I'm back! With a long overdue post and a hiatus that probably made my blog such a bore for a few months, I promise to redefine 2015 with a better set of uploads about fun trips around Asia (wish me luck!) I recently came from the wonderful island of Palawan. With my constant travel buddy who's luck brought us to that wonderful "City in a forest", I finally traveled to the North of Palawan and saw that coveted town of El Nido (eveyone brags about it). We were given 3 days -2 nights free fundate at El Nido last week (Thank you, Playpoint!:)). For those who know us, we seldom travel together because we just don't (we usually have friends with us). This trip was new for us, and when I say new, we had more time to talk about the most random whatnots without our friends who might find it odd - who wore it best, statistics of local vs. foreign tourists, who made the best ice cream, what inn had the best "welcoming" lobby, what tricycle had the best design, etc. etc. We are weird people with weird hobbies and this trip made sure we live that life. Yes, we talk a lot. Our trip started with a thud. We arrived at Puerto Princesa International Airport with that stressful wait for van transfer that did not arrive as expected. Locals were too sweet to accommodate our upheaval and we were redirected to Eulen Joy Tour Transport Services who they believed were assigned to bring us to El Nido, Palawan. Unfortunately, we arrived at their office (exactly beside the airport) and was told that our resort, Four Season Resort, did not give them our names. We waited an hour with no feedback and were left by Eulen Joy personnel outside their office (rude people!) when we finally decided to bring our concern to the travel agency in Manila. To their dismay, they did not know what happened to the resort who was supposedly assigned to book our van transfer to El Nido. They were apologetic and booked us instantaneously with the help of their local counterpart, Kalokairi Travel and Tours (thank you, Michelle!!!). The road to El Nido gave us scenic views. We saw several types of vegetation, rock formation, avian types, and diverse built forms. Below is a photo of the best views I had while traversing the zigzag street. Very true to being that city in a forest. I am not exactly a big fan of the Four Season Resort (because their employees wake up late and their front desk has no personnel most of the time) but since this is a free trip, I am thankful to at least have that majestic view of the sunset seen at the coast area of the resort. Who wouldn't want a view like this? For that short trip to El Nido, we were able to try some of the best food that the town has to offer. Thanks to Tripadvisor, we were able to choose which gastronomic goodness are worth our limited tummy space. We had the following on our list - Midtown Bakery, Art Cafe, Trattoria Altrov'e, and the Alternative. We found out that the Alternative stopped serving good food so we opted something grilled and yummy and decided to try another restaurant with views of the beachfront. First Gastronomic Pitstop: Midtown Bakery We had to try the local bakery. I love eating bread and since we arrived late in the afternoon, we just had to give way to our snack needs. We arrived just in time for freshly baked pan de sal and ham and cheese croissant. We also bought the classic pan de regla and the bread that was discussed in the reviews - the doughnut. All of these tasted too good to be true (and lasted for 2 days without getting blah! We had extra servings!). Midtown Bakery can be spotted as you enter the poblacion. Plus, the smell of freshly baked bread can definitely direct you to the place. Our Next Stop: Grill Dinner at Balikaw Aplaya Resto Bar We redirected ourselves to this restaurant because The Alternative was closed! We tried asking the locals what happened but no one knew so we opted to try a "grilled" dinner alternative. It didn't fail us. Next Stop: Artcafe for that Homemade ice cream! We went to the next restaurant and felt odd seeing foreigners surrounding us. All we wanted was the homemade ice cream (at this time, we were almost full). We enjoyed more chitchat and random ideas of what they probably thought of us sitting casually in this pool of international tourists. I love Art Cafe. Also, some restaurants in El Nido requires people to remove their shoes. This is one of those. It reminds me of Ka Lui, that restaurant in Puerto Princesa that we also tried last 2014. The Following day, we tried the best Italian Restaurant, Trattoria Altrov'e! We were so lucky to be at the restaurant before they all lined up to experience Trattoria Altrov'e! We tried the best Pizza Bianca and pasta in the universe. That is me talking in superlative and that meant I really loved the food. Also, we were seated on the best seats - with views of the streetscape so waiting for the food prep (that took less than what I expected!) was not a bore. You should never leave El Nido without trying Altrov'e.:) We also tried the ice cream from that Crepe store and had probably too much for the night. I will definitely go back to El Nido to try more gastronomic madness. That short trip gave us probably the best dining experience we can ever think of for such a short stay.
Hello 2015! To start my year, I will veer away from a recap of what my 2014 was and instead blog about each memorable travel of 2014. It was indeed a year full of stories, included in my charm bracelet an essential element to remind me of it. Can you remember your most memorable travel of 2014? Palaui is one of the memorable trips I had last year. I do believe that those who were with me in this trip saw me as a brave girl who knows boat rides as if I live near the coast (which is partly true... during summers in the province). Palaui has always been a dream but the traumatic waves of the open seas that does not resonate the coastal character of my parent's hometown made me decide to keep this on that bucket list. Gladly though, I have my friends with me during this trip, added that needed "lakas ng loob". I am continuing my story of that memorable trip in my Palaui Report. Sta. Ana has erratic weather. A day after arriving in the municipality, we were greeted with rain clouds that made us buy big plastic bags from the market. We were blessed to see a market that still sells large plastic bags for fish finds. Although the town also follows the "no plastic" policy and encourages fellowmen to bring their own eco bags, all our things would have been drenched without these ingenuity. Gladly too, we were with a friend who lives near the coastal and forest-in-a-city town of Palawan. She told us to look for these before we travel to the island. It did save our bags not just from the rain, but from the big waves in that bumpy ride to Palaui. We rode a tricycle to the tourism office to pay for all the fees - from the accommodation, boat ride, tour guides, etc. If you do wish to bring food, buy in Sta. Ana before your cross the sea. There are minimal sources of food in the island, or at least be courteous enough to bring your own. They do sell you cooked food - that includes rice and a limited assortment of viands that you need to order in advance (or else be ready for a hungry night with kroo-kroo-kr0o sound to accompany you). If you love snacks, there are small "sari-sari" stores near the Nature Village where we rented rooms and tents for our group. For accommodation, you may opt for rooms, tents, and homestay. Others prefer homestay, an alternative lodging experience for travelers. We chose the rooms because it was available. The guys had to stay in the tents because it was the next available option. At Port San Vicente, we rode a boat that brought us closer to the Nature Village in Palaui Island. This is the only place in the island allowable for camping. The tourism arm of the local government started controlling travelers delight when Survivor, yes that Survivor TV series, started filming in the island. From the Nature Village, we rode the boat again to visit Anguib Beach. Because I travel a lot to my parents' hometown in Siquijor, I started to feel a bit nervous about the time of the day caused by the delay of the initial bumpy ride. Lunch time is a crucial time in the ocean. Big waves from the change of tides was definitely expected. I was correct. Gladly though, we just had enough breakfast to keep us from heaving food from our stomach. I am also glad we had reliable boatmen. We arrived at Anguib Beach safe and giddy of what it offered - white sand, quiet respite, and less people. We left a few hours after and the boat just glided the ocean's waves. This time, it worked to our advantage, brought us closer to our next stop. We were like surfers in a big boat. Up next in our itinerary was the Crocodile Island. No need to ask why it was called Crocodile Island, and no not because there were crocodiles. Look below to see why. We went back to the Nature Village where we rested and had our canned food, oyster finds, and lobsters cooked. We had a hearty meal for dinner. The following day, we climbed to Cape Engano to see the light house. We also walked with a cute puppy named Diego. We took turns carrying him (because he was too tired) and feeding him our food (because he was too hungry). Gladly though, he made that walk bearable. Haven't trekked the beach for awhile. It was harder than I expected because of the sand. Diego made us stop a lot of times because he was either tired or hungry. I end my story here. Because Cape Engano is the best part of Palaui. We rode a boat back to the island, prepared our things and left just in time for that last van ride back to Tuguegarao.
So why was this my bravest travel? It rained while we were on our way back, aboard the boat. Imagine the gazillion liters of water going inside our mini boat. But seeing the smile on our boatmen's faces and the nearby boatmen who just waved at us in this scary boat ride made me feel safer than what I actually felt that time. A sigh of relief the moment we reached Port San Vicente. I cared less of the wet backpacks and camera bags. I can obviously say, I survived Palaui.:) |
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Lifeisatravelogue by CDSNadal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |