Playing in the Philippines

We flew into Manila and stayed in a hotel close to Manila airport (in Pasay City). The closest landmark is the Victoria Court Cuneta, known as Manila’s Shangri-la of love hotels. This is a poor part of town, with masses of homeless families sleeping on sidewalks. With only 10 hours between our incoming flight and our flight to El Nido, we weren’t able to take in any sights of Manila beyond our brothelly and poor neighbourhood. Traffic was what you’d expect of a big third-world city, with the exception of the presence of Jeepneys. Jeepneys are the uniquely Filipino and incredibly pimp-looking WWII-era Jeeps that have been converted for use as public transportation.

We left our hotel at 5:15am and the streets were already packed with pedestrians, cars, tricycles and jeepneys. We weren’t sure if people get up early here or just never go to bed. Amid the squalor, of course, there were 7 Elevens, KFCs and McDonalds everywhere, not to mention the massive Mall of Asia containing every store you’ve ever heard of. Kind of strange to see the 2 worlds colliding. It was hard to see children sleeping on the street and to know that we were only seeing a small part of this reality.

We flew to El Nido, Palawan and headed straight to Apulit Island, a self-proclaimed “eco-resort” about 3 hours of driving and boating from El Nido. Our cabin was built overwater with a staircase to the ocean below, allowing us to just walk right in and start swimming. We were a bit nervous about the baby black-tip sharks that also prowl around the shore. Thankfully, we never met their parents.

We tried diving for the first time, and it was a lot of fun -- definitely something to pursue further.

Oh and Mike lost his something that he couldn't get back - his wedding ring! It fell off while he was snorkelling and he casually mentioned it a bit later. Wasn't the best day for him either since he subsequently stepped on a sea urchin...thankfully they had vinegar available to pour on his foot so that I didn't have to pee on it! 

Here's one of those jeepneys

As close as we got

On our way to Apulit

Getting the hang of this!

Is that a baby shark? 

Isla Blanca...looks so serene and beautiful so one wouldn't think...

To look out for these! Watch out for sea urchins!

Or else you'll be in serious pain! Luckily there was some medical aid aka vinegar available.

Dinner! Ok, not our dinner but someone's.

Hmm...that's a nice hand you have there...what's missing though? :) 

Maybe that's the shark!

Mike tried some rappelling...

Long way down! 

Apparently the harnesses were a little painful! Still smiling though.

Finally saw one - there's the baby black tip shark 

Someone has come to pick me up :)

Kayaking to watch the sunset. It's a very peaceful place here. 

On our way back to El NIdo and oops, was that our tire that just fell off? Luckily, it was only a spare.