Hidden coves and craic.

From my previous post you would think this backpacking malarkey is all beaches and blissful sunny days. Well as I write this post from the back of a tiny hot minivan with, wait for it, 23 people crammed around me I can assure you it is not. We have been on the road now for 3 days in a what now seems gargantuan effort to travel from Coron town to yet another fellow backpacker tip off, the sunny seaside town of Puerto Galera on Mindoro.

Coron town itself is set up on a little hillside. Sounds idealic right? Not so much! This place is a strip of ramshackle housing and business' clearly thrown up after the start of a tourist boom a few years ago. It seems in Coron planning permission, health and safety and any other regulation has been thrown out the window. Right in the middle of town, down a crumbling set of concrete stairs, along a randomly twisting and turning boardwalk of wobbly driftwood that led out into a water village of hastily built traditional bamboo houses was our place, Coron Backpackers.

We first found this place on Google and seeing it was the first obvious place for any travellers to visit we grabbed our bags from the boat and quickly hailed a tuk tuk to rush straight there. We didn't have a booking but the ever helpful manager, a Filipino lady called Celine helped us with our first nights stay and gave us the last available room with two double bamboo beds for only a little more than the regular rate. For that cheap rate we soon found out we had a room just next to where the village kept their pigs, the room also had a family of rats living in the wall and the bamboo slatted floor let the low tides tremendous stink hang thick in the air. All the same it had a charm and a good vibe is something sometimes so hard to find. We had found it and for the next 5 nights, 3 in our room, 1 in another and even a night living in the attic we spent our time there meeting new friends from near and far, having lots of fun... even if the rats fancied an occasional nibble on our things. 

At Coron Backpackers we met these guys.. 

...and used our base to see some of the most amazing islands and other natural landscapes I have ever seen. 

Coron port is just a stones throw from the town itself and is centrally located to hundreds of deserted islands with perfect white sand beaches, mountainous landscapes, hidden coves, lakes and caves that most days we explored by rented boat with some of the people that we had met. 

On our "days off" from Island hopping we spent time in local resorts and because of the lack of major top end tourist development we found each time we had these amazing 5 star spaces almost all to ourselves for a few dollars a day. Coron seen us enjoying awesome times in amazing places with pretty rad people in the sun. 

To Mindoro... 

Return to Paradise.

I am writing this as I sit on top of a small boat in the South China Sea. It's only a 7 hour journey and close to land. The views on the Filipino Palawan islands are incredible. Today the sky is a vivid blue, a few clouds float above us. The sea is calm, glassy still. I'm wearing a top bought to me by Lissu and thinking about friends all over the word as we glide along. I can't stop smiling, I haven't been so happy, peaceful and excited for the near future in a long time. 

I started travelling in Asia once again a week ago today. Travelling first from Melbourne to the amazing hospitality of Ashleigh and Claire in Sydney before catching a flight direct to Manila. After a night in what I can only describe as being a brothel I scrubbed off the travelling dirt and hit the airport once again to meet my cousin and friend from my earliest memories, Emma. That day we met, after a few hour confusion, worry and stress at terminal 1 and made our way across Manilas vast airport complex to terminal 4. After a hula hoop outside we made our way in and that night caught a flight to the beautiful island of Palawan itself. 

I first visited the Philipinnes a year and a half ago and when I last said goodbye I made a promise to myself I would come back. In my memories since I had a seemingly idealistic vision of this place to be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. A vision of supreme and sunbathed tropical islands, untouched places, unbelievable beauty and amazing people. This time I am happy to report that my ideal ideas have held up. This is paradise! 

Previously in the Philippines I missed a flight to Palawan but without that I would have missed out on amazing places like Cebu and Malapascua. I was grateful at the time, a twist of fate as I thought. Still my plans for Palawan always stayed in the back of my mind and this island and the surrounding constituency of the same name has not disappointed. 

We started our time here in Puerto Princessa, the capital. As with most capitals of any large or small place almost anywhere Puerto is a bustling hub of activity. Banks and big business line the streets juxtaposed by market stalls and traditional housing. It's not filthy but it's far from clean. The place we stayed was behind a dilapidated row of shops and through a small door our tuk tuk driver took me to look at the "cheap cheap accomodation" he recommended. As always in these situations I expected the worst and as Emma waited outside with the bags and ride I went to look. It was the most adorable little place. A few rooms with the backpacker holy grail, air con! Liannes place was compact but creatively and beautiful decorated. Thankfully after the first night of celebratory few drinks or ten she had the space to give us one more night to recover. 

We booked our bus to the small town of El Nido on the northern tip of Palawan Island  on the second day and first thing in the morning on the third we packed our bags and boarded the tiniest minivan for a 5 hour journey to the town itself. 

When we arrived just outside El Nido town we were pleased to hear that we had, by chance, came just in time for the local village festival and parade. A traditional festival is amazing to see but what's not so amazing is to find accommodation so we followed our tried and tested method and paid a tuk tuk driver to find us a place he recommended. This time it wasn't so easy but after a few tries we found our place, Strong Tower, it was rickety and old, the floors felt like they might give way at any second, it was unbelievably hot and the bathroom barely had a toilet with no flush. Still it was a place to sleep and a base to see the surrounding beauty. 

We planned to stay a few nights and take the bus we had booked back to catch another flight to the central Philippines. That didn't happen. On our second night we met an older Canadian man and after his travel stories stretching back to the 80's we decided to rip our bus ticket up and set our eyes on a by sea alternative travel plan back to Manila via some of the best islands this country has to offer. 

In El Nido we got to experience that traditional local festival...

Hula hooped with the beach kids...

Spent our time on many boats...

Travelled to far flung deserted and deservingly epic islands... 

And met these guys....

We booked a boat to take us around the coast for the day and by chance ended up with the Manalo family. A bunch of loud and always laughing women coming together in this part of the world on holiday from the North. As soon as we boarded our bamboo boat they were the most welcoming group. We spent the day with them. The first of many amazing days to come. 

To Coron.... 

Room 8, 12 and 10...

"Happiness is so hard to achieve but looking around I think I might be happiest in places just like this..."

My previous blog was quite a while ago but reading back it's pretty sweet to read my last few words. A massive 6 months has passed and although I stopped writing because of a mixture of time restraint, intoxication levels and the lack of real adventure I can assure you I have been having fun, mostly. 

For the most part Australia is comfortable. On the surface level It's the kind of place 19 year old's with not much else to do run away to. It's the sort of place those same people come away from claiming growth, enlightenment, solidarity with the earth and acceptance with themselves. Australia for me is full of that sort of traveller, the sort of traveller that asks where Ireland is and thinks Indonesia is an African state. I mean it would be pretentious of me to claim I didn't fall into that mind numbing, goon (cheap ass box wine) drinking and bullshit talking way of life but for the most part I found it draining. Asia for me was 5 steps forward and unfortunately I found Australia to be a few steps back. 

Australia itself is absolutely beautiful but for me the vast amount of Australian people I met (mostly in Northern Queensland) turned out to be arrogant, backward, openly racist and extremely small minded. 

Lucky as I have written before I started off my journey in Oz meeting a few pretty amazing exceptions to the Australian and Australian traveller rule. People that in every shitty situation have saved it! Throughout my stay in Australia I met so many amazing exceptions. Friends, colleagues and employers alike have most always been amazing to be and to work with. 

Maybe there is a better way to travel. I mean arriving in the country with $20 to my name wasn't the best of starts. I write this overlooking El Nido bay in the Philippines after restarting my Asian adventure and with fresh thoughts of solid work for the last few months my recent memories of my Aussie travels are always going to pale In comparison. 

My first Australian "turf" family will always be in my thoughts, I owe a lot to all my friends on the farm and my return to Melbourne seen me meeting the most obscure mix of people nobody would have ever placed together but it worked, in fact it was pretty unbelievable. 

Room 8, 12 and 10 will be places that I will remember and cherish memories forever. 

Australia was a place I never wanted to go to but as a country I can live and save in I will inevitably return to focus once more and save again for my onward travels. I'm holding out a lot of hope for the west coast. 

Right now I have another 4 months in Asia ahead of me with my cousin Emma. We have plans of road and boat trips through some of the worlds most beautiful points. Moving forward I hope my return to the western world comes much more smoothly. I might not have "grown"in that 19 year old "Australia is soooo rad!" bullshitty way but I would say my last year has certainly taught me a lot. God I never thought I would say it but roll on round/ take two!