if theres a picture of a beach in heaven, i am certain it would look something like this.

after the unwavering bouts of bickering with ken(Palawan Part 1) over to continue backpacking up north of Palawan or stop and head back to Manila, he finally did throw in the towel. us being hard-headed, coming to an agreement was never easy.

he’s return flight to manila was scheduled the next day so he can no longer tag along with us. so only me and the fat guy continued to head up north. our gracious host ken, still a little upset, drove us in his orange wrangler to the bus terminal.

it was a 6-hour bus ride to El Nido. 280pesos for students. i am no longer a student but i still have my student id =) and i was on a tight budget. so i just had to try the whole student-scheme. it worked out though with the bus driver.

so we held on firmly for our lives as we dangled with the metal bars on the roof of the bus as it traversed the stretch to El Nido. we were like gunghos swaying left and right as the bus zoomed even on street curves on the rough roads. eventually the bus engine overheated. we arrived at dusk. past 5pm. riding on buses can be a little daunting but apparently way more fun. it was like riding in a roller-coaster extended version sans the 360s.

we stayed in cliffside cottages which was cheap at 600pesos(300/pax/night). nice little nipa huts with two-single beds in our room. the only downside was, its a 3-minute-walk away from the beach. and 3-minute-walks can be far and difficult for drunken bastards.

what i love about El Nido town is, it is able to maintain its humble rural vibe despite its thriving tourism industry. moreover, El Nido has been on the tourism radar, not only to locals but even, to foreigners since the 90s. i remember marveling at its sceneries as it was once a staple on wall calendars. it was the Christine Reyes, heck it was Iwa Moto plus Christine Reyes of the calendar industry back then. it was so popular it regularly graced bank/grocery calendars alike year after year.

ofcourse that was before filipino’s realization that theres more to beauty, than what meets the eye. something that sticks to the mind… something that lingers even if hours had passed… even up to, most especially, the last moments of your day while on bed before you sleep(eyes closes, legs stiffens and big toe tweaks lol.you know what i mean =) ) , thus giving birth to the fhm hotties domination(and i am not complaining) on calendars.

our time in the island went past, fast like a breeze. the islands, lagoons and beaches were just divine. half of our days were spent frolicking under the sun, plunging into the cool south China sea,  and enjoying lovely vistas both under and above waters. and the other half relishing bottles of cold beer.

and since i started mentioning about the hotties. let me continue then…

El Nido has similarities to some FHM hotties. Like Angel Locsin– it has this angelic almost cherubic beaches. it has soft powdery sands and gentle blue waters. Like Marian– it is a natural, and unassuming. the naturally lush-green forests and the lovely and almost dramatic limestone karsts. Like Sam Pinto– it is bare, simple and still poses to be the numero uno. the town hosts no atm’s, no 24-hour electricity ration(automatically shuts offs at 6am), no fancy hotels, yet it is one of the strongest foreign-crowd pleasers in our local tourism.

and lastly, allow me to compare El Nido to Booba(o maraming booba ah)- it is sexy, fun and CAN be cheap if handled well =)

*meals start at 40
*accommodations start  at 400
*transportation at 280(from Puerto Princesa)