El Nido (DJ Nano)

El Nido is quite different from Cebu Island. My Swiss friend, Ramone, and I arrived in Puerto Princesa and made our way out of the airport where we were greeted by a delightful welcome dance by some locals.

We hadn't made any arrangement for our transport to El Nido but I had read online that there were lots of vans that you can take. I approached the tourist information desk and was pointed across the road. They also asked me my name. As we crossed the street suddenly I heard 'Angie....Angie' They must have called ahead!

We piled into a little 12 seater van (in the 3rd row) and were taken to a little office where we paid our 700 pesos ($A19) and picked up a few snacks.

The trip was brutal! The driver didn't say a word to us and before we knew what was happening, we were hurtling down the road through parts unknown. After 2 and a half hours of this, we were all pretty shaken up and begging for a stop.

I made a point of talking to the driver (Diesel) and he relaxed a bit and the driving wasn't so erratic after that. A poor girl in the back seat still ended up being sick out the window. It was an absolute relief to finally get to El Nido, especially as it was 11pm by this time.

My lodgings for my 8 day stay in El Nido was Kame House Hostel. My first night wasn't so great. The room wasn't air-conditioned and I couldn't get any internet (wifi nor data) from my bunk.

The next morning I spoke with reception and was moved to a much better room downstairs that was all that I could want. My thighs were still quite sore from the canyoneering adventure, so the stairs for my original room were definitely not my friend.

Day 1 was a travel recovery day. I took a short wander to the beach and found an ice cream shop selling my favourite - Ube - and just generally hung around the pool drinking beers and making new friends from around the world.

I decided to book an island hopping tour and was joined by my new friend, Philippe (part Swiss/part Filipino), and opted for Tour D. What an incredible day!

The water was crystal clear and we made our way around the islands and bays, stopping to swim, kayak and hang out on palm-tree fringed beaches. Definitely a highlight of my travels so far.

At one stop, there were little jellyfish in the water. I had to laugh when myself and the two other Aussies refused to get into the water there - some of us know better, right?

I did end up doing a second island hopping tour day with Ramone, opting for Tour C. Another amazing day! However, there was a bit of drama at one stage when I was floating on my back outside secret beach (shhhh...it's a secret!) with my actual prescription glasses on my head and a little wave came and washed them off and into the ocean. This lovely man who as selling ice creams and fresh coconuts donned a snorkel mask and became my hero when he actually found them for me. I was happy to give him a huge tip when buying an ice cream and coconut from him.

El Nido township is so very cute - a bit like what I imagine Kathmandu to be like. Lots of flags above the street with dramatic granite cliffs looming over the skyline.

In the blink of an eye, my time in El NIdo was over, I filled my days with sunset cocktails on the beach, wandering the area and hanging out at the hostel. This is definitely a life I could become accustomed to!

My next stop is Manila for a few days. I will be staying with a lady and her 2 grown-up daughters that I have met on couchsurfing. From there, I will have a couple of days in Bangkok where I will catch up with a girl I met on the train back from Busan, South Korea. Then I head to Chiang Mai, where I have rented an apartment for 2 months.

It will be nice to have a home base for a bit, and I will do a few little side quests to Laos and Malaysia, and maybe Cambodia and Vietnam, whilst I am there. I have enrolled in an online iPhone photography course and also a 'building your blog' course to help hone my blogging skills, which I am looking forward to getting stuck into.

I hope everyone is enjoying my blog so far. Have a great day!