When considering a trip to Asia one would think of sushi & noodles, grilled cockroaches as a snack, martial arts practiced everywhere, elephant safaris, and beautiful beaches, one would believe that the whole of Asia is quite the same -India with all its colorful festivals, Hindu temples, and spicy food, & the Planet of Japan as we call it would probably be the exception-, what’s really the difference between Korea, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia,..?

But hey you’re wrong, absolutely wrong! Each country has its very own style, taste, scenery, activities, culture, people, and above all ways of experiencing it with some similarities for sure.

Heaven on earth at Miniloc Island, El-Nido in Palawan by: Passainte Assem

**Quick Fact: Filipinos do not eat with chopsticks**

While doing my research about the Philippines I thought it’d be just like any other country where I could visit many places during my one week trip, only to figure out that it’s an archipelago meaning a group of islands, well 7100+ of them -yes seven thousand, not hundred! And each group of islands is under the umbrella of a region, so going from one region to another, or even getting around several islets of the same island group could be hectic, and will most likely require several hours of travel on a bus, a flight, or a boat.

ESSENTIALS

ENTRY VISA FOR EGYPTIAN PASSPORT HOLDERS

REQUIREMENTS

• Personal appearance of the applicant; sunday through thursday from 9 AM till 12 PM at 28 Street 200, Maadi
• Original HR letter stating monthly salary
• Completed application form
• Valid passport (for up to 6 months beyond the intended period of stay in the Philippines) + copies of any pages containing data (visa and/or stamps)
• 1 recent passport sized colored photo
• Confirmed airline booking
• Copy of hotel reservation or invitation letter from sponsor or host in the Philippines (Note: Invitation letters must be original or faxed by the sponsor / host directly to the Philippine Embassy at +202 2521-3048. They must indicate the address and telephone no. of the host in the Philippines, and be accompanied by a copy of the sponsor / host’s passport or ID. Scanned copies sent by email are NOT accepted)
• Proof of financial capability to travel: bank statement (account should contain at least US$3,000 or its equivalent in any other currency)
• In case the applicant is a minor: letter of guarantee from parents and bank statement of parent (account should contain at least US$3,000 or its equivalent in any other currency)
• Visa fee; USD$ 40 or the equivalent in Egyptian pounds for a single-entry visa
• Takes 5 working days, and passports are collected on sundays through thursdays from 3 till 5 PM

Oh those clouds! by: Passainte Assem

CURRENCY

Philippine Peso; 100 PHP ≈32.1 EGP

LANGUAGE

A little more than 170 dialects are spoken in the Philippines, but Tagalog spoken by everyone, with English as a second language. Tagalog sounds a lot like Spanish and nothing like Mandarin, or Japanese.

BEST TIME TO GO

It’s advisable to plan wisely before proceeding with any bookings, Filipino weather is no joke, the last thing you want is a vacation ruined due to heavy rains, typhoons, or thunderstorms that will eventually get tours & activities cancelled, and roads closed.

Before the typhoon hits at Las Cabanas Beach by: Passainte Assem

• December through March specially if you are going for island hopping & beach relaxation
• April is best for the Cordillera Region -December through March are good too but April is the best- famous for its Rice Terraces a hiker’s and scooter riders heaven

PROS AND CONS OF VISITING DURING A TYPHOON

I have visited the Philippines mid October which happens to fall during the shoulder season; it’s the season right before or exactly after the high season, which made my chances 50-50 in regards to weather conditions.

PROS

• You would still find tourists, but most of them are travelers who are as crazy as you to take the risk of being hit by a typhoon or bad weather.
• Tours, attractions, transportation, and restaurants won’t be as crammed as during peak seasons which gives more availability & less chaos.
• Prices are more affordable.

CONS

• I had to cope with 3 typhoons that freaked the hell out of me, I have gone 2 sleepless nights, and the 3rd I was like “I’m ready to go home”.
• Though I love rain too much, but I felt like enough is enough, that’s the kind of rain that wouldn’t let you resume your life normally, and roads would be all wet & slippery
• Not only but also rain with humid weather, ahhh! my hair had never gone Monica Geller as much as it did while in the Philippines -Manila specially
• Sometimes tours, flights, and ferry boat rides could be cancelled, and roads could be closed due to bad weather

A RELATIVELY BUDGET DESTINATION FOR EGYPTIANS

Courtesy of: Tax Credits

An average meal with a fresh juice would cost you around EGP 103, so my meal of fish with coconut sauce, served with rice, a medium bottle of water, and banana juice -without milk- cost me PHP 320 equivalent of EGP 103..While an averagely sized crab -triples the size of an Egyptian crab- in butter garlic sauce served with rice, cost me EGP 200…

It’s Philippines time or what?

THE PHILIPPINES SOLO?!!

Photo via shutterstock

Were you longing for that solo trip where you will have plenty of alone time?!! Think again because in the Philippines you won’t get any of that, oh yes, you’ll make friends in a blink of an eye, you’d become friends with people; you meet on tours, you have coffee or drinks next to in a restaurant or a bar, you’ll find yourself posing and taking photos with strangers who quickly become friends. You’ll chitchat while commuting with one of the world’s friendliest and politest nations, and will always find someone to guide you and assist you.

PLACES & TOURS I “SORT OF” COVERED

The Jepneey in Manila by: Passainte Assem

MANILA

Manila, oh Manila; humidity that will drive your hair to go “Monica Geller” in Barbados, traffic from hell making you nostalgic for Cairo’s, and friendly people who’s one & only obsession is; KARAOKE. But still I have got you 4 ways to enjoy your stopover in Manila before heading to the islands, so stay tuned.

TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT

• Grab Mobile App: the Filipino Uber/Careem
• Yellow Metered Taxi: only if you arrive at night as it’s the most expensive, however the safest for solo-travelers
• White Taxi: if you arrive by day -never use it while alone at night-, but agree on the fare before the ride or at least make sure it’s metered to avoid price negotiation, and always keep an eye on the fare meter
• Public Bus: 9 routes running from Terminal 1 & 2
• Jeepney by day: from Terminal 3

TRANSPORTATION AROUND MANILA

• Jeepney by day: don’t know what the fare is as I didn’t get to try it but I know it’s very cheap, and looks like lots of fun
• Grab Mobile App: the Filipino Uber/Careem; a 10 minutes ride would cost you around EGP 38-42 (=PHP 120-130)
• White Taxi: but as mentioned before that it has to be metered, or at least the price is agreed upon, and never ride them alone at night
• Rail

Moving on from Manila welcome to paradise land.

PARTS OF PALAWAN

I have chosen to travel to Palawan; the Philippines’ 5th largest island, divided into 11 cities/towns, as the information I read, the chats with locals & travelers I had, and photos I have seen had whet my curiosity to go see El-Nido specially.

PUERTO PRINCESA

Entry to the Underground River

Palawan’s capital, this is where your 1h20 minutes flight from Manila will land.

• Flight from Manila to Puerta Princesa: on AirAsia, Cebu Pacific or Philippines Airlines -the best is AirAsia- costs around -/+ EGP700 per two ways including one checked-in luggage not exceeding 20 KG
• Transportation to tours: you can always ask them to collect you from your hotel
• Transportation from/to Domestic Airport: your hotel can help you get a taxi

THE UNDERGROUND RIVER TOUR

A UNESCO Natural Wonder, that’s an experience where you are taken on an 8-10 passengers tiny boat with a guide who attaches a hand-lamp on top of his helmet to show you all the mineral formations commonly known as stalagmite and stalactite forming the underground river, you will be advised to keep your mouth shut at all times, to avoid having animal poop or drops of water in your mouth. Don’t fret when you see lots of bats flying around, among other creatures who leave the cave at night looking for food and supplements.

• PRICE: PHP 1590 around EGP 510

Our way out of the Underground River Tour by: Passainte Assem

While also there you could easily spot monkeys, large lizards, and can take a short trip to try the fastest zip-line in Palawan.

EL-NIDO

Flying from Manila to El-Nido direct is another option, however an expensive one that would cost around USD$ 120 per way.

• Arrival to El-Nido with a van from Puerto Princesa: that’s the most convenient way to reach El-Nido without any delays, picking-up passengers on the way, or cancellations, a 5-6 hours ride with two stops on a scenic snake-like shaped road -so forget about sleeping- costing EGP 160 (=PHP 500) per way, and EGP 192 (=PHP 600) if you wish to be dropped at your hotel. It could be arranged upon arrival to the airport, or pre-arranged with your hotel/hostel at El-Nido
• Getting around: by tricycle; a 10 minutes ride would cost you EGP 48-50 (=PHP 150), or rent a scooter; a full day rental would cost you around EGP 96-160 (≈PHP 300-500) depending on your negotiation skills

**To get around El-Nido; if you can ride a scooter, this will be your best bet!**

ISLAND-HOPPING – TOUR A

Though it was rainy, foggy to the extent that entire islets would be out of sight, and somehow the whole experience was scary due to bad weather conditions, this has absolutely been one of the highlights of my trip, a Pirates Of The Caribbean kind of locations. You will be escorted to different islands where one can kayak, take a refreshing dip, walk in shallow waters, snorkel, relax on a beach while drinking fresh coconut juice inside its shell, or Halo Halo -explained later- or just enjoy God’s greatness in every detail. A scrumptious lunch is served on one of the islets <3

The delicious lunch we had by: Passainte Assem

• PRICE: PHP 1400 around EGP 450
• GETTING THERE: you basically go where you booked your tour at the center of town around 8 AM, then go altogether on foot where the boat is anchored

**This is my first ever video trial with a GoPro so please don’t make fun of it**

LAS CABANAS BEACH

They say it has one of Palawan’s prettiest sunsets, which I cannot tell as it was too cloudy to even spot the sun (LOL), but I am sure it is given the uniqueness of its scenery. It was my favorite beach though more crowded compared to Nacpan, it also gives you the opportunity to zip-line, and has some bars overlooking the sea where you can order drinks & food.

Las Cabanas beach by: Passainte Assem

• Zip-lining cost

 

• PRICE: Free entry to the beach
• GETTING THERE: 10-15 minutes by tricycle costing PHP 150 per way

Las Cabanas beach by: Passainte Assem

NACPAN BEACH

It’s a Sahel-like beach in terms of high waves, the scenery is nice and it’s much quietter compared to Las Cabanas, however Las Cabanas remains my favorite.

Nacpan beach by: Passainte Assem

**I couldn’t walk all the way, and hike that little hill on the right of the above photo to see the famous Twin Beaches of Nacpan & Calitang view as the sky creeped me out, it felt as if it will swallow me whole due to the upcoming typhoon**

THE RIDE TO NACPAN BEACH

The main highlight of my trip, you know why? because I wanted to go there by scooter as highly recommended by everyone while I’ve never ridden one, so I randomly asked at one of the tour kiosks what should I do, and their answer was: “rent a scooter, and someone from our team will ride it for you”, how convenient is that!

Riding on a scooter is so liberating in a way I cannot describe, adrenaline pumping as well, not only it was fun but it gave me the kind of South East Asia experience I was looking forward to. The whole ride was great until we reached the last 10-15 minutes of dirt road; wet and slippery from day & night heavy rains, at once the water covered our knees, so we had to ride-off the bike to get out of the swamp, on our way back when the typhoon hit we got wet from head to toe,  those heavy shower rains would make it nearly impossible for us to see, specially when the helmet wasn’t on, and we had one minor accident where we fell off the bike -thank God it was on the dirt road.

• GETTING THERE: 30-45 minutes -depending on how slippery the last 10 minutes dirt road is- by scooter costing PHP 500 per two ways plus fuel around PHP 80-90, or PHP 1200 by tricycle per two ways

KUYAWYAW WATERFALLS

A 30 minutes ride from El-Nido center, this is your chance to hike & swim at several waterfalls. These waterfalls are not as famous as Bulalacao falls, so you wouldn’t see but locals enjoying their day out.

One of Kuyawyaw’s waterfalls by: Passainte Assem

HOW TO BOOK YOUR TOURS

As easy as buying a bag of chips or a can of soda; island hopping tours, along with Puerto Princesa tours are sold everywhere at the center of El-Nido & Puerto Princesa as well.

ISLAND HOPPING IN GREECE VS. THE PHILIPPINES

I never like to draw comparisons between experiences, attractions, or places but in this case I have to admit that though the bad weather I experienced, with heavy clouds, rain, and fog that would cover entire sets of islets, the scenery was mind-boggling, and more diverse than it was in Greece. It didn’t take me too long to feel part of Pirates Of The Caribbean’s or the Beach’s crew.

MUST & MUST NOT EATS & DRINKS

Filipinos would wake their taste buds on garlic rice and fish commonly served in the morning for breakfast.

MUST

My very last halo-halo at Seven Commando Island by: Passainte Assem

• Halo-Halo: should I call it a drink, a dessert or something in between? It’s a mix of; crushed ice, coconut milk, chunks of freshly grated coconut, beans, jello, purple yam -tastes like sweet potato and known as Ube-, sweet corn, caramel pudding, coconut mils…It’s just exotic!
• Fish Tilappia: fried slices of thinly chopped fish served with soy sauce
• Sticky coconut rice wrapped in banana leaves <3
• Grilled caramelized bananas or sweet-potatoes
• Sweet banana chips
• Seafood
• Fruits & Fruit Shakes
• Bakery: Filipino bakery is served so fresh, try to go for ordinary stuff, and don’t be too adventurous as some inventions are more of an acquired taste; I’ve tried buns with sweet beans, but unfortunately I couldn’t acquire the taste at any point
• Ube: purple yam, it’s sweet with which pastries and ice cream are made

MUST NOT

No it’s not a worm or a snake by: Passainte Assem

• Balut: A BIG MUST NOT, I really had to pass on this one, though I’ve tried many strange foods in Africa, but this one at least to me is beyond cruel, smelly, and disgusting. It’s duck fetus, so you basically eat a dead baby duck! They say it’s yummi, but I say NO thank you!
• Chicken intestines: (photo above) it looked yummi on the grill, and when I asked what it was I was told it’s chicken, but didn’t taste anything like it, and I had tummy cramps after having it. Yesterday I realized from a Filipino friend that it was Chicken intestines..shoot me now!
• Salted banana chips

WHERE TO EAT AT EL-NIDO

As far as it concerns animal protein foods the Filipino cuisine has chicken, pork, and seafood. Since I don’t eat pork, and didn’t so much enjoyed any chicken seasoning, I had lots of seafood.

• Art Cafe: that’s a traveler’s hub, and a place to book your tours, but for sure not the only one. You’ll end up going there a lot for tea, coffee, snack, drink, lunch, why not dinner as well. They serve a delicious Virgin Basil Mojito & Dulce de Leche pie <3

**Sorry no photo to display..I was too hungry to take photos**

• Sea Jane Bar & Restaurant: The Filipino version of Abou Qir fish restaurants where you can pick your seafood items, have them weighed and cooked for you, and you can eat with your feet dipped in the sea.

My Crab at Sea Jane, look at these claws!

• Angel Wish: My favorite; their banana juice without milk is so good, and their fish with coconut sauce is too. It has the same concept as Sea Jane but without the feet dipping option.

My meal at Angel Wish: Fish in coconut sauce served with rice

WHAT I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE IN;

PUERTO PRINCESA: Firefly Watching

In this tour you will be watching fireflies also known as “lighting bugs”, flying in large groups creating a romantic atmosphere.

EL-NIDO

• More Island-Hopping
• Snorkeling & diving after taking a course
• Continue to Coron: 8-10 hours by ferry boat from El-Nido and is part of Palawan, to see what this beautiful island has to offer

In a nutshell; this country has so much exceeded my expectations, with all the variety of things one can do, see, & enjoy, friendly welcoming people eager to assist you, and delicious food that sometimes isn’t for the faint-hearted. I would definitely go to the Philippines again!

What about you? Have I got you excited to go visit?! Or have you been already and would like to share your experience?!! Let us know in the comments below..

Your trip to the Philippines starts right here!

 

 

 

About the Author

Passainte Assem

A former lawyer, travel junkie and adventurer from head to toe. Whether broke or out of vacation time, always on the lookout for the next destination. Keen to share her travel stories, planning tips and photographs to give you a real sense of place.