PALAWAN ISLAND
on arrival we had to sign a declaration stating were we had been recently, for example china in the past 2 weeks. I had just past the 2 weeks mark so I was fine. I walked out of the airport past the main more expensive tuktuks and heading towards the airport exit, its not the biggest and quite near the city. I got a cheaper tuktuk to take me to my hostel, but he wasn't very sure were it was. it was upstairs and they wasn't anyone downstairs at the door which was shut, nor could I get the phone to work or internet due to poor reception....eventually they opened, after lots of door hitting and yelling....which was annoying.
after a quick wash i walked into the town, firstly checking out china town which was full of decorations due to the recent New Year celebrations for year of the rat 2020. there's a market and lots of bulk buying stores, an area bustling with life. I walked on from here heading towards the baywalk.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/philippines/palawan/puerto-princesa
Cheap ass bulk food and drink! and odd crocodile meat?
Chinatown & old market
immaculate conception cathedral
created in 1872 by colonising Spaniards. situated beside Rizal park and Plaza Cuartel and the WII site.
I strolled around the town and checked out the church before taking a rest in the park across from it. after this I decided to check out the butterfly park and tribal village, for this I organised a tuk tuk driver to take me there an back. a bit of a restbite from the intense heat.
Palawan Butterfly Ecological Garden and Tribal Village
they have some animals, though not in the best conditions which was unfortunate to see, creepy crawlies, butterfly pupa and free flying butterflies. you had to press a button and wait for the green light to open it before you could change areas to stop any butterflies getting out.
after this you go to the tribal village ara. two houses with a couple families, there's also a small shop to buy some of their local wares, I got some earrings.
the perform a show, introducing some of their language skills, blow darts and stones. the little kids were super cute and you could get pictures taken with them after if you wanted.
after it finished up I headed back to the city, tomorrow would be an early start, to head to the station to get the bus to Port Barton
PORT BARTON
it takes about 3-4 hours to get to Port Barton, you can organise. seat in a car/van or go bus bus from Puerto Princesa SBE for 250P, its not got air conditioning and the roads can be pretty bumpy, van ranges around 4-500 and usually takes 3-3.5 hours and has air conditioning (check out bookaway or 12goasia) it's a small town, with a little market, it has 1 atm, and little haberdashery shops for food and essentials. along with some bars and restaurants too.
the beach shore wasn't that wide, however it wasn't packed with people. if you walk towards the left you come upon a mangrove and lots of fishing boats, some of the girls in my hostel renting one with a driver who took them out fishing, when I arrived at the hostel they were cooking one over a BBQ.
the hostel was a short walk from the bus station. and one of the few that had wifi (to an extent, it wasn't amazing but better than nothing) the place was called Mil's hillside tourist inn. there was free hot and cold water at the reception area and books too. they had tour deals and could also help with booking van seats for transport to other cities. there's a shared kitchen and you could order breakfast ad other food too, as well as laundry service. I stayed in a hut in the back in a dorm room, it even had a hot running water shower with shampoos and soaps! the bathroom itself was stylish. the room had fans and aircon, which was needed during the night as it got intense! not far from the beach, my other roommates were super friendly and helpful, with recommendations on things to do. the hostel worker in charge was super friendly and funny (most likely gay too) he had us in stitches warning us to close the doors or the mosquitos would get in and give you the genge I stayed in the dorm in a bunk but rooms/huts were available to rent.
I went for a walk around the town and beach heading towards the man grove and back and then up to the hills before coming back and checking out the market, filled. with cool handicrafts and local wares before heading back to the dorm.
the boat tours have different choices to choose from, such as twin reef, wide reef,Exotic Island ,Paradise island,Aquarium reef,Maxima Island,Starfish Island, turtle spotting ,reef no.5,Fantastic Reef and Bigaho Falls with turtle spotting and snorkeling, they provide the gear if needed and lunch.
we got dropped off as some in the tour were in a rush to get back for a van, so we stayed for a while before the boat returned for us.
the water was clear, it was a low area of water with a small island like beach, the starfish was huge, just lying beside the "island" it was amazing!
when we got back (after 5) I chilled on the beach till the sun started to set and it got a bit colder. was a great trip and super cheap! about 1300 peso! headed back and got a hot shower and packed with a plan to head to El Nido the next day.
EL NIDO
how to get to el Nido
there's 2 options, take a direct van (4.5Hrs 600P+) or the bus, I took a bus, for this you need to get a bus first to Roxas then jeepney or a bus to el Nido (5h+ for 320P) I napped on the bus to el Nido and it nearly drove on past, it didn't seem to stop in the centre. got out at the side of the road and walked to my hostel having asked for directions. on the way there was a small shopping area with a place to convert money, so I changed some RMB.the weather was drizzly, the forecast for the next couple days wasn't so good either.
I had books a bed in Tita's backpackers as it was meant to have good wifi, not to far from the centre and had a free breakfast. however when I arrived they electricity had gone (this happens sometimes)
they thankfully had some backup electricity, so although no lights (was dark was not really any windows) they had some plug in lights, and internet. thankfully the electricity came bak on later. the toilets didn't flush, you had to use a bucket of water, bit like in Thailand, it was simple. they had a washing machine and let me use it for free and helped me to do so, I then hung it out to dry on the washing line at the side of the house. the owners sister was in charge, she was super friendly and spoke amazing English. outside was a makeshift gazebo on decking with a table and some hammocks to chill on. I arrived early just as people were finishing up their breakfasts.
the hostel was pretty small, but the girl in charge was super friendly, she speak great English, it was her sisters places and she run it for her, when I got back the electricity was all back on, I had a class and got chatting to one of the girls who was below me on my bunk. the room was small and stuffy, the small window covered with a lot of bunk beds stuffed in, but it wasn't meant to be a place to hang out it, usually its sunny and everyone is out on the beach. the girl I got chatting to was Russian, she was also working in china and staying later cos of the holidays. she had lip piercings like me and was dressed like a Lolita doll, thin and cute. very kawaii.
for the last morning I walked the opposite direct of the city, up the hills to head to another beach, it was dry and hot for once. - Marimegmeg, there were a few shops and some restaurants/bars/cafes along the seafront. as it was early there wasn't too many there yet. so of the cafes had sun beans and bean bags dotted along the beach. I stayed for a while, enjoying the first bit of sunshine after a dreary few days before splitting a tuktuk back with a Ukraine couple. after this I headed to the bus station getting a very bumpy bus back to Puerto Princesa no sea belts and huge road dips, it was like a late night roller coaster when it started getting dark, though the views were nice.
unfortunately when I arrived there were no buses, I ended up getting a dodgy lift in a tuktuk, there were 2 guys trying to pick people up. eventually the took me to my hostel but it was uncomfortable and I wouldn't have done it if there had been other tuktuks available, so be careful!
anyway the next day I met with a local from couch surfer and we went to a surfing beach, there was a chill bar cafe there were we hung out and chatted to some foreigners.
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