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November 2011

El Nido snorkeling Miniloc island Palawan Philippines

Philippines: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Date: April 30th 2011

I woke up at 6am today. Not that it was when I set the alarm for, but that’s when electricity goes off everyday in El Nido (until 2pm). As the fan stopped turning and the humidity crept in, I had no choice but to get up.

El Nido karst hills sea morning Palawan Philippines
Went downstairs to have coffee... with a view

I had plenty of time as I only needed to be at Art Cafe by 8:45am, but instead of having breakfast at Spider Pension House, I decided to have it at Art Cafe itself.

Art Cafe porch dog morning El Nido Palawan
Everybody was taking it easy

I wanted to have a light breakfast as I was going to be getting into the water for snorkeling.

Pancake Art Cafe breakfast El Nido Palawan
I ordered pancake, assuming it would be fluffy and light (Cost ₱100)

Unfortunately, the pancake at Art Cafe was quite thick and heavy. I felt stuffed by the time I was done and had my orange juice. I mean, the pancake tasted great and all, but… my tummy was already bulging!

El Nido beach outrigger boats Palawan morning
It was time for my tour A to begin

I didn’t want a repeat of what happened on my first island hopping tour in Thailand, where I slipped and ended up plunking my camera bag in the water, so I stepped into the water carefully and boarded the boat. I didn’t rush to get a spot in the front of the boat.

El Nido sea dog facing accommodation Palawan Philippines
Talk about living on the edge
El Nido outrigger boat Filipino boys holding on Palawan
As the boat reversed, these kids hung on
El Nido outrigger boat local boys holding on Palawan
The water must be second nature to them
El Nido hills in sea Palawan Philippines
The weather today looked perfect
El Nido South China sea Palawan Philippines
The seas were still calm, which meant a less bumpy ride

El Nido limestone hill boat Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido boat tour South China sea Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido South China sea karst hill Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido South China Sea limestone hills Palawan Philippines

El Nido limestone hills South China sea Philippines
First stop on the tour was Miniloc island

El Nido South China sea limestone hill in distance Philippines El Nido island beach Palawan Philippines

El Nido limestone rocks sea Palawan Philippines
The boat slowed down

Miniloc island limestone rocks El Nido Palawan Limestone rock cloud El Nido sea Philippines

El Nido Miniloc island small beach kayaks Palawan Philippines
Our boat anchored itself outside the small lagoon

Those who paid for kayaking got into their kayaks and made their way towards the small lagoon. The rest, including myself, had to swim all the way there.

El Nido Mithun Divakaran boat snorkel Philippines
It was time to jump in (Disclaimer: No work out in over three weeks + heavy breakfast = thus tummy)

As I got in the water, I was supposed to follow the guide but got caught up floating in the water and staring at the corals underneath. It was a beautiful sight… which is all I can say, because I don’t have an underwater camera. (I really wish I did)

I couldn’t float around for too long as the guide had led the group through a small opening and into the small lagoon where there is a small cave.

So I swam fast and made it past the small opening, but just then, my limited swimming experience led to my right leg developing cramps. It hurt a bit as I stressed myself to catch up with the rest of the group. The guide came back for me and when I told him my right leg felt cramped, he told me not to stress it and asked me to sit on a stone inside the small lagoon. He had to lead the rest of the group inside the cave, so he told me to swim back after my leg felt better.

As I sat there massaging my right leg, a nice old Filipino woman who sat beside me on the rock suggested that I take her kayak back to my boat as she had another kayak in her group. I smilingly said “it’s fine,” but she smilingly insisted that I ride back instead of swimming back. I thanked her, and got in the kayak. Even though the kayak belonged to another tour agency and was even manned by one of their staff to paddle, I politely asked him if I could paddle instead. For someone who has always wanted to try kayaking, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! I rode all the way back with relative ease and thanked the staff for letting me paddle his kayak.

Once I got back on board my boat, another one of boat staff massaged my right leg and it eased my muscles up a bit. As I sat on the boat, I felt I should have gone for the kayak option for this tour. It was a lot of fun and as soon as I got back to the boat, I felt like asking for another kayak. Sadly I couldn’t, as the tour boats can only carry the number of kayaks based on the bookings.

El Nido miniloc island small lagoon Philippines
I know you can barely see it from here...
Entry to small lagoon Miniloc island El Nido Palawan
...but zoomed all the way in, that small opening in the center -- that's how you enter the small lagoon

Words are petty compared to actual photographs, so to see what the views are like under water and the cave, check out this guy’s photographs.

El Nido snorkeling Miniloc island Palawan Philippines
Floating in the water face down is all I wanted to do honestly
Pedro Fong swimming emerald waters El Nido Palawan Philippines
He was in our tour group (but will you just look at the colour of the water!)
El Nido limestone rocks Miniloc island lagoon Palawan
Once everyone was back on the boat, we left the small lagoon

El Nido boat tour South China sea Palawan

Entering big lagoon Miniloc island El Nido Palawan
Next up, the 'big lagoon' in Miniloc island
El Nido kayak to big lagoon Miniloc Palawan Philippines
Those who booked the kayaks set off from here itself (But I know what you are thinking -- BEAUTIFUL isn't it?)
El Nido big lagoon clear water Miniloc Palawan
This part is shallow
El Nido Miniloc water big lagoon Palawan Philippines
Sigh... again.... look at those colours! 🙂

We were supposed to anchor here and then be allowed to do whatever we opted to do, but the boat operators were informed they couldn’t anchor their boats for some reason.

El Nido big lagoon Miniloc island Survivor set Philippines
I don't know if it was because this setting was used for the filming of some reality show (the guide told us, it was the Swedish version of Survivor)
El Nido boat reversing big lagoon Palawan Philippines
We had no choice but to turn back... slowly

Leaving big lagoon Miniloc El Nido Palawan El Nido boat tour group Palawan PhilippinesJakob Fochlder El Nido Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido leaving big lagoon Miniloc island Palawan PhilippinesSnorkeling El Nido Miniloc island Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido Filipino boat Bangka Palawan Philippines

Filipino family El Nido boat tour Palawan Philippines
The nice lady and her family who lent me their kayak earlier
El Nido Art Cafe staff boat tour peace Philippines
The staff who helped me rid the cramps I had on my right leg
El Nido big lagoon Palawan Philippines panorama
Panorama comprised of 6 shots

El Nido Filipino men on boat Palawan

El Nido Filipino boats South China sea Palawan Panorama
Panorama comprised of 9 shots

El Nido Filipino tour boat beautiful sea Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido islands banco boats Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido sea limestone rock Philippines panorama

Twin islands El Nido Palawan Philippines
We moved on to our next spot
El Nido sunny day clouds Palawan Philippines
We were heading to Entalula island for our lunch break
Entalula island private beach Palawan Philippines
This is a private beach
Entalula island public beach Palawan Philippines
This is the public beach
Entalula island El Nido tour lunch stop Palawan
The off-colours make it look a bit cartoon-ish, doesn't it?
Entalula island rock shade El Nido Palawan Philippines
We could rest here for some time before lunch, but I got in the water instead
Nose edged rock Entalula beach Palawan Philippines
Got back on shore after a few minutes
Entalula island El Nido public beach panorama Philippines
Panorama comprised of 11 shots

And if you thought: “Man, that above panorama shot would make an awesome wallpaper!”, then here’s a 1920×1080 sized version! 🙂

Entalula island vertical panoramaAnchor boat Entalula beach El Nido Palawan PhilippinesEntalula island rock shadow wave Palawan PhilippinesEntalula island beach rock Palawan Philippines

Spade arrow shaped rock Entalula island Palawan Philippines
Cool huh?

El Nido entalula island waves glass like Palawan Philippines

El Nido Art Cafe staff cooking lunch Palawan
The staff were grilling meat
Fish pork barbecue El Nido island tour Palawan Philippines
Grilled fish and pork cubes
Mithun Divakaran El Nido lunch bbq Palawan Philippines
I like watching food being cooked... I guess it's one of those traits of being a foodie

View from cave Entalula island El Nido Palawan PhilippinesEntalula island beach water colour blue Palawan

Entalula beach El Nido beautiful Palawan Philippines
Postcard, isn't it?
El Nido island tour lunch bbq rice Palawan Philippines
Lunch was ready

The food – grilled fish, grilled pork and sticky rice – was, well, quite dry for my liking. So I just had to gulp it all down with some beer (which the staff were selling for ₱50 a can). Post lunch, we sat on the beach while the staff cleaned up and took all the trash back to the boat.

Leaving entalula island El Nido Palawan Philippines
We left the island at 1:45pm

Entalula island small beach El Nido Palawan Philippines

El Nido boat tour islands Palawan Philippines
We moved on to our next stop on the tour
El Nido Simizu island Palawan
I don't know if this was Simizu island
El Nido open sea Palawan Philippines
The plan was to swim out into the open sea (for something, I forgot). But because I didn't feel like swimming after lunch (& beer), so a few of us stayed on board
El Nido outrigger boat in blue sea Palawan
I stared out into the blue with my feet wading in the water
El Nido jellyfish in sea Palawan Philippines
My feet stayed in the water until I saw this
Jelly fish El Nido waters Palawan Philippines
Oh look, jellyfish!

One of the women on board kept screaming to her partner in the water warning him of the presence of the jellyfish, though some only swam to get closer to it for a better look.

El Nido Art Cafe staff sitting boat jellyfish Palawan
The staff said it doesn't sting. Well he wasn't sure, it was more like "I think it doesn't sting".
El Nido South China sea water Palawan Philippines
We waited for the rest of our group to return

When they did, some of them were panting for breath. The two Italian girls in our group said the currents were quite strong and they required help from our guide swimming back. Quite a scary experience according to them.

Emerald green water El Nido sea Palawan Philippines
It was time to leave these emerald waters and head to our next stop

El Nido islands limestone Palawan PhilippinesLimestone rocks island El Nido Palawan Philippines

Secret lagoon beach El Nido Palawan Philippines
We were going to check out a 'secret' lagoon, which is on this island (I believe this was Miniloc again)

Our boat didn’t anchor itself close to the shore, so we had to swim all the way there. I wasn’t going to stay on the boat again, but this time I really wanted to take my camera with me. So the guide told me he would carry it in a plastic bag and ensure it didn’t get wet. He’s obviously a much better swimmer, so he raised the bag in one hand and still swam to the island.

Once we all swam to the island, we had to walk barefoot on prickly shells to enter the lagoon through a small opening.

Secret lagoon El Nido tour Palawan Philippines
Panorama comprised of 3 shots
Secret lagoon Miniloc El Nido island Palawan Philippines
It was pool of water surrounded by rocks -- so not sure it counts as proper lagoon
Secret lagoon Miniloc island entrance El Nido Palawan
This is how one enters and exits the lagoon -- through an opening in the shape of Australia 🙂
Secret beach miniloc island El Nido Palawan Philippines
We spent a few minutes on the beach
German youth climbing up coconut tree El Nido island
It gave these Germans a good chance to do something they can't do back in their country
Toilet seat on island El Nido Palawan Philippines
The secret lagoon beach also has this toilet, which despite the views, people still wouldn't use

Secret beach trees rock El Nido Palawan Philippines

El Nido beach shack Palawan Philippines
The lone shack on this beach

Secret beach shadow miniloc island El Nido Palawan

Secret lagoon beach kayak El Nido Palawan
That's not a huge banana, it's a kayak... and I asked if I could ride it back to the boat 🙂 They allowed me to do so
El Nido rocky hill swallow nest farming Palawan Philippines
As the boat reversed, we saw what looked a like a ladder in the middle of the rock
Bird's nest cave guarding El Nido Palawan Philippines
The guide told us the man up there was guarding a cave where they farm bird's nest. For those who don't know, bird's nest (specifically from the cave swifts) are a delicacy in China, and are among the most expensive food products in the world, a la caviar and truffles.

El Nido island limestone rocks Palawan PhilippinesThe ride got a bit bumpy on the way to our final stop on our tour, 7 Commandos beach. I shielded my camera bag from all the saltwater that was being splashed at us.

7 Commandos beach El Nido Palawan Philippines
Called 7 Commandos beach because seven soldiers were once stranded here
Seven commandos beach Palawan Philippines panorama
Panorama comprised of 12 shots
Seven commandos beach coconut vendor El Nido Palawan Philippines
The stop was to give this man some business and have a drink. I ordered coconut water...
Boy sitting on coconut drinking cola 7 Commandos island El Nido Philippines
... like everybody else. Except this kid, I'm sure he's sick of coconut water living here -- he drank Sprite.
7 commandos beach basketball hoop boys dogs El Nido Palawan
Sparsely populated island... but they still have a hoop 🙂

Seven commandos beach tourist local boys Palawan Man lying hammock 7 commandos beach El Nido Palawan

7 commandos island house El Nido Palawan Philippines
I saw two or three houses on this beach, that's it

7 commandos island lady cock El Nido Palawan Philippines 7 commandos beach shack El Nido Palawan Philippines7 commandos beach bench El Nido Palawan PhilippinesSeven commandos beach weed sand El Nido Palawan PhilippinesSeven commandos beach sand tree branch El NidoSeven commandos beach trees blowing El Nido Palawan PhilippinesTourist lying on bench 7 commandos beach El Nido Palawan Philippines

Seven commandos beach woman bikini El Nido Palawan Philippines
We left Seven commandos beach after spending 45 minutes here

With that, Tour A was over.

Fat man El Nido tour boat Palawan Philippines

El Nido sunset boat ride sea Palawan Philippines
It was past 4:30pm

El Nido sunset silhouette fisherman boat Palawan Philippines El Nido South China sea Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido outrigger boat Palawan Philippines

El Nido Palawan hills blocking sunset Philippines
My day wasn't done though, I needed to get to Las Cabanas beach quick

El Nido village from sea Palawan Philippines

El Nido tour boat arriving Art Cafe Palawan Philippines
The boat anchored itself a bit away from the shore, we then got in knee-deep water and walked back to Art Cafe

I went upstairs to pay the balance amount for the tour, which cost ₱700 ($16/€12) plus the ₱50 for the beer I had. I told them I used the kayak once, but they said that’s fine.

Even though I may not have made full use of the tour (due to my limited swimming capabilities), as you can see from the above photos, it was still pretty damn worth it! Sadly, today was my last in El Nido and I so wished I had another day to do another tour (like Tour C).

El Nido island Map tour A, tour B and tour C Palawan Philippines
This is the map of the tours on offer (from Art Cafe)

I left Art Cafe, said my goodbyes to the rest of my tour group and walked on. I now needed to go to Las Cabanas beach which is a five minute drive away.

Mobile store El Nido village Palawan PhilippinesI approached a tricycle taxi and asked how much it was to get to Las Cabanas beach. He said: “₱200”. I asked if that was to take me there and back, and he said “no”. I said ‘no freakin’ way’ and continued walking. As expected, he followed me and we ended up bargaining it down to ₱80.

Rough road las cabanas El Nido Palawan Philippines
It's a pretty rough road to Las Cabanas

Las Cabanas resort sign Palawan Philippines Road to Las Cabanas beach El Nido Palawan PhilippinesPath to Las Cabanas beach Palawan PhilippinesWay to Las Cabanas beach Palawan Philippines

Cashew nut apple Las Cabanas El Nido Palawan Philippines
Found a cashew fruit on the ground

Way to beach Las Cabanas Palawan PhilippinesLas Cabanas coconut trees beach Palawan

Las Cabanas beach evening Palawan Philippines
It was 5:30pm
Las Cabanas beach evening sun El Nido panorama
Attempted a panorama photograph from here
Las Cabanas beach foot prints dog Palawan Philippines
Decided to walk barefoot for a while
Orange pearl resort Las Cabanas beach Palawan Philippines
Orange Pearl Resort

Las Cabanas beach Filipino boats Palawan sunset PhilippinesLas Cabanas sand mud shore Palawan PhilippinesLas Cabanas beach resort trees hill El Nido Palawan Philippines

Las Cabanas beach evening El Nido Palawan panorama
Panorama comprised of 10 shots

Las Cabanas beach wave ripples Palawan Philippines Las Cabanas wave ripple mud sand Palawan PhilippinesLas Cabanas beach tyre sand evening in PalawanLas Cabanas beach red leaf tree Palawan sunsetLas Cabanas beach sand crab hole PhilippinesLas Cabanas beach wave avoiding sand castle PalawanCoconut tree branch Las Cabanas beach shadow El NidoLas Cabanas beach corner sunset reflection in water Palawan

Las Cabanas beach El Nido Palawan Philippines
I ended my walk here
Las Cabanas beach sunset Palawan Philippines
I placed my bag down and found a spot from where to shoot my sunset timelapse

But it wasn’t a pleasant experience. There were mosquitoes and other bugs buzzing around me and I just couldn’t stand still, having to whack each one away. The tripod with the camera would often tip over in the sand as well.

Sunset at Las Cabanas beach El Nido Palawan Philippines
None the less, I began shooting my sequence of photos

Las Cabanas sunsetting El Nido Palawan PhilippinesLas Cabanas beach evening sunset Palawan PhilippinesLas Cabanas beach sunset El Nido Palawan Philippines(I’ll update the page with the video once it’s ready)

I took one last panorama shot and left Las Cabanas beach at 6pm.

Las Cabanas beach sunset Palawan Philippines panorama
Didn't come out perfectly after merging it though
Las Cabanas path to main road Palawan
I walked back to the road

Las Cabanas trees silhouette sunset Palawan Philippines

Frog squished flat road kill Las Cabanas Palawan Philippines
Bikes often pass through this path... as experienced by this unfortunate frog

Once I got back on to the main road, the tricycle taxi driver who dropped me here was still there and I approached him to take me back to the village. He said: “₱100”. Sigh. I told him I paid ₱80 to come here, why should I pay more to go back. He just shook his head to say ‘no’. So I started walking…. and again, he followed me and asked me to get in. Ugh!

As we rode back, I had to ask the driver to stop again when he showed me an observation deck they built for a nice view of the sea. The sky looked beautiful and I just had to capture it!

Las Cabanas sunset sky El Nido Palawan Philippines
Unfortunately there are trees obstructing the view, so this is all I took

Once I got back to the village, I went back to the ‘family day’ celebration which I visited yesterday to see if there was anything special going on today.

El Nido barangay family day kids dancing Philippines village
The men were drinking as usual, but yesterday's cock fighting ring had turned into a dancing ring for the village children

I leisurely walked back to Spider Pension House and told Joy that tonight I would like to try their seafood buffet for dinner.  Electricity was gone again, but Joy still managed to make me a ‘boku milkshake’. I was then joined by three French youths who had just arrived today, and we began chatting.

Lobster crab soup rice dinner Spider Pension El Nido Palawan
When dinner was served, it was crab soup, fried tuna, grilled lobsters, rice and salad. Cost? ₱250 ($5/€4)

After a satisfying dinner, I settled my bill and paid for everything as I was checking out early tomorrow. I asked Joy to book me a seat in a private van back to Puerto Princesa.

El Nido private islands lights at night
Joy told me the glowing in the distance is from lights from resorts and other private islands

I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my Philippines journey. Coming all the way to El Nido for these beautiful waters was worth it! If these 159 photos (out of the 861 photos I took) don’t tempt you to take a vacation to El Nido, well, then try this video — it’s all real!

(It’s available in 720p HD)

P.S: There is still one final post left in this series

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Palawan dog stretching

Philippines: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Date: April 29th 2011

Woke up really early today morning — like, 5am early! I left Banwa Arthouse and managed to catch a passing tricycle taxi to take me to the Puerto Princesa bus stop. It was a bit of a drive away, but I managed to get there in time. Anyway, I had called up the bus company (called Eulen Joy) the previous day and secured a seat for myself.

Now, despite reserving a seat, the bus is nothing fancy. Anything but! In fact, to get my seat right in the front, I had to walk over luggage belong to the other passengers. When I was instructed to do so, I kept looking at the other passengers with a mental “Im sorry but I have no other choice” look — but all they did was smile back.

Puerto Princesa bus stop road early morning Palawan
The bus left the station at 6am
Puerto Princesa to El Nido highway Palawan
It was going to be a 6 hour long journey to El Nido

The one-way bus ride to El Nido cost ₱380 ($8/€6) and I opted to take the local bus instead of a private van (which cost more) not simply to save a few hundred pesos, but for the very same reason I chose to take tricycle taxi in Bohol — to take clear photos along the way.

Puerto Princesa early morning misty clouds Palawan
I’m glad I made that decision again

Palawan highway road bend PhilippinesPuerto Princesa early morning cow PalawanPuerto Princesa farm land early morning Palawan PhilippinesPuerto Princesa dawn mist Palawan PhilippinesPuerto Princesa bus to El Nido behind window

Honda bay early morning Palawan islands Philippines
Passed by Honda Bay

Morning mist forest Palawan Philippines

Sabang Roxas Taytay junction Palawan Philippines
This is the junction from where you break off the main highway if you wish to go to Sabang
Dog stretching morning Palawan Philippines
We stopped by this house for a passenger

Puerto Princesa village highway Palawan morningPuerto Princesa village highway Palawan morning
Puerto Princesa to El Nido highway Palawan morning
Farm by highway Palawan morningRiver Palawan backwaters PhilippinesFence Palawan morning Philippines

Palawan calm beach Philippines
The seas were calm

South China Sea calm beach morning Palawan Philippines Puerto Princesa to El Nido highway PalawanSmoke on road Palawan PhilippinesRiver stream Palawan Philippines

Palawan highway checking for plants Philippines
The bus stopped along the way for a check for plants and seeds, which apparently isn’t allowed beyond this point. Guessing it’s because of fears of alien viruses contaminating plants.

Palawan Highway to El Nido Philippines

Palawan island highway picking up passengers Philippines
Passengers were picked up all along the way, stuffing the bus inside and out — quite literally

Nearly 2 hours into the journey, with the sun hitting my eyes, I felt sleepy again and dozed off after keeping my camera back in.

I was woken up an hour later by the bus driver, who using the universal hand gesture, asked me if I wanted anything to eat. I politely said “no thanks”. The bus had stopped and the passengers got out for a break. I wasn’t hungry but an ice cream vendor on a bicycle asked me if I would like some ice cream. Now, I wasn’t very keen on having ice cream from a bicycle vendor in a remote village for health risks, but he had cones and buns.

Ice cream bun street food Palawan Philippines
I just had to order one! Cost just ₱15 and it was yum!
Palawan highway to El Nido Philippines
From here on, I shot using my Nokia E72 phone camera

Palawan village house PhilippinesPalawan rice fields PhilippinesBy 11am, the smooth concreted roads eventually gave way to unpaved ones.

Dirt road to El Nido Palawan PhilippinesDirt road to El Nido Palawan Philippines

Sea Palawan Philippines
After nearly 5 hours on the road, I finally got a glimpse of the sea again
Concrete roads Palawan Philippines
Fortunately, the dust gave way and we were back on concrete roads

Palawan burned trees PhilippinesHighway to El Nido Palawan island Philippines

Remote village home near El Nido Palawan Philippines
The bus would stop at independent houses along the way to drop passengers who had gone to the city to stock up on goods. Moments like this made me wonder how far away from home I was!

Even though the bus journey is longer, and less comfortable, I still enjoyed the experience of what life is to these locals on this remote island.

El Nido sea karst hills Palawan Philippines
By 12:30pm, my first hint I was nearing my destination. I smiled with glee seeing this 🙂

I finally reached the El Nido bus station as it neared 1pm. I didn’t have a reservation anywhere but I did make a list of accommodation by the beach that suited my budget.

After stopping by one or two hotels I didn’t end up liking (and some that were full), I walked to Spider Pension House — a place I had called the day before and asked for a room to be kept available in case I were to stop by. Fortunately, one private fan room (but common toilet) was still available, so I checked in. I got the room for ₱700, for two nights.

Spider Pension house Pukka restobar El Nido beach Palawan
Most of the accommodation in El Nido is small and basic at best
El Nido beach view from Spider guesthouse Palawan
The view from the Spider Pension House wasn’t bad either 😉
El Nido beach afternoon Palawan Philippines
Spider Pension House’s location is in the middle of the beach

After dumping my bags, I didn’t waste any time and made my way to Art Cafe — the most popular and one of the earliest businesses to promote El Nido tourism.

Submariner diving center El Nido beach Palawan Philippines
A few diving centers are available in El Nido
Rovic's pension house El Nido beach Palawan Philippines
I decided to take photos of other beach front accommodation in case you (my reader) are looking for where to stay in El Nido

El Nido beach shore sand PalawanMarina Garden beach resorts El Nido Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido beach anchored boat Palawan Philippines

El Nido Buena vista hotel Palawan Philippines
Walked up through here

El Nido road to Art Cafe Palawan The Alternative massage El Nido Palawan PhilippinesLa Salanqane hotel El Nido Palawan Philippines

El Nido boutique Art Cafe Palawan Philippines
I planned to have lunch here, even though there are cheaper restaurants on El Nido beach

Besides lunch, I was also here to book a tour for tomorrow. Though there are primarily three tours on offer, I opted for Tour A as it would give me a good enough experience of what all El Nido has to offer. Paid some money as advance and sat down for lunch.

Art Cafe tourists El Nido Palawan Philippines
I sat by the balcony
View from Art Cafe balcony El Nido beach Palawan
The view was… alright
Seafood pizza El Nido Art Cafe Palawan Philippines
I ordered a seafood pizza and beer (cost ₱320 totally). Needless to say, I had a good lunch 🙂
El Nido Art Cafe restaurant interiors Palawan Philippines
The Art Cafe has a relaxing environment — and free wi-fi
Shore Pass lodge El Nido Palawan Philippines
Shore Pass lodge, this was right across Art Cafe
Nidobay Inn lodging El Nido Palawan Philippines
Another one that’s on the same lane as Art Cafe
Anang Balay Turista El Nido Palawan Philippines
Anang Balay Turista
El Nido beachfront lodging hotels Palawan Philippines
There are plenty of beachfront accommodation available, but a lot of them cost ₱500 and above
Monkey tied to tree El Nido Palawan Philippines
Hmm, is this legal?
El Nido hotels massage lane trike Palawan Philippines
I chose to walk around the village a bit

El Nido shops house lane Palawan Philippines El Nido Maligaya market shops Palawan island El Nido new look barbershop Palawan Philippines

El Nido general store Palawan Philippines
Don’t expect to do much shopping here. Other than the basics, there is little else to buy.
Philippines Ports Authority El Nido Palawan
The port

El Nido village life locals Palawan islandEl Nido village homes Palawan PhilippinesMidtown bakery El Nido Palawan PhilippinesHay roof house El Nido Palawan Philippines

El Nido Eulen Joy buses Palawan Philippines
These were the type of buses I took from Puerto Princesa today morning
Blessed Inn El Nido Palawan Philippines
There are hotels a few lanes away from the beach as well
New building construction El Nido Palawan Philippines
Looks like more hotels are on the way as El Nido grows more and more popular

El Nido coconut tree blowing in wind Palawan island Philippines El Nido village welcome sign Palawan

Barangay Maligaya family day El Nido Palawan
I gatecrashed, out of curiosity
El Nido local gathering Palawan Philippines
Even though it said ‘family,’ it was mostly men drinking beer while the women served food
El Nido cock fight ring Palawan village Philippines
But it seems the ‘main event’ on Family Day was cock fighting
Cock fight El Nido village men Palawan Philippines
These cocks (no, the birds)
Cock fight dead chicken El Nido Palawan Philippines
The aftermath of a concluded match
Chicken El Nido Palawan Philippines
Enjoy your freedom while it lasts dude

El Nido men gathered for cock fight Palawan Cock fight ring blood on ground El NidoRocks children of El Nido Palawan

El Nido children Palawan Philippines
The “Hey mister, take photo!” shot
Dog sitting wooden planks El Nido Palawan
I left the venue

El Nido coconut tree tricycle bike parked Palawan El Nido village water road PalawanEl Nido village houses Palawan PhilippinesElderly couple El Nido Palawan Philippines

El Nido village elderly couple Panorama
Panorama comprised of 6 shots

Concrete road El Nido barangay Palawan Philippines

First Consolidated bank atm El Nido branch Palawan Philippines
This is the only ATM machine I saw here — and it was new!
El Nido field Palawan Panorama
Panorama comprised of 6 shots
El Nido road to bus station children playing Palawan Philippines
I got back on the road which leads to the bus station
El Nido bus station Palawan Philippines
This is where you catch the van or bus back to Puerto Princesa

Road in front of El Nido bus station panorama

El Nido airport road Palawan Philippines
The El Nido airport is 7kms from here. But here’s the thing, the ‘airport’ is apparently not a big one and only few charter flights land there, making it very expensive to fly straight from Manila.
Inngo tourist inn lane El Nido Palawan
I had gone all around and come back to the beach near my guesthouse
Lally & Abet beach cottages El Nido Palawan Philippines
I walked back to the beach

El Nido beach Palawan afternoon sunlight

El Nido beach bike platform Philippines
You can ride a bike on this platform

Filipino boat water reflection El Nido Palawan El Nido outrigger boats Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido bike beach Palawan Philippines

El Nido corner hotel Palawan Philippines
El Nido Corner and Bacuit Grill Bar

Filipino tour boat El Nido Palawan Philippines El Nido beach afternoon path PalawanEl Nido beach boat afternoon Palawan PhilippinesEl Nido path along beach Palawan PhilippinesRocks El Nido beach Palawan

El Nido beach cabin Palawan
I kept walking down the path to see how far it would take me
El Nido rock beach bicycle Palawan Philippines
The beach extends to this side where there a few cottages here as well
Makulay Lodge El Nido beach Palawan Philippines
Makulay Lodge was one of the places I had shortlisted; now I know where it is
El Nido clear water shells Palawan Philippines
Believe me when I say this is under water! The water is that clear! 🙂

El Nido clear water pebble stones Palawan

El Nido water ripples sunlight Palawan Philippines
The time was 5pm

El Nido beach sea boats Palawan

El Nido beach sun flare Palawan Philippines
I decided to head back to Spider Pension House

El Nido rocky beach Palawan Philippines

El Nido elevated boat family Palawan waters
Kind of makes it look like the boat is where those locals live

Man coming out of water El Nido sunlight Palawan

Rosanna's beach cottages El Nido Palawan Philippines
Rosanna’s Beach cottages
Tandikan beach cottages El Nido Palawan Philippines
Tandikan Beach Cottages
El Nido beach shadow light Palawan Philippines
The shadow really hit the beach like this

El Nido beach children Palawan Philippines El Nido hills in sea Palawan Philippines

El Nido Beach evening sun Palawan Philippines
Darkness was slowly taking over the entire beach

Once I got back to Spider Pension House, I sat on the porch and simply stared out into the sunset, listening to the ever relaxing sound of waves crashing. I ordered a coconut milkshake (or ‘boku juice’ as per the menu) and Joy, whose mother owns the place, sat beside me for a chat.

Joy Spider Pension house lady El Nido Palawan Philippines
She was curious as to where I was from as ‘my kind’ are not often seen in El Nido, let alone Palawan
El Nido beach sunset Palawan Philippines
Joy told me because of these hills, one can’t see the sun set from here. For that, you need to go to Las Cabanas beach, which I planned to do tomorrow.

El Nido boats in water Palawan Philippines

El Nido bottle flame light Palawan
As it got dark, they lit up these bottles
Sunset at El Nido beach Maligaya Palawan Philippines
Time was 6:30pm
El Nido beach sunset evening Palawan Philippines
By 7pm, the sun had set

Even though the sun had set, I still sat there, feeling very relaxed and drinking my second coconut juice (didn’t feel like drinking beer at all). Unfortunately, when I ordered my third glass of boku juice, the electricity went.

I was joined by another guest staying at Spider Pension House (Aldo was his name I believe). A Spaniard based in London, a regular to El Nido and one who liked staying at Spider Pension House so much that he decided to help the owners by creating a Facebook page to help them with promotion.

Aldo young girl drinking coconut juice El Nido Spider Pension
Eventually, everybody had coconut milkshake — including Joy’s adorable daughter!

Since there was no electricity, it was pointless to go to my dark room upstairs, so I continued chatting away to the sound of waves crashing. When it came time to make plans for dinner, Aldo told me there was so much pork leftover from yesterday, that he asked Joy to make something for tonight as well. He had bought an entire pig from the market to be roasted a la lechon style – which they did (he showed me his photos). But needless to say, there was quite a lot of meat left over.

El Nido Spider Pension House dinner pork rice Palawan
Dinner was curried pork and white rice. And for the first time in nearly two weeks, I finally enjoyed Filipino food! The pork was simply delish!

Just as I took out my wallet and asked “How much?,” Aldo gestured “no” with his hand. It was on him, so “thanks” was all I could say.

I finally went up to my room after the electricity did come back, as I had to copy over today’s photos to my back-up hard drive and prepare for tomorrow’s island tour. I had to make the most of the electricity available, because if there’s one thing you need to know about El Nido, it’s this: electricity goes off everyday from 6am to 2pm.

Sigh, I guess I knew what time I was going to wake up tomorrow — that too with the humidity!

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country  (Last post)

Sabang underground river Mithun Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines

Philippines: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Date: April 28th 2011

I was up and ready by 7:30am. I waited for the tour van to come pick me up for today’s tour of the longest underground river in the world, the Sabang Subterranean River (which on November 11 this year, became one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature — based on public votes).

Tour van Palawan Philippines
I was the first to be picked up. I was also given a bottle of iced tea and a Palawan souvenir pouch. I don't know if it was because I was the first to be picked up, but I didn't see other passengers get it
Area near Microtel Inn beach resort Puerto Princesa Palawan
One of the members in our tour van had to be picked up from the Microtel Beach Hotel
Emerald playa beach and nature park Puerto Princesa Palawan
Which gave me the chance to check out the mangrove beach on this side of Puerto Princesa
Microtel Beach hotel Puerto Princesa Palawan
It was a bit of a wait, so we all went in
Microtel Inn emerald playa beach Puerto Princesa Palawan
Microtel is one among the few posher accommodation options in Puerto Princesa
Microtel emerald playa beach Puerto Princesa Palawan
The beach isn't great, but it's all you get near Puerto Princesa citytown
Microtel Inn emerald beach mangrove Puerto Princesa Palawan
We headed back to our van
Microtel Inn lobby Puerto Princesa Palawan
The lobby of the Microtel hotel (Above photos were all taken using my phone)
Inside tour van Palawan Philippines
Once everyone was picked up from their respective hotels, we were on our way
Palawan highway Philippines
Since I was sitting at the back, I tried my best to take photos from behind the tinted glass
Hill range Palawan island Philippines
The hills of Palawan look lovely

Palawan highway road bendPalawan highway concreted roads Philippines

Honda bay Palawan Philippines
To our right was Honda Bay

Highway to Sambang Palawan

Road under construction Palawan Philippines
The smooth roads eventually gave way to bumpy ones

The van stopped at a viewpoint on the way for a break.

Beunavista viewdeck Palawan Philippines
Yes mayor, I'm sure you did this with your own salary. Psssh.
Viewdeck on the way in Palawan
The locals sell food and other small items here -- and there's a toilet, thus the stop
South China sea Puerto Princesa Palawan
The South China Sea

South China sea from viewdeck Palawan

Cock chicken viewdeck Palawan
We got back in our van

 Hill forest Palawan PhilippinesBranchless trees Palawan PhilippinesRoad to Sabang village Puerto Princesa Palawan

Cabayugan Puerto Princesa PalawanSabang mountain Puerto Princesa National Park Palawan

Sabang mountain Puerto Princesa national park Philippines
The guide pointed to that big hill
Mountain Puerto Princesa National Park Palawan Philippines
The underground river is beneath that!
Sabang beach village Palawan Philippines
After one and half hours of driving, we were by the sea
Sabang outrigger boats Palawan Philippines
Ahh, finally! What I came to Palawan for. No, not the boats... crystal clear water!

Sabang community stage Puerto Princesa PalawanSabang beach courtyard Palawan Philippines

Sabang beach clear water Puerto Princesa Palawan
Sabang beach
Sabang boats Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
It was time for my group to begin our tour

Sabang boat tour Puerto Princesa Palawan

Sabang South China sea water Puerto Princesa Palawan
I like these boats, they feel safe
South China sea Filipino outrigger boat Philippines
The bamboo poles on either side prevents the boat from flipping over (well, in theory at least)
Limestone rock Sabang beach Palawan Philippines
Even though I've seen similar sights in Malaysia and Thailand, I never tire of these limestone rock formations amidst blue waters

Puerto Princesa hills Palawan island

Arriving at Puerto Princesa national park by boat
We arrived at the Puerto Princesa National Park

Puerto Princesa National Park beach Palawan Philippines

Puerto Princesa subterranean river national park Palawan PhilippinePuerto Princesa Subterranean river national park Palawan

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park entrance
Since our tour cost ₱1500 ($34/€25), all our charges were covered
Long-tailed macaques Sabang underground river Palawan
Lots of monkeys here too

Puerto Princesa National Park do-not-feed animals sign

Puerto Princesa national park wooden path to river
I walked towards the underground river
Puerto Princesa national park heritage site information Palawan
This place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Puerto Princesa National Park facts figures Palawan PhilippinesPuerto Princesa national park cave tour rules Palawan

Boat entering Sabang Underground river Palawan Philippines
The cave... beautiful, isn't it? 🙂
Sabang Underground river tourists photo Palawan Philippines
We had to wait for our turn, as they only allow one boat in at a time
Sabang under river emerald water Palawan Philippines
Look at the colour of that water!
Sabang underground river Mithun Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
Yes, finally, a photo of me

Sabang underground river swamp Puerto Princesa Palawan When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.

So I sat, adjusted my tripod’s height and set the camera’s settings. I was going to hold the light with my left hand and press the camera shutter with my right hand.

Entrance to Sabang Underground river cave Palawan Philippines
Helmets and life-jackets on, we followed suit
Entrance to Puerto Princesa subterranean underground river Palawan
Here we go! 🙂
Inside underground river limestone cave Palawan
I knew it was going to be tough to shoot inside while moving and shooting in manual mode that too. I didn't want to use flash since I assumed it wouldn't be good for the eyes of the cave's creatures.
Inside underground river cave swallow bird Sabang Philippines
But other tourists inside the cave were shooting with the flash on and the guides didn't say anything. So I switched my camera to Auto mode and continued shooting.

Inside Puerto Princesa underground river darkness cave PalawanInside underground cave Puerto Princesa PhilippinesPuerto Princesa underground river cave tour Philippines

Inside underground river cave Puerto Princesa Philippines
It was cool inside the cave
Inside underground river cave tourists boat Sabang Philippines
Other boats were making their way back

Inside underground river cave stalactites Philippines

Inside underground river cave boat lights Sabang Philippines
Kinda looks like car in the distance doesn't it?

Inside underground river limestone rock ancient Puerto Princesa

Inside underground river one light Puerto Princesa
Besides the sounds of the cave dwelling fauna, the only echoes one could hear were the cheers of the tourists

Puerto Princesa underground river tourists Sabang Palawan

Inside underground river dinosaur rock formations Puerto Princesa
The guide would point to many limestone formations that were moulded over hundreds of years into shapes resembling many things. Like these 'dinosaurs'.
Undergound river National Research Council Puerto Princesa
Scientists visit the underground river quite often

Inside Underground river 7 wonders Puerto Princesa Philippines Deep inside underground river Sabang Palawan Philippines

Inside underground river candle shape rock Philippines
The 'candle' rock
Inside underground river horse Palawan Philippines
Spot the horse 🙂
Inside underground river stalagmite Palawan Philippines
There are a lot of birds flying about inside
Inside underground river rocks Palawan Philippines
This is the only 'land mass' we came across
Inside underground river religious Palawan Philippines
This was something resembling a 'religious' event, but I can't recall what the guide told us

Inside underground river stalactites Palawan PhilippinesInside underground river Puerto Princesa tooth rock Philippines

Inside underground river stalactites shape Puerto Princesa Philippines
There were many more object-shaped rock formations

Inside underground river limestone rocks cave Puerto Princesa Philippines

Inside underground river stalactites cave Puerto Princesa Philippines Inside underground river dark cave Puerto Princesa PhilippinesInside underground river molar limestone shape PhilippinesInside underground river cave rocks Puerto Princesa Philippines

Inside underground river end point for tourists Puerto Princesa
We had reached the end point for tourists. Even though the underground river is the 8.2 km (5 miles) long, only a kilometre is allowed to tourists. To go beyond that, you need a special permit.
Inside underground river turning around Puerto Princesa Philippines
The boat turned around
Inside underground river big insects Puerto Princesa Palawan
Because I was holding the torch lamp, these big bugs were all over me. I had no idea what they were, but they made my position all the more uncomfortable.
Inside underground river man face rock Puerto Princesa Palawan
This was a 'face' rock

Inside underground river limestone cave Puerto Princesa Palawan Inside underground river cave rock formations Puerto Princesa Palawan

Inside underground river cave swallow birds Puerto Princesa Palawan
Swallow birds, lots of them inside

Inside underground river cave ceiling Puerto Princesa Palawan

Inside underground river cave ceiling structure Puerto Princesa Palawan Puerto Princesa underground river rock tourist boat Sabang PalawanPuerto Princesa underground river stalactites Sabang PalawanPuerto Princesa underground river candle rock Sabang Palawan

Puerto Princesa underground candle rock Sabang Palawan
Past the candle rock again

Inside underground river rock in water Puerto Princesa PalawanInside underground river limestone rock reflection upper cave PalawanInside underground river journey back Palawan PhilippinesInside underground river limestone rocks upper cave PalawanInside underground river boat going back PalawanInside subterranean river boat tour Puerto Princesa Palawan

Sabang subterranean river boat ride Puerto Princesa Palawan

Inside subterranean river jesus face Puerto Princesa Palawan
I don't remember if I took this shot because the guide told us it resembled Jesus' face

Sabang subterranean river boat tour Puerto Princesa Palawan

Inside subterranean river stalactites rock Puerto Princesa Palawan
Yes, the boat went in between these rocks

Inside subterranean river cave Puerto Princesa Philippines

Sabang subterranean river towards entrance Puerto Princesa Palawan
After nearly half an hour inside the cave...
Sabang subterranean river cave opening Puerto Princesa Palawan
..."light at the end of the tunnel"

Sabang underground river cave opening Puerto Princesa Palawan

Sabang subterranean river towards entrance Puerto Princesa Philippines
Here we go...

Leaving subterranean river light end of tunnel Puerto Princesa Palawan

Coming out of underground river Sabang Palawan
Ahhhh....

The boat dropped us back to the banks where I collected my bag from the counter. Going inside the subterranean river is my second cave experience on this trip, the first being back in Sagada last week. I truly enjoyed this though! The above photos were just a few of the 140 shots I totally took from inside. 30 minutes went by really quickly and you don’t even realize it took that long until you look at your watch. I wondered what the remaining 7 kilometres must be like.

Underground river beach boats Palawan Philippines
Walked back towards the boats

Underground river beach children playing tree Palawan Underground river beach boats anchored Palawan PhilippinesPalawan island beach boat boy Philippines

Subterranean river tour boat Palawan
Our tour group gathered and headed back to our boat

Underground river beach getting shade under tree Palawan Palawan island limestone rock Sabang Philippines

Palawan island hill Philippines
Everytime I see islands like this, I'm reminded of LOST (man, I miss that TV show!)

Filipino bamboo boat hitting waves Palawan sea Philippines

Palawan island boat going through rocks Philippines
Yes, our boat would go through these rocks as well
Palawan island boat sea rocks Philippines
Don't know if the boat drivers do it as a challenge 🙂

Palawan island rock Sabang beach Philippines

Palawan island Sabang beach coconut trees Philippines
I was looking forward to spending some time at the beach and in the water
Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
We walked back to the shore, where a buffet lunch was prepared for us

Twig in water beach Palawan Philippines

Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Philippines
I thought of hitting the water before lunch but...
Sabang beach no swimming sign Palawan
... I don't know why it was so

I still went into the water, knee deep.

Sabang beach coconut trees Panorama Palawan
Panorama comprised of 7 shots

I then decided to check out the accommodation available on Sabang beach in case my readers were looking for information on where to stay on Sabang beach.

Vista Lodge and restaurant Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan
There weren't many beach front 'hotels' as such
Taraw beach resort Sabang beach Palawan Puerto Princesa
Got a card from here. Some info: 09196011227/09215492156; e-mail: rebecca_nuevo@yahoo.com
Green Verde beach inn restaurant Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan
Ph: 0910-978-4539/0926-701-9246; e-mail: rlenez80@yahoo.com (as mentioned on their card)

The lady at Green Verde curiously asked me where I was from, among a few other questions. I asked her if it was easy to get from Sabang to El Nido and she told the only way it’s ‘easy’ is when there is a group big enough to fit a private van that can be booked in advance. That’s it. Otherwise, its back to the junction at the main highway and wait for a bus to El Nido.

Considering how much time I spent yesterday, going back and forth thinking how to do Sabang and then El Nido, I guess it is far more convenient to do the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa City itself.

Dog at Green Verde resort Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan

Sambang beach coconut tree Palawan Philippines Panorama
I liked taking panorama shots of these trees (comprised of 6 shots)
Buffet lunch Sabang Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
I had my lunch, which was mostly barbecued tuna and other dry dishes. (Didn't really enjoy it much)
Sabang beach yacht Puerto Princesa Palawan
We left Sabang past 2pm
Sabang beach village Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
No matter how far or how small a village is, you will always find a basketball hoop in Philippines

Sabang farm Puerto Princesa Palawan PhilippinesThe journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.

I spent the rest of the day back at Banwa Arthouse’s cafe, researching on El Nido, but as I went through my photos, newer guests who had checked in that day said their “hello” and began conversations. First a Japanese surfer, who spent a few months in Canada picking apples (seriously, some of the people I meet on my backpacking  journeys) and then spent those earnings traveling throughout India and is now in the Philippines. (Sigh, it’s moments like this I wonder why I spent 8 years working at multi-national corporation back in Bangalore!)

Then a group of young Danes (I believe they told me they were Danish) asked me where I had been today. We spent quite some time talking and then, we decided to go to Baybay for dinner and check out what was happening there tonight.

We walked to Baybay expecting a crowded festival.

Babybay at night food stalls Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
Hmmm, not quite
Chicken intestine fried street food Palawan Philippines
We all bought some beer cans and decided to snack. We tried fried chicken intestine first.
Barbecued meat stick Philippines street food Puerto Princesa
Had this next. Barbecued... something (I don't remember what)
Filipino food Palawan stall Philippines street food
Quite a lot of Filipino cuisine is this shade of dark brown
Babybay at night Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
Walked around a bit with our beers in hand
Danish tourists burger stall Palawan Philippines
'Main course' was hamburger

Just as we were walking out, a b-boy dance battle was announced to begin.

Baybay b-boy competition Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
Puerto Princesa's finest dance crews (I'm presuming) were on stage
Baybay dance crew stage competition Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
Some of the moves were impressive
Baybay dance battle Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines
We didn't hang around for too long though

Back in the room, the Danes were curious about all the places I had already been to in Philippines and wanted to see my photos. After an hour of that, I paid for my two nights stay at Banwa Arthouse as I was checking out tomorrow early morning. I had to call it an early night. Tomorrow I was going to take the first bus to the final stop on my Philippines tour — El Nido.

And wait till you see those photos! 😉

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country  (Last post)

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