Pagbati from Palawan, Philippines! 

Short and sweet, this blog is all about my two weeks in the Philippines, at Duli Beach in Palawan! 

I absolutely fell in love with the ocean, surfing and people there and spent 10 nights at Surf and Skate Hostel Duli. You can choose between a hammock ($7/night) or a bed ($10/night), both outdoors with mosquito nets. As much as I enjoyed the people, I would probably choose different lodging if I return. There are not a lot of other housing options but some small beach bungalows (if available) are similar prices with a bit more privacy. The bathrooms everywhere are not ideal if you are more high or even medium maintenance, and throughout the Philippines I noticed many toilets don’t flush or have toilet paper to save resources. Most of the showers also consist of cold water buckets or an overhead drizzle if you’re lucky. At this beach in particular there are also a lot of bugs, specifically mosquitos and sand flies to watch out for as the bites can be infection and leave a lot of marks. 

Surf and Skate also has a beach hut a few minutes walk up the road right in front of the ocean, where the volunteers and surf instructors sleep. There you can hang out during the day, order food and drinks (200-400 Pesos), take private surf lessons (800P or around $13.50/ for each 1-hour lesson), or just rent a few different kinds of boards (300P/$5 per hour). I surfed every day, sometimes twice a day each day I stayed, and definitely improved a lot from last year although it definitely tired me out quickly. All the instructors were similar ages to me and very kind, and everyone at the shop played a lot of cards and games throughout the day, watched the sunset and made bonfires, sometimes also taking turns cooking and having little family dinner parties. 

There isn’t much else to do in the area other than the few surf/cafe shops or massages and surfing on the beach, and the closest village is a few minutes away on a motorbike which has other lodging and markets. The roads are super rocky and definitely not meant for inexperienced drivers, but if you stay in the area I would highly recommend getting a bike ($6-8/day) to make your stay more comfortable with cheaper food from the town if staying right at the beach. I didn’t have a lot of service in the area although the beachfront shop had wifi, but I really enjoyed disconnecting for a while and focusing on enjoying each day in the peaceful community and beautiful environment. I started most days doing yoga and meditating and although I expected a lot of tourists, I was pleasantly surprised to find a relatively empty beach each day. The first few days they did hold an annual surf competition for Palawan surfers and the beach was a bit busier, but otherwise my stay was very calm and peaceful. All the locals were extremely friendly, and many waved and said hello every time I walked by anywhere. Some of the kids also came up to me and asked for a high-five or wanted to greet me personally which I thought was cute too. A lot of stray dogs are around also, some healthier than others but none I found aggressive. 

To get to and from Puerto Princesa (where I flew into) you can purchase a $10 bus (pick-up and drop-off) online or through some hostels that takes you from the airport to El Nido town (4-6 hour trip with stops) where you can then rent a bike and drive 45 minutes to 1 hour yourself or get a tricycle, although more expensive at around 1500P/$25 for the ride. I did stay two nights in the town towards the end of my visit, at El Nido One Hostel ($6/night) which was fine but I would recommend spending a few dollars more and getting a more comfortable room and cleaner bathroom. After such a peaceful time at the beach, the town was also extremely overwhelming to return to such a bustling, loud, touristy spot with mainly bars and shops selling similar/cheaper tourist souvenirs. You can book tours there or around El Nido, and if I had more time I would have done another scuba diving day as well. 

Other things to note are that cards are not generally accepted anywhere, even in the airport, and you may have to travel around a bit to find an ATM, so definitely come prepared with cash handy. Also, everyone that I spoke with spoke English from different islands as it is taught and used often since childhood for most citizens, making it very easy to communicate with everyone. I did learn some basic Tagalog words and phrases (the official/main language), and learned that each area/province/island has not only different dialect but completely different languages. Tagalog at least shares a few thousand words similar or same to Spanish, and I was able to understand the basics of some conversation.

Although for the time being I am continuing to another country, I have so much left to see in the Philippians and cannot wait to return and explore more of the beautiful sights! Many thanks to all the beautiful people who made my stay here so special.

xoxo,

Ang around the World 🙂