Sabang, Palawan version 2

After new years, Nabs and I went to Sabang and decided to stay there for 3 nights. Public transportation both ways, which was scary but quite fun I must admit,  I even got to ride at the top of the jeepney along with the bags of coal, rice, and chicken (which almost fell off on the highway). It was really nice, I’ve been to underground river before but never really got to explore Sabang that much.

What I didn’t know about Sabang was that electricity doesn’t run 24 hours, like in El Nido, it only comes at certain hours of the day. In Sabang it was from 5 or 6pm to midnight, luckily the cottage we stayed in was by the beach, so it was pretty breezy and sometimes even chilly in the morning. The weather was nice, the sun was shinning and the temperature was fine, not too hot, although it did rain a little bit.

Day 1, all we did was swim at the beach, the resort we stayed in (Mary’s) is at the very end of Sabang beach, but if you go further down the coconut trees you’d see another beach and a river where they have mangrove tours. I really like the beach there,  less people. Scary thing about the beaches in Sabang is the undercurrent, it freaked me out a little bit and the waves, so trying to look all baywatch and all nah..  trying not to get sucked out into the ocean will be your main concern

We heard there was this place with waterfalls near by, so we decided to check it out the next day. I think it took us about 45 minutes to find the place, it wasn’t really that easy to walk through big rocks in flip-flops. The waterfalls was smaller than we expected, but it was really pretty. It was right by the beach and after walking through those big rocks it was nice to take a dip and enjoy the place.

So, apart from that all we did was bum around. We were planning to do the mangrove tour but we were too lazy, instead Nabs gave me a massage right by the beach. Mangrove tour VS massage by the beach?? easy choice. It was soo perfect, the beach, the wind, the beers, being away from the city, and being with Nabs.. it was just way too good to be true.

busy bee

I’ve been travelling alone for years now, big and small airports, having less than 30 mins to catch my next plane, hardcore security checks, fucked up tickets, etc.. you get the point. BUT I have NEVER missed a flight…. until last week. I read the time wrong on my ticket from Hong Kong to Denmark, so yeah, I missed my flight. Ironic thing about this whole situation though was that I was totally sober, because for the past 4 times I left Palawan I was drunk and nothing happen, but this time I was totally sober, not even a drop of alcohol has been in my mouth within the last 24 hours then I miss a flight.

I really don’t know how I could have read the time wrong. So yeah, I was stranded in Manila, luckily I realized this in Manila, if I still flew to Hong Kong and realized that I missed my flight I would have been a lot more screwed.

So, I spent two nights in Manila with my moms friend, trying to figure out how to go back to Denmark, my dads solution was I fly to Oman and then from there fly to Denmark. So I flew to Oman and spent 11 days there. It was nice, Muscat (capital city) was like a city in the middle of the dessert, with temperatures no lower than 40′C. They had nice beaches, thing is it was Ramadan while I was there, so all shops were closed in the afternoon and there were no restaurants open until 7pm. But yeah, I got to see my parents again, especially my dad coz I didn’t get to spend much time with him while he was in Denmark for my graduation.

The bad thing about this whole situation, apart from wasting money, was that I was missing the first weeks of university. I missed Introduction week and the first week and a half of classes. So on Monday I have to go to some classes and then buy books, meet people.. etc… then I have to run to the other side of town to hand in my contract for my new apartment, get the keys, go to my apartment and check it out then take the train to my friends place (where I’m staying now) and get my stuff, then take the train back to my apartment and settle down. It will be a busy Monday for me.. I just hope I don’t look like a dumbass.

SO yeah, wish me luck!

Dos Palmas, Palawan, Philippines

pool by the beach

Since Rey and Xingy left, Helena, Michael and I have just been bumming around the house, watching DVDs and eating. So we decided to take a day trip to the closest island resort called Dos Palmas, it’s called Dos Palmas because when approaching the island you could see two palm trees sticking out among the other palm trees, so yeah. However a couple of years ago, one of the palm trees just fell.

ANYWAYS, we went to Dos Palmas with my little brother since he hasn’t been out of the house for a couple of days, he needed a little bit of sunshine. From the boat station in St. Lourdes, the boat ride took 45minutes. Slept both ways so I didn’t get to see the other islands, but yeah, Dos Palmas has changed a lot. They renovated pretty much everything, from the pool, to the bike path, to the gift shop.

my brother, me, michael

new and improved pool

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A day trip package includes round trip boat transfer, welcome drink, lunch, free use of snorkels and kayaks, boat transfer to snorkeling site, coffee and tea throughout the day, and all their entertainment stuff. Using the pool costs money, but since the beach wasn’t that exciting we opted for the pool. No people.

The people in Dos Palmas are REALLY friendly and attentive, the island is really beautiful however after seeing Boracay beach and El Nido corals nothing could compare, the beach in Dos Palmas was just bleh. If in Palawan, it’s not really a must see place, but if you’re in Puerto Princessa and have nothing else to do and want to have a little bit of luxury for a day at a pretty good price Dos Palmas will be a good time killer.

Sabang, Palawan

The Entrance

Sabang, home to Puerto Princessas Suberranean River (aka Underground River). From El Nido we drove another 6 hours to Sabang. We were suppose to spend a night there but we wanted to go back to the city the same day so we decided to just do it all in one day. We arrived around 10am, found out we were number 277, I’ve been to the Underground River 3 times before and back then the line was never that long. The most we had to wait was 15 minutes. It’s crazy the amount of people who come now since that whole New 7 Wonders of Nature voting started.

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We were told we had to wait around 2 hours, so we decided to take the Monkey trail. Lets just say, the Monkey trail is like the mini-version of the Great Wall in the forest, with all those uneven steps and the thigh burning, the panting, and an extremely painful stitch. I didn’t even make it half way, so I decided to just go back until I was cornered by a monkey and a monitor lizard.

monkey trail

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monitor lizard

We made it in the cave 12:30, right before the boat men’s lunch break, it was awesome, even though I’ve seen it a couple of times, it was still pretty cool. I can’t really describe how it is to be inside the cave. Cool lime stones, crazy dark, lots of bats..  and that doesn’t even give it any justice. Anyways, you just have to see it for yourself!

on the way out

After the underground river, we caught a boat to Sabang beach to have lunch at a palce called Taraw. Their food was awesome, all grilled, eaten off a banana leaf, and a really big coconut on the side. SO yeah, this was the last leg of out trip when we’re all together. Two days later Xingy left for Denmark.

El Nido, Palawan

El Nido

After the partying in Boracay we headed to El Nido, Palawan, a quieter and more primitive place. From Puerto Princessa we took a 6 hour car ride to El Nido city. We stayed at a place called Bayview Hotel. In the city electricity ran from 2pm-4pm and 6pm-6am and every night at 10pm really loud sirens go off telling little kids to go back home. The city is soo small but very cozy. People there were used to tourists but the place doesn’t look touristy at all.

breakfast at our hotel

Most of the time we were there we went snorkeling. We rented a boat with my aunts boyfriend there to guide us. We first went to Small Lagoon, no pictures since we had to swim to get there then we went to a couple more islands, I can’t really remember since my head was still a little hazy from waking up at 4am.

The next day we went to the Big Lagoon, we managed to get the boat in, we went snorkeling and then trekked through the forest for a bit, we got to see where they had the elimination ceremony for Survivor (French). The corals were awesome and seeing all the different fish was cool. It felt like I was in a fish tank.

entrance to the Big Lagoon

The next day we rented a kayak and kayaked into the Big Lagoon, this is something you have to do, it was surreal. Michael, Xingy, and I were the only ones there. It was really beautiful. On our way to Helicopter Island we saw dolphins, I’ve never seen dolphins in real life before so I was jumping up and down like a little girl in a candy shop.

dolphins

From all the snorkeling we’ve been doing, our backs were all sore and badly burnt but it’s all good. There wasn’t really much to do in town, so bring something to entertain you! Overall, it was nice to be in a place that wasn’t as hectic as Boracay, in El Nido you just go with the flow, no one around to stress you out, no annoying vendors.

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El Nido is a nice place, definitely worth a visit when in Palawan.