Rạch Tràm Cửa

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.En savoir plus