The Philippines is an archipelago that consists of 7,641
islands. There are 3 regions. Luzon to the north, Mindanao to the South, and a
group of smaller islands in the center, of which Palawan is the most popular,
called Visayas. Major urban centers are Manila (Luzon), Cebu (Visayas), and
Davao (Mindanao). Places with high tourism in Palawan are Coron, El Nido and
Peurto Princesa. Boracay and Cebu make up the other popular places in Visayas.
Fact: It would take about 20 years to spend a day on every island of Philippines.
CORON
This is one of the islands in the province of Palawan within the Visayas region in central Philippines.
Airport is Busuanga. It’s so small that there’s no bus or air bridge, but umbrellas being handed out to walk from the plane to airport.
Reminded is of Iquitos airport in Peru, Amazon, given the small size, mountains all around and tiny air strip with only propeller airplanes landing.
Accommodation was at Club Paradise, part of Discovery Hotels, which along with Dusit Thani and Shangri-La, have some of the best resorts in Philippines. This property has a fascinating design, built around a natural ecosystem for everyone to continue coexisting in harmony.
There is a bat sanctuary right in the middle, which has thousands is of bats that don’t bother the humans living strong around, barring entertaining them with their daily morning inward migration and evening outward migration to the neighboring island. It’s quite a sight to watch them do their travel.
There are sea turtles just off the coast, a tiny bird that will store sit in your hand at the reception, monitor lizards searching for food setting near the dining area, hermit crabs at the beach, and even a tiny snake we saw slithering about.
Things to do are kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, scuba-diving and generally lazing on the beach where the bartenders bring a fancy complimentary drink and snack each morning. Kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling are great activities to do here given how serene the waves are and clear the waters are. Neo did all of them, making him probably one of the youngest to do all this, especially catching a sea turtle, which was something even I was doing for the first time. Rare for an activity that both Geet and Neo are doing the same time as me.
Things to see are the sunrise and sunset, which on non-cloudy days are a spectacle. The sunrise looks like the one you see in the Nescafé sunrise packs. The type of sunrise we would draw as a kid, with perfect rays from a bright circular sun. Sunsets are also beautiful, fiery red and just bright enough to watch with the naked eye as they disappear off the horizon.
DAVAO
This is the biggest island, and possibly the only place worth visiting in the southern region of Mindanao of Philippines. Even this island was only made accessible a few years ago as it had a lot of rebel groups and considered unsafe before.
Airport is Davao airport, but there is absolutely nothing to do at the airport and even the city surrounding it. The best option is to head directly to the resort.
Accommodation we booked was Dusit Thani, where we received the luxurious treatment of any property we’ve been to. The airport staff that picked us from the hotel were kind enough to make a stop at a Dusit Thani in the city itself for a lunch stop before heading to the Dusit Thani on the island. We were happy to find that the original Bengarong Thai restaurant is part of this chain, a namesake we frequented during our Chennai days.
The resort is on a small island and therefore the last leg of the journey needs to be by boat. The welcome on the resort includes dancing girls with the hot towel and welcome drink.
Things to do are kayaking in a cordoned off section near the island where the waters are serene, and fish feeding which Neo couldn’t get enough of. Apart from this there was a basketball court and open parks, but the days were always too hot to try any of these, and therefore spent most of our time lazing by the beach or kayaking when the sun went behind the clouds.
Things to see are nothing beyond what’s on offer at the resort, with the main draw being snorkeling, as you can see abundant aquatic life just steps away from shore with clear visibility.
