Headed out of Australia via Singapore to the Philippines on Tiger Airways, one of South East Aisa's budget carriers. Flights were good unless you actually want to sleep on Tiger, their hostesses work on commission and so are keen to make announcements about the products you can buy - every hour or so!!

Caught the bus from Clark to Manila (2.5hrs, about P350) - easily done as there are several bus companies in the foyer of the terminal. As we were tired after the long flight and our budget had some stretch we stayed at Las Palmas hotel in Malate. Lovely room with the biggest bed I've ever seen. The windows opened for a bit of fresher (if that exists in Manila???) air and it was really quiet. On the more expensive side, 2700 Peso plus taxes and a credit card fee. Ended up to about P3200 for the night.

Managed to catch a Air Philippines flight to Puerto Princesa the next morning (1900 Peso each) just by turning up at the airport.

At the Puerto Princesa airport we were greeted by a whole range of transport options and went with a lovely tricycle driver who took us to a couple of places to stay until we found one that suited (sorry can't remember the name). Then he took us for a 4 hour tour of the town (P400). Went up to the crocodile farm (seen lots before but this one was quite cool, could even feed the crocs), butterfly garden and this really cool bakery outside of town called Bakers Hill. A bizzare landscape of lifesize cartoon figures in manicured gardens but undoubtedly the best chocolate brownies I've ever eaten!

Next day we caught the 09.00 local bus to Sabang. A tip for all thinking of doing this: don't sit on the seats nearest the door. We started with about 15 passengers and as is the way ended up with about 40 all cramming in the door. A fun way to travel. Halfway to Sabang we stopped at a roadside stall for some boiled corn and pancakes (handed thru the window). Well worth trying. 4 hours later and only P100 each we were in Sabang.

Stayed in a cottage on the edge of the beach, it was the second one along the beach from the main part of town, the Taraw Vista Lodge. The cottage was 500 Peso a night. After a rudimentary lunch we caught a boat over to the underground river. The entrance fee to the river was 200 Peso which gave us a guide and life vest. What an awesome journey. We were the only ones there in the cave as it was afternoon and it was quite an eerie journey with just the sound of the boat and the swoosh and calls of the bats and birds. Very cool place.

We decided to walk back over the monkey trail. Tip for all: take decent shoes, the thongs (flip-flops) were a big ask, bring plenty of water, mossie repellent and a fair rate of fitness... Didn't see too many monkeys but the walk itself was great if arduous. It took us about 3hrs. Came across two tiny deserted beach coves with pristine water. Really delightful. I suspect that in peak season you'd be hard pressed for the serenity but it is still worth doing.

Next day we headed off to El Nido by boat (shared with 4 others). We were quoted 7000 Peso for the entire boat but with the others also going (organised by a local tout) it cost us 1500Peso each. 7 hours of bobbing around the ocean in a small outrigger was worth it for the El Nido view. For those thinking of doing this you will probably end up wet from the sea spray when you're out in the bay so plan appropriate dress; also there is a toilet on board if it were needed.

Heading into El Nido by sea is lovely. The town nestled under the big cliffs. Really nice vista.

Headed to Blue Wave cafe for lunch, good food, good service, nice and clean. Then we went in serach of accommodation. We decided that being on the beach front was our priority with a cottage of our own with no walls shared... We went literally from one end of town to the other looking at each place and in the end went for Tandikan Cottages, 500 Peso a night. I can't recommend it enough. The room was clean, had a fan and own bathroom (only cold water but the weather was so hot it didn't matter) and a great deck on which to sit and watch the goings on.

Some food recommendations: Ricsons, Sea Slugs, The Alternative Therapy restaurant (all on the beach side) and Blue Wave (one block off the beach) are all very good for breakfast and/or lunch. For dinner we tended to Ricsons and Sea Slugs as they had a lovely outlook, good service, tasty food and most importantly, cold beer. The Art Cafe that gets a lot of hype was fine for food although if you have visions of western cuisine you will be disappointed. The ambiance was ordinary however. I guess we just like eating on the beachfront.

The food itself was nothing to write home about. For a seaside community the seafood was fairly ordinary at best, to the point the "shrimps" we ordered at the Art Cafe were tiny and had been dried at some point.

Calamari was the best seafood we found by far. We saw lobster but they wanted AUD$100 per kilo!!!! The meat was ok with pork probably being the most consistent. Breakfast I usually had rice, unfortunattely often cooked with garlic, marinated beef and a fried egg - actually a great combo, or banana pancakes. The bread we encountered when we went for a more western brekkie was seriously sweet - like a donut mix.

Also worth noting that the food really wasn't all that cheap with meals ranging up to 200 Peso (approx $5 AUD) which meant that a days meals could cost as much as the room. Weird inequity in pricing. We ended up doing locally bought fruit for lunch most days just for ease and economy. Their bananas are really great but don't be put off when it comes to buying ones that look really blackened and bruised - they were by far the best. Also don't miss out on the cashews - they are fantastic and really cheap.

Whilst in El Nido we took the "day tour #1", a boat trip around the islands and some snorkelling (750 Peso for the two of us when sharing with two others). Really beautiful places. The small and big lagoons are awesome!!!

Also hired a ocean kayak for a day (P700) and went around to a couple of the nearer coves.

Hired a motorbike (dirt bike) for a day P1000 (!!!!) from the French guy Arnold, and went around the northern tip of the Palawan. Quite a picturesque trip and Arnold was helpful with directions as the available maps are pretty basic tourist maps.

I learned to dive while I was there as well. I used El Nido Marine dive shop and had Esmer as my instructor. What a brilliant teacher and a very patient man. It was lovely learning to dive in such a beautiful setting. No pool dives, just out in the shallows and then over low lying coral to get the feel of things. Very cool!! The dive course was fairly standard price (P18,000 - AUD$450) and we had lunch provided each day of diving.

As far as the weather in June/July went we had the best of both. It was generally gorgeous in the morning and then on maybe every second day it would rain for about an hour or so in the afternoon to cool things off a bit. It was hot and humid but we spent so much time in the water it didn't matter.

The down sides: the biggest one that I found was lack of 24hrs electricity. At 03.00 the power goes off and it was hard to get back to sleep on nights when I woke up. It also means that getting cold drinks (for us beer mostly...) can be a bit of a trial. It paid to always ask if the drinks were cold because they would serve warm beer!

We had no problems getting an interisland flight from El Nido to Manila (again off season probably helped). Expensive though, 3000 Peso each with ITI.

Once back in Manila we stayed at 1632 Hostel in Malate. What a funny place. They are very modern rooms with aircon and private bathroom but they are very narrow. Still, for P1800 a night including breakfast they were fine for what we wanted. A lot of the places we went to were full so this worked out.

So, to Manila and shopping. Robinsons Mall was cool: bit of bargaining shopping (fake bags and watches, lots of shoes) as well as real shops. Had more fun though when we went to Baclaran market where we found a whole bunch of wholesale shops that would sell to the public. Great for mens clothes (mostly jeans and shorts), handbags and shoes but not so good for ladies wear.

That pretty much sums up our trip.

Philippines - yes, I'd recommend going. It's a marvellous mix of all sorts. Never dull!! And lots of fun to be had - especially if you love karaoke (heh, heh..)

© Augustine, July 2007