Mekkelmania : Philippines, Interactive Intercontinental travel magazine, with, international,world,global,flying,airlines, reservations,hotels, resorts,holidays,vacations ,planners, plans,resources, how,to,prepare,discount,air fares,tickets,directory,guide,adventure. travel,tips,travelers,travellers, traveling, travelling, advice,help,planning,preparations, packing,operators,women,safety, weather,warm,weather,miscellaneous,high,altitude,Asia,guidetravel, journals, reis, homepage, verslag, tips, Philippines, waterpolo, el nido, palawan, negros, Mekkelholt, An, interactive, stories, pictures, photos,of, backpack, backpackers, backpacking, mekkelmania, traveltips, beach, white beach, palm trees, relaxing, transport, prices, accommodation, maya route, route maya, Manila, interactive, stories, maps, lonely planet, travel guide, guide, travel information, thorn tree, reisrevue, reisverhalen, reizen, verre oosten, witte stranden, timetable, train, plane, airlines, disneyland, train, plane, automobile, bus, Negros,palawan, cebu, bantayan, el nido, puerto princessa, mactan, sabang, underground river, bohol, bacalod, luzon, panglao, island, nuts huts, chocolate hills, leyte, borocay, kanlaon, volcano, ma ao, mambucal, dumaguete, culture, rain forrest, islands, links, car rentals, cruises, theme parks, airport codes, parks, passport, visa department of transportation, help, travel advice, custom information, planning, information, resources, travel tips, hiking, trekking, rafting

The Philippines

In February- March 1999 we traveled a month trough this country with so many island and WOW.. what a great Southeast Asian country this is. As a neighbor of Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Indonesia it is not very popular yet for travellers, but that is only a matter of time I think. Travelling trough the Philippines was great, mainly because there are not a lot of travellers yet who found this country yet and also every island has its own charm. Every island is different. The only thing missing is some real specific Philippine culture. We traveled 'only' over the islands Luzon, Palawan, Negros, Bohol, Cebu and Bantayan. If you think that there are in total 7100 islands, you can travel around for months here. We only had one month. Each of these islands has a different and special character, so al they need special attention.

Palawan

If you do/did not visit the island of Palawan, about 450 kilometers south-west of the capitol Manila, you miss(ed) a lot. Every day on this island brings you something new. El Nido is a small village in the north of Palawan. You can fly from Manila to El Nido with a small Japanese Airline called Soriano in only 60 minutes. Their main goal is to transport Japanese tourist to the resorts close to El Nido, but when seats are available in the (small) plane (max. 20 people) you can buy yourselves in. The flight over the islands in the Mindoro Street is very beautiful. The landing area is nothing more than a large field of grass. Don't be afraid when smoke is coming out of the cockpit, the pilot just switches on a fan.
From El Nido you can rent a boat for a day and sail over the Bacuit Archipel, where you will find blue lagoons, white beaches, enormous views and a fresh dip into the sea. We only left The Netherlands 3 days ago and now you are here in such an area- unbelievable.
Just to give you an idea, these are pictures of El Nido and the Bacuit Archipel on the island of Palawan.


El Nido is build close to some small rocks, overwhelmed with green bushes.	This was our excellent view from our guesthouse, Imagine waking up like this!

	Need I say more… all pictures above are taken in the Bacuit Archipel close to El Nido.

El Nido is a small village in the north of Palawan. You can fly from Manila to El Nido with a small Japanese Airline called Soriano in only 60 minutes. Their main goal is to transport Japanese tourist to the resorts close to El Nido, but when seats are available in the (small) plane (max. 20 people) you can buy yourselves in. The flight over the islands in the Mindoro Street is very beautiful. The landing area is nothing more than a large field of grass. Don't be afraid when smoke is coming out of the cockpit, the pilot just switches on a fan.
From El Nido you can rent a boat for a day and sail over the Bacuit Archipel, where you will find blue lagoons, white beaches, enormous views and a fresh dip into the sea. We only left The Netherlands 3 days ago and now you are here in such an area…. unbelievable.
From El Nido we took the boat to Sabang. The high-light here is the underground river in the St. Pauls Subterrenean Park. This is the largest underground river in the world, about 7 km's long. To get to the river you can a) take a boat or b) hike trough the jungle. Of course the latter is more fun. Sweaty, but fun. Tip : bring enough water.

In the cave

The entrance of the cave

When you finally get into the 'banca' (a small boat) to go up the river, it appears not to be a very comfortable and steady boat. After 20 minutes your butt hurts and you cannot move a lot, because the boat is very small. But that is part of the trip, which is amazing. In the cave are loads of stalactites, columns and big empty 'rooms'. Our boatsman seemed to have a good sense of imagination, because in every inefficiency in the wall he recognizes 'something', varying from a lion to a statue of himself. The person in the front seat gets a big flashlight, which appeared to be very important because it would be completely dark. One of the instructions was not to look up with your mouth open, because there are thousands of bats hanging on the sealing, which are 'shitting' on you without any hesitation. From Sabang we took a small bus to Puerto Princessa, which is the capitol of the island. There is not really anything to do or to see. Only the trip to Puerto Princessa is great. You have to ask the driver to stop on the way, because there are a great number of place where the view is amazing.

From Puerto Princessa we took the nightboat to Bacalod on Negros. It took us 22 hours, but it was great, even though the Philipine boats are known as dangerage. You share a big room with about 100 Philipinos. You don't have to worry that you get bored, because you could a) sing along with Karaoke, b) watch 15 top movies in a row from out of your bed or c) have a drink a talk to some of the locals.

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