Philippines Travel Info

Continued from Philippines Vacation Pt1

I arrived in Manila after the plane flew over the city where I could get a good view of the city on the plane.

Once in Manila I didn’t take long to find my flight to Puerto Princess. I had a snack and some drinks when I started to realize the food was going to be a little different to what I’m used to. I was happy to finally get on the flight to Puerto Princess which took around an hour to arrive and land in Puerto Princess although it is not that far away.

I was greeted by my girlfriend Ruth who lives on the island and I have known for around a year. She and her friend were happy to see me and we got on a tricycle and took a ride back to Ruth’s place.

I soon learned that the Philippines is quite a bit different to Bondi and I had to get used to drinking from bottled water which is cheap luckily as I wouldn’t trust the water there. It was nice to relax at Ruth’s place before we all went out for dinner where I enjoyed my first Philippine meal which was delicious.

One thing about the Philippines is that you can buy your food at restaurants quite cheaply and would cost you less then it would to make it back home. Some of the food you can buy out is delicious and good quality if you stick with what is in season and is locally harvested. Seafood is in abundance so I recommend to get on a seafood diet there as you can have mouth watering meals of Crayfish, Tuna, Marlin and Prawns etc at very affordable prices. At least this is true on the island of Palawan.

We stayed in Puerto Princess for a few days and it was enjoyable. We would often go to the local cafes or markets and get breakfast. One good cafe is called iToys where we could also access wireless Internet and they served Australian or US food if you miss bacon and eggs or a good drink of fresh milk.

Our first adventure was to go and meet Ruth’s family in the southern town of Bataraza. We took the trip down in a mini van which cost around 500 pesos each. It took most part of a day to get there. See pictures above.

 One thing I found interesting and a little worrying was how the people and children would walk close to the roads in the rural areas. As we passed them I felt it would be all too easy to hit someone. Sometimes the driver would warn them with a beep of the horn. The drive was fairly smooth but it felt a little unsafe in a crowded van which went quite fast and most of us had no seat belts. I would have preferred to have hired a car or bike and drive myself and Ruth there.

We arrived in Ruth’s family’s province and by the time we made it to her parent’s home it had gone dark. Their power had been cut so we had to use candles. I was overwhelmed of the hospitality and friendliness of her family as they were very nice to me. They cooked a feast of dried fish, vegetables and rice that I soon learned this was what they ate nearly everyday.

We stayed there for a few days and enjoyed the family’s hospitality even though they were struggling for money they were happy and content. We went to the beach while I was there but it was very stony and had awful views of big industrial ships that looked to have polluted the beach. We also went to the local weekly market and that was interesting. I purchased a lot of fresh food for the family and some fresh fish.

It was sad to say goodbye but we decided to head back to Puerto Princess and stay for a few days before traveling North West.

To be continued…