I could have stayed in El Nido forever, but my flight back was from Coron, so eventually I had to leave. I still had some doubts about the day ahead of me but there was really no turning back at this point. I was told to arrive at the pier at 7 o'clock (an hour before we were due to depart) but knew there would be a lot of waiting. Slowing a variety of other travelers gathered, but I kept quiet and enjoyed my morning of observance, seeing who I'd be spending the next 8+ hours with. I knew an 8 o'clock departure meant we'd be lucky to leave by 8:30, but many others seemed annoyed at the lack of urgency on getting us aboard. Finally, closer to 9 o'clock they brought us to our boat, loaded our luggage and then gave us the go ahead to get on the boat, "one by one" to which no one paid much attention and stormed the boat like a pack of wild animals. I hung back and laughed at the idiocy with two others, as the rest of them made their best attempts at sinking the ship before we even left the port, great I was about to be stuck on a boat with 30 morons.
0 Comments
After our, thankfully, uneventful bus ride to El Nido, we decided to get a trike to the El Nido Art Cafe to get recommendations on where to stay in town, since we hadn't prearranged anything. The cafe is basically the central 'go to' spot in town for all of your needs - clothes, snacks, tour bookings, boat and plane tickets, as well as a good meal/drink. They were helpful in providing us with a list of accommodation (including price range) so we decided the best method would be to start knocking on doors. We originally wanted a beach side cottage but upon realizing the 'non-beach' properties were literally 10 ft across the street we settled on a cute room at the El Nido Plaza Inn for only 500php per night, such a steal. Once we were settled in our room it was time to explore the town, get to the beach and find something to eat!
Being New Years eve we decided to splurge on a bottle of local rum, a whole 85php (~$2) and start our night early with some cocktails. Nico, from France, had no plans for the night so we invited him to venture into town with us and see what we could find. We had heard that the place to be was the Baywalk downtown, so after 'hitchhiking' our way out of the Navy compound we caught a tricycle and soon found ourselves among the locals. Nico was telling us about an awesome seafood restaurant but upon arriving we told they were out of food so instead we had dinner at one of the street stalls and also indulged in one of their massive beer towers. After a while I was getting bored of sitting so I took a few laps around the area before meeting some local Pilipino boys, shy and friendly, just like the Koreans :) The five of us spent the rest of the evening together listening to the live bands, drinking and enjoying the NYE fireworks. Later in the night we decided to move on to a bar downtown for a few last drinks before calling it a night, and what a fun night it was. Despite our delay, Loudine and I made it safely out of Cebu and on to the wonderful island of Palawan, first stop the Bamboo Nest. I found Jonathan and his awesome house on Couchsurfing and couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay with him, not only did he sound like an amazing guy but his house set-up was intriguing. He gave us great directions from the airport including two tricycles (both of whom tried to overcharge us, of course) and a short walk leading to the 'back gate of his property'. I'm sure, had it been light out when we arrived this all would have been a bit easier, but as Loudine and I wandered down a dark dirt road we weren't exactly sure what we had gotten ourselves into. Despite a few moment of doubt we arrived safely and were greeted by Jonathan and his warm, welcoming smile. Our room was in the second story of the [hand-made] bamboo nest, which was awesome, I felt like I was sleeping in a tree house. We later found out that the reason for the sketchy 'back-door' entrance is that Jonathan lives on the Navy compound and can't have random foreigners walking in and out the front gate, fair enough. After settling ourselves Jonathan invited us to join him for dinner in town at Imas vegetarian restaurant where we enjoyed great food and good conversation.
Although it produces amazing memories, interesting stories and some great pictures, budget travel isn't always glamorous. In order to get that cheap airline fare you might have to be okay with arriving somewhere in the middle of the night, tired and a bit disoriented. Lucky me, I arrived in Cebu somewhere around 2 am still having to navigate my way into the city. Taxis from the airport are known to try and scam tourist so when I spotted another solo traveler I asked if she wanted to split the fare. I quickly checked into my room and drifted off to sleep, I briefly awoke around 5 to let my friend in (she had a later flight) and then found myself wide awake around 8 am, no idea why. We decided to venture out in to the city as we were both starving, wandered the streets for close to an hour before stumbling into a Thai restaurant, comatose. Once our stomachs were full we decided to go back and nap, shower and prepare ourselves for a day of sightseeing.
|
AsiaPhilippinesOver 7,500 islands of pure bliss. I've been twice, both times arriving with a "what am I doing here" hesitation, but weeks later resisting my departure. Forget about being on time, or eating lots of vegetables, but welcome beautiful sunsets, gorgeous beaches, and welcoming, friendly locals. Categories
All
|