Puerto Princessa

Day 1 – Love & Peace

Once again we were on the move and this time to a jungle resort about an hour outside Puerto Pricessa (Still in Palawan Island).

We had pre-arranged a private minibus with the guy who had transported us to El Nido and Daryll & Rachael arrived at our lodgings in the minibus to collect us around 9.00.  We asked the driver if he could stop along the way for a cashpoint as we were all pretty desperate.  Entering a town we tried the first one that did not accept our cards, then to another one that was out of action.  In the end we had to settle on a petrol station that took a hefty commission to give you cash advances against your card, but we had other choice!

Now with cash in our pockets we continued on to our jungle destination ‘Love & Peace Resort’ and when we got there it was down a large steep set of steps to the reception where we checked in.  The resort itself was lovely with large detached palm thatched cottages dotted around and a Bamboo Bar/Restaurant area that looked over the river just below it.  Unfortunately we were not staying at the bottom and we were shown up the first steps to the road level and then up another equally steep set of steps to the Bamboo cabins where we were actually staying.

 

The cabins themselves were pretty sweet, overlooking the resort and with individual verandas on each one and a surprisingly spacious private shower room.  We were in one and Daryll & Rachael were in the one next door.

Once we had unpacked and put up our own mosquito nets (glad I bought one along now -  not just taking up baggage space) we went downstairs to try and find details about a trip to the underground river. However they wanted quite a lot of money to transport us there so we went downstairs to the bar to discuss what we wanted to do.  We had a couple of Red Horse’s and decided that we would have to get a bus into Puerto Princessa to hire some motorbikes (the resort didn’t have any to rent out) so we could get to the underground river by ourselves which was quite a way away. 

 

After another beer Daryll and Rachael had changed their minds and wanted to go to Honda Beach the next day instead as it was Rachael’s last day and they preferred to do a beach day.  As Shell and I were going to be seeing a lot of beaches over the course of the next few months we decided to stick with our original plan.

So we asked the receptionist to get us a Tricycle to pick us up and take us to the bus stop (we were told buses go regularly from the top of the road).  Anyway Pilipino Meatloaf picked us up in his pimped up Tricycle blasting rock music out of it and took us the short journey to the bus stop.  We had no idea what we were looking out for but luckily enough for us there was someone who helped us and flagged one down for us, which was just as well as they just looked like regular white minibuses with no signage on them. 

We squeezed on with all the locals and after around an hour or so we arrived at Puerto Princessa coach depot where we were told we could find bike hire places. However this was not the case and after wandering around for a while we asked some Tricycle guys who told us there was a hire place about 5km away, so we hopped into his vehicle and made our way there.

 

Finally we had managed to rent a motorbike although I was slightly worried about leaving my passport as security as we were flying in a day or so.   The streets were quite busy so we thought we would try and check out Puerto Princessa town to see what it had to offer, plus we were starving as neither of us handnt eaten that day and it was around 5pm.  After not being able to locate the coast or Port we parked up just as a big festival/procession was taking place but all it consisted of was marching people and majorettes and was not much of a spectacle.  So true to form we went in search of a bar for a quick and food drink before heading back to the Jungle. 

It appeared that Puerto Princessa did not have any bars only lots of chain food restaurant’s, so we opted for one of these eateries but unfortunately they did not serve beer either, what they did serve was very bad food – Spare Rib’s turned out to be Spare Rib and a bit of boiled rice!!

So not being very impressed with the town, apart from the fact we managed to get some more cash out of one of the ATM’s we thought we would head back home.

Once again we had left it a bit late to go home and we were again travelling in the dark, but at least this time the bike was a bit more decent and the back light worked.  It took us some time as the Phillipino’s are not that big on road sign’s but after taking it carefully we eventually found the turning to ‘Love and Peace’.

When we parked up we were informed our noisy friends were in the bar area so we went down and joined them for a couple of drinks before deciding to turn in for the night.  We were going to have a nightcap on our veranda but the fact we had a swarm of jungle bees around our outside light changed our minds and I (Not Shell) was happy to get inside our hut and inside the mosquito net and turn out the lights!

Day 2 – Underground River/Wait

We had to get up early as we were advised it was better to get up to the underground river as early as possible as it would get busy with tourists.  So after a quick breakfast we got ready and got back on our motorbike.

The ride was about an hour or so but the scenery along the way was very nice and after a while we found ourselves at a pretty bay where the jetty to get the boats was.  We queued up to get our park permit, translation guide ticket and entrance ticket – they charge separately for each (we would get used to this bureaucracy over the next few weeks) and then we had to go to another place to pay for boat tickets!

 

Once we had paid for our boat ticket P1000 (around £15) we were given a number and told we would have around a one hour wait, so we found a little stall and got ourselves a couple of fruit shakes and sat down and waited.  Whilst we were waiting a Japanese tour guide said she had two guests and would we mind sharing our boat with them,  we agreed but she wanted to split the boat 50/50 (Not paying herself), but Shell did not let her get away with this and told her it should be split 5 ways which she then agreed to.

Eventually it was our time to get our boat and we started across the bay to the underground river which we thought we were going straight into. But instead we moored up on the beach and to be fair to the guide she took all our paperwork and sorted whatever needed to be done at the ticket office there.

 

We were then led through the jungle to a place where loads of people were waiting to board smaller crafts to actually go into the Underground river.  So we had to wait there in the jungle sweating our bits off for about another hour and a half until it was our time to get a boat.

 

 

The underground river is a 14km cavern system which is now one of the 7 modern natural wonders of the world so we hoped the wait would be worth it, but judging by the entrance it looked like it would be.

 

Slowly we were paddled into the cave and were met with massive caverns with loads of different stalagmite/tite formations and literally thousands of bats clinging to the roof.  We were informed to keep our mouths shut at all times when looking up – for obvious reasons!!

Whilst we paddled through around 3km of the system we had very cheesy audio-commentary through individual headsets, but to be honest it was better to listen to the man who was paddling us along, him coming out with puns like ‘This is the bat cave – I am not batman, I am Boatman!!’’

The trip lasted around half an hour or so and the system was very impressive but it seemed like a lot of waiting round for a short trip and could have been better managed (a waiting bar at the beach sprang to mind!!).

Once out of the cave we then went back to the beach to get the boat back to the quay, this again meant waiting on the beach and waiting our turn to moor up at the jetty.

 

When we eventually got back on land time was running out to return the bike so we had to miss the lunch at the beach that we were looking forward to.  So we headed back but halfway along the way I realised that we would not have enough fuel to get back and had to find some fast.  We were told that the bike was unleaded petrol so we panicked a bit when we went to one of the stall’s to buy petrol out of bottles, worrying that I would put the wrong fuel in, eventually after managing to google the effect of putting leaded into an unleaded bike and it saying it wasn’t critical we had no option but just to buy a bottle, put it in and take the risk.  It was only a short while later as I was riding along it suddenly came to me there has only been unleaded petrol for about the last 15 years (unless its diesel) – Doh!!!!!

As we were making good time we stopped halfway for some light refreshment where we got speaking to a French girl who was travelling solo and was close to tears as she had been given some bad bus information and had been stranded there.  Fortunately she had managed to arrange a private minibus in a couple of hour’s time and Shell tried to console her telling her it was just a bad travel day and she would have a great day tomorrow.

After a quick beer we were back on the bike and we managed to get it back to town and the rental garage with about 30 minutes to spare and on petrol fumes!  We asked if there was a bar nearby and he said nothing opens until around 7.00 but he invited us to buy a beer from the shop next door and sit in his garage and drink it there, so we did (not that we are desperate or anything!).

Unfortunately we had misunderstood the garage owner who had offered what we thought was a private car back to our resort with his brother-in-law for what was a reasonable fare (although more expensive than busing it) and after a couple of beers in the garage we thought it would be easier to get the private car, only to be informed he had left about half an hour before!!

So going back to our original plan we flagged down a Tricycle to take us back to the bus depot and whilst we were trying to negotiate a price a Italian guy came along and said he wanted to go I the same direction, so we all jumped in and shared the fare (which to be honest was only around £1.30).

 

When we got to the bus station we were unsure about where to get the minibus back and as we asked around a large coach came round the corner and a local told us that is going in the right direction so flagged it down for us.  We boarded or should I say shoe-horned ourselves onto it and did our best to hold on, with locals and some livestock (birds we think) and it was standing room only all the way.

It was also dark again so it was hard to make out where we were going or had to get off, fortunately Shell got speaking to one of the locals on board and she said she would tell us when to get off.  The journey was colourful but very uncomfortable but for less than £1 each for an hour or two’s journey you can’t really complain!

We got off when we were told to and as it was a long dark walk back, asked a random guy passing who went and woke up meatloaf to drive us back in  his tuk tuk to ‘Love & Peace’ Once there we went up to our veranda (the Bee’s had buggered off by then) and had a couple of Rum & Coke’s to relax after all our travelling.  We were also joined by another dinosaur sized gecko.

Later in the evening we went down to the bar area to get some dinner and to catch up with Daryll and Rachael to find out how each other’s days had gone.  They had upgraded to one of the posher cottage’s for the night as it was Rachael’s last with us, but we were happy to stay in our budget hut for another night (at least there will be no strange noises coming from next door in the morning!!!).

After some food and a few more beers Shell and I hiked up the stairs to bed, next day we were heading for a new Island!

El Nido

Day 1 – Poor Relations

We got up at a fairly leisurely pace as we had to wait for our minibus transfer to El Nido, so we packed and then went down for breakfast.

The minibus duly picked us up at 10.30 and drove us about an hour to our next destination in Palawan Island, El Nido.  It was at this point we split up as Shell and I wanted a bit more budget accommodation and as Daryll was on two weeks holiday he had opted for a swanky hotel just down the road.  Our accommodation was a bit more traveller/basic being a Bamboo Chalet but we quite liked it and it had a nice common area/café/bar at the front where you could help yourself to Tea/Coffee’s and more importantly cold beers (although you had to pay for those!)

As we had all been together for a few days we decided to give Daryll and Rachael some space for the day and so we did our own thing.

Firstly we took a Tricycle Bike into town which was around 1km from our accommodation and addressed the cash situation by going to the ATM, still no cash (might help the budgeting though!), and then we went shopping in the local market.  Once again we went in search of some shorts for me without success but we did get a £ 2.00 watch for Shell as her previous one had died.

We then took a walk back towards our lodgings through the town and then along the beach which was close by.  Along the way we enquired about an Island hopping boat trip for the next day for all of us, negotiated a price for a private boat and then went to a nearby beach bar and text Daryll to find out if they were happy with the price of the trip whilst having a cheeky little G&T at the same time.

After our light refreshment we went back to our accommodation and sat in the common area for the rest of the afternoon catching up on computer stuff and trying to find out if we could cancel or change the flight to Bangkok which we had been forced to book on our way to the Philippines, after hours of searching the best we could do was send the airline an E-Mail so we will have to wait and see.

In the evening we thought we would check out our immediate surrounding for some food rather than go back into town and a short walk down the road we found a noodle bar that looked promising.

The food turned out to be bang average (food not quite as interesting as we thought it was going to be in the Philippines) but we got chatting to an older American couple I would say in their 60’s who were also travelling and funnily enough their daughter had just arrived to pay a visit whilst they were away.  So we spent the rest of the night swapping travel destinations/stories with them for an hour or so before heading back.

On returning to our accommodation we returned to the common area and liberated a few more Red Horse Beer’s, these beers however are pretty lethal at just over 7% and will guarantee you a good night’s sleep, but not so much of a good morning!!

Day 2 – Island Hopping

We had arranged to meet Daryll and Rachael at their hotel around 8.30 to go on the Island hopping tour.  Daryll had spoken with the same company and had upgraded us to a speedboat trip (Daryll paying the extra for his poor relations and in lieu of many Pearl beers) his thinking that we would see more islands this way (That or impress the new Girlfriend!!).  Either way it was appreciated.

So we had a quick coffee at our place and wandered down the road and met them just as they were tucking into their inclusive breakfast!!  Shortly after we were met and taken to the boat and we were on our way.

 

Pretty soon we were flying through the sea and after around half an hour we were mooring up at the first island (sorry can’t remember the name) which was uninhabited apart from one fisherman’s hut. It had a beautiful stretch of sand and covered it palm tree’s and we were given half an hour to look around and do a bit of snorkelling.  The snorkelling was quite nice with a few fish to see but there was a massive drop-off that made me a bit nervous (Not Daryll, Rachael or Shell) as I wondered what large creature could come up from the deep, so I stayed close to the reef/shallows.  I was quite pleased about this when Daryll got back and told us that he had seen a reasonable sized fish with unreasonably big fangs/teeth!!

 

Boarding the boat again we were whisked to the next Island, the sea now had a bit more chop and we were bouncing along catching air and getting covered in spray.  The next Island was Snake Island, which sounds pretty worrying but the name actually comes from a slither of golden sand which goes from one island to the next.  We moored up next to one of the islands where we climbed to the top to the viewpoint where you really had a good view of the ‘Snake’, after which we went back down and took a walk along the sand bar to the other side where a lot of ‘selfies’ were being taken (Mentioning no names!!).  It was pretty stunning stuff though – the Islands not the selfies!!

 

After spending an hour there we were back on board and heading to the next island which is where we were going to have an early lunch.

 

Once again the Island was stunning and had a few palm-thatched huts to eat at and a kitchen area for the crew to prepare our lunch.  Whilst they were doing this we were taken to explore a nearby cave, squeezing through a crevice we entered a small cavern with a number of bats flying around and a small opening where you could see the sea and a few of the other Islands.

 

Whilst Shell and I found the small bar they had there and had a couple of Red Horses, Daryll and Rachael checked out the snorkelling.  When they got back they told us it was the best spot so far, so Shell and I took the plunge and were not disappointed as there were lots of colourful reef fish to see, but also a few more in your face/aggressive small ones (obviously protecting their eggs/young) which was slightly disconcerting (I’m not coming across very brave in this blog am I???).

 

Lunch was then served which was a big grilled fish, chicken, Squid, Crabs (Only small ones Mum, you wouldn’t have been impressed) and a salad.  Again these boat crews know how to feed you!

Once lunch was taken care of we were back on the boat and heading for the next destination which was The Big Lagoon and when we got there it was stunning a perfect crystal blue lagoon surrounded by large limestone walls.  We took a slow cruise around this, its just a shame there were so many other boats there, before heading off again.

 

Next up it was the Small Lagoon which was just as spectacular, entering it through a small channel you found yourself in another stunning location.  It didn’t end there though we were taken to a small pontoon where you could hire Kayak’s which enabled you to paddle through a small gap in the limestone wall which took you through to the Small Lagoon itself again a deep crystal blue enclosed by limestone (I’m sure the pictures won’t do it justice).  So we paddled round that for about 30 minutes before slipping back through the gap and back onto our speed boat.

 

We were then onto our final destination of the day, an island with a large sandy bay (again I have forgotten the name)  where we were told we could stay and watch the sunset. The skipper had quite a hard time trying to moor up as it appeared that this was a hotspot for all the boat trips to finish as it had a large bar to cater for all the sun-downers.  Once moored we then spent the next couple of hours having cold beers whilst waiting for the sun to set. What was quite nice is because we had a private charter most of the boats had left before sunset and we were some of the only people left there to enjoy the sun go down.

 

Shortly after sunset we were then back on the boat and after another 20 minutes we arrived back at the beach where we started. It was a fabulous trip and we will bore you with all the photo’s when we get back.

 

Once back on shore we went our separate ways and Shell and I went to get freshened up before going out in the evening.  We decided to go back into town and get a meal at a restaurant on the beach and soon found ourselves in a Reggae bar that had a live band playing.  A couple more Red Horse’s and some really good food which included a brilliant beef rib and it was time to go home for the night.

Palawan – Tapik Beach

Day 1 – More Travel

Once again we had to get up early to catch a flight. Looking out if the window and seeing the favela in daylight confirmed we had made the right decision to stay in the previous evening.  We went and had breakfast, which was pretty poor before waiting for a cab to take us to the airport.

We’d read in the Rough Guide that due to the volume of poor homeless children in Manila. Gangs had been formed which were called Rugby boys, not named after the sport but the type of glue they sniff. You didn’t really want to come across these if you could help it!.

On our way we asked the driver to find an ATM as we only had a small amount of currency and according to our Rough Guide there were very few ATM’s in Palawan.  He stopped at the first one we came to but made us nervous as he insisted on driving the car right next to the machine as people often get mugged at them.  No joy at the first one so he took us to another one and did the same thing, unfortunately no cash from this one either, reminding us to lock our doors when we got back into the car. We then spotted another one but a shady looking character was guiding us towards it so we thought we would give it a miss and take our chances in Palawan instead.

A short while later and after the driver getting a few directions we found ourselves at the small private terminal where Daryll and his new mystery woman Rachael were already there waiting for us.  It was great to see Daryll as he had made the effort to come and visit us whilst we were on our travels. Also it was great as Daryll had sorted out all the flights, accommodation, etc for the next couple of weeks (nice not to have to do this ourselves for a while) and he also came with printed itinerary’s for us (can see he has been busy at work!!!)

 

The only bad thing was that as it was a small plane there was only a 10kg baggage allowance so Shell and I had to pay for our 14kg excess.  Also the flight was slightly delayed but that wasn’t so bad as the waiting area had free drinks and a buffet.

Soon though we were on our way and it was only a short flight of around 1 hour and we were soon landing in Palowan, although it looked as though we were landing in the sea as the Runway started at the end of the beach. 

Once we embarked from the plane you could tell we were somewhere else as there were Jeepney’s waiting to take us to the terminal, which are a hybrid of a Jeep crossbred with a minibus!

 

Also once at the terminal (in the loosest possible terms) we found this to be a palm thatched building with four women singing to us, hula stylie, as we entered the building.  Once you entered it it was more like a thatched barn where drinks and a buffet was waiting for us – quaintest airport I have ever been to.

After a short while our baggage was delivered to a nearby hut where they were handed out to us by the porters and then we had to find some transport into the nearest town (El Nido), which turned out to be a new form of Tuk-Tuk, a motorbike with an improvised side-car-carriage attached to it.

 

Once in El Nido we quickly found ‘the only ATM in the village’ and managed to get some more cash out, to our relief.  We then met back with the others and found a local travel firm and negotiated a minibus to take us to our lodgings in Tapik later in the afternoon.

So with a couple of hours to kill we headed to the beach and found a restaurant to have some food and drinks and get to know Rachael better.  The food was a pretty decent selection of Squid, Prawns and fish with a very pretty view.

Around 2.00 we caught our mini-bus to take us to Tapik, the roads were not too bad and we got to see a lot of Palm Trees, Sea-views and bays along the way.  The only thing that spoilt it was that a large monitor lizard ran across the road in front of the van and when I turned round I could see it was an Ex-Monitor Lizard!

We were then taken down a bumpy lane and dropped off by the sea from there we had to take our bags round a small path which found us at Tapik Beach resort. 

The place was fantastic with small Bamboo Thatched cottages and huts.  Daryll had booked Shell and I into one of the large cottages that also had a balcony area and was lovely, unfortunately for him he had booked himself into one of the small huts when he thought he was coming by himself, but now with Rachael in tow it was a bit more cramped and basic for young love!!  But to be honest his hut was right on the waterfront which made up for it.

Once we unpacked our stuff we met up in the bar restaurant area and had some beers whilst looking out over the bay and island beyond until it was time for dinner.

For dinner the resort set up tables on the beach and fashioned large bamboo poles with fairy lights around them which was really atmospheric.  So we decided to eat there as it pretty much the only option we had anyway as we were in a pretty remote area, and we had some fairly nice food on the beach – not the worst place I have ever had dinner!!!

After dinner it was a few more drinks before heading off to our separate lodgings for the night – goodnight John-Boy!!

Day 2 – Boat Trips & Jelly Fish!

The day before we had arranged an Island Hopping/Snorkelling day trip with the resort so after a nice breakfast we were met by the boat crew and boarded a Bangka (Boat with Outriggers) and we all headed off to explore the nearby Islands and waters.

After around half an hour we stopped and were told we could snorkel in the area, so we all donned our masks and jumped in.  Looking around we were over a lovely coral reef with plenty of tropical fish which included Large Angel Fish, Colourful Parrot Fish and other pretty reef fish.  We swam around enjoying this for around half an hour before going back to the boat to go to another location.

 

Another 15 minutes and we moored up again this time the skipper told us there were some baby Black Tipped Sharks down there, so we were pretty excited to get down and have a look.  Unfortunately though it was Jellyfish season and there were hundreds of small specimens that none of us fancied taking the pain for (we had already received a couple of stings from the first stop), so we up anchored and went to a different location.

About half an hour later we anchored up again at another site and we all got in the water, however there still was quite a number of our stinging friends knocking around and after us all picking up the odd sting we decided it was not much fun so all boarded the boat again (the captain must have thought we were pussies!!).

 

It was getting around midday by now so we were then taken to a stunning Island with beautiful sandbars leading to other Island’s and Crystal Blue water, where we were told we could explore whilst the crew cooked our lunch for us.  Shell and I took a nice walk around the edge of the Island and had a swim whilst the young lovers frolicked in the water!! 

Unfortunately Shell picked up a particular nasty sting, you could actually see where the tentacle had made contact with her arm through a nasty line if blisters. If the mosquitos don’t get her the Jelly fish will!

It was then time for lunch which was served to us in a little Bamboo Thatched Shelter on the beach and we were amazed when we were presented with a lovely large grilled whole fish, Chicken, Rice and Salad which was lovely.  After lunch we were told we had another hour to sunbath, swim, etc before we were going to set off again.

 

We boarded the boat again around 3.00 and headed back to the previously Jellyfish ridden shark location and by this time it appeared most of them had moved on.  One of the crew members jumped in the water with us this time (his flippers fashioned out of a bit of wood and rubber strap) and he led us to an area where he thought the sharks would be.  Soon we spotted some baby sharks, about 3 of them to be precise, they were only about a foot long but I (Not Shell) was quite pleased of that fact, being the first time I had been in the water with sharks.

 

Once the sharks had disappeared we swam round for about another 20 minutes then boarded the boat to head back home.  Along the way back home Daryll spotted and pointed out a Sea-Snake swimming along the surface and we were pretty pleased we did not come across that whilst snorkelling (being the most venomous animal on the planet – if it can bite you fingers or toes!!), but it was pretty cool to see.  All in all it was a fantastic day out for the cost of around £20 per person!

Once back on dry land Shell and I went to the bar and had a couple of drinks before going back to the cottage to get ready to go out in the evening.

We decided to check out the beach bar at the next little resort further down the beach, Ursula and were greeted by a monkey that was a resident pet in the tree (we were happy to find out later that this was a rescued/orphaned monkey).  Although we were trying to give them a bit of space Daryll and Rachael were already sat at the bar so we joined them.

Again they had romantic tables on the beach so we decided after a couple of drinks to eat there (well Shell did, my food did not turn up and I couldn’t be bother to order again and eat on my own). So instead we went back to the bar and ordered some quite powerful cocktails,  it was at this point my feet felt like they were on fire and when I removed my shoes I was been attacked by ants (I’m guessing fire ants by the pain!) much to the amusement of Shell and Daryll (although the former refused my dare to put his hand in the line of fire – not believing it hurt as much as I was making out).

A few more drinks and then it was back to the cottage for the night, the only problem being that the Tyrannosaurus-Rex of Gecko’s must have taken up residence just  outside by our bed.  We are used by now to the cute little chirruping of Gecko’s but we now found out where they got their name from as all night long he blasted out, GHEEE-KKOOO,  GHEEE-KKOOO!! (Mind you he most probably kept the mosquito’s away as well as keeping us awake).

Day 3 – Crap Bike

After a gecko interrupted sleep we got up and went for breakfast. Speaking to Daryll and Rachael and after some advice from the owner of the bar next door, we agreed to try and get some motorbikes and check out the beaches down the coast.

The staff from the resort managed to scramble two bikes from locals and we were in business, Daryll opted for the automatic scooter and we ended up with the semi-automatic bike.  Daryll and I had a bit of practice on the beach and then we were off.

 

The roads were 50/50, half gravel track and half concrete so you had to be careful.  I did not have much option as my bike had seen better days and I think about 110 of its 125 horses must have escaped judging by the 5mph we could pull up hill.

Daryll must have got bored waiting for us so he charged on ahead leaving us for dust so Shell and I just pootled along, but when we stopped for a short while the electric starter decided to pack up.  Fortunately the bike had a kick start too, so after a few kicks we were on our way again.

 

We kept on driving but did not catch up with Daryll and decided we must have missed our turning and gone too far so we turned back. We found the turning and finally reached our destination of Nacpan Beach and just as we were registering and paying our entrance fee?? Daryll and Rachael pulled up behind us (Hare and Tortoise springs to mind), they too had gone too far and waited for us and then decided to double back.

The beach was beautiful white sand with a number of little islands dotted around it and a couple of beach bars.  So we went to one of the beach bars and had a few beers before taking a dip.

 

The sea was nice and warm and had some half decent waves which allowed us to do a bit of body surfing and then dry off and have a couple more beers.

 

Later in the afternoon we all decided to check out another beach further up the coast, Dulli Beach, which we just about managed to find and the road to it turned into a narrow pathway that only bikes could get down.

Surprisingly though when we got to the beach there was someone waiting at the end of the track to take money off us to park there! Shell negotiated some cheaper entry fee’s as it was pushing 4pm so we wouldn’t be there long.

The beach itself was fantastic, a large sandy bay with fairly decent surf and practically nobody on it.  There was however one small resort in the corner of the bay with a bar/restaurant and two cottages for accommodation. 

 

So we headed for that and found that it  was a Dutch couple that were running it and trying to build it up, although it looked like hard work as everything, food, building materials, etc were delivered along the beach by oxen.

 

We stopped and had some food (not great very dry fish) and a Gin and Tonic whilst waiting/hoping that the turtle eggs the owners were protecting/rearing were going to hatch and that we would see baby turtles running down the beach. 

Unfortunately there were little movements in the sand but the sun was starting to go down so we decided it was better if we drove back home.

 

The owner also hinted that we could run it for them for a couple of months if we wanted as the woman was very heavily pregnant and they would need someone to look after it for them during this time- tempting but we have other stuff to see!

Once again Daryll left us for dead speeding off whilst our donkey struggled, in fact once I had to ask Shell to get off the back so that the bike could get up the hill (Disclaimer: not due to Shell’s weight just the crapness of the bike).

 

Anyway we left it too late and we were now driving in pitch darkness with me wearing quite a lot of the local bug life and getting startled by the odd owl passing in front of us.  As it was that dark it was hard to work out where we were going and we were getting very low on fuel, fortunately just as I envisaged us pushing the bike back for miles we stumbled across a roadside shop where I think we woke up the owner and managed to get a couple of bottles of fuel off her and she let us use the torch on her phone to navigate filling the tank.

Anyway we ploughed on but really had no idea where we were or if in fact we had past our resort, so driving at around 5mph (on purpose) to see if we could make out anything a car drew alongside and asked if we had a problem, when we told her that we could not find where we were going she told us she was going that way and to follow her.

After following and trying to keep up and despite having to drive through clouds of dust and dirt kicked up by other vehicles along the way the driver stopped and told us the final directions.  We thanked her and soon enough we found ourselves back on the beach and then back at our beach cottage.

Daryll and Rachael had already decided to take an early night and were nowhere to be seen (Not sure why you would go to bed at 8.00!!!!!!), so Shell and I went to the bar next door to have a few drinks to calm down before turning in for the night.

Philippines Leg

Day 1 – The curious incident of.. the missing taxi driver, the unwanted ticked and overpriced cab: welcome to Manilla!

Once again we were up with the larks for an early ride to the airport to catch our flight to Manila via Bangkok. We scurried down the stairs and through the reception area in the darkness, taking care not to wake the security fella stretched out on a sofa with a blanket over him.

No cab but we were a bit early so we went outside and drank our iced coffees purchased the night before and got talking to an American passer-by who was suffering with Jet lag. The Lady boy who propositioned Glenn also sped past on a bike, seems her luck didn’t improve much after she left him, she was still alone and on the lookout.

Time ticked on and we were getting worried about the taxi, there was nothing for it, we would have to wake up the guy on the sofa. Glenn crept in and gently woke him only to discover HE was the bloody cab driver!.

Arriving in Bangkok with plenty of time to spare, we headed for the transfer counter. Luckily our bags were checked through all the way to Manila from Laos so it was only a matter of picking up our boarding cards. As we were so early our counter wasn’t opened and we was informed to come back around 2hrs prior to our flight so off we went in search of food and caught up on the blog etc.

Back at the transfer desk, we were (not) greeted by a very grumpy Philippines airline rep. When she asked for our return flight details (for visa’s you sometimes need to show your return ticket out of the country before the visa expires) we produced our ‘Around the World Ticket’ which whilst it doesn’t show an exit from the Philippines, shows our schedule and our intent of moving on. We were advised to do this by our agent and it had worked in previous countries.

This is where we got the ‘computer says no’ moment!, she was adamant it was not acceptable, we were adamant it was! After some time squabbling, getting her to ring her superiors etc we finally admitted defeat and retreated to find an internet connection where we could purchase the cheapest ticket to anywhere we could find (we would not be using it)  so she would let us on the plane!.

We had 40 minutes to get it done which sounds realistic but finding an internet area in Bangkok airport which has several floors, each the size of a football field, getting onto a connection, finding flights and then working your way through booking details umpteen times only to have something fail and have to start all over again meant that we had just 10 minutes remaining until the flight closed. Ordinarily we would have let the flight go and hung around in Bangkok and sorted something out but we were meeting Daryll in the morning and had onward flights booked to El Nido! HELP!

Which is what I said breathlessly when we ran back to the happy cow at the transfer desk, trying to convince her that we had to purchase a ticket directly from her. She rolled her eyes, yawned and asked where we wanted the return flight to go to, ANYWHERE we said, What date? ANY BLOODY DATE, just the cheapest, we weren’t going to use the damn things!. Nope she wanted specifics, OKAY THEN MALASIA BETWEEN THESE DATES, where in Malaysia, she sighed!. At this point, I couldn’t tell you what the capital of England was let alone anywhere in Malaysia, okay back to Bangkok then, get us a ticket back to here!. Tap tap tap, a couple of phone calls and precious minutes ticking by she finally put down the phone and informed us the price of the ticket was £200 each!!. Okay what about a different date, or to Kuala Lumpur (now remembering the capital of Malaysia) too late, you will miss your flight she smiled. Okay I said, lets do it (trying to ignore Glenns yelp and loud thump as he hit the floor as he saw his painstaking budgeting for the past weeks go completely down the toilet!) I handed her my credit card.

“Cash only” she said, Uh?. “I don’t have a machine, you need to pay in cash”, No time to argue, Glenn sped off to navigate the football fields and find an ATM. At this point she asked me if we had our baggage details (remembering that our baggage had been routed all the way through to Manila) worried she was going to offload our baggage I lied and said Glenn had them with him. Glenn returned panting only to explain that he couldn’t get Thai Baht out of the machine, we needed our passport (which she had) so we could go to a money exchange desk. My turn to run the gauntlet of the airport where I found an exchange, negotiated myself to the front of the queue and begged the lady to be quick, she was and I was back at the transfer desk holding bundles of cash in each hand within a few minutes! Sticking the money down her bra she informed us  “You’ve got 5 minutes to get to the gate which is 15 minutes away so you better go now, the boarding card for the onward flight will be printed and waiting for you there”.

Panting, red faced and slightly delirious we made it to the gate to find there was a problem printing the boarding card for the onward flight. The whole flight was now being kept waiting so we had to go along with taking a photo of the screen and hoping for the best when we reached Manila Immigration!. Here is where Glenn noticed there was about £40 difference between what she stuck down her bra and the printed price of the ticket!. We complained, they smiled and shrugged, we got on the plane! At least we made it!

 

Arriving at Manila we WERE NOT ASKED TO SHOW A RETURN TICKET and sailed through imigration. I had done some research on taxi’s and was advised to take a yellow cab from arrivals as they were cheaper. First though we wanted to pick up a sim card and a kind security guard helped us sort this out at which time he advised us not to use the yellow taxi’s, it was a myth, the standard white taxi’s in departures were fine. We then thought we would try to find out which terminal we were flying from the following morning, we were pointed to an info desk where we discovered that it was a private charter and not in the airport and was given the details of the hanger for the following morning. I asked again about the yellow cabs and received a confused look and was pointed in the direction of the white cabs once more.

Getting to the white cab rank we were told it would be the equivalent of about £15 to get to our hotel which was only around 10 mins away. We knew we were being had but were exhausted, we just wanted to get to our hotel and lick our wounds so jumped in (later discovering we were right, yellow cab would have cost around £2!,).

We drove through a very salubrious part of town and pulled up at what looked like a run down apartment block which was to be our home for the night. It’s worth mentioning here that Daryll had suggested the hotel and I had booked it. Later, reading reviews he decided to book elsewhere but it was too late for us as we were inside the cancellation zone. The room we had booked was a family room. Pretty run down but had two separate bedrooms and a kitchenette of just cupboards, no kettle, cups etc. Glenn suggested heading out to get a well earnt beer but as I stepped out onto the balcony to see that we were basically right on top of what I could only describe as a Rio Favela, I suggested that given the luck we had that day, it might be an idea to stay in and have an early night!, we did! What a day!

 

Laos Round Up

LAOS Round Up

 

Laos had escaped us a couple of times, on our first trip to Vietnam and Cambodia a few years back we were very close to the border and again tantalisingly close to it when we were in Myanmar. So determined to not let the opportunity escape us again we decided to sacrifice some time in Thailand so that we could hop over the border and see what the country had to offer. That’s the great thing about traveling, the proximity of other exotic destinations which are a hop skip and a jump away (well, a bus and a boat ride)

10 days seems a healthy amount of time when you have your annual 25 day holiday allowance to work with but when you have been used to spending at least 3-4 weeks in any given country it feels quite tight!.  We opted to keep to a tight and well-trodden loop and this might be the reason why our impressions of Laos wasn’t quite as good as we thought they would be…

 

The people are not as friendly as their Thai neighbours, you feel like you are an inconvenience to them and just a means of making money. This could largely be due to the volume of Trustafarians who descend on Laos (and its well trodden tourist path) who have total disregard for their culture or values. We saw half naked drunk Trusta’s walking through town, despite several signs asking them to cover up and be respectful, sticking their camera’s under monks noses whist they are conducting their call to Alms and generally being a right pain in the arse!. It was also more expensive than we thought it would be too and the food isn’t all that!.

 

However when we did step off the tourist route to visit Phonsovan, we found the people warm, helpful , much more friendly and wanting to engage and make conversation with us. It was also a lot cheaper too!. We’ve since spoken to people that have travelled Laos extensively and fallen in love with it so perhaps 10 days wasn’t enough to really help us to get to know the country and its people.

 

Memorable moments include:

·         Playing agony aunt to the scorned lady when I tried to book an extra night in Luam Prabang. I wonder if she ever did marry him?

 

 

·         Stunning waterfalls in Luang Prabang and the climb to the top and the even scarier clamber back down! (Shel not Glenn)

 

·         The bus journeys, not for the faint hearted!,

·         Tubing in Vian Vieng, Mud volleyball and my lost shoe L

 

 

·         Partying with Danielle and Jacob

·         Partying with Ali and Ross

 

 

·         Partying!

·         Getting very lost in the Plane of Jars

 

 

·         2 day boat trip, not quite the romantic trip we expected!

·         Our ignorance over the secret war

·         Overnight sleeper bus to Van Vieng, make sure you don’t get a bunk near the loo!

Top tips

1.       Easy for women travellers

2.       Push your way to the mini bus and secure your seats first, else you will be sitting on wooden stools stuck in the isle for a 7-8 hour journey!

3.       Don’t engage in conversations with distraught looking receptionists!