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For me the most amazing place in the Philippines are the Palawan Islands. I stayed in Coron town and the people are simply lovely. The town is small and quite and I picked a typical Filipino house on stilts to stay – the Crystal Lodge. You really sleep in one of the houses over the water what has it typical charm… I loved it.
The family was great and one day I bought a tuna to do Sashimi and I had so much that I could share. The family invited me and gave me some mangrove crab instead and we laughed a lot… Will always remember that night.
Another day I shared a boat cruise with two french travelers I met. The cruise was around Coron Island and to the Kayangan Lake. we had several stops and in between it even started raining. Since I was already spoiled with Palau no much could impress me anymore in the Philippines. Then I saw the view of the top of the hill on the hike to Kayangan Lake and I have to admit – it is amazing. This was worth climbing up. It put me a little off that even after paying the boat trip you had to pay for each spot they brought you and you get off the boat extra. Always keep that in mind. The lake was the most expensive place but the most worth it as well. Some of the spots are just nothing special. Just other beaches. I prefer then rather to stay longer at one beach than cruising to several ones and having not enough time to enjoy.
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I went to Sagada actually because I’ve heard about some Hanging Coffins. Sounds strange therefore I got especially curious! Supposedly there is a strange ritual in Sagada in the north of the Philippines. If someone died they had put up the coffin with some favorite belongings like cheers up on a rock formation. I really did not know what to think about it. So I had to see it with my own eyes. The time was tricky because the Philippines just have the worse typhoons in ages. So basically I went with two fellow travelers I met in Manila up north and our second destination was Sagada. The town is famous for 1. The Hanging Coffins, 2. The Weaving, 3. The civet coffee like coffee Alamid.
First of all a tip: To go to the coffins you really need no guide they are just behind the cemetery. Just cross it and walk 5min into the forest. And then you see the coffins hanging on the rocks. Really I was disappointed. It was nothing really special to me. I have seen more interesting graveyards. Some lose bones lay around from a coffin what broke down. On the way back I went to the . It is especially nice because you can watch the ladies weaving the material. Close by is a shop where you can buy lots of different seized bags and more. And then you are probably interested to know what is Coffee Alamid? It is the most expensive coffee on the world and it is made out of civet poo! Yes it is true. Basically the civet a nocturnal animal of the mongoose family eats the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries during coffee season. Later people collect the ‘leftovers’ after the animal excretes them out and make coffee with a special taste out of them. Weird but very true!
Sagada Read the rest of this entry »
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Jelly fish lake (Palauan: decadron no script overnight shipping Ongeim’l Tketau) is simply amazing! I had heard about this extraordinary lake before – it’s unique on the world just in Palau. It is located on Eil Malk island in Palau’s Southern Lagoon between Koror and Peleliu. The lake is part of the rock islands and it is the only one of 70 lakes allowed to visit by tourists. Jelly fish lake is famous for snorkeling. You can’t scuba dive because the scuba gear could harm the sensitive jelly fish and at a depth of about 15m the lake becomes toxic through the hydrogen sulfide. To go there you need to buy a certain pass valid for 10 days and costs US$35. Mostly the visit is part of a dive trip anyway. After arriving at Eil Malk you will climb up the hill and then climb down again. It can be slippery especially if you wear flip flops. Then you change into your snorkel gear and you will be overwhelmed! After swimming towards the middle of the lake out of a sudden you will be surrounded of hundreds of mostly golden jelly fish. I free dove down just to enjoy to be in the center of all of them… Fells like in a fairy tale. So beautiful, so fragile. Be careful not to kick to hard with your fins – the jelly fish are easy harmed. That was one of the most amazing experiences I ever had what made me reverent towards the creation on earth. I had experiences one of the millions of wonders.
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In August I finally arrived in Palau to do my dive master training. I had heard a few things about it but not many people I knew and at this point nobody I knew has been traveled there before. It was very exciting. After me falling in love with Fiji and especially Nananu-I-Ra (Daydream Island) in 2006 I still was looking for a place comparable to my paradise. Something close to that and I have to admit so far on all my travels I could not find anything even close…. until visiting Ngemelis island in Palau.
What a pristine place – what a gemstone, a pearl of the pacific! Crystal-clear water surrounding that small island group close to the famous ‘Blue Corner’ dive site. Few years ago that island was only used by the chief family for holidays and now it is public. But it is about a 30min drive with boat from Koror and you barely see any people there ever. Maybe around lunch time few dive boats stop by and let their guest eat… Palau use to has the only intact reef people told me. They have the first and only shark sanctuary of the world. They take a fee for using their waters but therefore the Palauens also clean the beaches and reefs… It is definitely a garden Eden when you walk the empty soft beaches along the water watching the kingfisher and the paradise birds…. and then the sun touches your skin softly and you feel happy simply to be alive and to say thank you! After all amazing places I was lucky enough to visit this one is one of a kind – a last true paradise and it is worth protecting! Read the rest of this entry »
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