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Gavin’s Gone A-wandering
  • Gavin Wilson

Gavin’s Gone A-wandering

Escaping winter, visiting a few bucket-list places, catching glimpses of paradise.. Read more
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  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Change of Travel Plans

    December 11, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    The rain was so bad yesterday and today, the sky so unfriendly, that I decided not to stick around in the Kota Bharu area. I'd hoped to nip over on a small boat to the Perhentian Islands for a bit of scuba diving. It's usually cheap and highly recommended. Anyhow, the rumours were that the Perhentians might 'closed' due to the monsoon rains having arrived. The diving would have been poor at best: cold and with reduced visibility.
    Staying at 'Destiny Hotel' tonight. I guess it was fate.
    At least the trains seem to be running. New plan: head for Malacca in the south for a bit of warmth and dryness.
    I walked to the bus station, rucksack n all, and there was told there were 'no more buses today'. It carried on raining, then it poured down really hard, then it just rained for a bit. But mostly it was a torrential downpour all day.
    So I got in a taxi to the train station with my fingers crossed. Happily, the staff there were very helpful and fixed me up with a two-train ticket to Malacca.
    Horrible, cold train journey.
    Worst of all, I asked a train guard 'Is this Gesam?' (my station to change at), and he replied 'This Gesam stesion' (sic). So I got off in a rush to find it was actually the station before. Picture me running to dash onto an open carriage door. To add salt to the wound, I found there were sleeping bunks in some of the front carriages :(
    Anyway.... Malacca looks interesting. A look around and some photos to come.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Melaka - 1st Full Day of Wandering

    December 12, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Oh my ears and whiskers, this is much better.
    From the cold and rainy, monsoon-drenched north, it's lovely to be in the typically tropical south of Malaysia.
    Melaka (local spelling) is a noted UNESCO World Heritage City. As a result of what appears to be continual intermixing of races and cultures, and following the influence of several colonising nations, including Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, British, Malaka retains a wonderfully rich cultural heritage that's evident in the architecture, food and generally encompassing feel to the place.
    I'm enjoying it here.
    Melaka is a very 'walkable' city, especially in the hub centred on Town Square. Overall, there's a very strong (if not to say overwhelming) Chinese influence currently. However, the Dutch flavour to much of the riverside architecture, which is pleasingly 'funky' for a European visitor such as me.
    I'm staying at a very Bohemian guest house that my Lonely Planet guide used to call The Riverside Guesthouse, but is now called 'Vspace': uber cool with hi-tec pods to sleep in and exposed brickwork on most of the walls. I could fit in here for a while.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Melaka - 2nd Full Day of Wandering

    December 13, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Blimey, did I sleep well in my pod.
    I'm back in the relaxed traveller frame of mind. That's not to say there haven't been hiccups.
    I dropped my iPhone on a hard floor in Kuwait and needed to get the whole front screen replaced in Kathmandu (by a knowledgeable lad: c.£16, bargain).
    I also dropped my removable hard drive (back-up for photos) on arriving at Vspace. Now it can't be accessed on my MacBook.
    Yeah, there have been frustrations, but this is turning out to be a wonderful trip already.
    I've chatted to mainly local people, but met the occasional fellow traveller along the way. For example, a French couple took the same journey as me from Kota Bharu to Melaka, but we only got talking when I was chatting with a local chap outside his house on the riverside. The Malay chap was fascinating. He'd studied in the UK at Brighton and Birmingham, and we had a good old natter about myriad things of mutual interest. He'd only give his name as 'Mr Best in Town' (photo uploaded).
    I'm writing this on one of the tables beside the riverside walk that the rear of my hotel butts onto. Te breeze is helping a lot. The lights are starting to come on in the riverside restaurants, and it's time to go hunting for dinner.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Melaka - Last Day

    December 14, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Today's been about visiting the Stadhuys Museum and connected smaller displays in the morning, and trying to 'tick off' some things I'd not managed to cram in earlier.
    The Stadhuys (town hall) dates back to the Dutch colonisation/takeover from the Portuguese. It's particularly interesting to me (no wait, honest, it get's a bit more interesting), as the building was modelled on one I remember very fondly from my youth. Yeah, yeah, my memory's not that bad. It was designed as a reconstruction if the 'stadhuis' in Hoorn in the Netherlands.
    Our Steve will immediately know where I'm going with this.
    We spent a very, very pleasant week with Mrs de Kuiper and her family in Hoorn when I was 11 years old, as part of a town twinning/band visit, back in the mists of time. Lovely memories.
    Included here are yet more shots around Melaka; St Paul's church (Bukit St Paul), [why is an Austin Princess limousine displayed in a kind of bandstand?] Gravy Baby promotes a balanced diet, more street scenes and more river scenes when it's at it's most colourful in the evening.
    Early turn-in tonight - pack the rucksack for a smooth getaway in the morning: 8am taxi to the main bus terminus at Melaka Sentral (local spelling).
    Speaking of which, amongst all the Malay-ized renditions of common words, some other oddities crop up. Just around the corner from my guesthouse is a place proudly calling itself the AK47 Cafe. Apparently people are dying to get a table.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Transiting Through Singapore

    December 15, 2022 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    What an absolute pain it was to get into Singapore from Malaysia. Whatever could have gone wrong, did go wrong. The bus journey was actually okay-ish (if I forget the bad start with a surly taxi driver). The bus was comfortable and the driver stopped for a comfort break. All was reasonably fine until we hit the border with. Singapore. Passport control wasn't too bad but the online Singapore Arrival Card and Health Declaration Submission was an absolute nightmare. The driver had promised to wait 45 minutes for us on the other side of the border to compete the journey into central Singapore. 1 1/2 hours later and with lots of people getting help from the border guards, the bus had long gone and we were stranded.
    Luckily, a kindly bus inspector took pity on us and directed us to another bus company that agreed to take us onto the city's bus terminus. Relief !
    Eventually found the place where I was to stay overnight, but the staff were nowhere to be seen, so I went off to explore and grab a few shots in the afternoon, get fed, and take more photos in the evening.
    Singapore is certainly impressive, especially at night. The streets are clean as a new pin, the Mass Rapid Transit network (MRT - their equivalent of an underground system) is efficient, fairly logical and reliable.
    Tired today though. I'm actually looking forward to the flight to Jakarta tomorrow - didn't think I'd hear myself saying that after an earlier brief visit.
    Anyway, temples and beaches beckon, so there are wonderful things to look forward to.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Transiting Jokarta 16-17 December 2022

    December 17, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Catching up after two busy and stressful travel days.
    I had to get the bus from the airport to Gambir Stesion in the centre of Jakarta; in order to buy my onward bus ticket to Yogyakarta in Central Java. Almost inevitably, there were no trains when I needed them, so I had to book for the following day (17th).
    This is my second visit to Jakarta, and it hasn't improved much in the intervening years. Madly congested, a few more skyscrapers, but the grime and sense of a city not completely functioning pervade. The city somehow manages to fit huge, swanky hotels cheek by jowl with semi-slum buildings. My place for the night, Hotel. 35, is just around the corner from a Hyatt Regency Hotel. My room is din gy and not clean. The hotel appears to be a fairly grand old thing: carp in an indoor pond, interesting art on the walls. But the rain! Oh my giddy aunt, the afternoon rain is biblical.
    However, I got on a de luxe 'Ekspress' train so things are brightening up.
    In fact, I knew there were going to be 'down' days, unexciting and sometimes difficult days. The last two while I've been travelling from Singapore, into and out of Jakarta were like this. The flight itself went off without too many probs: bumpy for some of the way, especially the landing.
    Hassle at the airport - the endless form filling, queuing and more officialdom. I wonder if the airfares are worth it. Maybe hopping right over Jakarta would've been a better idea.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Yogyakarta, 17-18/12/2022

    December 18, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Feeling very veery tiiired.
    Yogyakarta looks fairly interesting on first sight. I only have a couple of days here as his morning was spent haring about from bus ticket office to train ticket office to check on what are the available options. Through being faffed about by some shady bus ticket sellers, I've booked a train onto Bali for 20th Dec. It's a long 'un which will get me into Bali the following day. (Through exhaustive research, I've come to the conclusion that the luxury ekspress trains are not significantly more comfortable than the ekonomy ones).
    Following more cheap lunch near my place for two nights, Arimbi Hotel, I spent the hot afternoon at one of the nearby temple complexes. Annoyingly, the entrance price for Indonesians is 50000 INR (c. £2:63), whereas for foreigners it's 385000 INR (c. £20:26). What a multiple though! 'Indonesia Welcomes Tourists'. On balance, it was a bit of a let-down. The site is huge, but the temples are a bit 'samey'.
    I'm looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow, maybe buying a new portable hard drive for backing-up photos, definitely not much walking.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Yogyakarta 19/12/2022

    December 20, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Slept like a baby - despite the oppressive heat in my room. Had the fan on all night, which seems to have helped. It's warm already, so it must be time to get up.
    As it turns out, it was a big day today. I went hunting for a replacement for the portable hard drive I dropped and broke :( and managed to find one at a bit below what I'd expect to pay on eBay. Not only this result, but I got my hair cut (photo of smiling barber in black mask). The cost? The equivalent of about 80 pence. (I should feel guilty, but tipping is just not a thing here.)
    In the afternoon, I took in a museum about Indonesian culture & artefacts. Quite good and the staff were very (genuinely) supportive. I seem to have got to Yogyakarta the they're having some kind of promotional push: As far as I can tell, it really does seem to be the cultural hub of the nation.
    Slightly strangely, a woman from India with excellent English started talking to me. She was a bit stranded - looking for a money changer and a hotel/hostel to stay in, and I felt sorry for her, knowing the hassles I had when I arrived. The last I saw of her was her walking into a hostel to check if they would accept a card for payment (it's mainly a cash kinda place).
    In the evening I took in a Gamelan show in a courtyard next to the museum (well, you have to I suppose). It was actually pretty good - a relaxed affair with the musicians hardly appearing to take their job seriously at times - my kind of 'musos'.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Yogyakarta to Bali

    December 21, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I'm having a lazy day today. Well, I'm supposed to be on holiday - and retired.
    So, I did nothing much except eat, drink lots, and sitting down to watch the world go by, Yogya-style.
    This was a slightly risky strategy. Mainly, it seems, today was about talking to Indonesians until it was time to check in at the railway station for my train to Bali. Amongst other things, the photos show me being being accosted by Indonesian university students around town doing an assignment - a kind of interview/survey on what foreign travellers think of their city/country. Well, I had to help out the local university system.
    There's another photo with a young chap in glasses. He's a philosophy graduate, so we had a good natter about European philosophy, Asian philosophy, and whether Buddhism is a religion or a branch of philosophy. I kid you not. This was how I spent a good hour before finding dinner and moving out of my hotel.
    The train was an overnight one again (1 per day) so, predictably, I didn't sleep. (Why don't these people appear to realise it's the middle of night with their loud, inane chatter and playing on their phones?
    The latter shots are of the end tip of Java at Ketapang, and first sight of the island of Bali.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Aaaaahh.... Bali

    December 21, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    It. seems that after arriving anywhere, my first problem to be solved is to work out how I get from the god-forsaken place I've been dropped at, to where I really need to be.
    Finally, after finding the bus to take me from the ferry port at Gilimanuk to the main city of Denpasar, we sat and waited for 1 1/2 hours while a few more passengers got on. In my grumpy foreign touristy way, I quibbled about the £4.50 bus fare. I shouldn't have, of course. The bus took 3 hours to get across and down the island, through endless traffic jams, to one of the 3/4 bus terminuses (termini?) there are in Denpasar. From there I had to grab one of the brightly painted but knackered old bus-taxis they call a 'bemo' to get me to my hotel.
    If I discount the steps up to the reception, this place is actually a lot better than some of the doss-houses I've had so far. The Sunshot Hotel in Semenyak, Bali will be home for 5 nights. Lots of Brit visitors, a pleasant manager, and dinner at 7pm thrown in; bargain.
    Aaaaahh.... Bali.
    They say it's become overcrowded, over-touristic, got too busy and a bit shabby. Yeah, of course, they're right. But its Bali.
    When I nipped down to the beach, the clouds were already forming. The sand is more of a grey colour than white, but the waves are great. Swimming might be a tricky prospect. I'll find out tomorrow.
    My main task today is to research a trip to Gili Air island on Lombok to go scuba diving. If it all works out, I think I've snaffled a good deal from one of the tour organisers - more later.
    And then the mother of all rain storms started. Shopkeepers hurriedly brought in the perishable good, tourists and travellers hid under awnings, and I cleaned the sand from my flip-flops.
    Dinner in the hotel was actually okay, for free. I chatted with some of the other guests and played cards with a couple.
    Tired but pretty happy overall.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Bali, 2nd Day, 22 December 2022

    December 22, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Oh, what a difference a good night's sleep makes :)
    For breakfast, I found a little Indonesian street food place - much better, honest grub than the vegan restaurant I patronised yesterday.
    My plan for the day was to head for the beach, for the sun 'n sand thing, via a shop selling 'tours' that I'd found yesterday. On the way, I dropped into a shop and snaffled a bottle of Eau Sauvage and a new t-shirt to replace one that's on its way out. The Eau Sauvage is probably from China - not sure about the t-shirt.
    Weather-wise, the morning's are definitely better than the afternoons and evenings. Less traffic too.
    After a trip to the ATM, I booked a trip to Gili Air island off Lombok for when I check out of Bali on 26th December (Boxing Day). More about this later, but getting things planned ahead has become a constant preoccupation - as was booking my next flight and hiring a motorbike for exploring more of the Bali island tomorrow.
    Bali's still good, but not looking its best. It's hot and overcast most of the day. The monsoon seems to have stuck around, meaning the rain/wind has more or less emptied the beaches.
    Still, there are always opportunities for photographs. The little bowls of food and flowers, for instance, are 'offerings' put out on the pavement by shopkeepers, restaurant owners and so on. Every few yards there seems to be a small shrine; sometimes dressed up with offerings and even clothing.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Bali, 3rd Day, 23 December 2022

    December 23, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    'Fortune favours the brave,' they say.
    Well all I can say is whoever they are, they should dabble in a bit of 'practice' rather than making broad-stroke, theoretical pronouncements.
    I got up this morning and it wasn't raining, so I did (as planned) pick up another moped that I'd agreed to hire. 70,000 INR for 24 hours - about £3:78.
    Nobody could claim it was a new machine, or even a good one, but that meant I wasn't worried about adding the odd catch to the 'gleaming' paintwork (photo uploaded). The hire guy wasn't sure I knew what I was doing - and he might have been right..
    My plan was to visit Ulu Watu on the Bukit Peninsular. My guidebook (Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, seeing as you asked) tells me that it's 'hot and arid'. No, didn't find that. More wet n windy. 'Pura Lahur Ulu Watu' is the temple at the tip of the peninsular. The Ulu Watu area lays claim to 'some of the best surfing in the world'.
    Wot! with my knees?
    Blimey Moses, the traffic was manic, even when setting off at sensible-o'clock. Google says it's about 45 minutes by car, but it took me much longer even on a moped, drifting in and out of traffic jams and breaking the journey for breakfast.
    And then the rain came - with a vengeance. I was sodden before I'd got my showerproof jacket on. (Yes, it's true: showerproof is not the same as waterproof.) Why did it take me until now to find out that the monsoon season has already started in this neck o the woods? I thought I was setting off in the 'high season'.
    It was worth it though. The Ulu Watu temple is amazing. I loved it. Even through a downpour - and wearing the mandatory sarong (bit of purple cloth).
    By the time I'd got back to my digs though, all I was fit for was a hot shower and a long rest. (Writing this is restful.)    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Bali, 4th Day, 24th December 2022

    December 24, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    A day of not doing much again.
    I scoured the local contemporary art galleries - not very good at all. The work was mainly derivative, more to cover a wall with colour rather than substance.
    Sadly, it looks like my intended two day trip to Gili Air island has fallen through. The government has cancelled all ferry crossings from Bali to the Gili islands up to and including 26th December when I was booked to go. I got my money back of course, although it now looks like I'll only have one night in Gili Air.
    So, the day was spent down at the beach watching would-be surfers battle the waves (some great looking waves) and guys putting out the loungers, scraping up bits of litter around their patch.
    A bit of retail therapy until the sky turned ugly again - 4pm every day - so it was a bit of a dash back to my digs before the heavens opened.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Bali, 5th Day, 25th December 2022

    December 25, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    This must be one off the strangest Christmases I've ever had. Okay, but strange.
    My first task today was to find somewhere to have my Christmas dinner/lunch - that didn't feel like I was settling for yet more spicy Indonesian grub. After a long-ish walk down alleys leading off into other alleys, I found a place selling fish & chips. Close, but not quite.
    A couple of Ozzie restaurants/bars seemed promising so, dodging showers, I settled on one of them: Y-Sport bar. It was yer cliche Ozzie sports bar, multiple big screen TVs streaming endless sports of all kinds. (Does this sound familiar Chris & Linda?) Here are a few photos of the place and my meal.
    The menu promised a lot:
    Deliciously Roasted Aussie Beef, Chicken and Australian Leg Ham off the Bone, Served with Roasted Potato, Pumpkin, Carrot and Onion , Minted Peas, Baked Cauliflower in Mornay.
    Dessert: Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream.
    'Fair dinkum' I think they say, apart from the cold meat. But why the added charges for 'tax' and 'service'?
    Back to my digs for a rest and read the novel I bought yesterday in the ex-pat's bookshop. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, seeing as you asked.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Bali, Last Day, 26th December 2022

    December 26, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I'm coming to the end of my 6 day stay in the Seminyak/Legian area of Bali. There truth is, I'm ready to leave, done most of what I wanted to do. It's time to move on to hopefully more pretty and unspoilt islands nearby (more tomorrow).
    Here are a few thoughts about Bali - personal reflections and not moans:
    Yes, it's true what a lot of pundits say; that Bali has become over-commercialised. The OZ and Kiwi contingent are omni-present - it's their 'Benidorm', I suppose.
    For me, the most interesting bits I've come across have been away from the excesses of the Kuta/Legian/Seminyak beach scene. But hey, that's probably what most people come here for.
    Yes, the beaches are dirty (a tractor pulling a litter collector late evening/early morning would improve things enormously. Many of the town's are sadly grubby too.
    I've lost count of the times I've had to say 'no thank you' to some young nubile would-be masseuse. I have my standards y'know. (How do you mean, yes, they're really low?)
    Ulu Watu was excellent (despite the horrendous rain and crazy traffic). I've never been to a temple complex with so many toilets around such a huge site.
    The surfing is obviously a top draw.. I went for a swim today and it's slightly hard work. A beer on the beach and reading a few pages of my novel though - it can't be that bad.
    It's an early night for Gavin tonight. I need to be up and awake in time for a bus picking me up at 7:00am.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler
    On the way from Bali to Gili.
    On the way from Bali to Gili.At the harbour, Gili Air.Gili Air, looking towards Lombok.Gili Air, looking towards Lombok.Gili Air, looking towards Lombok.Jalan (Street) Pantai, Gili Air.Jalan (Street) Pantai, Gili Air, opposite direction.'Fantastic Bamboo Hut' where I stayed.My room in Fantastic Bamboo Huts.More beach, Gili Air.Lady in street, Gili Air.Souvenir seller, Gili Air.Horse, waiting for a customer.Horse and cart taxi, Jalan Mojo, Gili Air.Jalan Mojo, Gili Air.Jalan Mojo, Gili Air, one way.Jalan Mojo, Gili Air, the other way.Fantastic Bamboo Huts.Beach, Gili Air.

    Gili Air island, 27th December 2022

    December 27, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Oh, Gili Air. What a place.
    I've already decided that I'll have to come back for a longer stay some time.
    There are three notable islands off the coast of Lomboc, which is in turn off the coast of Bali. Going west to east, the Gili's are Trawangan, Meno and Air.
    Gili Trawangan is the party island, Gili Meno is the honeymooners hideaway, and Gili Air is the Goldilocks island: just right.
    There's no motorised traffic allowed on the island. The only transport options a re horse and cart, bicycle and electric scooter. I hired a bicycle, and had to give it back. I could get my knees to work the pedals :(
    Still rains like the gods are angry, though.
    No scuba diving tomorrow - They won't let me dive and fly on the same day - so I went snorkelling instead (and stubbed my toe getting off the rocks into the water. Tomorrow is a travel day to the Philippines, so maybe there won't be much to report here. We'll see :)    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Gili Air, up to Leaving Bali

    December 28, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Sadly, I had to leave Gili Air, to get on a flight from Bali Airport (Denpasar) to Manila. Gili is a bit grubby around the shoreline, and inland, but that's Indonesia all over. It's by far the most relaxed and pleasant place I've been to in Indonesia. Not so much exciting as welcoming and liveable.
    For my last night, I popped along the beach to a restaurant that was having a 'movie night'. It was the the Julia Roberts vehicle, Eat, Pray, Love. Very fittingly for seeing it screened in an island off Bali, it has J.R. trying to find herself, losing herself and generally not understanding herself in Italy, India and Indonesia (the alliteration must be intentional).
    Early to bed, to get a good night's sleep in my fantastic bamboo hut, ready for the boat back to Bali and the airport.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Travel from Bali to Coron via Manila

    December 31, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    A short-ish post today.
    The travel through Manila got to me - that and not having access to wi-fi or a local SIM card that works for either Manila or the island of Coron.
    Hopefully, the photos will illustrate some of the travel-hassles and things seen along the way through Manila. It's now my least favourite city on this trip.
    It was an awful bit of travelling, but inevitably there had to be some lousy experiences amongst the pleasurable ones.
    But sailing to Coron was a different experience altogether.
    The ferry from Manila dropped me off in San Jose, Mindoro, from where I (eventually) got on another ferry to the island of Coron. I got lucky in finding a tricycle taxi driver who was human and helpful, and got me to the ferry port in okay time.
    It was due to leave at 10am, but passengers had to wait for cargo and goods to be loaded, so that it was 11:30 before I got on.
    What an absolutely lovely voyage it was. Calm sea, warm sunshine. It made it a real adventure and not just getting somewhere.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    Coron, New Years Eve 2022

    December 31, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Well it certainly doesn't feel like New Years Eve.
    How did that happen? I seem to have lost a couple of days (think it's still 2022 though).
    My main task today was to book my ferry from Coron to El Nido. I've decided that, just in case of delays, I'd better get the ferry tomorrow and hope that I can find somewhere to stay when I arrive on New Year's Day.
    Coron town is gearing up for the New Year celebrations. The special food sellers are out, as are the noisy sods flogging the brightly coloured klaxon things. It's hot and sticky, and I can't stop sweating (29 degrees, 70% humidity). Staying indoors, drinking lots of water is the best advice. Instead, I wandered the streets finding shot after shot. Will I never learn?    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler
    Happy New Year everyone.El Nido harbourI'm staying here. Not swanky but fun.This is what I saw when I opened my eyes whilst sunbathing on Coron Coron beach.Coron Corong beachThese blessed things are everywhere.Obligatory little old lady shotEl Nido's beach

    New year's Day, Coron to El Nido

    January 1, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    I started this blob/vlog/whatever with a bit of blurb about 'glimpsing paradise'. It was only partly a throwaway remark. Some of the places I've visited, and will see over coming weeks, are seriously threatened by changes in global climate, pollution and plastic waste being dumped into the ocean.
    All this is true and I should also say that I've probably had my first glimpse of the kind of paradise that I was hoping to see when I planned this trip last year.
    El Nido on Palawan Island in The Philippines is gorgeous.
    It's not pristine and perfect, but it's soooo achingly photogenic. Sure, the beaches could be cleaner, the shops and restaurants could be neater and more like the generic equivalents back home. Some say it's got slightly overrun with trendy backpackers, so perhaps I should add myself to that. However, this is my kinda place. I'm staying for 5 nights at the place called Austria's (photo).
    These are some of my first photos around El Nido town and Corong Coron, which is a 10-15 minute stroll through the streets. to the next bay south of El Nido. Coron Coron is blissful.. I had a swim, carefully avoiding the sharp coral underfoot, and made time for a sunbathe.
    Correction: I had more than enough time to sunbathe. My rhythms have slowed down, my heartbeat is steady. Like the two little boys in one of the shots, I'm getting into the swing of this now.
    Yet more achingly gorgeous sights to behold tomorrow.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    El Nido, 2nd January 2023

    January 2, 2023, World ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Oh my oh my, what a fabulous place.
    The rumours were true. El Nido is spectacular. I booked one of the island hopping tours yesterday, and I've not been disappointed.
    Up in time for a 9am set off from near where I'm staying - but there were the inevitable delays and faffing around (I've learned to chill-ax and let things happen - well I'm a bit better at it).
    The visits took in somewhere called 7 Commando Beach (nothing to do with US military invasions, I think) then Big Lagoon. After lunch (really, really good) we headed to Shimizu Island - again a fabulous spot with epic snorkelling (scuba diving not missed at all on this trip). The tour finished off with The Secret Lagoon, where you duck into a small entrance in the rock face to reveal a secluded pool surrounded by rocks.
    What a day. This was one of the most memorable of this trip so far. The group were great, really friendly. We went for a beer afterwards and just 'shot the breeze' as the locals might say.
    Shower and food beckons. I'll sleep well tonight.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler
    Corong Corong bayChap mending his boat, Corong beach.Fruit and veg market, El Nido.Woman weighing out live crabs and lobsters.El Nido's Christmas decorations are still up.

    El Nido, 3rd January 2023

    January 3, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    The trouble with spending time in somewhere so stunning as here, is that the photos can look irritatingly similar. Maybe I should apologise for posting so many gorgeous views, but I won't. 'Not another picture postcard perfect beach', some might be saying. 'Watching someone being so relaxed he's practically horizontal gets boring.' Nah..., get away with ya. I can't bring myself to agree. Anyway, I like sharing.
    El Nido certainly isn't perfection. It sometimes seems as if paradise needs to be a little bit more hard work; slight hassle and bit rough n ready when it comes to niceties like plumbing and road surfaces. El Nido has that kind've stuff in spades..
    Today was a bit of a quiet one. I planned to get a tricycle taxi to take me to Nacpan Beach (comes recommended) but the guy wanted too much and then it started raining. It carried on raining off and on for most of the morning. So I went to Corong Corong beach again, dropping into places along the way for fried chicken and coffee, walked along the beach a ways, and chatted to a chap mending his boat after the last storm. Ya know, not much at all.
    It was grand.
    The major hassle in town today was the weather - low pressure to be exact. It meant that the boats taking people to the small islands can't handle the rough sea conditions. (My intended trip tomorrow might be cancelled.)    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    El Nido, 4th January 2023

    January 4, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Still in El Nido. Not too frustrated, Burt 'treading water' a little bit.
    I was planning to go on another island hopping trip, but there is a band of 'low pressure' over the area, which apparently makes the bat journey a bit too choppy for most. All similar boat trips are cancelled :(
    What was left to do?
    Well, it seems that a lot of people who couldn't go on an island hopping boat trip went to Nacpan Beach, so what is normally a pristine stretch of pearly white sand was overrun with the great unwashed.
    I went on a short 'canopy walk' activity. Mmmn, it was pretty good. At least the views of El Nido bay were worth the climb.
    Lazy me just spent the afternoon ambling about the town (It's very small), bumping into people I'd already met, spending a good long while nursing a good coffee and taking in the view, and finding my new favourite bar/restaurant. El NIso Corner is a fine spot. The cocktails are 70 pesos (about £1:10) and the food is as good as anything I've had so far here. I think it's owned by a Philippine woman and her bloke who's from Denmark. I was earwigging their conversation with an Austrian couple who were saying that 'El Nido was much better back in 2008. when they first started coming ... You don't get the lower class types coming after following a YouTube influencer.' Predictable stuff.
    After am evening stroll along the beach, I bumped into a Spanish couple I'd met on the first boat trip, so we sat and drank some of the dirty local beer stuff and put the world to rights. The music in the bar was good too.
    And that just about wraps up another fine day.
    Maybe, just maybe, the weather gods will be. smiling on Palawan Island and the boat rips can resume. Otherwise, it'll be more eating and drinking, and we don't want that, do we?    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler

    El Nido, 5th January 2023

    January 5, 2023 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Oh my ears and whiskers, El Nido gets even prettier when the sun properly comes out. The low pressure seems to have passed and the boats are venturing out into open water again. Unfortunately, the island hopping route I wanted to take can't be done today. A 'special tour' (i.e. shorter) is all that's on offer, but I'll take it anyway with a bit of cash-back to balance things out.
    It takes a good long while for the tour coordinators to get their ducks in a row and plan which boats are going out when. We're 1 1/2 hours late in setting off. It's a good trip though. We drop into a couple of (new to me) beaches: Pasandigan Beach and Paradise Beach where the snorkeling was great. Then it was lunch on the boat as the beaches were already packed with trippers guzzling their freshly cooked fish, pork, chicken, miscellaneous veg dish, pineapple, melon, and rice of course. After lunch we had a nice visit to Shimizu Island for the beach there, finishing off at '7 Commando' beach. (I was wrong earlier; the name does come from the 2nd W.W. and has something to do with several Japanese soldiers holding out against American forces. Although the beach is packed, it's a really good beach, so it was a good last stop before heading back to town.
    Yes, El Nido is getting 'touristy' but the people are almost universally inviting and genuinely cheerful. There isn't much money about, but life seems okay here. Not so good points include the huge number of stay dogs about the place, fighting and barking the place down, and the electricity keeps cutting out (or is being rationed by being turned off periodically).
    Today was my last full day here, so I'll add a few 'summing up' remarks tomorrow, which includes a long travel day.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonGavin’s Gone A-wanderingTraveler
    Interior of the de luxe coach I was in from Saigon to Quong Ngai.I asked this chap for directions, and it was asa if I was as if I was speaking a foreign language.

    In Transit, El Nido to (gulp) Vietnam.

    January 8, 2023 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Sorry, sorry, sorry for being a bit tardy with posts over the last few days.
    I have reasons (excuses).
    It was a horrible journey. More to follow. A little bit.
    The internet wasn't available whilst I was on the move, and I hadn't got a SIM card for passing through, say, Manila for the MacBook buried deep in my luggage.
    Enough of that.
    I promised a few observations/reflections on El Nido. After all, its isn't every day I get to visit somewhere that Huggins of people reckon is paradise on earth.
    Well, it's not perfect - especially when the weather is so unpredictable (rain at the drop of a sou'wester).
    I had a conversation with an El Nido resident on the main beach in town, remarking on the sad appearance that plastic etc., makes to 'his' beach. He agreed of course, but vaguely guessed that the government would be coming around soon to clear it up.
    The people are generally very friendly, but there's possibly a worrying undercurrent.
    A waitress in a restaurant got chatting with me and 'offloaded' quite a bit of personal stuff on me. Her estranged husband used to beat her up, attempt rape and even had a go at their tiny daughter. He sounds like a real charmer.
    El Nido has become a little bit of a cliche. A few westerners have obviously 'gone native' and the backpacker set (me?) have followed in their tracks.
    Still... there are moments where you haver to gently pinch yourself - it’s so pretty.
    Rather than return to Manila for my flight out of The Philippines, I chose to get the minibus from El Nido to Puerta Princesa and fly from there. It was a stinker of a drive on the lousy roads, then loads of delays/scams/added hassles at various places.
    I've intentionally ignored adding too many negative images - it's not necessary, and it's all behind me now.    Read more

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