Week 71 - Kuala Lumpur, Manila, El Nido (Malaysia, Philippines)

The week started with a very early 3:45am alarm and a taxi ride to Adelaide airport. We flew to Melbourne then on to Kuala Lumpur where we caught a bus in to the city. By the time we got to our hostel in Chinatown we were shattered. One look at the bunk beds in our fan room and we decided that we weren’t quite ready for such a step down from the house in Adelaide and upgraded to a double room with air con. After dropping off our bags we wandered out to reacquaint ourselves with the main streets and the markets before settling at our favourite BBQ hawker stall for a quick, cheap dinner.

The last time we were in KL the weather stopped us visiting the famous Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world until Taipei 101 stripped it of it’s title (now taken by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa). When we woke the sky was blue so we jumped on the MRT and headed to the centre. After the obligatory photos from the park with the towers in the background we headed in to the mall in the basement of the complex before walking straight out again when we realised it was all luxury shops, way out of our price range. Back in Chinatown we had some shopping to do, t-shirts, football shirts, Mulberry handbags, Omega, Bulgari and G-Shock watches, all genuine fakes of course, and a huge wooden bowl that my mum will be lugging home for us. Surprisingly, Chinatown was really quiet despite it being the start of Chinese New Year and a number of the restaurants and market stalls closed early. We ended up eating at a little street stall where you choose all different meats and vegetables on sticks and boil them in a pot in the middle of your table or request them to grill them. 

The Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur.

Dinner from a food stall, Kuala Lumpur.

Another early start and we were headed to the MRT to KL Sentral where we caught a bus back to the airport for our flight to the Philippines. As we were flying Air Aisa, we landed in the domestic terminal and flew through customs and immigration. Outside, the security guard put us in a cab and we headed to our hostel on the outskirts of Makita, a built up, modern area of Manila. Immediately we noticed there was something different about the Philippines from the rest of Asia, as a result of the 400 years of Spanish rule there’s a real Spanish influence and it feels almost like you’re back in Latin America, but with English being the official language (thanks to the US who bought the Phillipines from Spain and ruled before they gained their independence). Even the religion, being 82% catholic, puts the country at odds with the rest of Asia. 

Our hostel was pleasant enough, we were in a big spacious dorm and there was a roof terrace with views out over the city. Once we’d settled we headed out into Bonifacio Global City (a nearby modern, urban area of Metro Manila) to explore. We felt a bit duped when we reached the ‘Market! Market!’ which wasn’t a market at all but a crazy busy shopping mall, but ended up staying there to eat in the super cheap food court. Back at the hostel we watched some fireworks from the roof terrace and had a brief chat with some other guests, trying to wait it out until a reasonable bedtime came around so we could head to bed without looking like wallies.

Although we had a whole day in Manila before my mum was due to arrive we decided to skip seeing the sights, partly because we’d traveled a lot the last few days and wanted some down time and partly because the sights of Manila are few and far between and we’ll be passing through the city so many times on various flights around the country we thought we should save some bits for later. The lack of sights isn’t a reflection on any lack of Filipino culture but on the devastation wrought on the city during WWII, Manila is up there with Hamburg and Hiroshima as one of the worst hit cities of the whole war.

We went out to MacDonalds for breakfast and to use the internet before packing our bags and catching a taxi to Pasay where we checked in to a hotel, close to the airport for our first night with mum. The hotel was decent, the location on the other hand was a bit hairy, you wouldn’t want to walk about at night with any valuables that’s for sure. After a circuit of the block and a stop in the Metro shopping centre next door for another food court lunch we headed back to the hotel to make use of the freezing roof top pool. We ended up eating cake in the room for tea while watching a movie and tracking mum’s flight online. 

Me in the roof top pool, Shogun Hotel, Manila.

Although she was delayed on her connection in Hong Kong we headed to the airport early thinking we’d be able to grab a cuppa while we waited. Error. Our cab dropped us in departures and we had to walk down the road to get to arrivals where we had to join the throng of meeters and greeters in an area across the road and barred off from the terminal building. The security guards were particularly unhelpful and we were a bit confused how we’d ever be able to find mum. We ended up waiting over an hour watching screens and the exit ramp for her to make an appearance before being allowed through the gates to go and get her and to order a taxi back to the hotel. By the time we got back to the room it was getting late and we had an early start again the next morning so we pointed her in the direction of the shower and jumped in to bed.

Another taxi ride and another airport. This time we had a 7:35am flight to Puerto Princesa in Palawan, West Philippines. Poor mum had been traveling for 26 hours with only 5 hours sleep at the hotel and we had a long travel day ahead of us. We checked in and headed through to the departure lounge just to find out our flight had been delayed an hour and a half so the early start was for nothing. We had plenty to talk about though having not seen mum for a year so the time passed quickly and we were soon on our way. In the arrivals lounge at Puerto Princesa there were two tables selling tickets for minibus shuttles to El Nido, both apparently departing immediately. We bought tickets, grabbed our bags and headed out to the van. An hour later and we were still waiting, the immediate departure didn’t materialise and we ended up waiting for the next flight to land to fill the van. Finally, we were on our way and 5 hours later we rattled in to El Nido.

From the bus terminal we jumped in a tricycle and roared about town trying to find accommodation. It being Chinese New Year and the start of peak season, the town was pretty full and the first few places we checked had no room. The tricycle driver suggested another option on a side street and whisked us there where we found two rooms for a decent price. They seemed to be perfect, away from the noise of the main drag and newly built. Mum’s room wasn’t free until 9pm so we dropped our bags and headed out to explore. Our first impressions of El Nido were good, a little beach town tucked in a bay surrounded by towering limestone cliffs. Although it was already dark, we walked the length of the beach and stopped at a little restaurant at the end with tables overlooking the bay for a cocktail and an appetizer. Walking back along the beach we chose a restaurant on the sand displaying the days catch for dinner. We chose four fish to share and settled down to wait for them to be cooked. After a long day of traveling we were all pretty tired and walked back to the guesthouse to sleep.

We woke refreshed and ready to explore, having decided we’d spend the day around town rather than taking an island hopping tour straight away. After a lazy start and a coffee at the guesthouse we went to check out the beach in the light, stopping at another restaurant on the sand for lunch. Rhys had oragnised for a guide to meet us at our guesthouse at 2pm for a cliff climb. We left mum relaxing on the beach, dozing and reading her book and pulled out our hiking boots for what I thought was going to be a hike to one of the peaks above town. It wasn’t a hike, it was a proper climb that I did almost entirely on all fours. At some points we were clinging to the rock face over unbelievably sharp, protruding rocks balancing on tiny ridges no bigger than the width of your finger - it was one of those “you would never be allowed to do this at home” health and safety moments. After an hour we were at the top with stunning views out across the bay and to the Bacuit Archipelago, it was well worth the sweat and bruises. Coming down was much easier and after a shower back in our room we headed out to find mum on the beach. To round off our first full day in El Nido we caught a tricycle along the coast to the Las Cabanas resort on Corong-Corong beach to watch the sunset. It didn’t fail to impress, the beach was a beautiful stretch of golden sand with views out to the islands with the setting sun making the sky turn a beautiful orange. Back in town we ate on the beach again before calling it a night.

View of El Nido.

Me clambering up the cliff, El Nido.

View from the top of the cliff overlooking El Nido and the Bacuit Archipelago.

View of the bay, El Nido.

Mum and Rhys watching the sunset on Corong-Corong Beach, El Nido.

Sunset on Corong-Corong Beach, El Nido.

Mum’s room didn’t have windows and there was a cockerel right outside (and another thousand scattered throughout the town, we think for cock fighting), along with the blaring TV next door playing all night long and people talking at the top of their voices she didn’t get a great nights sleep. Despite the lack of sleep we were up and slathered in sun cream and waiting at the tour office in town where we’d booked ‘Tour C’ one of the four island hopping options offered at every tour booth in El Nido. After paying our park entry fee we bundled on to a boat with 9 other people and headed out into the archipelago. Our first stop was Helicopter Island (imaginatively named as the shape of it vaguely resembles a helicopter). The beach was beautiful, lined with palm trees and hemmed in by towering cliffs. We snorkeled off the beach, spotting our first sea snake, before being called back to the boat, a bit prematurely, we could happily have spent another 30 minutes or so there. Our next stop was at the Mantiloc Shrine, not really our cup of tea but quite pretty, a few catholic statues and a nice view. 

View of the Bacuit Archipelago from the Mantiloc Shrine.

Me and mum near the Mantiloc Shrine.

For lunch we pulled up to a small beach, heaving with people from other boats and claimed a small patch of sand. We had a brief snorkel (plenty of Nemo’s) before buffet lunch and headed out again for a post food snorkel before being called back to the boat again. It felt like we spent a lot of time on the boat and not so long at each of the beach stops. After lunch we pulled up at the Secret Beach and jumped in to the sea to swim through a small gap in the rock wall into a lagoon with a small beach. The Secret Beach wasn’t so much of a secret and was packed when we got there. We had one last stop, this time at Hidden Beach. It was getting late in the day and the sun had moved behind the cliffs, we swam from the boat in to the cove but it was too chilly to get out of the water. Back in town, after a shower, we went out for BBQ meat on a stick. We were worn out from all the sun and turned in for another early night.

Nemo's. snorkeling at the Hidden Beach, El Nido.

Rhys relaxing ont he boat back to El Nido.