A 1-week trip to El Nido town on Palawan island, Philippines.
Getting there
To get to El Nido from Penang (Malaysia), there are 2 main options:
- fly: Penang -> Kuala Lumpur -> Manila (1 day layover) -> El Nido;
- fly: Penang -> Kuala Lumpur -> Manila (1 day layover) -> Puerto Princesa; and then bus to El Nido.
The second option takes longer, but it’s a bit cheaper, more complicated, and you probably get to see a bit more of the island during the bus ride. So I took the second option.
Overnight layover in Manila.
Impressions:
- armed security personnel guarding grocery stores? With AK rifles!? Huh. Guess they have a severe shoplifting problem here.
- slept in a capsule-hotel for the first time. Felt like a privileged hobo. Interesting.
- despite the fact the airport was only 5 minutes away from the hotel, I managed to almost miss my flight. Thanks to the nice airport people, I was escorted from the check-in, past the security gate, and straight to the boarding gate in less than 5 minutes, just like a priority pregnant damsel, and got to board the flight to Puerto Princesa.
Puerto Princesa
First impression: disappointing, no princess awaiting at the airport.
From Puerto Princesa to El Nido is a bumpy 6-hour bus ride, but the views are pretty nice. Buses and minivans leave straight from the airport every 30 minutes or so.
El Nido
A laid-back town, with a nice and looong beach. Part of it is very touristic, but part of it is very rural & authentic. Pretty cool.
Working from El Nido
The hotels’ Wifi was horrible (I stayed in 2 different places), the mobile internet was bad as well, and worked needed to be done.
However, I found a tip about a small coffee-house that supposedly had great internet, coffee and food. And indeed it had, and I strongly recommended it: Delinido Coffeehouse. Great staff as well.
Kayaking from El Nido to Cadlao Island
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but whenever I see an island I have to put my foot on it; even if I already am on a beautiful island. So here’s a few photos from Cadlao Island: Paradise Beach, Pasandigan Cove, and a few others.
Next — I’m going for 1 week on Boracay Island, Philippines.
