Puerto Princessa and Sabang (31 January - 3 February 2008)
Puerto Princessa is really just a stopover for most travellers. We arrived around 18:00, took a tricycle to town, booked into the cheapest accommodation we could find and set out to have some dinner. Eon read about this crispy fried pork leg at Kinabuch’s, and insisted we eat there. I suppose one can understand this craving for meat after two weeks of not eating any meat in India. And what a good meal it turned out to be! Not the healthiest meal, but a tasty, fatty, crispy pork leg.
The next morning, we took a local bus to Sabang. The bus had no windows and was full to capacity - as always in Asia). The road was very bumpy and so dusty! But we arrived in Sabang three hours later.
Sabang is a little town on the beach, known for its subterranean river that runs underground for about 8,3km. On arrival, we checked into Roberts Cottages. We got a beautiful cottage right on the beach for only 450 Pesos. We then set off to do the mangrove tour. This is a conservation project to protect the mangrove forest and it is run by an old lady, suitable named Lady Mangrove. The tour was a 45 minute rowing boat trip into the mangrove forest, where we saw three huge snakes coiled up in the branches above our heads. Lady Mangrove even sang a song for us that she composed herself - all about the mangrove trees.
The next morning, we did a 12 km hike through the forest (Monkey trail to and Jungle trail on return) to get to the cave where a trip by boat takes you into the underground river. The hike was quite tough and the humidity took its toll, by the time we reached the cave, we were drenched in sweat from head to toe. The other (richer) tourists looked all fresh as daisies, as they took an expensive boat ride to the caves. Well, at least we got to see monkeys, monitor lizards and other beautiful scenery along the way!
The cave was truly impressive, with the roof reaching as high as 65 meters at some points. We rowed into the cave for 1,5 km, a 45 minute return trip. Here we met a Swiss couple, Carla and John. The four of us had a lovely seafood dinner that night and we taught them the international backpackers card game - shithead!
Sabang was just a place of interest for us, not really a place to spend on the beach. So the next morning we caught a boat to Port Barton, where we wanted to chill for a day or two. And that was exactly what we did…
Port Barton (3 - 5 February 2008)
Taking a boat to Port Barton was not the best idea. We had to sit in the sun, on wooden benches for four hours whilst the water was splashing up from the ocean, soaking us to the bone. To make things worse, Eon’s backpack got sopping wet! So as soon as we found a guest house, we had to unpack everything from his bag and try to limit the damage.
We stayed in a very well kept cottage about 30m from the beach at Elsa’s. The staff from this guesthouse was exceptionally friendly and helpful. With the exception of Puerto Princessa, it turns out that there are no banks or ATM’s in all of Palawan! This put us in a bit of a dilemma - we were low on cash and still had to travel to El Nido and back to Puerto Princessa over the next week or so. In the end, the lovely lady from Elsa’s helped us out by exchanging US $100 for Pesos.
We really managed to do as little as possible in Port Barton. Eon, John and Carla walked to a waterfall one afternoon. The rest of the time, we played cards, ate, and just sat on the beach. It was great to have a ‘time out’, but I was still searching for what the Philippines are famous for - those beautiful turquoise coloured sea with the white beaches. So far, I am not yet impressed, but at least we are having a good time with our new friends Carla and John.
I noticed how friendlier the people became, the further away we travelled from civilization and the touristy spots. The food and accommodation were also cheaper. This is more my kind of travelling, because you truly experience the culture this way!
After two days of doing close to nothing, we jumped onto a Jeepney called The Lion King. This monster truck had what it took to get us through the muddy road to Roxas, where we took the next bus to El Nido.
El Nido and back to Puerto Princessa (5 - 9 Feb)
The five hour bus ride from Roxas to El Nido is one that I will never forget. It was a public bus with no windows and it was already full when we got onto it. There were men sitting on the roof on our luggage, some with their fighter chickens under the arm. The gravel road was better than I had expected, but still not great. But the worst part of it all was the dust. I wore my buff on my head and had my scarf with me to cover my face every time an oncoming vehicle would bring with a sandstorm. But it was not only the oncoming traffic that caused the dust, our bus had to stop every 10 minutes or so to drop off or pick up some passengers and the dust would fill the bus in all its glory.
I had mud in my teeth, Eon’s shirt was a new colour, and John’s hair had changed from black to grey! My daypack had accumulated more dirt during this bus ride than in the all five months travelling. But we arrived in El Nido in one piece and we were thankful for that.
El Nido is known for its natural beauty, the Bacuit Archipelago. This is a vast collection of limestone karst hills spread out in the South China sea, forming many islands fit for island hopping and snorkelling.
We had a hard time finding accommodation in El Nido. Arriving at 16:30 put us at a great disadvantage as all the accommodation was either filled or way too expensive for our budget. At last we found Cliffside Hotel, a bit further away from all the other guesthouses and the ‘beach’. We really did not mind, the beachfront was only about three meters wide at low tide and the accommodation was expensive and noisy from all the videoke bars. It was only after waking up at 3am that we realised that the barn next door had its own party going with roosters crowing, dogs barking and goats calling out to their mates 
On day two, we ventured out to find a boat to take us to an island. We found Ralph’s Bar and Resto that also happens to organise tours, changes money, has a credit card facility and could even arrange transport to and from town. So we hopped onto a pumpboat and were taken to the deserted Nat Nat Island. This island has a beautiful white beach, amazingly clear water and an impressive reef that is great for snorkelling. We spent the rest of the day here. At last I found what I was looking for - the Philippino exquisiteness that I had seen in all the photos.
On day three we went on an island hopping tour with John, Carla and two guys from New Zealand. We visited six different islands starting with the small lagoon and then to the big lagoon. These two lagoons are hidden inside a limestone wall of up to about 50 meters. There were not too many fish or reeves, but the water was clear and it was amazing to swim in this enormous hole in the ocean. From there we visited an island where we had lunch, fish grilled over an open fire with fruit, salad and rice. Next up was the secret beach, a small beach hidden away inside a limestone hill. We had to crawl through a hole in a rock to get to this beach; it can only be reached during low tide. From here we moved on to Payon Payon, where we did the most astonishing snorkelling. It was like doing a scuba dive. The fifty meters wide reef (length unknown to me, but I think it goes right around the island) started out very shallow from the beach and then drops straight down into the ocean, like a cliff. We saw so many fish and even a turtle. Eon played with some clown fish for a while and I tried to follow the brightest little blue fish I have ever seen, it looked as if it was lit up.
The last stop was Seven Commando Beach, but by this time we were so tired that Carla and I just sat on the beech, watching Eon and John snorkelling for the last time this day. And then it was back to the real world… Yes, the Philippines and its 1000 and something islands are unlike anything I have ever seen!
The evenings were spent playing shithead and drinking the local rum, Tuyandu (The Philipphines is probably the only place where the run is more expensive than the coke :).
We had to return to Puerto Princessa with the same bus that we took from Port Barton to El Nido. But this time we would be better prepared! We reached the bus stop early enough to find proper seats, we wore dark coloured clothes and we had something to guard our heads and faces from the dust. As luck would have it, we hit a rain storm on the way and our bags on top of the roof got soaked. Nine hours later, we arrived in Puerto Princessa.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find accommodation as easily here as we did about a week ago. So we had to drive around for about half an hour before finding a room in a crummy little place. When I unpacked my backpack to hang up the wet clothes, I found that a red top, which I bought in Thailand, had stained a good number of items in my bag. The worst being my favourite jeans and a brand new top I bought in India. Well, it is all part of the privilege of travelling
We decided to risk a Lonely Planet recommendation and went to Kalui Restaurant. What a treat! We had a five course meal for two for only 395 Pesos (R80,00). We started with an interesting sea weed salad, followed by a ginger soup. Then we had a fish steak, blue marlin with cheese sauce, prawns and rice and for dessert a lovely fruit salad. Amazing food!!
The next day we flew to Cebu.
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