Leaving Manila and impressions thereof
With the much-deserved lie-in (to compensate for previous night flight), an 1100 checkout from the hotel and a 1600 flight, I couldn’t do very much.
After checking out, I taxied to Victory Liner’s Pasay terminal to buy a bus ticket for my journey to Banaue in northern Luzon. From there I continued to the airport, getting there about four hours before the flight.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 was quite nice; but let’s put it into perspective … the airport tax is P200 (NZD6) as opposed to MYR6 (NZD2.5) compared to KLIA LCCT. What a contrast from four years ago, when the domestic terminal then was a very old rundown building (1950s) with matching old propeller planes from a similar era. Our connection then required a bus-ride through traffic to get to a newer (but still old) building in the midst of renovation.
My day in Manila yesterday was fruitful enough. I didn’t expect the sights to wow me and they didn’t. It was a surprisingly nice city by the bay. In terms of filth and chaos, it is probably better than Bangkok, with some modern areas that really do shine though. But then I didn’t make it to the slums.
The Philippines is truly a melting pot; make that a well-stirred melting pot. While Filipinos are of the same or similar stock as Malays, there are many light-skinned people with European or Chinese blood.
Travelling around the city, you could think you’re in Indonesia, Mexico or Spain … it does have that multi-faceted character.
Once again, I note that eating was more expensive than expected (especially when compared to more affluent Asian countries). A cheap meal in a mall or a local-style resto is around P100 (around USD2), which is quite expensive compared to the rest of SE Asia.
Manila also gave me spectator’s insight into sex tourism. The foreigners that stand out male, white, usually old (or older, but some young) with a young lady in tow. It isn’t like Bangkok where all sorts (backpackers, honeymooners, couples, families with young kids etc) come to have good clean fun with sightseeing, shopping and eating. The intentions or interests here are much narrower.
Flying to Puerto Princesa
The flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa on the long island of Palawan, took about 45 minutes plus a long taxi to get to the runway before take-off. Upon arrival I took a tricycle (motorcycle with sidecar; aka autorickshaw) to Banwa, my chosen guesthouse which I had prebooked.
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- Fish farms? Traps? Aquaculture? Scene from the plane above Manila Bay.
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- Coming in to land at Puerto Pricesa with its Cathedral on the left.
Karsten from Denmark arrived straight after me; he had sat across the aisle from me on the plane. We would end up spending a bit of time together in El Nido, our next destination.
Over the next few days, I made some enquiries as to why the island was called Palawan. No one knows the answer. As the residents of the area were largely Malay before colonisation, I wondered if it meant “hero” (Pahlawan in Malay). I do pick up some words in Tagalog that are identical or very similar to Malay (and its dialects). But the town of Puerto Princesa is obviously named after a princess 🙂
Planning the next move
I had made enquiries to go to the Underground River at Sabang but permits have been booked out for days. So I decided to move on to El Nido tomorrow and booked to do the river after. Karsten elected to do likewise. After a very good in-house dinner, we both rang a considerable number of hotel but had no luck. They were either booked out, line disconnected or did not answer. We eventually gave up.
In case we had to pay more than we’d like for accommodation, we both went to town to look for an international ATM. Fortunately there were quite a few to be found by McDonald’s. I spent the remainder of the evening separating my stuff so I could move on to El Nido with minimal luggage.
Well at last
About a week into this trip, I caught some kind of a strange flu which affected my right ear. While there was no obvious congestion, the post-nasal drip affected my chest badly. After two rounds of antibiotics, some decongestants, I decided to get some steroidal nasal spray. After a few days, it had cleared nearly everything up and I was able to slowly wean myself off it. I feel well, finally!