puerto princesa part three

check out this crazy palm tree! (the middle one on left picture) our driver pointed it out on the way back to puerto the next morning. i really don't understand why it would grow like this...
below some on-the-road shots:








i went to the crocodile farm, located near puerto. it was really cool, even though most of the crocodiles were sleeping...but there was also a nature park next to it with animals (most only found on palawan) and of course much mosquitoes... the park looked a little bit neglected which sucked, because it has much potential and i hope they treat the animals better than the park. and the guide didn't really seem enthusiastic at all, so that was a little bit disappointing, but he was only there in the beginning. here you see some baby crocodiles, some bigger crocodiles and an ostrich. is it me or do ostriches always look so stupid, maybe it's the way they're build or something dunno, but they always make me laugh (even though they could kick the sh*t out of me and when they look at me they probably think i look stupid...)

the rest of the animals:

talking mynahs (they actually said hello), seloputo owl, blue-naped parrot (who didn't say anything)


long-tailed macaque mom with her baby, palawan bearded pig and palawan binturong who lives in trees, using his tail as an extra hand while climbing and hanging in branches


palawan hornbill which can be identified by its casque on top of his head, said to be used as a vibrating chamber to make its voice louder, middle one is a palawan porcupine and on the right a common palm civet, known for their poo! the kopi luwak, one of the most expensive coffees is made from coffee beans that have past the digestive tract of this animal. they love to eat coffee cherries and the outer pulp of the fruit is digested while intact coffee beans pass through their poo. these coffee beans are then collected (sounds like a nice job...) and processed into kopi lowak or civet coffee. so if you ever find yourself in front of a cup of this coffee then i hope you will remember this story and think twice about taking a sip...or if you want to try it after this story well then, uhm...cheers...?

we stayed at a new hotel further away from the center of puerto with a swimming pool and pool table, niiiice! you could clearly see it was new, everything looked so intact (which is a big contrast from the rest of puerto) but the shower tap shot out of the wall and the bathroom flooded...
that night we had dinner at the most beautiful restaurant i've ever been to and unfortunately i didn't bring my camera with me. it's called kalui and the guy who owns it is an artist and has decorated everything so incredibly nice, it's really just breathtaking. first of all you have to take of your shoes when you come in, which i already find awesome, everybody sitting there without shoes...and the whole building is made from different styles of wood. the interior is just drenched with creativity and i could go on and on about it, but you just need to see it for yourself...if you ever go to puerto...oh the food was good also. that day was my birthday btw (thanks everyone who remembered, all five of you...) and back at the hotel i got a cake and everyone starting singing!! i know this sounds very normal, but my last couple of birthdays were pretty much cake&singing-less. and apparently arranging a (very delicious mango) cake there is very hard and they ordered it like a week in advance haha. (and below the candles it said 'we love you' :D ) after that i got my present: a massage by a pro massaging lady. that was my first massage ever and i felt so chill afterwords, it was awesome! but dude it really sucks to be 24 already, i mean, 24 you know. that's almost 25 and that's almost 30. jesus, 30! pff, i should like i dunno, do something adult. invest in stocks. or uhm, drink coffee. or read the newspaper and bitch about politics and about how the youth will turn this world into shit with their drugs, loud music, partying all the time and skipping school. or maybe finally get a degree in something :S

so anyway...

the last two days while wandering around:



i found myself at the old market again as you can see, just a nice atmosphere over there...there was a girl working at the seaweed counter (last picture) and she was telling her friend to get her picture taken but she was to shy and she ran to the other side haha, so the girl who was working told me it was actually her friends birthday, so of course i starting singing happy birthday enthusiastically with the girl working and when we were done everyone around us clapped and laughed haha, you probably just should've been there...


guys playing pool, a rather big house and construction workers, no helmets or working shoes, i actually saw a guy drilling in concrete with one of those giant drills you hold with two hands, wearing flip flops...


not working street lights, tricycles and a tricycle that transports stuff instead of people


a recycling place (the cardboard signs say what to put where) a very common street store (where you can buy cigarettes per piece, for people who don't have enough for a whole pack (which is 50 eurocent)) and a guy who sells food

the final day was travel day, we flew from puerto to manila and then from manila to singapore, all in one day.

so here ends my first visit to the philippines. i must say that i already can't wait to go back! everyone keeps saying that el nido is the most beautiful place in the philippines so i'd really like to go there the next time. it's located at the top of palawan. but i think it's the rain season now, so i'm gonna wait a while. first sumatra, before the rain season starts over there...