Our long journey from Coron to Malapascua got worse after the two flights and 10 hour wait in the cramped ill equipped Manila domestic terminal. After an overnight stay in Cebu we boarded a bus bound for the closest port to Malapacua island to be told that we were lucky, we had a “very good driver, very fast”. Not two things that necessarily go together in my mind. The guy had a heavy right foot, full throttle or full braking was all he knew. Add to that the constant swerving in and out of traffic to overtake regardless of oncoming…
Once again we found ourselves in a situation whereby we were uncertain on how to move onwards. Our plan was to move south to El Nido on Palawan for a few days and then go over land to Puerto Princessa followed by a ship over to Cebu. The problem we encountered was finding anyone who could give us reliable information about getting to El Nido. After loads of faffing about we came to the conclusion that to travel in the Philippines you need either lots of time or lots of money. There were ship / boat connections to various locations…
I’m standing on the back of a Bangka (Filipino style outrigger boat), San Miguel in hand, watching the sun reflect off the beautiful clear blue water. We are passing by the limestone cliffs of Coron Island to my right with the bizarre rolling Windows wallpaper type hills of Busuanga Island to my left. I wonder how two such topographically different islands lie side by side. After visiting as many “tropical paradise” islands as we have over the last three months they do start to lose their impact but standing back enjoying every sip of my San Miguel, the beauty of…
Our planning of where we go and when is somewhere between long term and last minute. Usually I have a fair idea of the places I’d like to go to before we get there. This is reinforced with a good reading of the Rough Guide shortly before entering the country combined with tips and recommendations we’ve picked up on the way. The Philippines was different. The routine of reading up about the country in advance was thrown by the fact we were still reading about Singapore and were too busy shopping to brush up on Philippines knowledge. That combined with…
After enduring a five hour bus journey from Manila to Batangas in the Independance Day “Bank holiday weekend” traffic (the driving standards here are second only to India’s, and that is not a good thing) we found ourselves on a “Banca” outrigger boat crossing over to the Island of Mindoro. Spotting dolphins on the crossing well and truly made up for the hellish bus journey. My first impressions of Sabang beach in Puerto Galera were not good. Concrete right up to the shore, loads of seaweed, expensive accommodation crammed into every available space, go go bars and a much older…
High rise Singapore came as a big contrast to everywhere we’ve been to so far. The place is so clean, so modern, so efficient and very multicultural. In fact it felt like Europe, albeit cleaner. Part of the reason for this are the strict rules enforced all over the state. Fines exist for eating or drinking on the metro, jaywalking and, get this, chewing gum. The result is the cleanest city in the world. A pleasant place to spend some time although I think I would go crazy day in day out waiting so long at traffic lights to cross…
I explained previously how Sharks are the coolest animals on the planet, but I have to say, cuttlefish come close. I was fortunate enough to spend ten minutes or so studying one while snorkeling off the beach in front of our chalet, but even more amazing were the two large ones I saw while diving. The way they just “hover” about with their funky fins that ripple all around their body and the mass of tentacles doing their thing at the front is, in my eyes at least, impressive. Even more so is their ability to change colour to suit…
Tough one for May. The choice was between an abstract picture of some leaves in the rain forest or yet another sunrise. The sunrise wins as it looks better on the blog, but download the leaves for your Windoze backdrop so that you can admire its beauty instead of doing any work. Sunrise from Perhentian Kecil.