The Long Way to Palawan, Philippines

At the end of hot, steamy Asia, we planned several days of tropical beach weather at a resort on an Island near El Nido, Palawan in the Philippines.

To get there was quite a trek.

Thai to Bangkok - a night at the Mariya Boutique Hotel by the airport - back to the airport in the morning - breakfast at the lounge (no massage as the Spa wasn't open yet) - Thai Airways to Manila - cab ride around the airport to the Island Transvoyager Inc (ITI) terminal - ITI flight to El Nido - overnight at Bill Tourist Inn in El Nido - Van Ride to Tay Tay - boat ride to Apulit Island.

Green Curry in Bangkok


Morning flight from BKK


Manila airport immigration


I liked this sign in the immigration area and had to google "Wang-Wang" to know what it meant. This was the word of the year in the Philippines last year and apparently means civil disobedience.

Boarding passes for our ITI flight.


Bill Tourist Inn: good for one night in El Nido.



Pilipino dinner in El Nido








We went back to the airport in the morning to take a van to Tay Tay, 68 km away, but 90 minutes with dirt roads plus potholes, chickens and dogs to avoid.

We then transferred to an outrigger boat to get to our island.


It was windy and choppy during the hour long ride, but the island looks pretty awesome approaching.


All the rooms sit on the water - the view did not disappoint.


We were almost as far as you could get from the center of the resort which was nice. The first night it seemed like there were very few other guests.


In our room was a checklist for all the animals that you might see on the island.


We saw most of them and plenty more including the biggest bats I've ever seen at night and a sea snake.

We spent 3 days island hopping, snorkeling, kayaking, swimming, pool, playing banagrams and enjoying the islands - no TV or wifi here. I really wish I had a waterproof camera. The wind would really pick up in the afternoon making a big swell on the sea.

We made one snorkeling trip out to a place called Lopez Reef mid afternoon. While on top of the water rough, underneath had fish and coral and was pretty amazing.

Each trip had a guide and security guard that would accompany you on the boats and into the water. It seemed unnecessary, but was nice and the guides were cool guys in general. On the trip to Lopez Reef there was a couple that had trouble swimming, and I understood why they got in the water with you.

I think that 3 days was the perfect amount of time. We wore out all the activities and managed to get some sun. A family we went on a trip to an island called Isla Blanca said they didn't get any sun during their 4 days - all clouds and rain.

The last evening we watched a pair of blacktip reef sharks swim around our room.

The Apulit Island Resort is a bit pricey but, stunningly beautiful and away from the city or any people for that matter.

Kathmandu to Bangkok on Thai Airways

Kathmandu International Airport is about 20 minutes by taxi from Thamel.

To enter the terminal, you show a passport and receive a thorough pat down. The Thai desk was packed, and we made our way to the Royal Silk Check-in.





Boarding passes were issued with a lounge invitation. The next stop was immigration and then the small cramped Royal Silk Lounge. We had a snack and watched CNN.

The lounge is on the land side of the airport, so about 30 minutes before departure we went through security to the air side. The waiting area was pretty cramped and hot. After about 10 minutes they opened the doors and everyone pushed towards the plane.












We sat in row 11 - essentially row 1 - of the Royal Silk Cabin. Hot (very hot) towels and drinks were provided.












And menus were distributed.





Only 9 of the 30 seats in Royal Silk were occupied, so the middle section held our blankets and pillows.





We were scheduled to depart at 1:35. Doors closed at 1:37 and pushback was at 1:51. Goodbye to Tribhuvan International Airport and Nepal.





Other planes on the tarmac: Air India and Bangladesh.





Nepal's military?





After a long wait, we taxied out to the end of the only runway, made a complete u turn and started rolling for take-off at 2:12.






After take-off we made a hard right and circled back over the Kathmandu valley.






I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Himalayas, but we only saw clouds.

The seatbelt sign went off 8 minutes after take-off and drink service started at another 10 minutes later. I had iced tea.






Salmon and salad and some garlic bread from the bread basket.






Chicken curry for Melisa.





Red snapper for me.





Dessert





There were some strong turbulence over Myanmar. I watched "The Bag Man" with John Cusack and Robert DeNiro.






The captain announced we would be landing in 25 minutes and the flight attendants ran around opening window shades and collecting glasses. We touched down at 6:26 pm and were at the gate at 6:35... 20 minutes late.

Exploring Pokhara - last days in Nepal

We arrived in Pokhara in the afternoon and checked in at the Hotel Splendid View. It's not a very appropriately named hotel - the view we had was of a building being constructed - but it was a nice place to stay in the Lakeside part of Pokhara.

We walked around Lakeside and looked at the shops and lake. It seemed to get hotter and hotter as the afternoon progressed.

We stopped and had some mo mo's - these were cooked in a tandoori oven. They were really good.








We then found this shop that Melisa read about online that sells pashmina and cashmere. She spent a long time looking at everything there. The salesmen were pretty nice guys. And they should be pretty happy after our business.








They recommended a restaurant for us to eat at, so we went there for dinner and had more Nepali food.

















One of the popular activities in Pokhara is to get up before the sun does to see it rise over the city. We left our hotel at 4:30am and drove up into the hills above the city. Then we hiked up another hill to see the sun rise at 5:30.









It was really underwhelming because of the clouds. No mountain views and no sun, but it was a great view of Pokhara. And Melisa was attacked by leeches. She somehow managed to get one on each foot.

We then visited the Pokhara temple, a gorge where the water had cut away the rock, and a water fall called Devi's falls. The story at the waterfall was that a Swiss woman, Mrs. Davis, was bathing here and was swept away and killed by the falls. Every since it has been called Devi's Falls. I'm not sure why it isn't called Davis' Falls.

















We went out on the lake in the afternoon and saw some birds and enjoyed the lake in general.



































It started to rain when we came in so we had a cup of coffee and wrote some postcards. We went to the Lonely Planet guide and they recommended a Thai restaurant around the lake. It was about a 3 mike walk and we walked out there and took a cab back. It was really nice to get out and walk and the rain cooled everything down.

Dinner at Kristna's restaurant was worth the walk. We started with spring rolls.








Red Curry








Vegetable noodles and white tea.








Pokhra was a great city and a nice contrast to Kathmandu. I'm sure a visit not during Monsoon season would produce stunning views of the Himalayas.

We left Pokhara at 8am and didn't have any issues with traffic driving back to Kathmandu. It took about 5 hours.

Prakash did a good job getting us back safely. We stopped for some smoke breaks for him and lunch. Eating lunch I was stung by a bee.








Prakash is a man of very few words, but he took his driving seriously. He's not afraid to use the horn.








We arrived back at the Hotel Friends Home and had one last Nepali dinner.








Mint lemonade and unsweetened iced tea (first time I found this in Nepal).








One last trek through the hectic streets.