Palawan in the Philippines - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

THE GOOD Palawan is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I have seen. It has enormous and inpenetrable looking jungles all over, the beaches for the most part are just beautiful and the color of the ocean is that gorgeous turquoise. There are coconut trees everywhere, over 7,000 islands of all sizes and the people are so, so friendly! THE BAD The touts at the airport - I could go into great depth about the whole process of walking away from people who try to get you to wait for their special taxi and how the price drops the further you get from them, but I think you get the idea. It is not as easy to get around here so far as it is in Thailand. We have ended up hiring drivers to take us from point A to point B (and back again). This can get expensive (by SE Asia standards). It turns out that Palawan is a very long and thin island and we were aware of that but I don't think we realized how far it was to our different destinations. (Usually a four-hour drive in a private taxi, add a couple hours to that for minibus and double it for a regular bus.) We probably would have not traveled to El Nido had we realized the distance for a 3 night stay! The wifi pretty much EVERYWHERE on Palawan sucks! El Nido is potentially one of the more beautiful spots on the planet (they say). There is a gorgeous ocean surrounded by the largest karsts (limestone formations - photos below) I have ever seen! So they built a bunch of ramshackle high-rise hotels around it and crowded the beach with boats! It's really too bad because I bet it used to be just incredible. I will take a snorkel tour tomorrow and am reserving final judgement until then. FINAL JUDGEMENT - Had we been able to do a private tour (which our hotel said wasn't possible but we have since learned was), it would have been great! As it was there were many boats and many people at each gorgeous stop all waiting to to inside the secret lagoon or get a kayak for the other lagoon. The snorkeling was very good and the prepared lunch (all prepared on the boat) was amazing. I don't know how they do it! THE UGLY The dogs! There are dogs everywhere, most not in good shape and not well taken care of! I wish I could bring them home or take care of them or something! This place really needs to get a spay/neuter clinic going and soon! There are also barking semi-scary dogs that have caused me to turn around rather than face them. I don't want a dog bite here! The amount of people living in complete poverty was beyond belief. Riding in between our destinations are, as I mentioned, great expanses of undisturbed and beautiful jungles but along the road there are people living in shacks no larger than 10x10 with holes, pieces of metal, tarps - terrible! Port Barton and actually a lot of Palawan has not recovered from the pandemic as well as the typhoon. THE SURPRISES We ended up our first night in what you could call the barrio of Manila. The hotel was nice inside but when the much negotiated taxi driver dropped us, we were a bit in shock! It ended up being a good experience though as many things do if given a chance. Our hotel was well protected and the rooms were clean and nice inside. We initially thought about skipping dinner or ordering in but decided to venture out into the neighborhood and were glad we did. It was so full of life! People selling roasted chickens, little shops all over selling everything from chips to fresh? fish, tuk-tuk drivers everywhere (although I believe they're called tricycles here) and lots of friendly people. We found a little place with a few seats and ate a BUNCH of delicious chicken wings prepared with different sauces. Yum! Their dinner menu included pasta, rice and french fries along with the chicken wings, most of which we declined! That's a LOT of starch but bring on the french fries! One of the coolest innovations I've seen was that a container was included on the table with disposable plastic gloves - a great way to eat delicious but messy chicken wings!

The boat that took us to Carcipa Island was very cool with bamboo outriggers and a very capable 'captain'. We met some interesting people on the way who were staying at the same resort, it being the ONLY resort on that island, We loved it there! The food was incredible with most of the cooking being prepared by the owner and his wife (i believe they were Swiss?). The other help were all so kind and friendly and we were literally in paradise for four wonderful days of relaxing, snorkeling, swimming and a little more relaxing!

On to El Nido. We made the mistake of staying in El Nido town. What did we know? It has been ruined! It is surrounded by the most beautiful rock formations but is covered in bad hotels, touts, tuk-tuks (or whatever they're called) and is just not pleasant. The reason people come here it seems is to go on boat tours to the surrounding islands so that's what I did today. I had such a great time! Yes, it was crowded. That seems to be the case these days with things that are incredibly beautiful and worth seeing and, sure, it would have been nice if you saw it 10 years ago with way fewer people but that's just not the case and, as someone I met today on the tour said, it's only going to get more crowded. Sad but true. Anyway, I am so glad I did the Tour A, not just because of the incredible beauty but also because of the people I met. Emails were exchanged and I hope to keep in touch.

After leaving the hustle, bustle and disgusting beach of El Nido town, we had made reservations to stay in a jungle resort back near Port Barton. Where to start? The shuttle to the place which, although, messaged that we let them know the arrival time and they would pick us up which ended being a wait at the bus terminal for an hour and a half and a charge of 600 pesos each way. Or the wasp invasion in the middle of the night in my friend's room which turned into a major ordeal. (I slept through the whole thing.) Or the many and dangerous concrete stairs that you had to walk up and down to the restaurant, to our rooms and to our bathrooms. We left early which is how I ended up in the UFO room at Ausan in Port Barton directly below.

It appears I can't add captions so a brief description of some of the photos: A wild monkey, a monitor lizard pet, a very large grasshopper/cicada?, a flitty bird that likes the flowers of coconut trees and a hummingbird moth (moving at high speed), my 'house' on Carcipa Island and a Filipino food truck. Pretty isn't it? There are things I love about the Philippines and there are many, many parts of it I haven't explored. Despite that, I don't see myself returning. Enough said. Here are way too many photos (if the wifi holds up!).

Mae Hong Son and Back to Bangkok - From One Jungle to Another

My last two days in Mae Hong Son province were beyond amazing! The eco-resort where I stayed cost the same as the horrible little place in town, but was so, so SO much better. They grow their own food, bake their own bread, had wonderful breakfast included and good food for dinner at the restaurant as well as two pools and sunset views! (You say a little of this in my last blog. The resort employs local hill tribe people and teach them skills (and vice versa). The soap in my bungalow was hand made and wrapped in bamboo strips to resemble a fish. I admired them and a couple of the ladies showed me how to make them. I, in turn, showed them how to make fish out of money! I think theirs were better! The resort was also right next to a park for hiking with a stream and several small waterfalls (which is where the jungle comes in). I hiked there twice and it was incredibly beautiful. I was the only person I saw for most of the day! One couple passed me after two hours of hiking but that was it! It was incredible. The only sounds were from the stream, some insects and many birds which were impossible to spot much less photograph! Smart little jungle birds! Thhe photo of me is in front of my favorite tree of the day. It was awesome! I then flew from the smallest airport I've ever seen on a prop plane back to Bangkok - the concrete jungle but a city of which I am quite fond for reasons ranging from the food, the great massages for under $10 and it is just different than any other city I've experienced - maybe the Buddhist influence? Anyway, here are a few photos and then onward . . .

And finally, the view from my room: a broader shot and a closer one of fireworks in honor of Valentine's Day!

Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son - A Very Curvy Adventure

Taking a minibus from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son is not for the weak at heart! First was the tasi ride which only cost 108 baht (a little over $3) but took forever and the driver did not believe in a/c and had eaten a LOT of garlic for breakfast AND spoke absolutely no English. I thought I'd never get to the supposed 'scary' part of the trip. That being said, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I took a non-drowsy dramamine even though I'm not prone to getting car sick and I don't think I really needed it as my seat was one rown behind the driver on a 12-seat bus, but BOY are there a lot of curves. Luckily I became friends with the couple sitting in my row (she from Scotland, he from England and now both living in Southern Spain) as we kept sliding into each other. You couldn't fasten your seatbelt tight enough to prevent this. So, after a six-hour ride with a stop along the way and another in Pai, we arrived at the bus station which is of course located WAY outside the town. Their hotel was on the songthaew (a truck with seats and a roof in the back) route while mine it turns out was not. So I hopped on the back of a motorcycle taxi with two bags on my back and my suitcase between the driver's legs and off we went to Palm House - a hotel with a much more exotic name than is indicated by appearance, service, etc. In fact, I still have not seen a human that actually works here! The room is adequate and close to the lake and night market which is great but I crave more nature and am moving to a place in the forest for my remaining time in this amazing mountainous area which is very close to the Burma border. We were actually stopped twice on the way by border patrol making sure no one was crossing illegally. Today I went to a bamboo bridge which leads to a wat (temple) and curves through what are rice paddies in rainier months but was planted with peanuts at this time of year. It was very beautiful there and I spent some time just admiring the scenery and the ingenuity of the bridge builders. Then off to the mud spa which I've wanted to do since a woman I met in Bangkok years ago told me about it. It was worth the wait! I was given a facial, massaged, then totally painted from head to toe with mud and then sent out to dry. After, I was rinsed, scrubbed with an exfoliant of some kind, rinsed again, sent to a mineral pool for a soak, rinsed again and had cream that smelled wonderful applied all over. It was quite an experience and Sonchai, my driver and new friend, waited patiently the whole time. Since I'd mentioned that I liked Khao Soi, he took me to his friends place where I had a bowl and he went back for seconds. I said lunch was on me and it came to 70 baht! It cost just over $2.00 for 3 bowls of noodles with chicken! How can that even be??

So today was a celebration/festival of some sort in the town with chanting monks, drumming monks, a sort of parade with people riding in the back of trucks through town and explosions (thinks fireworks without the pretty part). I asked everyone what it was and never got an answer. Upon looking it up, there are three possibilities that happen in February in Mae Hong Son: A rice harvesting festival, a tea tasting festival or a winter fair. Don't know if I'll ever find out but it was fun! I climbed up many, many stairs after watching the festivities to the Burmese wat on the hill and then left the city by taxi to the amazing place I'm staying until I fly back to Bangkok. That little tiny temple at the top of the mountain is where I walked to and the stupa is what it looked like up close.

It is peaceful, relaxing, has yoga classes, two pools and a hike to a waterfall that's about 1-2 miles or you can do a loop which is a little over 5 (I think). That's on the schedule for tomorrow. Anyway, I have gone on enough although there is so much more to say about Mae Hong Son but I'll stop yapping. Oh! One more thing is that it looks incredibly smoky in the town, especially from the wat on the hill, but it felt more like haze (maybe mixed with smoke?) but my eyes didn't burn and there was no smell of smoke in the air. Still probably not good for you! So, there is a jungle rooster eating rice, the rice paddy and garden at the back of the property, a view from my porch, sunset over one of the two pools and my new best friend.

Lampang, Chiang Dao and on to Chiang Mai

If there was music playing in the background, it would have to be the song "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". Lampang is a very old city that we visited in the past and really like but the smoke really had an effect on this trip! Masks became just part of our 'outfit' as we ventured outside. It made for some great sunsets and, thankfully, cleared somewhat after we left Lampang and is improving each day, today being a hot (90's) but pretty clear day at our present location which is in the suburbs of Chiang Mai. So, back to Lampang. The city is charming and on the Wang River which is a tributary of the Chao Phraya (the river that runs through Bangkok. It is filled with very old teak buildings, horse-drawn carriages and some incredible street art. I took many photos of the street art but have included only a few. I think they're impressive...

While in Lampang we visited an ancient wooden temple which seemed to be a pilgrimage site. There were some beautiful buildings, an amazing and very old tree that was propped up by lots of posts and sticks to help it along which I loved and a couple gnarly dogs that went charging at Paulette but when she turned to face them, they just laid down. That being said, one was muzzled and I imagine there was a good reason for that!

We spent only one night in Chiang Dao, a small town with some beautiful mountains and hiking in the area. It was fortunate that we only stayed one night as it was really smoky and not the kind of climate to hike in. Our cute little bungalows were in a lush and forested area which protected us somewhat from the smoke and made for a beautiful sunset.

We are now in Chiang Mai staying inside the walled city after spending the weekend with Paulette and Chuck's son who teaches chemistry and sciences at a school in the suburbs of Chiang Mai. We attended International Day at the school which was so, so cool! I am not including photos as there are children and for that matter adults who may not want their pictures published online. But it was very cool with performances from each grade representing different countries and lots of delicious food from around the world - all of it delicious. A couple bird photos taken at Colin's house will have to suffice instead instead of adorable little kindergarteners singing and high school kids doing amazing dance routines. Sorry! I'm not sure of the small bird in the flowers, but the other is a White-breasted waterhen. We are now in old town Chiang Mai, a walled city and fortunately, the air quality has improved. Whew! Tourists have returned and we have been eating delicious food and getting $10 massages as often as we can. More on Chiang Mai later. Bye for now.