Philippines: Aerial view of Mount Mayon; arriving at Coron

Date: 30th May, 2013

Today was my last day in Legazpi. I had to head to the airport for my 12:40pm flight to Manila.

Backyard Legazpi coconut trees — Woke up to a view of the backyard not too different from what it’s like back home at my village

After breakfast, I checked my e-mails, packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and hired a cycle taxi to take me to Legazpi airport (I could take it easy as I had the time). Legazpi airport, like most regional airports isn’t very big and they weren’t even beginning the check-in procedures 1.5 hours before the scheduled flight time.

Legazpi airport Mayon volcano background — From the departures lounge I got to see Mt. Mayon… cloud-free

Magayon volcano smoke Legazpi Philippines — Still smoking

Legazpi airport runway Mayon mountain — At the time of check-in, I specifically asked for a window seat on the right-hand side of the plane, so that I could see Mt. Mayon at take off

Flight take off Legazpi — To head to Manila, the plane takes off…

Legazpi aerial view — And then turns around

Mayon volcano Legazpi city aerial view — There she is!

Mount Mayon volcano full view from sky — Truly the world’s most symmetrical volcano

Magayon volcano full view from sky — I guess seeing it from an airplane is obviously the only way one can see Mount Magayon in its entirety

Here’s a video I shot:

Mount Mayon aerial view from plane — Goodbye epic mountain I had a tough time photographing without the clouds

I landed in Manila at 1:45pm and I had to then make my way to the next gate for my connecting flight to Busuanga Airport (Busuanga is the main airport serving Coron island). I had lunch from the airport itself as my flight would only depart at 3:15pm.

Terminal 2 Manila airport — I was on my way to the final leg of my journey

Manila port aerial view Philippines — From the sky leaving Manila city; that’s Manila Port down below

Aerial view dead end road — A road to nowhere — or one that’s going to connect that small road up north?

Cebu Pacific propellor plane Coron — Just shy of an hour later, we were nearing Coron island

Coron island aerial view Philippines — Hello beautiful waters!

Coron island hills from airplane — Not a piece of concrete in sight! Bliss…

Busuanga airport Coron Philippines — The very basic Busuanga airport of Coron

How basic? There isn’t even a luggage carousel. Just a platform on which the staff bring luggage from the airplanes and place them for the passengers to pick theirs.

After I collected my one bag, I hopped into a shared van taxi to take us to Coron town (costs ₱150 per person), where all the accommodation is.

Coron, although an island of its own, is part of the Palawan islands. It was lush greenery all around and not a human in sight. We drove through a vast field filled with cows.

Herd of cows Coron island Philippines — LOTS of cows!

Cows paddy field Coron Philippines — You know what I thought about when I saw all these cows in a huge open field? Dinosaurs running through and preying on these cows. Somehow ‘Jurassic Park’ came to mind.

The journey to Coron town was around 30 minutes long. The van taxi knew where to drop me when I told them I was staying at Coron Backpacker Guesthouse.

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse sign — They had a sign right on the main road

Coron children playing Philippines — Coron Backpackers Guesthouse was situated in a stilt house colony

Stilt houses Coron neighbourhood — It wasn’t the cleanest or the poshest neighbourhood, I’ll admit that

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse entrance — I found this place online

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse details — This hostel seemed to offer good value for the amount of money they charge

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse floors — Despite being on stilts, Coron Backpackers Guesthouse still has an upper floor with rooms

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse lounge — The place is owned by a Norwegian, but run by two Filipinas

Coron Backpackers rooms — My room was no. 7; toilets are at the end of this hallway

Coron Backpacker Guesthouse room — And this was my room; ₱500 per night

The staff at Coron Backpackers Guesthouse were great and quite helpful. I booked an island hopping tour through them as it cost the same as was advertised elsewhere. After that, I went out for a walk around town.

Tribal adventures Divecal center Coron Palawan — Back on the main road, you have plenty of restaurants and activity centers nearby

Coron town road restaurants dive centers — Coron Backpackers Guesthouse is really close to the town center

Road to public market Coron — Plenty of hotels in this part of town, but not many quiet resorts

Public square Coron town Philippines — Coron seems like a clean, well-maintained town

Coron Public Market Philippines — I walked through the public market because fresh fish always gets my attention

Fish stalls public wet market Coron — Although the variety was there, I was stunned when a vendor told me medium-sized white prawns ₱600 a kg! The same costs ₱200-250 back in Kannur. It’s sad seafood is so expensive in Philippines (because all the good stuff is exported), a nation that’s largely by the sea.

Sea Coron port Philippines — The public market is right by the sea and Coron port

Coron port boats docked Philippines — Fishermen and tour boats were back from the sea

Lualhati park Coron Philippines — This is Lualhati Park

Coron marina wall — This park seemed like a nice hangout for Coron’s populace

Lualhati park Coron rain puddle reflection — The weather wasn’t the greatest and I just hoped the skies would clear up tomorrow. Coron was my last hope for a disappointment-free tour.

Coron dive center Korean restaurant — Koreans here too

Coron sushi bar Philippines — I would eat from here the next day

Coron barangay evening Philippines — I kept walking around aimlessly like I often do

It was here a bunch of girls who were sitting by a tree struck a conversation with me asking me where I was from and how I ended up in Coron. They, like many strangers who often see me with camera, then asked if I could take their photos. (Filipino girls especially love to pose for photos I guess)

Coron Palawan young girls Philippines — It was the girl in the middle that said “hello” first and was inquisitive about me

The conversation gradually moved on from one topic to another before they then asked me to buy them dinner. Puzzled as to why they would ask random strangers to buy them dinner, I politely turned them down as they insisted if I am to take them out to dinner, I would have to take all three of them to a restaurant of their choice. I initially assumed they were just playing around, but the girl in the middle admitted they didn’t have a whole lot of money on them and they were hungry, especially their youngest friend who they said was the poorest among the three.

Coron youngsters at night Palawan Philippines — Later, a few of their male friends joined them and asked for a group shot… and dinner

Although I felt sympathetic to the 17-year-old, I didn’t know if she was lying or if this was all part of some elaborate scam. I just wanted to play safe as I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea seeing me with a minor, even if it was for a harmless meal. So I apologized, said sorry and went on my way.

Coron at night street light trees — The sun had officially set

Coron church at night — I decided to walk back

I walked past a restaurant that had lobster and beer on the menu at a good price for one at ₱300. I figured I’d have an early dinner.

Aaaand then the power went.

San Miguel beer in dark — I used the flash light from my phone to illuminate this shot

Lobster meal Coron Palawan Philippines — I ate my lobster in the dark under a candle light. I could tell by the texture of the meat that this lobster has been in the freezer for a while now.

Keys candle light in darkness — Just a shot I took at the restaurant before leaving

Dark room Coron Palawan — Back in my room, there was little I could do without electricity. Thankfully, there weren’t any mosquitoes, nor was it hot inside

Electricity eventually did come back and I could finally go to sleep with the fan on.

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2013: Aerial view of Mount Mayon; arriving at Coron

Philippines 2013: Coron island-hopping tour (Part 1) – Siete Pecados, Kayangan lake

Philippines 2013: Lignon Hill Park, Cagsawa Ruins and Mount Mayon

Philippines 2013: Arriving at Legazpi; going to Donsol to see whale sharks

Philippines 2013: Leaving Boracay; Kalibo to Angeles City

Beachfront hotels and resorts on White Beach, Boracay

Philippines 2013: Bulabog beach, Mount Luho viewpoint and sunset at White Beach

Philippines 2013: Boracay island tour, Puka beach and snorkelling

Philippines 2013: Flying from Manila to Boracay, White Beach

Philippines 2013: Taal Lake Volcano and Peoples Park, Tagaytay

The crap I went through to get my Philippines tourist visa this time

3 Comments

nan
06/12/2013

Hi there. Those three ladies who tried to intimidate you into buying them dinner are whores. So many whores around here. I am a local and boy I can tell from their make up. They’re the scum of our society not because they happen to be prostitutes but because they tried to scam you. Many of my friends are actually whores, girls, boys, gays and lesbians alike.

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
December 6th, 2013 at 4:31 PM
Hmm, I guess I played it safe then. I didn’t want to be seen with an under-aged prostitute anyway.
ankitech
20/01/2017

Very well written article. Super writing, keep it up.

Comments are closed.

Mithun Divakaran

3 Comments

nan

ankitech