El Nido, Palawan

During the Tet holiday in January, I traveled with my friend Dave to the Philippines.  I’d been once before, but this trip was to El Nido, Palawan, known for its natural beauty and cluster of islands.

Inspired by this magnificence, and the current English unit at school about non-rhyming poetry, I’ve decided to tell the tales of my adventure in El Nido, Palawan, in acrostic form. 

So, here’s to you, El Nido!

E: Experience

When people ask me where is the most beautiful place I’ve been, it’s difficult to choose just one.  But I think if I really had to choose, I would say the Philippines, and feel confident in my answer.  Of course, there are plenty of places I haven’t been, and plenty of places in the Philippines, but the parts that I’ve seen...there is no comparison!

The people are friendly, the food is delicious, the views are beyond words.  It just feels good to be there.

So if I can give you a bit of unsolicited advice: Go EXPERIENCE the Philippines!!

Our first glimpse of Palawan from the plane

L: Landscapes

I mentioned the views are beyond words, and really, it’s true.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  The first beach we visited was in El Nido town.  Not a great beach for sunbathing, but clean nonetheless.  The whole strip is lined with hotels and restaurants, but it was surprisingly quiet when we were there.

The bay at El Nido

El Nido

One afternoon, we rented a motorbike and drove out through the country to a beach called Nacpan.  About halfway there, the paved road ran out, and we rode the rest of the way down gravel roads full of potholes and across tiny bridges made of rotting logs.  But we got to see this!!

Rural Palawan

Country road, DON'T take me home!

Nacpan Beach
Paradise??

After eating some possibly dodgy seafood, Dave and I both got food poisoning.  It was a bonding experience.  There is no way to un-hear someone puking their guts out through the thin bathroom wall.

To recover from our nastiness, we spent an afternoon lounging on a nearby beach called Las Cabanas.  I mostly laid in the shade, sipping a coconut to replenish my electrolytes.  But if you’re going to “waste” a day in paradise, this ain’t a bad way to do it.

Las Cabanas Beach

N: Natural

Our hotel, Island Front Cottages, made it very clear when we booked that electricity is a privilege, not a right, on Palawan. The power only operated for certain hours of the day.  Most of the businesses ran generators during the outage hours, though.  We had to time our showers to allow for the hot water heater, or pay an icy price.

Our hotel beach at low tide

No power lines

On our last day on the island, it rained.  It rained all day.  All day.  And because most people had traveled to El Nido to go scuba diving, island hopping, and sunbathing, the entire tourist population was trapped in the restaurants and bars along the one little road through town.  We, of course, found friends in a bar to spend the time with, drinking and playing cards.  Ahhh, the simple life.

El Nido town

If I lived here, I'd see this every day...

I: Island hopping

El Nido is part of the Bacuit Archipelago, which consists of 45 islands scattered around the South China Sea.  This makes for an excellent day of island hopping on a banca boat.  Dave an I packed our sunscreen and booked ourselves some fun in the sun with Art Cafe’s famous Tour C.  

The tour took us to such mystical places as Hidden Beach, Secret Beach, Matinloc Shrine, and Helicopter Island.  The scenery cannot be rivaled, and again I think I should just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hidden Beach

Dave swims through the tunnel to reach Secret Beach

Matinloc Shrine

Matinloc Island
Look at that clear water!!

Lunch break

Island hoppers

On the tour, we got to snorkel at several locations, and the water was so clear and full of life, it put an other snorkeling I’ve done to shame.  I even saw an octopus!!

OoooOooo, a collage!

D: Diving

When I learned to SCUBA dive in Thailand back in October, I thought diving was the most amazing thing ever invented.   Little did I know it could get BETTER! Because El Nido is so well-preserved, the diving is beautiful.  We were lucky and had good weather conditions for excellent visibility and plenty of sea life.  

I don’t have an underwater camera, and Dave’s isn’t safe to use at diving depths, so I don’t have any pictures of diving.  But let me just say this: we went on nine dives over the course of the week, and never once were we disappointed in what we saw.  I saw tons of clown fish in sea anemones, trumpet fish, giant clams, sea cucumbers, and countless jellyfish.  I swam through a school of yellow snapper.  And I watched a sea turtle eating coral.  I mean, come on!!

I'm not as terrified as I look

O: OMG when can I go back??

The one bad thing about a spectacular vacation is that it only makes you want to go back.  I don’t see how the pristine beaches and sensational diving could get old any time soon.  But maybe I should branch out and see other places?  Get another stamp in the ol’ passport?  Try some new cuisine?  

Lucky for me, my job has good holidays.  Sipadan, anyone?

Corong Corong sunset

More this.

Hoi An

I finally mastered the art of packing light on a recent trip to Hoi An. Hoi An is known for its many tailors and hand-made shoe shops, so I knew I’d need space to return with some goods.  We woke up before dawn and hopped a plane for a short flight up the coast for five days of fun.  In the six weeks since I’d arrived in Vietnam, this was the first time I’d left Saigon!!

We arrived in Hoi An by 9am, checked in to the hotel, and set off in search of some of the local food, which is touted as the best in Vietnam.  We ended up at a place down a little back alley called Bale Well. The restaurant was written up in all the travel books, but when we arrived, we were the only customers.  We ordered some drinks and accepted the set menu.  Before long, we realized that it was only about 10:30 in the morning and we were probably the only people ready for lunch.  But when you wake up at 4am, you get little hungry.  The food would NOT stop coming to the table, and it was amazing.  The women working there stood by our table and taught us how to make the delicious rolls.  The menu of grilled pork satay, rice pancakes, and spring rolls, were all layered on top of thin rice papers and masterfully rolled up into edible heavenly bundles.  The food kept coming, and we had to cry mercy to get the bill.  

A definite MUST when in Hoi An

Dave takes mental notes

Aftermath

Filled to brim with local specialties, we wandered the alleys for a reputable shop to order tailored clothes.  As a western woman in Southeast Asia, I am always disappointed at the lack of clothes that actually fit, so the thought of hand-made clothes at cheap prices was very appealing to me.  The streets were lined with tailors and shoe shops, and we settled on one that David had used before.

Tailors galore 

Thanh Van tailor shop

The women working at the shop were hilarious, which I’m sure played a bigger role in my satisfaction than the actual quality of their tailoring, but I’m still happy with the clothes I had made.  I ordered a dress and two skirts custom made with material of my choosing, all for $57.  I’ll take it.  But the woman at the shop!  She was soooo inappropriate!  She started out innocently enough, asking David if he was married or had a girlfriend.  Then she moved on to asking Nick about his “banana” -- how big was it? What color was it? Could he show it to her? For the record, she really loves red bananas, whatever that means.  Next, she took me upstairs to choose fabric for my dress.  I was laughing hysterically as she told me more about her banana preferences and asked about mine -- what color was my favorite? How many bananas had I had? What do I do if I can’t find a banana?  I would go back to that shop, just to talk to the girls, if not to order more clothes!  

The fellas enjoy the ladies

Not sure why I'm wearing a helmet,
but at least she's not groping me in the picture

Feeling slightly violated, we borrowed some bicycles from our hotel and rode around the  Old Ancient Town of Hoi An.  The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage sight, and for good reason.   The town is off-limits to cars, so you can walk and bike through the narrow streets in relative peace and safety.  The architecture and atmosphere is so different from Ho Chi Minh City!  I thoroughly enjoyed the slow pace and quiet streets near the river, all lined with beautiful lanterns (and tons of souvenir shops). 

The iconic Japanese covered bridge

Hoi An

Along the river

Rest stop

Pedestrian streets

We quickly developed a routine of daily happy hours along the Thu Bon River.  Across the bridge from Hoi An is An Hoi Peninsula (not confusing, right?), and the riverfront is lined with cafes, restaurants, and bars begging you to come rest your weary feet while consuming copious amounts of their afternoon drink specials.  And consume we did!

Me, Dave, and Nick
Bia Hoi!

Not a bad happy hour view, huh?

The next morning, we rented motorbikes to take a trip up to My Son.  Dave used his expert haggling skills to bargain a super cheap price ($4 for each bike), and we drove off towards My Son. 

Dave takes the reins for a while

My Son is the site of some crazy old Cham temple ruins, and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site (wow -- two in one trip!). Most of the temples were destroyed by American bombs during the war, but there are about 20 or so structures still standing.  The jungle weather was oppressive; I was sweating from literally every pore.  I didn’t know you could sweat from the top of your shoulder.  The ruins were pretty cool, but I think the drive through the countryside was the best part of the day.  

Roadside field workers

Straight jungle

Cham ruins

Hindu temple

My Son ruins

Shade didn't help the extreme heat

River

That evening, we took it easy, just biking around Hoi An, shopping, and drinking along the river. 

Trusty bikes

Biking Hoi An

Shop wares

Lanters on An Hoi Peninsula

River reflections

More delicious local food
Minced clams with herbs and peanuts, served with rice crackers and fish sauce (of course)

Bright and early the next morning, we joined a tour group out to the Cham Islands, just 15km offshore from Hoi An.   The adventure started with a bumpy boat ride out to the remote islands, complete with a small Chinese woman puking into a coffee cup across the aisle.  Reminded me a bit of the ferry ride out to Chimei with Alex, but not quite as bad as the boat ride from hell out to Green Island in Taiwan. 

On a boat!

Cham Islands

I want to ride in that little round boat

The tour started in a rice field leading up to an old temple called Ong Ngu, which is dedicated to whales (or the whale gods? not sure.). I feel like I’ve seen so many temples in the last year and half that they all start to look the same, but the walk through the field was fairly memorable. 

Navigating through the field to the temple

Moo.

Strong as an ox

Making a fishing net

Soon we were back on the boat to zoom around the coast for some snorkeling.  After snorkeling with giant clams in the Philippines, I think I might be a bit ruined for being amazed by underwater life.  And to be fair, the snorkeling on Cham Islands was truly lackluster.  I think I saw five fish.  The water was nice, but I have the feeling that too many tourists and not enough mindfulness towards conservation have caused the sea life to move to safer waters.  

Cham Island snorkeling

Beach life

Fishing boat

Back on shore, the tour group provided us a delicious seafood lunch and left us ample time for lazing around on the beach.  Good food, cold beer, funny friends, a beach chair in the shade, and SPF100.  What more could a girl want?  I know!  How about some entertainment?  Lucky for us, our tour group included a set of Russian amateur models (or so it seemed) who spent the entire two hours posing and re-posing for pictures on the beach.  At first it was a bit of a joke between Nick, Dave, and I: “Haha, look! That girl is posing with her arms up in the air like some sort of sun goddess again!”  But soon, we realized that this was no joke.  These dudes were serious.  I only wish I had taken pictures of their photo session so that everyone could enjoy the show we got.  They posed on the beach.  Next to a tree.  In front of the boat. In the water.  Laying on the shore in the surf.  Rolling on the shore in the surf.  Standing up.  Sitting down.  Jumping.  Hair up.  Hair down.  Sunglasses on.  Sunglasses off.  Sunglasses in their teeth.  It. Was.  Amazing.

Made me tired just watching them.  So I fell asleep in my beach chair.

Soaking up the rays from the safety of the shade

Before we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City, we took the opportunity to stop over in Da Nang to reunite with our CELTA friends, Abby and Chantal.  Da Nang is a lovely little beach town that surprised me with its laid-back atmosphere and beautiful, quiet streets.  We didn’t do much in Da Nang except hang out at the beach and stay out all night drinking, but come on -- this is what vacations are supposed to be.  

View of Da Nang from the roof of Abby and Chantal's apartment

Double rainbow in my own photo!  What does it MEAN?!?!

Da Nang street

It was great to see the girls again, and even better to know that Da Nang is only an hour and some flight away.  We ended our trip with another helping of delicious local food, this time seafood at a beachside restaurant.

Chantal, Abby, me, Nick, and David gorge on local seafood.... again.

I would definitely go back to Hoi An again, for the local food, the relaxed atmosphere, the tailor-made clothes, the riverside lanterns, and of course -- the red bananas.