The mandatory stuff
Day 37: Arrival Manila
Day 38: Booked a plane 5 hours in advance to Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Day 39+40: Total Crash in PP, as no sleep for 40 hours, result: a cold as I would have in Belgium but at 30C+, needless to say, some water input required
Day 41: Left PP for El Nido, North Palawan
Day 42: Now
First, what is not different: Tricycles, yet another form of short distance transport ripoff, also known as tuktuks in other parts of the world (but with a sidecar instead); extremely annoying and always 300-500% overcharging because you are white. As I will later state, $1 here is absolutely nothing but if a tricycle overcharges me for $0.5 I will walk, don't care if I pay $0.5 too much for water...they will never be my buddies...especially not after Siem Reap, where e v e r y tricycle dude thinks I am a pervert and wants to sell me little girls and boys (I really really hated Siem Reap, Angkor or no Angkor... what I hear from others it has gone completely berserk in the pedo-sexindustry the last 2 years...anyway, differences)
-- The food is bleh here. I know I have been spoiled in Vietnam but the Filipino cuisine is really poor (some of the locals actually admit it...)... seems it is all about BBQ chicken (which is a personal favorite but they are not very good at it) and tomato sauce (also a favorite but very bland here)... I'll give them some credit as I am only here for a few days but it does not look promising
-- People come in all shapes and widths here...not all skinnies as before... I guess that has a lot to do with the previous point as the best food I have had here so far is Turkish (Kebab) and Mexican (Burrito) - have to say though, one of the best burritos I have ever had...except the ones from Maricella (for the insiders). On the people: not sure how to classify them...I guess a blend of Asian/Spanish/Mexican with a big USA influence... The locals are very nice though and so far communication has been the easiest of all countries visited in the region... Most of them speak very good English and the others still enough to communicate the bare necessities with.
-- (Back to the food:) That was actually a shock upon arrival in Manila, when visiting the Robinsons mall (which is...kinda an attraction I guess...it is definitely big and the locals will queue up 30' before opening time): Persian, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Italian, whateveryouwant food but almost no local stuff...Obviously you can also buy stuff in this mall but I went there for food (as all the nearby locations where a bit pricey) and internet.
-- Everything is much, MUCH more expensive...especially accommodation... took a dorm in Manila and here in El Nido for my first night. Mind you, I will splurge occasionally but you have to get value for your money and that is a bit the problem with a 'standard' room of $25 here....while you might have all the luxury in Vietnam (or anywhere else in SE Asia besides Bangkok) for that money, no such thing in the Philippines (so far)... I did switch to a $35 (shivver) room here in El Nido as the 'highly recommended' 9-bed dorm for $8.5/night also included: 0 hours sleep (and I kinda only just recovered from my Vietnam-cold) and most of all: bedbugs (my feet and legs have very nice red spots as a result of it). Mind you, do not expect too much for $35...(it was the cheapest I could find after looking around for several hours - high season here)...no TV (do not need that but you would expect it for $35), no hot water (do not need that either here but still), a shower that does not work properly so it is bucket and scoop again (Sumatra all over again but a similar room there was $2.5 in 2009), no lobby computer (well, there is free wifi but since it seems I am the only foreigner without Ipod/phone/pad/mat/junk/whatever that is kinda annoying), no breakfast included, no electricity between 6am and 2pm: this is apparently an El Nido thing...although it is very touristy here, infrastructure is still behind (wait a few more years when the airport accepts commercial flights and not only private jets for the happy few who stay in the super resorts here - most likely those places have generators to cover for all consumer needs, not only for some lights - and this place will be overbooming). Very weid here...also NO working ATM's so you better visit one a couple of times in Puerto Princesa before making the trip to the North (or anywhere else on Palawan)...You can pay with creditcard at some places but they will charge you an additional whopping 6% if you do. BTW, it seems that all ATM's charge you $4.5 for any withdrawal...my rip-off banks adds another $5 for a $100 withdrawal (+a shitty exchange rate) so that is...paying $110 to get $100 (these computers must work so hard you know).
-- So much quieter here... when I said that to people on my first day in Manila they thought I have been drinking too many Red Horses (not too bad, bit stronger than the standard Asian Lagers but obviously nowhere close of being Duvel-grade). Obviously Manila is very busy but it is all so much more Western....almost no honking and not the completely chaotic spider rag weaving traffic as on the continent (Recall, I spent 7 days in Hanoi before going to the Philippines). Similarly, passengers were nicely queuing up in one line for boarding the plane to Palawan... I have never seen anything close on the continent.
Anyway, there was much more...but all I can say for now is: It feels like a holiday within a holiday (which is nice) but 20 days for the Philippines is absolutely not enough (the money thing is obviously a bit annoying...did not expect such a big difference)... I probably end up just doing Palawan and perhaps Coron and Bohol to leave in Cebu for Borneo..I am happy I skipped North Luzon (for the rice terraces)... although it should be very nice, I heard in Manila the weather over there was kinda bad (not as bad as in Sapa but still) and the viruses won the battle on the plane towards here...better here than in the cold...guess rice terraces, whether in Vietnam or here will be for another time.
Day 37: Arrival Manila
Day 38: Booked a plane 5 hours in advance to Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Day 39+40: Total Crash in PP, as no sleep for 40 hours, result: a cold as I would have in Belgium but at 30C+, needless to say, some water input required
Day 41: Left PP for El Nido, North Palawan
Day 42: Now
First, what is not different: Tricycles, yet another form of short distance transport ripoff, also known as tuktuks in other parts of the world (but with a sidecar instead); extremely annoying and always 300-500% overcharging because you are white. As I will later state, $1 here is absolutely nothing but if a tricycle overcharges me for $0.5 I will walk, don't care if I pay $0.5 too much for water...they will never be my buddies...especially not after Siem Reap, where e v e r y tricycle dude thinks I am a pervert and wants to sell me little girls and boys (I really really hated Siem Reap, Angkor or no Angkor... what I hear from others it has gone completely berserk in the pedo-sexindustry the last 2 years...anyway, differences)
-- The food is bleh here. I know I have been spoiled in Vietnam but the Filipino cuisine is really poor (some of the locals actually admit it...)... seems it is all about BBQ chicken (which is a personal favorite but they are not very good at it) and tomato sauce (also a favorite but very bland here)... I'll give them some credit as I am only here for a few days but it does not look promising
-- People come in all shapes and widths here...not all skinnies as before... I guess that has a lot to do with the previous point as the best food I have had here so far is Turkish (Kebab) and Mexican (Burrito) - have to say though, one of the best burritos I have ever had...except the ones from Maricella (for the insiders). On the people: not sure how to classify them...I guess a blend of Asian/Spanish/Mexican with a big USA influence... The locals are very nice though and so far communication has been the easiest of all countries visited in the region... Most of them speak very good English and the others still enough to communicate the bare necessities with.
-- (Back to the food:) That was actually a shock upon arrival in Manila, when visiting the Robinsons mall (which is...kinda an attraction I guess...it is definitely big and the locals will queue up 30' before opening time): Persian, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Italian, whateveryouwant food but almost no local stuff...Obviously you can also buy stuff in this mall but I went there for food (as all the nearby locations where a bit pricey) and internet.
-- Everything is much, MUCH more expensive...especially accommodation... took a dorm in Manila and here in El Nido for my first night. Mind you, I will splurge occasionally but you have to get value for your money and that is a bit the problem with a 'standard' room of $25 here....while you might have all the luxury in Vietnam (or anywhere else in SE Asia besides Bangkok) for that money, no such thing in the Philippines (so far)... I did switch to a $35 (shivver) room here in El Nido as the 'highly recommended' 9-bed dorm for $8.5/night also included: 0 hours sleep (and I kinda only just recovered from my Vietnam-cold) and most of all: bedbugs (my feet and legs have very nice red spots as a result of it). Mind you, do not expect too much for $35...(it was the cheapest I could find after looking around for several hours - high season here)...no TV (do not need that but you would expect it for $35), no hot water (do not need that either here but still), a shower that does not work properly so it is bucket and scoop again (Sumatra all over again but a similar room there was $2.5 in 2009), no lobby computer (well, there is free wifi but since it seems I am the only foreigner without Ipod/phone/pad/mat/junk/whatever that is kinda annoying), no breakfast included, no electricity between 6am and 2pm: this is apparently an El Nido thing...although it is very touristy here, infrastructure is still behind (wait a few more years when the airport accepts commercial flights and not only private jets for the happy few who stay in the super resorts here - most likely those places have generators to cover for all consumer needs, not only for some lights - and this place will be overbooming). Very weid here...also NO working ATM's so you better visit one a couple of times in Puerto Princesa before making the trip to the North (or anywhere else on Palawan)...You can pay with creditcard at some places but they will charge you an additional whopping 6% if you do. BTW, it seems that all ATM's charge you $4.5 for any withdrawal...my rip-off banks adds another $5 for a $100 withdrawal (+a shitty exchange rate) so that is...paying $110 to get $100 (these computers must work so hard you know).
-- So much quieter here... when I said that to people on my first day in Manila they thought I have been drinking too many Red Horses (not too bad, bit stronger than the standard Asian Lagers but obviously nowhere close of being Duvel-grade). Obviously Manila is very busy but it is all so much more Western....almost no honking and not the completely chaotic spider rag weaving traffic as on the continent (Recall, I spent 7 days in Hanoi before going to the Philippines). Similarly, passengers were nicely queuing up in one line for boarding the plane to Palawan... I have never seen anything close on the continent.
Anyway, there was much more...but all I can say for now is: It feels like a holiday within a holiday (which is nice) but 20 days for the Philippines is absolutely not enough (the money thing is obviously a bit annoying...did not expect such a big difference)... I probably end up just doing Palawan and perhaps Coron and Bohol to leave in Cebu for Borneo..I am happy I skipped North Luzon (for the rice terraces)... although it should be very nice, I heard in Manila the weather over there was kinda bad (not as bad as in Sapa but still) and the viruses won the battle on the plane towards here...better here than in the cold...guess rice terraces, whether in Vietnam or here will be for another time.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.