The travel bug hit me kinda late this year ... partly because of the new job, partly because I'm broke (heh), and partly because I wanted to sulk and feel bad because of some bad decisions but that's for another story.
Anyhoo, El Nido - what a transition, eh?
The name itself sounded exotic and beautiful so I had a lot of expectations about the place and this trip. For one, the gang was in Coron last year and it was A BEAUTY! El Nido and Coron are in the same province and since El Nido became popular internationally before Coron did, I thought it would surpass last year's adventures. Well, it did. And in extremes.
I was hoping for a relaxing vacation but the weather didn't permit it. We wanted to go away and we did but oh! the price we paid! It rained everyday during the scheduled tours so we were wet even before we got to hit the beach shores; couple times during the island hopping tours our boat nearly tipped over; we got stuck at the sandbar they call "Snake Island" for 3 friggin' hours I was so sure I'd catch hypothermia! Going there (yes there were misadventures even before we reached the island), we experienced extreme turbulence. Aside from the heavy
shaking, the plane dipped a few feet down that my ass actually left the
seat, the last 10 years of my life flashed back, and the pilot said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now be experiencing ... self-reflection."
... OK, you caught me ... that was one of my friends exaggerating.
Regardless, it was the company and the "going away" part that I actually enjoyed and was looking forward to so it wasn't all bad. And hey, we got "rescued" by an official looking rescue team in their official looking rescue jackets (or raincoats) and despite the huge waves I would admit it was pretty awesome.
The destination itself, however, was a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, they have some of the most amazing bitc-- oh wait that's me, I meant-- beaches in El Nido and a 3-day tour is not enough to get tired of. I even went inside the musty, disgusting smelling cave (but really what would you expect in a cave ... Eau de Parfum?) and had fun doing that. I don't think it's fair to compare it with Coron as well at this point since, again, it was rainy during this trip whereas I burned in the other. In both trips, though, we stayed in the town proper. I'm not a full fledged backpacker (although I dream to become one) but staying in town is the best way to "experience" what the place has to offer. So anyhoo, what am I ranting about? The culture ... or the lack of it.
When I say lack, I'd like to make it clear that they are not devoid of it so don't get smart with me. It's just that ... I barely felt it.
FOOD. When I go to a new place for the first time, I like to eat what the locals eat, where the locals eat. Apparently in El Nido, they eat pizza and pasta. I'm not picky, I would eat what's available as long as I'm not craving for anything specific but this is a vacation and I like to pig out on good food when on vacation. Given, a lot of foreigners stay at the town proper so they would want to offer what the foreigners are used to and in different varieties. And yes, the locals have the right to eat pizza anytime they want to. But what about local tourists? If there are families or groups visiting who want to eat local dishes then there is very limited choice, sad to say. The price of the food is also very standard. This might be good for local businessmen, though, so people don't just go to the one who offers the lowest price. There are some good places but it's not something I'm going to crave for.
PEOPLE. Oh they are sincerely nice and accommodating. And we are paying guests, after all. Lol. I asked the tour guide on day one.
Me: Kuya, ano'ng dialect nyo dito?
Kuya: Madami na. Iba-iba. Kasi madami nang dayuhan.
Me: Ah. Anu-ano yon?
Kuya: May German, Italian, French.
Me: (Errr... ok) Yung local dialect? Tagalog lang?
Kuya: Oo, Tagalog dito.
I rest my case.
Well, this is a tourist town with immigrants from European countries and I can't really blame the food and that dialect conversation on them. It wasn't their fault they saw the potential of this country waaaay before we did.
I guess what I'm getting at is that ... places like Vigan boasts of a Spanish town but, hey, the Philippines got owned (in more ways than one) by the Spanish so when I went there I knew, "This is Philippines." Baguio might be overrated for some but I never get tired of walking on their highly populated streets even on my own because and when I do I can say, "This is Philippines." Manila is a place vacationing locals want to get away from but when I'm here I can feel, "This is Philippines." So why can't I feel the same for El Nido when I know that it's in the same province (and also has immigrants from Europe) as Coron, a place where I felt I was in the Philippines?
Then again maybe I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't raining so hard.
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