At this exact time, next week, I will be boarding a plane, all alone, for a 15 day adventure in the Philippines! I'm really excited, but sad to be leaving Aaron- and Korea all together... It's become my home away from home!
My original plan was to check out 5 different places, but then after I realized getting around the Philippines includes long bus or boat rides, I scaled it down to 3! It's a vacation after all.... I should actually relax, right?! So, here's my tentative plan for those of you who are interested! (Mostly for my parents, because they will feel more at ease, knowing where their baby girl is.)
I will stay the night of July 17th in Hong Kong.
Then, in the morning, I will catch an early flight to Manilla, Philippines and then run through the airport to catch another flight to Caticlan. When I get there, I will transfer to a boat for a 15 minute ride to Boracay Island!! I'm planning to stay there until July 23rd.
Then, in the afternoon of July 23rd, I will fly from Caticlan to Manilla, and then transfer to another plane which will take me to Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island. I'm planning to shack up somewhere along Honda Bay, which is just north of Puerto Princesa proper...
and stay a couple days to see the Underground River, Snake Island (don't worry, there are no snakes), Pandan Island (where you can pay $3.00 for an hour massage), and Starfish Island (where there are GIANT starfish and gorgeous beaches!)
Then I will take an 8 hour (bumpy, muddy, and crowded) bus ride, leaving San Jose Terminal at 5:00am to El Nido, which is near the top of Palawan.
I'm planning to stay there until July 30th, and from what I've read, it's the hidden treasure of the Philippines! I'm really excited for this place!!
So, there you go! That's my tentative trip! Hopefully I'll have lots of beautiful pictures and good stories to share along the way! :)