Well Hello Cheap Lodgings

 The House

So here's a (sort of) disclaimer, I am not a snob, but I am picky. If you are VERY picky, you might want to look some place else for accommodations. The group being on a budget relieves me of that privilege. I was in Coron two years ago and I had ideas of where I'm going to stay when I come back. I have to admit that Patrik&Tezz Guesthouse wasn't my first choice but, overall, I'm glad the group decided on this place. I was happy and impressed enough that I would recommend the guesthouse to friends (or anyone who is traveling on a budget).

The first thing you need to know is that the whole place is built on stilts (thus, my initial ... inhibitions). It rests above salt water but the structure is actually pretty solid. The house is made of native materials and if we're going on the specifics there are 5 rooms all-in-all but only 4 are available for guests (one is used by the family), shared toilet and bath but separate ones for male and female, shared living area with TV and fridge, and a sort of terrace in front where the guests also eat their breakfasts. They also have an adorable cat and a huge and scary but actually very friendly pitbull (another disclaimer: dogs are scary in general for yours truly, no matter what size or breed).

Now, other than affordable, the guest house was quaint, warm, and homey. I think it's the fact that they hardly have any staff, that makes a guest feel welcome. The owners and their family runs the whole place so you get to talk to them and they actually take care of your needs themselves. They are nice people and very easy to talk to about what you need or just about anything else. We particularly enjoyed our little breakfast chat on our last day with Tezz and her mom. I love that they have small signs all over the place with rules and reminders. It was very cute, to say the least, but mostly, it keeps people in check. Being a small place there will be little room to gallivant about so you just have to be sensitive about other guests. I think the signs (and the fact that Tezz lays down the rules when you get there :p) help a lot.

The signs

Booking through Patrik and Tezz gets you more bang for your buck. The package we got included the same places I went to the last time, save for a couple more I wasn't able to go to before, but this actually cost me less by a couple thousand pesos. It's not a lot but this is a 4day-3night trip compared to the 3day-2night trip I did before. Getting a package tour also relieves you of the other things like shopping for your own food for the lunch picnic, hiring a tour guide, haggling for boat rent etc. The package included accommodations, breakfast and lunch, airport transfers and the tour itself. Most of the places in Coron have some sort of environmental fee that you have to pay separately so getting a package takes care of that. The only thing we had to worry about was dinner and there are a ton of places to eat there so it was pretty convenient.

 It might be worth mentioning that they won this :D

So there, it's not 5-star quality but the thing I liked most about the stay is the experience. Again, I would recommend this to travelers and friends ... although, since the place is made of native materials and the walls are thin and the house is built on stilts, do not be surprised if you wake up at 4am with the whole house rocking that consistent kind of rock accompanied by funny noises from the other room ;-)

El Nido: This is ... Philippines ???

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.