6 Week Gap Year

Tuesday 12th June 2007
Up at the ungodly hour of 4am (very reminiscent of he good old days with early morning 4.20 work starts) and wait for Dodi to collect and whisk us to the airport for Palawan. Finished the packing and wait for Dodi. And wait. And wait some more. We know all about Flipino time but this is ridiculous. We have to be at the Airport before 7.00 due to security measures even for internal flights and Manila traffic can be horrendous at any time of day or night for no apparent reason. At 5.30 we get a call to say he is on his way but stuck in traffic (see my point?) so we make an executive decision ( one of only a few decisions we have made this trip) to take a taxi. Annabelle the maid hails one for us and we bundle in with the goodbyes and good wishes from all and sundry. We impress upon the taxi driver the urgency of his mission and he sets his jaw and guns the motor. We set off at an impressive 30 kph for the next 10 minutes due to tricycles and speed bumps until we reach the main highway. Here we chance our luck and find a relatively unbusy and free flowing 4 lane road and at last we’re off. 20 minutes and we’re stuck in a traffic jam and no-ones moved for a minute or two and suddenly we’re off again and passing an accident between a lorry and a pick-up truck. Glass everywhere from a windscreen but no-ones bothered and they all drive over it and around the 2 vehicles involved. We reach the airport in 55 minutes at 06.35 which must a Manila record and reward our driver with the fare of P345 and a tip of P155. He had informed us on the journey that he rents the Taxi from his brother (a system which all taxi drivers seem to use, no not rent from our drivers brother, but rent 12 hours use of the taxi from the owner) for P500 a day. Some pay more depending on wether they are relatives, friends, 2nd cousins twice removed or how new or old the taxi is. So he was happy because his first fare of the day (he was on his way from home to the Mega Mall at EDSA north) had covered his rent to his brother. Everything else earned today is his, yaaaay! So almost an hours journey of around 20 miles cost us £5.50. At the airport everything runs smoothly and to time and we’re off to Palawan. Palawan airport is literally a tin roofed brick shack. Customs is relaxed, Ludy took both our passports through and went and waited for our luggage. The carousel was about 20 feet away from customs and so he just looked over to check me out. I think. The hotel bus was outside to greet us and we were whisked away with much efficiency and courtesy. Our new lodgings, Hotel Asturias, is only 2 storeys high and has a Spanish Hacienda feel to it. A big airy reception welcomes us and a large board declaring that The Hotel Asturia welcomes Derek Scanlon & Co ! Ludy says she can’t remember ever being christened with that name. Making our way to room 227 we pass the Pescados Restaurant and a largish free form swimming pool situated in the middle of the hotel surrounded on all sides by the guest rooms. Our room is a generous size with tv, air con and ensuite facilities inc a bath and hot water! (but no bloody hairdryer says Lu) It’s just after 10am and feels like the middle of the afternoon and with the trip around Puerto Princesa later at 1.00pm I feel like catching some zzzzz’s. But we’re in a new town and country (although it is still part of Luzon in the Philippines) and we feel duty bound to have a quick look. So we take a tricycle (they are slightly different here as they have a shell which encloses the passenger and driver rather than just a sidecar as in Manila.) into the centre of Puerto Princesa for peso20. The town is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea in a natural cove with the sea ferry terminal located on the harbour in the west. It is a bustling ‘city’ where the biggest danger to life and limb is being run over by one of the thousands of tricycles or slipping in the water in the indoor wet market with all the fish. We are told that this is a "No Littering " city and to be honest we didn't see much litter at all. You know, we were talking later on in the journey and neither of us can remember seeing many people smoking. I'm sure it's not banned but maybe they are a more self conscious and healthier island race than we give them credit for. Anyway after all our walking around, all we end up buying is a couple of bottles of water so make our way back to the hotel to get ready for our tour. Naturally whilst we are out the hotel has provided 2 complimentary bottles of water!
We are collected at 1pm by Janssen, our tour guide from Ellen’s Travel and tours. We go to another hotel to collect 5 more guests of which only the family of 3 are ready. After 20 minutes the young couple appear and we’re off. Our first stop is the city museum which houses many objects and artefacts to do with Palawan history and its indigenous people but with 2 slightly more interesting items. One is a burial pot which is about 2.5 feet high and about the same in width. It is an ancient Palawan burial rite where the dead are returned to a crouching/sitting position as if on their haunches and placed in the pot then buried. The ancient Palawan man was obviously not a lofty individual. The second is fossil remains identified as human, found at the Tabon Cave complex in Luzon, Palawan and dating back some 22-24,000 years. They are acknowledged as the oldest homo sapien remains in the Philippines and earned Palawan the title of the ’Cradle of Philippine Civilisation’. Our next stop is altogether more up to date but equally if not older. We are at the crocodile farm. The Philippine and Palawan croc is a highly endangered species and a conservation scheme was set up by the Govt to protect and increase their numbers. They now farm the little critters in large numbers and many are sold for the shoe and handbag market. Our guide said they are snapped up by customers ha ha! We had the pleasure of holding one for a few moments firmly behind the head and on the tail. No just a baby of about 9 months of age, who do you think I am Crocodile Dundee. Oh and his mouth was bound tightly shut by an elastic band. Snappy elastic on a future strappy basket. We then went fishing for crocs. Standing on a walkway above fully grown crocs in their pools we watched as a number of visitors paid for the pleasure of teasing the prehistoric time warps with a couple of fish tied to string attached to a very strong meta pole. The idea was to ‘dance’ the fish in front of a croc’s nose and then watch him thrash about as he tried to take the bait. Very entertaining. From here we ventured into the islands penal colony to view their way of life. Not as daft as it sounds because the Palawan govt have taken an enlightened view to how prisoners approaching parole are treated. They are given small farm holdings owned by the govt and to whom rent is paid. They then work the land and earn and learn. The term for renting is up to 20 years at which point they must be returned to the govt. Presumably they are expected to have saved to be able to afford their own smallholding in that time. Not quite proper joined up thinking because these people are poor, the income is poor and at the end of the lease term their chances are poor. We miss out on the butterfly farm because by now it is raining cats and dogs and of course we are behind on time due to a certain late couple who are on their honeymoon. One of the many outstanding natural features of this very pretty and interesting island is a beautiful tree whose flowers are bright red, nicknamed ’Fire Tree’ when in full bloom and we are lucky enough to witness it. They are in abundance on one of the mountainsides and it looks for all the world like there is a red hot flow of lava inching down the wooded slopes. Our tour takes us back through the city and a few more points of local interest and back to our hotel. We decide to eat in the restaurant and take their buffet dinner. Wish I’d looked harder before ordering. Our choice was grilled tuna, prawns, breaded chicken pieces, breaded pork strips, garlic rice and the only vegetable was green beans in oyster sauce. Unfortunately they had been steaming away for well over an hour and a half before we got there so they were not in their best condition. We also braved a half bottle of Cashew nut wine. Very, very sweet and best served highly chilled or as a dessert wine only. Cashew nuts are an abundant crop on the island and grown all year round except during monsoon months of May, June, July. We retired to bed after dinner as we are tired and have an early start tomorrow for our trip to Sabang and the underground river tour.