you could build some 5-store buildings there where the cave's height reaches the amazing mark of 60 meters.

Back at Daluyon's beach, a wonderful meal awaits us. The staff set up some tables on the beach (very 'movie like') and spoiled us with fresh fish, salads and, of course, beer and rum! Everything is tasty and I'm just jealous at all the people eating lobster and prawns... for those who do not know, I'm seriously allergic to any red shellfish :( A few beers and squids later, we head back to the lobby to finish up the alcohol from the day before and then quietly head back to our room... it's not even midnight and I'm already dead tired.

The following day was filled mostly with a fishing trip, from 10 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon. We ride out far away from the coastline and are given some rods - if you may call it that way. They are merely nylon strings wrapped up around a block of wood but they get the job done. Some of us starting getting some fish... it's pretty impressive how easy it can be! Ly does extremely well and, for 2 times, manages to get 2 fish in 1 go (each string had 2 hooks)! I, on the other hand, am not so 'lucky' and managed to get only 1... but it's enough for the typical photo! The trip was fun but a bit too long for my own taste... could have easily settled for something shorter.

But it at least gave me some time to talk with the staff and understand about the different fish we can expect to find and catch and also a bit of his background... a few hours later we're back at the beach with a bucket full of fish!:) The rest of the day is pretty uneventful... chilling at the beach and then a quiet and tasty dinner at the Green Villa is pretty much all we did... the trip to El Nido the following day also suggests that we should get some good rest as the trip will be long and the path rough.

At Sabang I met a few foreigners who I will remain in touch with: an Estonian couple living in Perth and 2 German guys (Max and Markus) who take some of my things with them back to Europe that I will no longer need on this trip... somehow, I will retrieve them later!:)

November 11th - Day 3

Puerto Princesa - Sabang

We woke up around 6am and got on a tricycle to the bus terminal (if you may call it that way :). On the way, the driver proudly shows us all the fancy hotels in the city as well as all the construction sites for shopping centers - I actually prefer a whole lot more everything else they have:) Arriving at the terminal, we wanted to take the 7am Jeepney to Sabang. Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines and were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II. They are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating and have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture.

The price was 200P (a bit less than 4 Euros) for a 2-hour ride, probably a little pricey but I don't bother to negotiate. The ride is definitely an experience! Again, we are the only tourists and you can see that this is the means of transportation that every Filipino uses for the route. One quickly realizes that most tourists use their own rented buses or taxis to move around as the prices for that are still relatively low. They give us some of the best seats on the jeepney which was waaaaay over crowded by any standards: some people went on the roof, some of them were holding themselves from the outside... anything goes as long as you get to your destination! I love all the flexibility and good mood of filipinos: so far I have never seen anyone arguing, raising their voice or being upset about anything!

The ride is tough on your bottom but the views are breathtaking. Surrounded by green hills left and right, ocean views, the road is surprisingly smooth and the driver takes the warnings of 'beware of swift turns' very seriously. We make a quick stop half-way where people come to sell some local baked pastry and fresh drinks. We take some rice cake: del-icio-us! Wrapped in a tree-leaf this tasty pastry was the best thing I have tried so far: and all for less than 0.15 Eur.

One hour later and we have reached Sabang, our home for the next 3 days! And this is... well, a bit of paradise! Actually we are cheating our backpacker lifestyle with this stop, staying in a nice resort that the wedding couple had booked for 40 of their friends! Located 5 meters from the beach, this is one dream location, a little heaven on earth. Sabang is composed by only a few houses with a few resorts all along the coast but that number will surely grow, especially if the nearby underground river is named one of the 7 new natural wonders. The water is warm and crystal clear, the beach has perfect thin white sand and surrounded by green hills - this is gonna be goooood!

Our room is not ready so we head for the beach and grab something to eat. The restaurants are pricey for filipino standards and we prefer to go into town and eat in some of the local places. One thing that one notices is how small portions are around here - they always bring you a tiny plate of meat and then one bowl of rice: you could easily eat 2 or 3 portions of it but I stick to a single portion and just allow myself a little hunger :)

We check in our room and I take a short nap before the wedding ceremony which was going to take place at 4pm on the beach. At about 2pm, rain starts pouring down! One would think that there's no way it would stop in time for the event but 30 minutes before we were lucky enough to see the rain stop and allowing the wedding to take place without hassles! It was interesting to see a wedding on the beach, a bit movie-like. Even more when you think that the couple getting married are 2 Estonians who got baptized in the morning and were being blessed by the Catholic church for their wedding in the afternoon... the whole ceremony does not take longer than 30 minutes and it all takes place in English! Soon came the typical photo shoot: first with the groom's parents, then the bride's, the whole ordeal.

Dinner time! An amazing meal sided with local rum and Estonian vodka and the party is on! The guests were asked to organize some games to keep everyone entertained so a lot of games were played during the meal keeping the atmosphere easy, relaxed and fun! Later on, we head to the dancefloor where we stay for about 6 hours. Worth to mention is the local band who was invited: their music was awesome! I was truly impressed by the guitar player, shredding with ease some of Santana's finest solos... where did he learn that?

The night was great fun, everyone was in a great mood aided by a reasonable amount of booze... I wonder how the hangover will be like :)

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...

November 9th - Day 1

London - Jeddah - Manila

The day begins at 8 am with a couple of sandwiches flushed down with some water in the London tube. Luckily not crowded, we make our way to Heathrow with no delays and check-in way before time. I have had my share of 'surprises' before long trips and I'm trying to keep those to a minimum in a trip like this.

The plane is huge (777-200), modern, loaded with the latest Hollywood blockbusters and other sort of in-flight entertainment. I put my brain in trance for about 1.5 hours while watching 'The rise of the planet of the apes' and doze off for a little while... the food onboard is excellent: mostly you enjoy food on a plane because u are hungry and well... let's face, there's not a whole lot more you can do. But the food was really tasty, some chicken in curry sauce filled my stomach just enough to keep me happy while reading about Programming in Ruby (don't ask!) on a kindle. The flight was operated by Saudi Arabian airlines so, needless to say, no beer for me :( My liver thanks for that :)

Soon enough, we land in Jeddah and an extremely polite and friendly Saudi sitting next to me asks me if I want to use his cologne.

We enter the airport, unable to leave the area reserved for transit passengers, and go through a through search of our luggage, where men and women are divided in different queues. We soon arrive at the hall and quickly observe that about 90% of the people there were men. Although the hall looks like any other I had seen before, a few exceptions are worth mentioning:

- There's a large prayer area, impeccably covered by a rug where a few believers are kneeled and say their prayers

- Men simply do not care about the 'No smoking sign' clearly displayed around the hall - it is as effective as speed limits on many highways

- The men's toilet is used for many purposes, including using the basin to wash off their feet

I manage to go online for a few seconds just to let the family know everything's fine... time to go to Manila!!

The plane is bigger (double decker even) but far older. The onboard entertainment does not work... and this is a 10-hour flight! Great, more time to read and do other useful things! The food is equally good but I'm unable to get any sleep...

I switch between some reading and walking around to keep the blood flowing - most people are actually sleeping but I got, at most, 30 minutes of sleep! After a long ride, we finally arrive in Manila!

The border control goes smoothly (although the line was long and took about half an hour to clear) and no issues with the bags! The hostel was booked and sits not far from the airport. We were suggested to take a taxi online but.. we're backpackers! Surely there must be another way... walking was a bit too much and the lady suggested the regular bus line. How much for the ticket? 12 Pesos. Roughly, 0.20 EUR.

The first thing one notices is the heat. Wow! Nearly 30.C is generally ok in the shade but here... I start sweating straight away! And the sun had already set... We make a short run for the bus and couldn't be happier that had made that choice. The bus was a fun ride and we were the only foreigners there! There's A/C on the bus and 2 LCD screens play some movie starring Matt Damon. Amazing, a regular line with such entertainment! The decor was out of this world (check the photo) and the driver was... reckless? That's being gentle. People worry a lot about Malaria and other diseases but statistics say that tourists end up in the hospital mostly due to traffic accidents. No wonder! The road we take is 6 lane wide and they drive as on NASCAR. I'm amazed at the guy's skills! Funnily enough, nobody uses the rightmost lane, it's mostly for pedestrians to make their way...

The traffic truly is chaotic, hunks are constantly used but somehow it all flows and that's all that matters in the end. After a 10 minute ride, they drop us off at the hostel (yes, the bus nearly works like a taxi, as long as you want to stop on the roads where the bus is supposed to drive through) and we walk around for another 10 minutes (yeah, we got lost for a moment there :) and enter the Townhouse hostel.

One thing you notice straight away about the Filipinos is the constant smile and state of happiness. Everyone we talked to thus far have been extremely pleasant, helpful, and always seem to speak English.

Arriving at the hostel was no exception but let's talk about organization... I give the booking to the girl and she replies: 'Unfortunately we don't have this room, only one with a private bathroom which is a little more expensive...'. I continue: 'well, that is fine, as long as we pay the same rate as I had in the booking :) Seems fair enough, no?:)' We talked for some time (although I admit I didn't understand some of the things she said) and says we'll arrange something in the morning. Fine. Then another lady takes us to our room.

Do you remember the movie 'The beach' and Di Caprio's room? Well, this is not far from that :) The private shower is... humble and well, the whole room is very modest! But I love it - it's authentic :)

The smell is intoxicating but by the time I write this I no longer feel any difference... just like home now. It will be home for the next 16 hours or so...

We drop our bags and go to the reception to check some hostels for the next stop, schedules, etc. and I head out to get some water. Just as we were getting ready to get some sleep, some German guy (in his 60's) comes around and starts talking and talking and talking... one of those characters. I had to hold myself a bit as he went on and on about the importance of astrology and the meaning of the year of our birth, talked about Martin Schulman for about 20 minutes until he decided to go and talk with other fellow travelers.

We quickly escape to the honeymoon-suite upstairs and Ly nearly instantly falls asleep. I have far too much in my head to write down and sit by the computer until now... time to get some rest, tomorrow we go to Palawan!!

November 8th - Day 0

Packing, packing, packing...

What's the first thing people ask you the day before you go on vacation or a trip of some kind... have you packed? Knowing that I will be carrying my backpack around most of the time, I have tried really hard to keep it to a bare minimum... 12 kilos was the best I could do! Plus, this pretty heavy laptop I'm using to write this blog! Altogether, I have about 16 kilos and I will, undoubtedly dump a few things along the way! How did I pack so much? Ly has managed to keep her bag to 8kg, perfect for this kind of trip! She can even fit it as hand-luggage making life so much easier... what will be the first thing that I'm gonna dump? :)

Time to head to the airport. Everything is set to go, I have farewelled my parents and we're now seating in front of the gate to go to London. This is the moment I had been dreaming for the past months... and that moment had finally come! Yeeeeeeeeeeeah! I actually should try to leave the laptop at home and be totally disconnected but... nah, I wanna share this with you :)

A lot of thoughts run through my head: how's it all like, where will we sleep, how are we going from point A to B and I quickly try to calm myself down and just relax and enjoy the moment! After all, for the next 3 months I'm a backpacker and backpackers don't stress out!

After a little nap, we're finally in London and try to grab some sleep... I'm far too excited! I got 4 hours of sleep...

Prologue

Why Southeast Asia?

For a long time I have thought of going for a long trip around the world... I had never really thought of a specific destination to be honest. Just roam aimlessly as far as I have the energy to do so (or my bank account allows me to :) until I figure out why it is that I am so passionate about traveling.

Many of us marvel at a sunset, others at some awesome view over a city while I must say that what really stays with me during my trips are the people I have met during my journeys and with who I experience the places I visit. Those little moments make it all worthwhile and it can (and does!) entirely change the way you experience a city, a country, a nation. You will probably agree with me that it's much better to know a city when you know someone local - they will take you to the best/less touristic restaurants, bars, cafeterias, you name it! And this is what it really matters and is what you take home with you. Your emotions, the feeling that a certain place or situation caused in your gut... whether it is the best mojito you ever had or the most beautiful church you have ever seen, it does not matter! There are these moments that you just feel 'ah, this is why I want to travel and see what is out there...'. For me, these moments are mostly achieved when opening up to the local culture and embracing it!

For this reason, I have found traveling around Europe and North America to be on the dull side... of course we all have our differences and, don't get me wrong, I love Europe and feel that's home to me, but there are only little cultural shocks when you cross borders... oh wait, what borders? Slowly we're breaking down those borders, we began using the same currency (let's see how long that lasts :P) and expanding to more and more territories. On the other hand, Asia (and probably the Southeast even more) is a part of the world where European/American influence is less obvious and I have an amazing curiosity of seeing it all with my own eyes...

This is gonna be the adventure of the next nearly 3 months, where I will be flying to Manila in the Philippines and then head to Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos... hope you enjoy the reading as much as I'm sure I will enjoy the experience!