From El Nido to White Beach Resort, Port Barton

After recovering from the full moon party, it was time to hop on a boat for our first island hopping tour. 

I admit being on a boat after only two hours sleep wasn't the most appealing idea however as soon as the fresh sea breeze hit me, I was feeling refreshed. We first stopped at a beautiful lagoon area to explore the area on a kayak.

I was quite impressed with Vicki and my kayaking skills - we were in sync rather well. After exploring the area for a bit, we decided to ditch the kayak and swim from the boat over to a little beach where the rest of the group were. It was a good opportunity for me to practice my open water swimming ahead of my triathlon in July.

After boarding the boat again, I enjoyed a refreshing coconut water. If only they could keep the coconuts in the fridge! I still remember the first time (in Brazil) realising that fresh coconuts are green and not the furry brown type.

Next we stopped at a beautiful beach to enjoy an amazing BBQ lunch. The food is so fresh. Fresh fish, octopus, lovely salad and of course freshly cooked rice. All washed down with a cool San Miguel light.

We did three island hopping tours in total (two in El Nido and one in Port Parton). All very similar but each one so enjoyable. The islands are all so beautiful. Idyllic locations in the middle of the sea. Unspoilt usually by people living on the island, some had a few hotels and others simply had nothing.

I loved being out on the boats. Watching each island zip past as we sailed along.

After leaving El Nido (and no more crazy parties!) we headed to Port Barton. This was our 'remote' island resort. When we first pulled up to the resort, I thought it must be a mistake. It looked far to posh for a tour group to stay at however we were here...

White Beach Annex was simply paradise. As we all got out of the vans, you could see the excitement on everyone's face - we had arrived in beach heaven.

The resort has only eight rooms, all allocated to our group. There was a small area for the restaurant, bar and reception all in one. Hammocks strung from the palm trees dotted across the resort, the white sandy beach stretch along for at least one km and the stunning pergola looked out over the crystal clear sea.

I spent the afternoon dozing in the hammock followed by joining some lovely Israeli ladies on the beach practicing yoga. I was very impressed with some of the guys joining in too (Marco had such good upper body strength!).

In the evening we took the boat over to the main resort area for dinner. We headed off for a drink before dinner. The six of us managed to get a table on the beach watching the sun set (and also watching James get taken out by a pack of dogs!). After our group dinner we took the boat back to the resort. Some people were lucky enough to see a swordfish.

For our last evening in paradise, we decided to have dinner at the resort instead of heading over to the main area again. It was nice knowing we were staying in the resort and everyone had the chance to go and do their own thing if they wanted to.

I spent the evening chatting, watching the bonfire and drinking beer. This is something I don't do at home. I'm always too busy to simply sit back and relax so for me it was the perfect evening. We decided about mid night to go for a swim, my second ever time swimming in the sea at night (this time without some creepy man keeping an eye on me - thanks dad!).

Although there were jelly fish in the sea, that didn't both us. Maybe it was the beer that was making us brave/stupid or we simply didn't care, either way it was so nice swimming and looking up at the moon and stars.

Thanks to one of the guys in the group, I did what every girl dreams about, I did the lift from Dirty Dancing (Twice!). Yes us girls are that simple. All we want is for a man to be able to lift us above his head and hold us there!

After our last night in paradise, it was time to board the van for the four hour drive to the airport to head back to Manila for our last night. The trip has been amazing so it was sad it was coming to an end however we still had time for one more crazy night...

Strip clubs, open prisons and too many long island ice teas

I met the tour group for the first time on Saturday night. I'm always quite anxious first meeting a group and usually first experiences are right, that was 100% correct this time!


I got talking to the lovely Cat, Tom and Vicki - this was our little group. After a bit of a ropey dinner (chicken, rice and mayonnaise?) we headed to the only local place that sold beer - the local strip club/brothel.


Yes you heard that right! Out of a group of 15 only seven of us, plus our lovely tour guide, went to the strip club. The sign outside the club had pictures of the various rooms (Butterfly room anyone?) and the best slogan ever "So clean, so good". That became our little slogan for the trip (and our What's App group name).


Baring in mind it was only about 8.30pm, the club was pretty quiet. Once we paid the entrance fee (I think it was 300 pesos so about £5) we were ushered into a dingy private room with... karaoke. I know, this evening just gets better!


Albert (our guide) was an amazing singer and he was singing his heart out whilst the girls were like Meer cats peering out of the window to check the ladies (or were they...?) out. This crazy experience came to an end about 10:00pm as we were up early the next day for an early flight.


The next morning we took a flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa. Our first stop was to the Iwahig Penal Colony. This is an open community prison. Having read a few reviews about here, I was looking forward to chatting to some of the inmates and understanding their stories more however we only stopped at the gift shop (do all prisons have a gift shop?) so that was disappointing.


Next on the list was a wander around Baker's Hill. The smells here were incredible! It was an odd mix of a park with lovely views, statues and various animals alongside the bakeries. We tried some traditional heavy cakes which were a little odd for my taste.


After lunch we transferred to our hotel, Ipil Suites Puerto Princesa. The pool was incredibly inviting and we all headed straight there to cool down. After a few hours relaxing and chatting to the others in the group, I decided to go do a HIIT workout. I was excited to see the hotel had a gym but really it was just a room with two very old treadmills and a weights bench (with no weights).





The evening saw us have our first full group meal. It was pretty chaotic but it was good to chat to some of the others a bit more. Vicki, Cat and I enjoyed some lovely strawberry daiquiri's at dinner and decided to carry on the evening at another bar.


Again not everyone came out but we continues with a handful of us and the tour guides. The bar was pretty quiet to start with but it soon picked up. An amazing local band was playing some pretty cool songs and after the first long island ice tea, it was time to dance.


I'm not sure exactly what time we got back to the hotel but all I do remember was it was a pretty great night! It's been such a long time since I've been out and had such a free night. The ability to drink, dance and have fun was the best start to my holiday.






Little did I know that would be the start of quite a few fun nights out...

50 countries by the end of 2017 - Can I do it?

It's new chapter of my life and I'm back with the travel bug. I have decided I would like to get my countries visited list to 50 by the end of 2017 - So can I do it? My heart is saying "hell yes", my mind is saying "It's doable but maybe tough" and my bank balance is scream "Are you crazy women, think of rental property you could buy??".


As ever, my heart seems to be ruling me (which is why I've had so much heartache already!). I've crunched the numbers and it works out that I have ten countries to visit to get to my target.


Now, that sounds like a lot however I already have three different countries booked. I'm heading to Oslo, Norway soon with my sister so that will be a new country to explore.


I also have a wonderful trip to the Philippines booked for a few weeks time. I literally cannot wait to get my hiking boots on, roam the mountains and cool off in the incredible turquois seas.


Finally I have Turkey booked in June. Again I get to visit here with my sister (her countries list is racking up too!). Turkey will be more a rest and relaxation holiday but we may see a little bit of the country locally (providing it's safe to do so).


I'm excited for these new adventures. I always love the freedom of travel, the ability to meet new and exciting people and visit stunning countries. I've always loved to explore new places. Dean used to tease me and say my life is lead by one holiday to the next. This was true (however I don't think he meant it as a compliment).


I guess in one way it is an opportunity to escape 'life' for a while but the things you discover when you travel enrich your every day life. One of my favourite travel quotes is by J.R.R Tolkien: "Not all those who wander are lost". For some reason I feel a little bittersweet with this quote. Part of me does "wander" to lose myself from every day life however it shows, this is not a bad thing.


So getting back on track, I now have seven more countries to plan for. I have seen an amazing Caribbean cruise that I'd like to go on in September. It starts off in Puerto Rico and visits U.S Virgin Islands, Curacao (never heard of here before), Aruba and St. Kitts. That'll be five amazing countries!


Some may say I won't have that much time to visit the country in full however I still think it totally counts as visiting :-) That then leaves just two more countries.


With my lack of annual leave, these will need to be weekends away. I used to love flying out from work on a Friday and coming back late Sunday night. I'd like to go to Iceland (not the food shop!) and possible Denmark so both of these would be good for a quick weekend break.


If anyone else has any other suggestions for travel ideas then do let me know.