Grueling the alleys of Cebu City Pier…

As written on the road
After 2 days of pure transit (from Palawan to Cebu), met with my first hiccup of the trip. I arrived in Cebu City to find there were no ferry tickets to Leyte as Christmas weekend was around the corner. I was jumping from pier to pier in the blasted midday heat (apparently, having a centralized ticket office would be too easy for tourists), but finding no luck. Trying to remember why I think unplanned travel is fun. I sincerely miss friends who would have had the foresight to think about or enquire after availabilities and such practical matters. They would have no doubt also taken the trouble to book in advance. Cebu City pier is also definitely not a place to be ‘hanging about’ – no coffee shops or the likes to rest or get a drink. Also, I did run into a shady old man who was wildly gesticulating at me (I think) and seemed to be cursing in the local language (Cebanos?) and it was unnerving to say the least. Although I have encountered several such characters in the past, it is still unnerving. I was ready to throw the towel after few hours and wallow in self-pity, but, but, I managed a ticket in the very end. 3 times the price works, always!!! Anyways, I am telling myself it will at least be a good story for later. :)

PS: I ended up in a slowest of the slowest ferries and a quite a cattle class ferry at that – yes, the ferry also carried a couple of roosters, which wouldn’t keep shut. I woke up at one point during the night and thought I couldn’t have possibly heard what I had heard – roosters crowing. But I wasn’t wrong, and it seems cockfights is a popular sport in these islands.

I was the only non-local who seemed to be headed to Leyte (Southern Leyte), which made me question my choice of destination. Definitely, Leyte too isn’t on the popular tourist map. However, I met this Filippino girl who kindly offered to share her berth…

When inspiration turns into a trip... lost in Palawan's islands

5 days of exploring deep blue seas, remote islands with no names, white sandy beaches lined with swaying coconut trees and many sunsets. From Coron to El Nido, Palawan.

It was one of the busiest, intense times at work – I can’t remember when exactly – and I was taking a moment to decompress, flipping through NY Times when I read about vacationing on a bunka (boats), off the islands of Philippines. The author wrote – “We were in the middle of nowhere, paradise-style: a sea of high-definition azure stretching to the horizon, dotted only by distant uninhabited islands. After a few days of sailing, life had become a hazy routine: eat, snorkel, chill out. Repeat. We were in the middle of nowhere, paradise-style: a sea of high-definition azure stretching to the horizon, dotted only by distant uninhabited islands. After a few days of sailing, life had become a hazy routine: eat, snorkel, chill out. Repeat.” And I remember thinking that this is how one ought to explore islands. This is exactly how I wanted to explore islands! And that is how the trip to the Philippines came about… I considered different destinations and kept discarding options, I recalled this article, which had seemed like a dream then and thought, why not?

Unlike the popular variety of 1-day island hopping trip that were offered by tour operators in Palawan, TaoPhilippines offers a 5 day expedition starting from El Nido or Coron. My introduction to Tao itself was there website, which is extremely forthright in stating that ‘This is an expedition… we don’t promise that all will go well. And if you aren’t prepared for this or for camping and roughing-it-out, this is not your thing’. Which was exactly my kind of thing. Tao itself was started when 2 friends ran out of money exploring the islands of Philippines, so they decided to take other travelers on their journey’s to make money.

Our trip started at Coron (in the North of Palawan) and over 5 days we sailed towards El Nido (a beach in the South of Palawan). We were 22 of us along with around 10 from the crew. I had read it would be 5 or 6 people on board, and in my mind this number was a big crowd. But it turned out to be perfect – in many of the islands, there were almost none others but us. There was no set itinerary and each day we would set sail, with the expedition leader deciding the route and destination for the day. Through the day we would stop at different spots to snorkel or enjoy a beach or visit a small village. At nights, we docked at an island and we stayed in open huts or cabins. Sometimes the islands had big settlements; sometimes it was an island that was 15 minutes wide, walking. Dinners were simple and were around a big table where we came together and kicked back over beers.

At one island stop, the boys-on-board played basketball with the local kids. At another, one of the village houses had an age-old karaoke plugged into a TV, and we whiled away the night singing all from Bryan Adams to Elton John to Billy Joel. On one of evenings, as I was enjoying the sunset, I was surrounded by the local kids, and unlike the usual ones who tend to be shy of strangers, demanded I take photos of them. On the last day, the boats rudder broke and we had to sail straight through the day while the crew was manually guiding the boat.

I imagined I would have loads of time on my hand during the trip to idle away. Idle away, I did, but time flew too quickly and looking back those 5 days have meshed together to one long image of the sun, sea, starry nights and happy faces. It was a trip like no other for me!

Read the NYTimes article here. For more details of the trip, go to TaoPhilippines. Don't forget to check their FAQ page which has quite a lot of details about getting to Coron/El Nido in Palawan.

PS: Now that I do go back to article to link it here (funnily enough, I hadn't read through it for my planning), it sounds very very similar to my experience, including the karaoke!

Coron... Where it all begins

There is something nice about walking out of an airport straight into the heart of the place... No highways, no crazy taxi queues, getting lost in figuring out exits... Think Leh , think Kilimanjaro, think Basuanga in the Philippines. It is the gateway to Coron, one of the towns in Palawan. You walk straight into the rolling hills and tropical green and take an old-world shared van to head to Coron town...

 Coron town itself was extremely small, and surprisingly untouristy despite its fame (may be rising fame) as a wreck dive spot. The town has literally 2 dive shops, 4-5 restaurants and 1-2 bars (which unlike those in other backpacker towns are still not trying to cater to travelers), few groceries and fewer money changers.

Coron Town main road... found these bike-converted to rickshaws cute

On the night that I arrived, the hostelier of the place I was in was supposed to be jazz jamming in a bar with friends, but cancelled plans. And that was the length and breadth and also end of entertainment options! I can see how many would get bored, but I loved that life seemed to go on just as it should, without frantically changing its rhythm to suit the demands of those who pass through it. (Little did I know I would be seeing more of these towns during my trip).  And this is where it all began!!! 

The way to my guest house...

I was here just for a day, so I spent the evening soaking in the hot springs (I recommend it, beautiful at sunset), before rushing into my pre-trip briefing... Also got to see the Barracuda lake - a mix of fresh and sea water lake which makes it interesting. The lake was straight out of picture post card and perfect for sunning and a good swim - didn't see barracuda's though!

Barracuda lake

Easy, breezy...?

It was easy…  is the one thing that keeps coming back to my mind, thinking of my first solo trip.  It was like a breeze, with days flowing one after the other. And just like that, it was over! I did prepare myself for a lot of ‘me-time’, but through the trip I ended up meeting people who found their way to me.

The highlight of course was the island exploration trip in Palawan - when I was reporting in for the trip, the lady at the counter asked if I was alone and gave me a curious look. I asked if there were other solo travelers, and she scrambled through all her papers for the longest time and said, ‘don’t worry, there is M also’. 2 out of 22 - you do the math! But from the moment I walked into the pre-briefing room and squeezed in between R and W, and one person took a dig at my vegetarianism, I knew it was going to be ok. And it turned out to be fabulous – over the next 5 days, I’d like to think we all discovered a little bit about each other, swapping travel and life stories, had some in-depth discussions on love, life and such matters with a few, and sang karaoke like no one was listening (well, no one was listening in fact. We were in a remote island with a handful of houses and using an age old TV-karaoke set up at one of the villager’s homes). It was the best and has made me have a re-think that ‘group’ trips, which I am usually not a fan of, may not be bad after all.

On the other hand, there weren’t major earth-shattering revelations or self-discovery moments.  But as always, I love hearing other people’s stories and their views on life and what they want out of it.  And of course, fellow travelers want to know more about India, and there were good many debates on the country and for myself, if I was / should be doing more.  All this leading to a many introspective moments.

I probably packed in a lot less in the itinerary than I would have if I traveled with someone I think. I gave myself more time so I could figure things out as I cruised along, and sometimes that means delays and change of plans too. (All of which, could be entirely avoided if the trip was fully pre-planned, but where is the fun in that?). And sometimes, I did get a bit lazy too… But hey, the feeling that there is nothing that is a ‘must-do’ is liberating.

All in all, I do realize, it may not always be this easy, but I couldn’t have asked for a better start.

PS: I did post from time to time on FB some of my reflections, so some speak-easy style posts on their way!

PS2: And yes,  Palawan definitely has some crazy beautiful beaches!!! some photo highlights here...

The many islands we passed over the course of 5 days, Palawan

One of the beaches we stopped at...

Divers caught in action

Bohol's Chocolate hills...

The church at Loboc, which was my base in the island of Bohol

Going solo...

I've been thinking about this for the longest time and finally, the day of reckoning is here. I am in the Manila airport, 7 hours into my first solo trip for 2 weeks and a bit over. I've been nervous, excited. It hasn't fully sunk in, but its good.

I've read of a lot of people traveling by themselves on forums and blogs... But after moving to Singapore, I feel like I've met and heard of lot of people's experiences... Be it few days or weeks and months together. Some love it, and find it liberating and for many its not their thing. The only good way to find out is to try it and here I am. On that journey of discovery. And I have to say that my younger Sister's solo trip in Europe probably kicked the inertia out of me :). (Really, I still don't believe it.)

Past couple of weeks have been a rush... All self inflicted of course. Wrapping up work. Getting ready for the trip. I realised while I am usually good at being prepared ahead of time when I travel with others, I've left a lot of things until the last minute. It wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I booked my flights. Through this last week, I've been busy getting accommodation sorted. And, till 5 days ago I hadn't looked up exact visa requirements...I knew Philippines had allowed visa free entry to Indians recently, but only 14 days, it seems. Even after figuring this out, and had some time to apply for a longer visa, I decided I was going to risk convincing the visa officer ( really, how often does that work? Yes, I am likely overstaying a few days! Beat that!). And I still only have first 10days of the trip sorted.

But, figuring out as I go is just what I've always wanted to do and seems to be just the thing to do on a lazy beach vacation. And its nice how tips/ideas have come along the way while speaking of this trip to friends...things I usually miss. It was a friend who brought the storm that had hit Philippines to my attention, luckily I hear Palawan wasn't as impacted. Like the friend who told me to check on the visa me or the one who reminded me of travel insurance since I am diving (well, she actually told me a total scary story of a freak accident and made me promise I would get it in the airport. That's the other thing I learnt, u can buy travel insurance from the ATM)... And one friend has promised to keep a check on me every few days, just in case!

Anyways, no expectations and taking it as it comes. And I have a loaded kindle to keep me company, and if nothing else, home is just a flight away.

On volunteering...

Just when I was thinking of a volunteering vacation in Vietnam or some place else...

The protagonist, a Filipino, living in the US, : "...we were there in Costa Rica, helping build wells"

L: "Why not the Philippines? Isn't Costa Rica relatively well off?"

The protagonist: "Um, we didn't know that till we got there!"

-The Ilustrado, Miguel Syjuco

... found this funny. Charity begins at home?

Hopefully, no more extracts from the Ilustrado. Yet to fully grasp the ending, but loved the book, the style of narration. The protagonist embodies one we sometimes find in ourself, the part that is always trying to straddle the new with the old, the idealist with the realist, and probably for some who have left their roots, the west with the east. Mixed reviews on whether he presented Philippines truly or a skewed overseas citizen's version, but loved it anyways!

Postcards from Manila...Malate

Transitioning from Makati to Malate wasn’t easy. For 2 days you are a part of the chaos the city is, but yet sheltered from it spending days in air conditioned conference rooms and within the walls of a 5-star the hotel.
Malate, a friend told me was the ‘party area’. The first sight of Malate was of narrow streets, ablaze with neon lights, buildings and shanties mixing into one another, and of course a general sense of chaos with both traffic and throngs of people. Each neon light advertises a place to eat or drink or both and every second place is a karaoke bar (the Filipinos love their karaoke)– although, some places leave you wondering what else is on offer. Boys with punk hairstyles and piercing, calling me in with a click of their tongue was not at all reassuring. Arriving at night threw me off balance I confess, and (in a very lame way) the Starbucks outside my pension was reassuring. The scene wasn’t very different from others I have see.. it, could have been Pali market of Mumbai famous for Hawaian shack or Toto’s, or even Goa close to Baga beach, and I wondered if this unsure was how outsiders felt with their first visit to India.. Next night I was more prepared and found myself having a nice evening in Café Havana. And also, the boys were simply ‘marketing’ the food places and didn’t really mean harm.

Malate used to be a red light area in the past and now is yes, one of the party hangouts in Manila. It also offers cheap accommodation for backpackers – all listed in lonely planet.

At Malate

Streets of Malate

Cafe Havana

Postcards from Manila...Pearl of the Orient

There are some cities that make you feel warm and fuzzy when you return back to them after a long gap – and until I landed and was whizzing past familiar roads and buildings I didn’t realize Manila was one of those cities for me. I was just here on works, but loved the familiarity with both the people I was to be meeting and also the city.

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From above, the city is beautiful. We pass over brown water off the coast, fish pens laid out in geometrical patterns like a Mondrian viewed by someone colour blind. Over the bay, the sunset is starting, the famous sunset, like none anywhere else. Skeptics attribute its color to pollution. Over there’s the land, the great gray sprawl of eleven million people living on top of each other on barely more than 240 square miles – fourteen cities and three municipalities, sky scrapers and shanties, tumbling beyond kilometer zero, and the heart of every Filipino, the city that gave the metro its name: Manila.

Modern Manila. She who was once the Pear of the Orient is now a dowager…She, the trusting daughter of the East and the West, lay down and was destroyed, her beauty carper-bombed by her liberators, cautious of their own casualties, her ravishment making her kindred to Hiroshima, Stalingrad and Warsaw. And yet, from air, you think her peaceful and unflustered. On the ground is a place tangled with good intentions and a tyrannical will to live…. Five hundred years ago, Spanish conquistadors sailed their wooden ship into the world’s most perfect harbor to begin their mission…. Manila has changed much since. It’s changed so little. If you know where to look, this is the most exciting city in the world.

-An extract from the Illustrado, by Miguel Syjuco

PS: Didn't know what the square grids on the water when seen from above was, now I do!
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A rainy September day in Manila

The EDSA, one of the highways criss crossing the city

The famous jeepneys in the city

Makati - the business district at night