The Philippines and I are off to a rocky start.
I’d heard wonderful things about the beautiful beach country, but when I was planning my trip, it became apparent that getting around was going to be difficult. Journeying to many of the islands looked like this: fly into Manila, take a flight to an island, where you’ll take a cab to the bus station, then a bus to the coast where you’ll get picked up by a boat that will take you to a town where you’ll get a taxi to your hotel.
No, thank you.
I’m not much of a ‘bum around on the beach for a week’ kind of person, so I opted to spend my week in Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan, admittedly, a strange place to spend a whole week in the Philippines.
To get there, I flew into Manila for an overnight stay before my flight in the morning. My thirty-minute car ride to my Airbnb was one of the most stress-inducing car rides of my life. By the time I had arrived at my destination, I still had no idea what side of the road they drive on.
Manila and I did not get along. Overall, I found the city, overwhelming, difficult to get around, and expensive. I was glad I opted to only spend a night there.
Puerto Princesa was a welcome change after Manila. The city wasn’t very walkable, but there were jeepneys (sort of Filipino tuk-tuks) that could take you where you wanted to go for cheap within the city. It’s also known for being one of the safer cities to visit in the country.
I’ve never felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb so much in my life. I’ve traveled around Asia before, but this was by far the most stares and attention I’ve drawn from anywhere I’ve visited. At one point, I walked to the mall down the street from my hotel to pick up a few things, and the moment I walked in, it felt as though a record scratched and everyone turned around to see what I was doing there.
I’m struggling with the food here as well. In my last six weeks, I’ve been eating mostly pescatarian, trying to eat healthier than I do at home to keep my stamina up. Here, it seems like everything is greasy, fried meat. My stomach has been upset since day one. I was hoping that taking a tour of the city would help me feel more comfortable and understand the city a bit better, as well as find some food that won’t make my stomach churn.
This meal definitely didn’t help.
I booked a Palawan day tour, and I’m not sure if I booked the wrong tour or if it’s a slow season, but I was the only person on it.
We started the tour at Binuatan Creations, a grass weaving center where I tried my hand at basket weaving. I’m terrible at it, but it was great to see how all of the goods are created by hand.
Next, we went to the Palawan Crocodile Sanctuary which I found both interesting and depressing. I believe the place has good intentions, but the reality is the space isn’t large enough to hold many of these creatures. These crocodiles are HUGE and are being housed in fairly small, concrete enclosures.
When we got back to the car, my tour guide Rachel asked where my friends were, and I told her I’m traveling alone.
“Why are you traveling alone?” She asked.
“Oh, I just don’t have any friends.”
She laughed. The driver turned to me and said, “We’re your friends, now.” It was the only thing he said the entire day.
Rachel just became a tour guide a month prior, previously having worked as a Direct TV customer support rep. I can’t believe that she doesn’t hate all Americans after working that job.
I would hate all Americans after working that job.
We headed to Mitra’s Ranch, the beautiful home of the late Senator Ramon Mitra, a beloved politician in the country. The home itself was stunning, but what stuck out to me the most was the sheer number of photos and sculptures of chickens around the home.
“He absolutely loved chickens,” Rachel told me while pointing to a large canvas painting hanging on the wall of the senator gently cradling a chicken. This would be sweet if his home wasn’t also full of cockfighting trophies. I don’t think anyone would say Michael Vic loves pit bulls because he fights them, so it seems very counterintuitive. Cockfighting is not only legal here, but prevalent, with almost every village throughout the country having its own cockfighting ring.
Not pictured: the chicken canvas painting.
Next, we headed down the street to Baker’s Hill, a sort of theme park set around a successful bakery, and it’s easy to see why. The pastries are delicious – particularly a small round pastry similar to mochi with a flaky outside and a mango paste filling.
The next notable thing about Baker’s Hill is copyright infringement. The hill is filled with gardens, smoothie stands, and animals with statues of celebrities and cartoon characters scattered about the park. I didn’t see other tourists but there were a large number of families there spending the day, as it’s free to come and enjoy.
Our next stop was the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Palawan, not the catchiest of names. The beautiful building is situated next to Plaza Cuartel, a memorial and former penal colony where one hundred fifty-four US soldiers were tortured and burned alive by the Japanese during WWII. The incident is known as the Palawan Massacre, and only eleven of the 154 survived. The statue below was created by one of the survivors, now a sculptor.
The placard lists the survivors from the incident. One man was able to flee the trenches the prisoners were being kept in the night before, escaping the burning. He scratched off his name on the memorial, explaining that he should not be listed as a survivor since he had escaped the day before and did not endure the same atrocities the other survivors faced that day.
I can’t say I feel any more comfortable now than I did before, but I’m at least glad that I was able to explore the beautiful city.