Glen knocked on the door at 7.15 to tell us that the bus stop for our 9 hour trip to el nido, which left at 8.00am was about 30 minutes away by tricycle. To cut a long story short, we just made it. Just......
The girls and I had got money the previous evening as (once again) there are no ATM's in the northern Palawan town.
Kipp and I jumped into the first tricycle as he had to get cash. The girls followed and actually got there first.
I was not looking forward to the journey, especially in my fragile state!
It was actually quite good. The scenery was stunning. We got there well under the estimated 9 hours. On our last stop a couple of guys, Andrew and Jonno joined the bus. They had been travelling for over 9 months and had another month in the Philippines before heading to Bali. The bus was full so Andrew climbed on the roof. At the next stop both Kipp and Liz joined him. Sabi and I thought better of it and and stayed in the relative discomfort of the bus.
Coming into the town the views out across the sea were beautiful. It was like a mini 'Halong Bay'.
Once in town the bus was besieged by people wanting to provide rooms and rides into town. My patience was wearing thin. After a long journey and a massive hangover being harangued before you have even got your bags will not get good results....
Of course, it was well past 'Beer O'clock' we made our way to the bar overlooking the beach. Andrew and Jonno had left to find somewhere to stay. Kipp and Liz followed, there was nothing at the right price so all 6 of us ended up at then same hostel.
Once again, clean cheap and damp. Small cabin type accommodation with a shared bathroom across the yard. We had eaten earlier so armed with a bottle of Rum, some coke, some vodka and some sprite we sat on out veranda and got pissed again.... There is a certain theme here!
Halfway through then evening Jonno, who had been slurring for some time flaked out and went to bed. That was a big mistake on his part as when he woke the next morning Andrew had kindly drawn all over him in pen. Very amusing!
We all went skinny dipping. Kipp, decided it would be a good idea to dive from a boat into 3 ft of water. Not a good idea, he nearly broke his fucking neck !
Although it was a nice morning we all were pretty jaded. The girls successfully booked a flight from El Nido direct to Manila which gave them an extra day and saved the need to do the 9 hour bus journey in reverse.
Tomorrow we are taking a boat trip around some of the islands. Lunch, snorkelling are included. Definitely an early night!!!!!
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Location:El Nido - Palawan - Philippines
