Sun, sea, sand and spiders … El Nido, Philippines

Two weeks in the Philippines felt like it was both too long and not long enough. It is without doubt one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in the world; dramatic lime stone cliffs, the clearest turquoise seas and whitest sandy beaches, incredible coral reefs teeming with life, secret lagoons and miles of virgin jungle, and I only managed to get to two destinations! There are just so many amazing and unique islands and places to experience there that I barely feel like I touched the surface.  On the other hand I was so ready to leave after my fortnight of surviving grotty hostels, plumbing issues, water poisoning (the worst diarrhoea I’ve ever experienced), drunk party animals (mainly British) and the biggest spider I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet. I think you could describe my relationship with this country love/hate!

Day 85-86 Manila Having heard very mixed reviews about safety in the Philippines I very nearly didn’t go but having met lots of people on my travels who had been and loved it, I changed my mind. They all said that once you’re out of Manila you’re fine. I googled the nicest area to stay in Manila and a seemingly trustworthy article informed me that Makati was the best place to be. Later I found out that this was in fact the red light district! I only ventured 100m from the grotty hostel after dark and couldn’t wait to be gone! #dontalwaysbelievewhatyouread

Day 87-93 Coron I flew in a tiny plane from Manila to the island of Coron, in the north of Palawan Province, which is famous for its diving especially an extensive number of Japanese wrecks. The first night I met 2 lovely Chilean girls called Macarena and Katerina who invited me on an evening stroll. It turned out to be 800 steps up Mount Tapyas to watch the sunset which was delightful but not the best in flip flops! 

The next two days were spent with the girls doing island tours. We went to some of the most fabulous places and snorkelled and sunbathed in the most stunning locations. Unfortunately nothing is ever straight forward for Bridget Jones over here. I went to the doctor in Manila who prescribed me some antimalarials for my onward travels and recommended I start taking them straight away. He didn’t mention that one of the side effects is photosensitivity. Not ideal for a blondie  like me when the average temperature is about 34 degrees! Despite smothering myself in factor 50 and staying in the shade on the first day I burnt like a piece of cheap streaky bacon. I then proceeded to have a couple of gin and tonics (possibly one too many) in the evening whilst unknowingly suffering from rather severe sunstroke. Needless to say hanging off the front of the tour boat the next day vomiting with my arse in the air in front of a boat full of horrified tourists was not one of my proudest moments. 

Day 90-92 PADI Open Water Certification I had never done any diving whatsoever before visiting the Philippines but I’d been romantically dreaming of doing my PADI and Coron seemed the perfect place. I got a slight reality check when I arrived at Reggae Dive School And was handed a large amount of homework to complete before the course commenced which Started by telling me that if I held my breath underwater my lungs would explode like a balloon! Terrifying! 

On the morning of my first dive I was very close to wimping out but luckily I was convinced to try and I’m so glad! The next three days were overwhelming but one of the best things I’ve ever done. Once you get the technical stuff done and start diving properly it’s actually incredibly peaceful, listening to your own breathing like a metronome whilst floating weightlessly through the beautiful underwater wilderness.  It was like getting your own private view of an episode of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet. 

Day 94-100 El Nido At the end of the week I got the ferry over to El Nido, a popular town on the Palawan main island. I couldn’t get into the hostel I’d had recommended so booked in to a beachside deluxe room in a nearby hotel. Unfortunately there was nothing deluxe about it and it lead to one of the most horrific nights of my life! 

The first night in the grotty hotel was fine  as they gave me a family room but the second day they gave me my intended Beachfront hut which turned out to be a shack next to a chicken coop near the water. There was a big spider in there so I paid a boy on the beach 10 pesos to kill it for me which he thought was hysterical but which solved the issue and I went on my merry way to the full moon party with my new friend Yiota. The party was a bit crap and I was Coerced into drinking several shots to make it more fun. I stumbled home and passed out in the hut without a care which was a blessing considering what happened next. 

On my final Evening I was just taking a pee before going to bed and the most ginormous spider leapt out of the toilet, between my legs, and disappeared! I screamed and jumped up and peed all over the bathroom floor. After hyperventilating and cleaning myself up I got into bed and switched the light off. Shaking and terrified I couldn’t sleep so I got up and switched the light back on… AND THE BASTARD WAS RIGHT NEXT TO ME ON THE WALL! This thing was the size of my hand with massive eyes, staring at me hungrily. I ended up staying up all night watching the spider with the lights on and at 5am I made a dash across the beach, swearing and being chased by territorial stray dogs, to reception and checked out. 

The second half of the week was a bit of a damp squib too as the weather turned wet and I came down with the worst case of water poisoning, leaving me bed ridden for 2 days. Thankfully the hostel was clean and modern and no spiders dared to creep in with so many drunken twenty somethings lounging about playing beer pong! I did get one day out on a tour and it gave me a taste of how beautiful El Nido can be. We even visited the island they use on the ‘Survivor’ tv shows. 
I feel a bit guilty that I didn’t make the most of that week but such is the nature of the Philippines. Maybe in the future I’ll go back and try to see and do more. Needless to say I will definitely be doing proper hotels and leaving the beachfront deluxe to Bear Grylls!  

Day 101 Fly from Puerto Princesa to Manila Back to civilisation! 

Day 102 Fly from Manila to Kathmandu, Nepal!