I <3 Palawan
I haven't actually posted anything for the last week because I haven't actually really done anything! My borther insisted on coming back to Manila to shop, so we've been malling pretty much exclusively since we got back into town. But finally we left the city for another island of paradise!
Right now I'm staying at a dive resort called Discovery Island off the island of Coron. Coron is a part of Palawan, which is an island just west of the main Luzon island of the Philippines (Manila being located on Luzon). It's billed as the last undiscovered wonder of the Philippines, and it's absolutely stunning. This place is as beautiful as Boracay, and more - the island is full of natural unspoiled beauty unlike the overdeveloped resorts of Boracay. Plus it's quiet and isolated without being completely desolate. Every day you will meet like-minded tourists and backpackers from all different countries, each with their own set of stories to tell. And people my age are great too :)
Coron is definitely a diving town, boasting many beautiful coral reefs next to stunning limestone cliffs, and more importantly diving wrecks from the second world war. For the last three days we've been island hopping, snorkeling around the reefs and some of the wrecks and taking lunch out on the boat. I have so many great pictures, I don't know if I'll have enough space on my card to keep them all! I would love to stay here longer, but every vacation must come to an end. Sigh.
Speaking of tourists, I met Maggie and Leo on our first day at Discovery Island. Maggie is a financial consultant working in Shanghai, and Leo is working in Manila. We had a good time just chatting and drinking together. And today we went island hopping with a girl from Denmark who just finished a combined degree in Education and Social Work. It's so nice to spend time with people other than my parents...it's wearing a little thin these days.
Tomorrow morning we fly out of Coron back to Manila. And tomorrow is also my dad's birthday! We've got a couple of small day trips still to go before we leave the Philippines, but otherwise we'll be mostly in Manila taking care of bidness before we leave. I'll keep you posted :)
Hope all is well! Love and hugs :)
Right now I'm staying at a dive resort called Discovery Island off the island of Coron. Coron is a part of Palawan, which is an island just west of the main Luzon island of the Philippines (Manila being located on Luzon). It's billed as the last undiscovered wonder of the Philippines, and it's absolutely stunning. This place is as beautiful as Boracay, and more - the island is full of natural unspoiled beauty unlike the overdeveloped resorts of Boracay. Plus it's quiet and isolated without being completely desolate. Every day you will meet like-minded tourists and backpackers from all different countries, each with their own set of stories to tell. And people my age are great too :)
Coron is definitely a diving town, boasting many beautiful coral reefs next to stunning limestone cliffs, and more importantly diving wrecks from the second world war. For the last three days we've been island hopping, snorkeling around the reefs and some of the wrecks and taking lunch out on the boat. I have so many great pictures, I don't know if I'll have enough space on my card to keep them all! I would love to stay here longer, but every vacation must come to an end. Sigh.
Speaking of tourists, I met Maggie and Leo on our first day at Discovery Island. Maggie is a financial consultant working in Shanghai, and Leo is working in Manila. We had a good time just chatting and drinking together. And today we went island hopping with a girl from Denmark who just finished a combined degree in Education and Social Work. It's so nice to spend time with people other than my parents...it's wearing a little thin these days.
Tomorrow morning we fly out of Coron back to Manila. And tomorrow is also my dad's birthday! We've got a couple of small day trips still to go before we leave the Philippines, but otherwise we'll be mostly in Manila taking care of bidness before we leave. I'll keep you posted :)
Hope all is well! Love and hugs :)