Puerto, Sabang, and Manila: Philippines Day 8-11

Day 8 - New Year's Eve!
Golden hearted Emile woke us up early and we packed by candle light for the next leg of our trip. No time for his mom's omelettes that morning, Emile led the way and we were on the bus to Puerto Princesa (PP) by 6 AM. Luckily we'd hit the bakery the night before for some sustenance for this day. We were all sad to leave El Nido, but excited to see what PP had to offer, especially for New Year's Eve.

We'd read that the ride was "ass-smacking" and I at least was expecting an overcrowded, steamy, bouncy ride. But the day was overcast and drizzly so it stayed nice and cool, and though our bus got full, it never had people hanging off the sides (though I think a few people were on the roof from time to time). And the roads weren't as bad as I'd dreamed up either. But the scenery was what really made the trip. If it wasn't jungle surrounding us, it was rice paddies speckled with water buffalo and their crane friends flanked by towering limestone walls. We also drove through many small villages that huddled tight on the road. These were filled (sparsely) with palm leaf huts and barefoot kids walking their buffalos or riding sleds pulled by them. On the road we also passed quite a few overflowing jeepneys packed with people riding inside, outside, on the roof, and hanging off the back and sides. Our bus was crowded by western standards, but it was probably 60 people short of what the jeepneys carried.

Thanks to Hanny, when we arrived in PP there were 2 fellows waiting for us at the bus station who took us straight to our new lodgings - a beautiful bamboo place with sculpted cielings and little birds living in all the nooks and crannies. Within 5 minutes of arriving we were at our rooms armed with information about where to go for the New Year's celebrations and how to get there.

We ate, explored, and napped before heading out into the night. We bought "rhum" as it's called in the PHP and cokes and went to the Capital where giant Christmas decorations lit the walkways and vendors sold everything from sandals and bead necklaces to coconut lamps and cheap hair brushes. Strangely, the fireworks here were at 9 PM and then everyone left but the techno music raved on for another hour. We stuck around at some tables for a while, but eventually went down to the boardwalk where another celebration was hoppin. We ate street food (stuffed squid and noodles for me and Brian, a whole chicken on a stick for David and Duck) and watched the fireworks and danced to the ridiculous but fun music playing (tubthumpin) while the Filipinos stood stoicly enjoying their party. It was magic and we couldn't have done it better.

Day 9
Next day Hanny picked us up at our hotel in a little van and drove us to Sabang where the PP Subteranean National Park is located. There we got on the most beat up of bangcas in the highest seas we'd seen and motored through the rain to the park entrance. There we saw long tailed macaques and monitor lizards, both friendly, and were assigned hard hats and life vests for our journey into the cave. Sabang is famous for a 7.5 km long underground river that is passable by canoe. Along with 4 Filipinos and one guide equipped with an arsenal of the worst jokes you've ever heard, we paddled in. The cave was filled with swiftlets, which use sonar like bats to navigate in the dark, bats, and rock formations. The water's brackish, but it's the only place that we saw a sea snake the whole trip. We went 1.5 km in but turned around there because the tide was coming in.

Back in town we had lunch under a palm umbrella on the beach. We got to relax a while then Hanny took us back to PP. We were back before 2 so we went in search of the PP market, which is where all Filipino handicrafts should be purchased if the chance ever arises. It was a quarter of the prices of tourist shops anywhere, and even than the markets in Manila. We all bought big heavy wooden carved bowls (2 USD), coconut lamps (5 USD) and other items that would normally cost 20 to 30 USD a piece. Sorry parents, we'll probably be sending these back with you when you come visit.

Then we went back to the boardwalk to enjoy our last night on Palawan. Sadly, at the boardwalk, and all over the PHP there are heartbreaking kids begging for your coins. It's illegal to beg on Palawan, but that doesn't stop the action, and it certainly doesn't get to the root of the problem. We read that most of South East Asian countries don't have social welfare programs or aid for the disabled, but I still wasn't sure what role the parents play in having kids beg. So instead of coins, we handed out popcorn.

At dinner that night we finally tried the famous birds' nest soup. Emile told us "it gives you power", I don't know. But it wasn't gross, it tasted like egg drop soup. It's made from a cliff dwelling swallow's nest, which in turn is made from the swallow's saliva. Not as gross tasting as it sounds.

Day 10 and 11
January 2nd we had a flight back to Manila, but time in the morning for more market exploring. At the first security check in the PP airport there's a box with instructions on the proper method of disabling your hand guns that you've walked in with. I guess that means it's ok to walk into the airport with guns. After a sad goodbye to Palawan and a quick flight to Manila we were back at Friendly's and hungry. We found a schwarma restaurant and falafel's never tasted so good.

After food, next stop was what we'd all been waiting for, a gem of Manila, the Hobbit House. Hindley Brigham, if you're reading this, it would be your favorite place on Earth. Supposedly it's been around since before the new Lord of the Rings movies, but the front door is a circle like a hobbit's house. The inside has wooden rafters entangled with vines so that it looks like roots are coming down. There are dramatic Tolkien paintings on the walls and swords and whatnots. It's a pretty big place with a large stage where locals are said to sing faultless Dylan covers, though the show the night we were there was lesser known acoustics. It's actually the best bar scene we've had since being in Asia, they boast over 100 different beers. But what really makes the place special is their claim to "the smallest servers in the world". That's right, all the servers are dwarves. And Filipinos generally are a shorter people, so Filipino dwarves are extra tiny. We were embarassed to ask, but they were happy to take a picture with us. Where else in the world could you go to a place like that?

Our flight the next day was in the afternoon, so we just had enough time to explore Intramuros, the Spanish colonial center of Manila. It was lovely, but we were told most of it was rebuilt to demonstrate what used to be. Most of the original buildings were destroyed during WWII.

It was a strange sensation to come home to S. Korea, to feel at home the way you do when you come back from a long trip. But it was nice to get away to be reminded of how much I love Korea. And we're in English camps now at school, so our days are short which is a great way to ease out of vacation mode. To sum up the PHPs... go. It's too lovely, cheap, and fun to miss.