Day 53

The flight back to Portland started with a fiasco. First, it was pouring rain. Then, we started walking toward downtown to what we thought was the closest bus stop in that direction. However, the roads split up and we apparently took the wrong street and could not find a bus stop, and ended up walking all the way to the BART station.

Several people told us that taking BART was the best way to go to the Oakland Airport. We were aghast to find the station locked. We asked someone waiting nearby what was going on. He said he thought that BART opened at 8:00! So we flagged down a bus whose driver confirmed that fact. No one had warned us of this! The bus driver took us to the cross bay terminal and it appeared there were no buses headed towards Oakland so we ended up taking a taxi. Fare: $50!

Then, at the airport, the express check-in did not work so we entered the normal ticket counter and discovered that the attendant could not find our reservation. He kept checking different dates and other variations and finally came up with the solution: our name had been entered backwards. So finally we were on our way, feet and outer layer of clothes soaked.

Once back in Portland we made our way home without a hitch. Maitri had a shower and we were off to the Easter dinner at Phil and Pat’s.

Day 52

Today Ole was up early to catch up on internetting. We breakfasted at the hostel and went downtown and then to the Haight Ashbury area for a walk, including Buena Vista Park and a walk to a demonstration community garden at 7th and Lawton where we met the garden manager. Then we caught a cross town bus to Fisherman’s wharf and then proceeded back to the hostel via Chinatown. There we had a nap, then dined on our Chinese leftovers and risotto pasta.

Day 51

I woke up early about 6 am to skype with Krishna as he was trying to finish his income tax return. (He always waits for the last minute.) After breakfast, we both felt tired still, so we took a long, long nap. I did not wake up until 4:30 pm! We went out for a walk and the weather has changed. Yesterday was really sunny and warm. Today was cold, windy and drizzly. We headed out to Goodwill and bought warm coats. Then we headed towards China town and walked around for a while before returning to the hostel for a free dinner of shepherd’s pie, green salad and French bread. The rest of the night was spent reading.

Day 50

We got hold of Debbie (Pete) as she was just leaving to pick up her mom, Gladys, who is in Palo Alto. Debbie was driving to SF from San Jose to pick up her craft wares from a gallery in SF. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, then later drove to Palo Alto, Gladys’ place. We harvested and pruned her orange tree. The oranges were the best. I’ve never eaten freshly picked oranges and these were very delicious. She gave us 2 bags and some lemons to take home. Ole also cleaned her gutters. Later Debbie came back to Gladys’ place and brought Pete along. We had dinner of fried tofu with chives, boiled freshly-picked chard from Debbie’s garden, rice and leftovers from lunch. Afterwards Gladys’ served strawberry cream pie. We also met her sister and brother-in-law Bob.

We took the Caltrain back to SF and arrived almost midnight. Ole went to bed feeling sick and bruised from climbing and pruning the orange tree. Earlier, he fell when he stepped onto the street and miscalculated the height of the curb, which was pretty high actually. Luckily, he was not hurt.

Today is Shanti’s 20th birthday! Her friends are throwing her a party tomorrow.

Day 49

We really slept in. It was so quiet and cool inside the room that we took advantage of it and just took our time waking up. We did not get out of our room until 11:30 am.

We checked out, had a glass of soymilk and iced tea, read the papers, checked email and then headed out for our last fling in Manila. We took a jeepney to China town and had lunch at one of the several Chinese veg restaurants. Then we took a jeepney to the city hall area and walked to SM mall for a soy, banana, and chocolate smoothie. Then we went in to see Venom and Final Destination 3 (both mediocre). Afterwards, we had dinner at Bodhi.

Finally, we went back to the pension to collect our bags and took 2 jeepney rides to the airport, terminal 2. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours and finally took off around midnight. Many passengers were dismayed when the delay was announced. They handed out snacks, but nothing vegetarian, not even plain bread. The officer said, “I’m sorry we don’t have anything vegetarian. So what would you like – hamburger or hotdog?” So, I explained why those are not options for me. Later they told me that they had someone make something for us—tuna sandwiches! I explained again to her that tuna is fish and not vegetarian. She said that another passenger was also vegetarian, but tuna sandwich was all right for him. I said, “Then he is not vegetarian.”

The airport situation continued to be quite dysfunctional. For example, the foreign exchange was closed in the boarding area. All passengers are forced into a cordoned off area next to the window while awaiting boarding. This means you must check out and back in if you need to use the facilities, each time going thru an additional security check involving body search. Also, the initial security screen results in confiscation of things like nail clippers, razors, and potato peelers. Instead of a single long queue at the ticket counter, each counter has its own line, which results in uneven waiting times for different passengers.

The flight was 11.5 hours. There were several good movies shown (Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, etc), but the sound system in our seats were not working. We had only radio, no tv sound. Food was okay—2 meals. Unfortunately, I accidentally left Ole’s%

Day 48

After breakfasting on fruit at the pension, we walked about 10 blocks to the San Andres market. The walk was the first area we have seen in Manila that resembles the rest of the country with its many bread shops, back alleys with people bathing in the open air, and other usual sights. We were astounded at the prices of some fruits compared to what we have been used to. For example, guayabano was P100 per kilo. We have never paid more than P30 in the past.

We decided to take the LRT to the end of the line to get an overhead glimpse of Manila and saw many Chinese temples and the famous Chinese cemetery north of the Pasig River. We then returned to the city center of Tondo and Binondo with their large Chinatown. Here we encountered three vegetarian Buddhist restaurants on just one street and enjoyed their 4 course (two vegetarian dishes, rice, and a drink) “budget meal” for P45. Another place we heard had vegetarian eateries is the food court of one of the chain malls so we visited the SM superstore next to city hall. This is an enormous air conditioned 5 level complex with hundreds of stores. The upper level is a ten theater cinema and we decided to see a US first run movie, “Eight Below”. (P90 each) Most of the ground floor is a huge food court and we did encounter Bodhi’s, a vegetarian and health food outlet with branches in most of the SM malls. They have a similar 4 course budget meal for P70. But we did not partake since we had already visited three other veggie restaurants earlier. We also came across a soy smoothie stall and got some more photos of these outlets for the article we plan on vegetarian eating in the Philippines.

We returned to the pension to get our things and enjoy some of the snacks we had purchased at the ve-G restaurants that morning (lumpia, veggie burger, and samosa) and the rest of our fruits. During this time we met two more pension residents at the table and passed on our guide book to one of them just before leaving for the airport. This pension is very popular among the expatriate crowd and includes many Peace Corps and other NGO visitors.

We had gotten instructions that morning on how to go to the airport via public transportation which requires two jeepneys as it can be difficult to get a taxi who won’t overcharge. We thought we had good instructions but ended up walking a fair amount to reach what we thought was our destination. However, we mistakenly went to the wrong terminal. The airport has no shuttle between terminals and this fact is exploited by the taxi services who charge many times the normal fare. We ended up simply walking to the second terminal, about 15 minutes away. Later we learned there are jeepneys that do this trip.

There we were informed that the flight was overbooked and they were soliciting volunteers to give up their seats. We accepted the deal, which gave us both free round trip tickets USA-Manila good for one year, confirmed booking on a flight twenty-four hours later, and $200 cash to pay for hotels and other expenses. We then returned to the pension where we checked back in, this time into a very quiet air-con room where we both had a very restful night. Coming back by jeepney also involved a modicum of walking as the jeepneys do not stop at the same place, probably because of ongoing road repairs. We both were lamenting the fact that the airport transportation issue is so dysfunctional in Manila and can create a poor first impression of the country. The ideal solution would be to simply extend the LRT to all the airport terminals which now stop a couple km short in Baclaran! We suspect this occurred to protect the interests of the taxi and jeepney drivers.

Day 47

We breakfasted on fruit then took one jeepney to Baclaran market to look for warm jackets for San Francisco. This is an area well known for garments and shoes, and its flea markets. The abundant array of goods available and their rock bottom prices were astounding. Very nice clothing items like elegant dresses and blouses are available here starting at about one dollar apiece, sometimes even less! However, the selection of warm items was very limited since this is a tropical locale. We could only find lightweight rain and denim jackets which did not really fit the SF weather.
We then took the elevated light rail known as the LRT to the Sanitarium for lunch, then jeepneyed back to the pension for a much needed rest.

The afternoon was spent walking to and around Rizal Park. We encountered many old landmarks such as the two acre or so concrete relief map of the Philippines, the small but always busy chess area, the many statues of Filipino heros, some with guards stationed, the orchidarium, Japanese and Chinese gardens, and arboretum. Since it was Monday some of the venues were closed. Others were in a very sad state of repair. For example, the relief map concrete was cracked and peeling in many places and the normal pool of water was drained. Then we walked past the American Embassy to the waterfront in time for sunset.

Day 46

We arrived in Manila port just after 7 am. The pier looked hazy, maybe smog? On one side of the pier was a slum area thick with squatters’ huts. One wonders how they fare during a storm. The water was full of trash and looked really filthy. The ship was greeted by the porters who put on a dance show. After negotiating our way through a crowd of jeepney conductors, taxi driver and beggars, we decided to find our own way by asking the locals who were very helpful. We walked through Divisoria Market, which was very crowded and Ole bought an orange bandana to replace his worn-out one. He always wears bandana to keep perspiration from dripping onto his face. Two jeepney rides took us to Pension Natividad. It is nice, clean and spacious. We checked in the dorms which are not co-ed. We found where the Adventist hospital and we had lunch at the cafeteria. There Ole struck up a conversation with an attending doctor and some other medical personnel having lunch. All the nurses still wear traditional nursing attire with little white hats and white shoes and stockings. Male nurses also have their own distinct white uniforms with a line of large white buttons up the right side and across the top of the front of their shirts.

We also visited the Manila jagriti’s old neighborhood of Paco. We visited the small, round Paco park whose outer walls are thick enough to have a spacious elevated pathway. Underneath the path are the tombs of many ancient Manilenos. Then we proceeded to UN Avenue and the Sikh temple, where Ole stayed several days when he first arrived in Manila in 1982. Since it was Sunday they suggested we not visit the inner sanctum and we did not press the issue. Then we continued in the neighborhood and came across the old, now abandoned, site of the Paco jagriti. Ole spent many a day there in the eighties. A later internet search revealed it has moved to the suburbs so we did not go to Dharma Cakra. Continuing to Paco Market, we were able to find neither the Hare Krishna nor Indian temple. We suspect they have moved out of the neighborhood. It was here in 1994 with Ole’s parents and Eric Dapp, his nephew, that they first beheld a traditional public market. Everyone was very impressed at the dazzling array of tropical fruits and veggies sold by hundreds of vendors in typical third world fashion with neat piles of well organized items displayed so appealingly. But to a carnivore’s dismay, the meat and fish market’s strong stench, suspect sanitary conditions (no refrigeration, flies everywhere), and live animals awaiting slaughter that turned Eric and Mom to vegetarians for the remainder of the trip. Eric was also disgusted by the story of, and witnessing locals consuming, balut, semi-incubated duck eggs with visible body parts like feathers that are consumed as a Filipino delicacy.

This trip we did encounter a man in a streetside stall making lumpia wrappers and he consented to a photo, much to the delight of the onlookers. Then we returned to the pension, rested, and took an evening stroll to the now heavily commercialized waterfront which is only one block away. We also walked around Mabini and Del Pilar streets, our pension’s neighborhood. As it was Palm Sunday we noted many beautifully trimmed and woven coconut palm leaves sold mainly around the churches.

We were able to get a wifi connection on an upper balcony at the pension and skype the girls and Karen.

Day 45

The boat, MV Sao Paolo (Negros Navigation Shipping Lines), left around 9:30 am. Our accommodation was Tatami (air conditioned dorm style). It is a fairly big ship complete with restaurant and cafeteria. As expected, the bathrooms were not the best. We spent most of our time out on the open deck watching Palawan Island slowly disappearing from the horizon. We tried to take a nap after lunch but it was rather difficult as the tv was so loud. All the control buttons have been taken and the control is at the information counter. Our bunks were the upper ones and were by the window. Sleep throughout the night was fitful.

Day 44

Returned to Puerto Princessa City first thing in the morning. Ole rode on top of the jeepney which had fabulous views of the karst cliffs and virgin jungle. Lunched at the Adventist Cafeteria en route.

Upon arrival Ole opened the laptop battery and unsoldered and resoldered its power connection which has reset the battery in the past and returned it to normal function. Unfortunately, this did not get it back in order and we are resigned to getting it repaired upon return to Portland. Maybe the ants did something inside and the battery is not the problem. This is a major inconvenience since we have lost the laptop’s portability. Many times there is wireless internet available outside but no AC power connection to utilize it. Additionally, we have lost the battery’s hard drive protection in case of brown-outs, which are not uncommon here.

We went to the market to buy food (guayabanos, lumpia, pan de sal, bananas, and cooked rice) for the 22-hour trip to Manila. The rest of the day, we spent watching tv.

Day 43

We got up a little later today and breakfasted on ibos (sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves), pineapple juice, and some bread and plantain bananas. We then went to the market area to get some more food and check out the early jeepney and the boat to Port Barton and El Nido. We watched a group of tourists leave for Port Barton in the pump boat. Then we watched sacks of copra (dried coconut) being unloaded from a boat with the men carrying the sacks on their shoulders.

Then we walked to the other end of the beach for our 2-hour tour of the mangrove swamp with Aida (see photos) as our guide and paddler. She is a 56-year-old teacher who decided to change career and become a volunteer to help preserve the mangrove forest. It was raining when we started out but it stopped on our way back. It was a 45-minute tour, 1.5 km into the 8.5 km river. We saw some birds and indications of fishes as they splashed onto the surface of the brackish water. Aida told us and pointed 3 different species of mangrove trees. We stopped at one point and Ole got off the boat and stepped onto the roots of the mangrove trees. He found them to be very sturdy. Aida got off also and started looking for woodworms by breaking dead branches lying on the swampy ground. She found one and showed it to us. She proceeded to cut open the 2-foot long worm and cleaned the inside of the worm by swooshing the thing in the water. (Poor thing!) She said she’s going to eat it later raw! Yikes! It’s considered an aphrodisiac.

Towards the end of our boat ride, she started to sing a song which she composed herself about how grateful she is for friends who come and visit the mangrove forest and how nutritious all the creatures that live in the forest. She let us choose a mangrove sapling and let us plant it as part of the restoration project. The tour cost a little over a dollar per person.

That took us to lunch where we had fried rice, French fries, and bihon rice noodles with ve-Gs at the same place we ate yesterday. Afterwards I worked on my EKG book. Maitri had a nap, played solitaire with Philippine Airlines cards, and took a dip in the ocean. The water was really nice and warm.

Today is our last full day here in Sabang. We will take the 7 am jeepney back to Puerto Princesa. We really enjoyed this place and plan to take the children here.

We noted today to our chagrin that the laptop is having battery disfunction again. It shows 80% charge but is only transiently recognized by the laptop and will only appear in charge mode for a few seconds. Also, it appears to have been colonized by hundreds of tiny ants that stream out of the inside whenever it is turned on and heats up. Ole tried all his tricks to get things going again but to no avail. He figures it may need some internal work that can be done back in the city where technicians who can solder are available.

Day 42

Last night, there was a group of very loud Germans drinking at the restaurant just outside our window. Needless to say, we couldn’t sleep. Around 11:35 pm, Maitri got up and requested them to be quiet.

This morning, Maitri approached the manager and complained about the noise and suggested that they impose the 10 o’clock pm noise curfew. Ten o’clock is when the generator for the whole village is turned off.

Today, we are off to a great adventure into the jungle and into a cave with an underground river.

We woke up around 5:45 am and after breakfast of bread and boiled plantain bananas, we started our 5 km, 3 hour walk to the underground river through the jungle. We walked inland and went through a wooden bridge over the river lined with mangrove trees. The trail started with steep wooden stairway, climbing immediately into the jungle. We saw the crab-eating macaque monkeys. A couple of them had their babies clinging on. So cute! The jungle inhabitants were just waking up and there was a cacophony of sounds from different kinds of birds, the rustle of the leaves as the monkeys jump from tree to tree. There were squirrels and a group of hornbills (large black birds with white tipped wings flying way up around the canopy of the forest. A six-inch millipede crossed our path and we stopped to take a closer look at it. There were other sounds of animals we couldn’t distinguish. The trees were something to behold—tall and straight with a labyrinth of root buttresses. Rope-like vines were everywhere. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish which are roots and which are vines. There were bamboo-like vines, an inch in diameter that were crisscrossing the pathway. Ole guessed they were “rattans”, a material used to make furniture. We passed very tall rock walls called karst and at the base were what looked like little caves. We couldn’t see what was inside as the openings were very dark. It was a bit spooky in the heart of a jungle.

The walk was over 3 hills and was difficult at times especially during ascent. We were drenched with sweat and every hundred steps Ole would stop to wring his bandana and there would be about a teaspoon of sweat.

A couple hundred meters away from the end of the trail there were wooden steps again and we were greeted with a ferocious looking monkey. It was perched on the handrail and was glaring at us daring us to pass through. Ole picked a long stick and waved it at the monkey and it jumped away but was threatening to lunge as we continued to walk through. We kept our eyes on it until we were in a safe distance. We noticed four other smaller monkeys nearby the big one. We thought the big one was their mother and she maybe trying to protect her young ones. We were told later it was actually the king monkey! Ole was able to take pictures of the young monkeys.

After the wooden steps, we came to a swampy area and there were black crabs. Then we arrived at the ranger’s station our eyes bulged out and jaws dropped when we saw several 6-foot long lizards crawling around with their tongues darting in and out of their mouths. They were the monitor lizards, shy but frightening at the same time.

We headed straight to the ocean, a few meters away, for some cooling breeze. Our clothes were soaked with perspiration. At the beach where the river met the sea, the water was flowing backwards as the tide was coming in. There were many pretty butterflies fluttering around and drinking the water on the cream colored sand. Some were blue, orange, white and black.

Then we went back to the station and followed our guide to the paddle boat. We put on our life-jacket and hard hat and climbed aboard. Ole was assigned to hold the light and direct the beam to wherever the guide would tell him to. We both sat down facing forward and the guide sat at the back end of the boat with the paddle. Off we went on the beautiful blue waters of the river into the gaping mouth of the cave.

The cave was amazing! The water was so still with deep and shallow parts. The guide said there are ‘blind’ fishes and eels living in the waters. The cave is 8.2 km long, 4 km is navigable and we were allowed to see only 1.5 km of it, about 45 minutes round trip. The stalagmites and stalactites were incredibly beautiful. Some of these formations were recognizable shapes of fruits and vegetables, people’s faces, etc. The guide even pointed Bart Simpson’s face!

The only light inside was our light with a powerful beam. At one point, the guide told Ole to turn off the light, and it was total darkness. There were swallows and bats (hundreds of them). There were a couple of snakes on the rocks. The ‘cathedral’, the highest point, was about 65 meters.

We would have liked the trip to last a bit longer, but our time was up. Ole gave Maitri a massage in preparation for the trek back. After we ate our snacks, we started back on the trail. It rained a little bit as we got out of the jungle. It was around 2:15 pm and we were very tired, sore, and hungry.

We had iced tea, cold Sprite, a big bottle of water, veggie pizza. Then we went to another restaurant and had vermicelli rice noodle, fried rice, french fries and a cool ‘calamansi’ juice. These are tiny citrus fruits and sweetened with honey, locally harvested.

We ended our day with a refreshing shower.

Day 41

We dined on boiled plantain bananas, guayabano and oranges for breakfast. Got our permit to visit the underground river. Walked to the waterfalls, a 45-minute walk through a very rugged beach path due to big rocks along the beach. Had lunch on the beach of curried veggies. We also explored the many shops near the commercial center around the pier and jeepney stop. There are boats to El Nido and Port Barton, also on the western side of Palawan, as well as to the underground river and other nearby islands.

The resort has many visitors today. They have to harvest several “buko” (young coconut) which is a favorite food item for picnics. We watched as a young man expertly climbed the coconut tree to harvest the bukos. The tree is about 50 feet tall and he climbed it in less than 2 minutes securing his ascent (and descent also) on footholds carved along the trunk every 3 feet or so.

Day 40

After breakfast, we went to Negros Navigation ticket office to buy our tickets for Manila leaving Saturday, Apr 8th, 9 am.

Took a jeepney ride to Sabang, a little town north of Puerto Princesa. The ride was about 3.5 hours over mountains. The jeepney was loaded with passengers and baggage. Ole got a front seat, but Maitri had to ride in the back. She absolutely hated it because of the heat and the passengers were packed like sardines. The seat was not padded well and the road was bumpy most of the way which gave her sore bottoms.

We got to Sabang around 5:30 pm and immediately fell in love with the village. The beach and the water were absolutely a delight. This is our paradise. We checked in one of the little cottages of Taraw Vista Lodge. They made us the most delicious veggie curry with coconut milk and ginger. Yum-yum. We also had a dish of sautéed “kangkong” (local greens).

The villages only have 4 hours of electricity from a generator. It runs from 6-10 pm. No internet. The cottage has screened windows, but we slept under a mosquito net for added protection. Palawan has malaria although found mostly in deep jungle. There seemed to be a resident big lizard which made throat noise every so often. It is not as annoying as the rooster’s crow.

Day 39

We had brunch at the Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital cafeteria. We had the budget meals for PHP40 – curried gluten dish, sayote dish, banana blossom with coconut milk and ginger, another gluten dish with tomato sauce and rice. We also had soy milk locally made—very sweet. We went back there for dinner and met the manager. We told her about the Adventist food stall in Bacolod which is in the downtown food court and very, very successful.

We transferred lodging to Puerto Pension. The room has tv, private bath and air-con. The materials used for the building are all local—woven mats for walls and ceiling, bamboo strips for roof (very creative). We watched movies on tv while waiting for the heat in the afternoon to pass.

Puerto Princesa City is very clean. The mayor (half German) has made a tremendous effort to make the city trash free by providing trash cans similar to the ones back home.

Day 38

We arrived in Puerto Princessa City, the capital of Palawan, at about 9 am. It took an additional hour to dock and then we walked into town and checked hotels, settling in at the Abelardo Pension in an aircon room with private bath. It is so nice to have a cleansing shower and be able to clean our teeth well and have fresh, clean clothes, clean room, clean air.

We found wifi connection in two places around the public market area—one in a bakery and the other inside a short-order restaurant where we had lunch-dinner of noodles and mixed vegetables. There are actually many wifi connections, but most are encrypted.

Ole was very happy to find guayabano.