DAY 5 Lazy morning; boat to Coron, arrive at ~5 PM
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DAY 6 Coron
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DAY 1 Coron to Manila
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DAY 2 Manila!
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DAY 3 Manila!
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DAY 4 Manila!
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Memorial Day Weekend
Coron!
Twinhouse Villa, for most
Manila!
Gramercy condos, for most
Kyle flies out, Manila to SFO, 9 AM
BEACH 🏖 – Thursday 5/9 to Wednesday 5/15
Our beach time will be divided between 2 regions:
Boracay – a small resort island, with big party energy
El Nido – a region of Palawan island, good for chilling and scuba
As a rule, beaches in the Philippines are extremely beautiful, extremely chill, and extremely CLEAN. [Kyle's emphasis.]
Warm water, white sands. Resort life. "Like Hawaii, but cleaner and more service-oriented." A dollar goes far, and drinks are hella cheap. We'll likely have an activity or two lined up, if you're interested – karaoke, diving, etc. – but feel free to just hang. Walk
around, lie around, do your thing.
Those coming along on the boat, we'll be departing early on the 15th from El Nido.
If you're not joining us for the boat, take your time and relax. Explore more of Palawan, Lonely Planet's Best Island in the World. Or onto Manila! Or whatever! Live your life, man!
NEED-TO-KNOW INFO
Total Beach Time: 6 days, 6 nights
Boracay – Beach, Part 1
"Boracay is really fun. Beautiful sunsets. The purest, softest of sand. Parties all night. Fairly recently rennovated. Beachside villas are the vibe."
Buko Resort – Cottages[couples' cottages available at the same resort]
Additional villas nearby TBD as necessary
Activities:
TBD on the whole
They do have scuba diving here, but if you're really optimizing for it, stay an extra day in Coron.
Some suggestions from our boat peeps: Kayak, motorbike (scooter), surf, dive
Boat Out: Disembark from El Nido, early AM [Time TBD]
* NOTE: The itinerary and information above assumes you're flying in for the entire BEACH experience, then moving on to BOAT. Your mileage may vary – skipping Boracay, missing the boat, exploring more of Palawan, etc.
Arriving at Coron on Busuanga Island (still technically part of Palawan)
"The perfect time scale to fully appreciate the many hidden wonders of Bacuit Bay, taking your time to enjoy the raw nature and island life." [Their words, not mine. Let's go raw-dog nature, you guys!]
Includes:
Full crew, with lifeguard and English-speaking guides (Good energy, we're told!)
Freshly-prepared meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) – please specify if you're vegan, veg, pesc, etc.
Beverages (water, coffee, tea)
Kayaks and snorkels (no fins) –
"Nomadic tropical bliss"
NEED-TO-KNOW INFO
Total Boat Time: 6 days, 6 nights
A Freaking Boat
Fairly self-explanatory, but let me see what I can find.
Snorkeling, kayaking, massages, other things I'm sure
Arriving At: Coron
BOAT THINGS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE
The Meeting Before – NEVERMIND, Y'ALL. The website made it sound like we all
had to gather at the Tao office the night before disembarking. Because we're all the same group, though, we can
just send an emissary to get the lowdown and report back. NOTE: You may still want to come, though, just to pre-load
your Magic Money Bracelet. (See below.) They also sell some basic boat-y supplies, in case you forgot anything.
Early Departure – [Time TBD] – I don't have specifics, but the way they're hinting at it, it sounds like we're starting early. And you'll need to do some repacking (see below), so make sure you've got time.
Magic Money Bracelets $$$ – During the meeting, you'll be given a cashless bracelet for buying things like drinks from the bar and massages. You can either load it in advance or pay after the boat arrives at camp. Tips aren't included, P.S. There's a small eco fee we have to pay in cash when we get into port; keep your receipt!
Limited Electricity / Connectivity – We're going to be pretty off the grid. Not a lot of opportunities to charge devices, and not a lot of signal to use them. Bring a headlamp and batteries. Tell your loved ones where you're going beforehand, lol.
Overnight at Coron – The boat is supposed to arrive in Coron at around 5 PM. There won't be any flights to Manila at that point, so there'll be at least one night in Coron to take in.
What's the sleeping situation? Short answer: On the beach in tukas – individual bamboo huts, open to the breeze, but not to rain. Bedding and mosquito nets provided. Bathrooms and showers on hand. Don't flush toilet paper. (No TP-flushing in general in the Philippines.)
Health and safety considerations? Short answer: Dehydration, sunburn, mosquitoes, "tropical hangovers are a nightmare." Don't drown, please.
Dietary requirements? Short answer: I passed on what people have mentioned so far; I'll let you know what I hear back. If there's meat, it's usually fish. There are always veggie and vegan options. "Chefs do not change their recipes."
If you're into scuba diving, this is the better place to do it, if you want to stay an extra day. Reefs and shipwrecks! If you'd like more details, about scuba certification and such, join the scuba-specific WhatsApp group!
Some suggestions from our boat peeps: Kayak, motorbike (scooter), snorkel
* NOTE: The itinerary and information here pretty much is what it is – we're in Poseidon's hands now, you guys. When we arrive, though, feel free to take advantage of more time in Coron – the above assumes you're bumming around in Coron for a day before heading to Manila.
Gramercy Condos – [we're kinda just slowly taking over the building –
search Airbnb to see what's available]
Activities:
TBD on the whole – think more specific destinations and points of interests here
Robin is gonna ask his local friends for hot tips and/or maybe show us around
Solid bar scene, craft breweries (We did say hipster.)
Great museums – Manila has been called "the Paris of Southeast Asia"
Shopping – in particular lots of flea markets and bizarro shopping districts selling hilarious bootleg goods en masse – Malate, in particular
168 Shopping Mall
Divisoria
Bonifacio Global City
Baclaran
In particular, there is this one underground market Kyle is looking for. (I think he said it's literally underground?) We're still trying to figure it out, but here, I'll just paste his description:
"My most vivid memory is of the craziest store ever: Cyberpunk underground. A massive grid of vendors in 10' chain-link fence cubes. Narrow pathways, no good way to navigate. Inside each cube,
you'll find people selling stuff stolen off a boat or rejected from Chinese factories. Like 600 misprinted Taylor Swift shirts. Fly with an empty suitcase. And we should definitely get matching outfits."
Other Good Neighborhoods: Malate, Greenhills, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA)
* NOTE: The itinerary and information above assumes you're flying in from Coron, post-BOAT, and staying 'til the bitter end, before back to the Bay. Your mileage may vary – staying longer in Coron, trying a different neighborhood, flying off to other farflung lands, etc.
No, for real, I'll see about putting a list together.
There's the list of boat stuff to be getting on with, though.
And, dear lord, so much goddamn sunblock.
There are some travel tips/requirements for getting into the Philippines I got from our boat friends:
Up-To-Date Passport: As always, make sure your passport is valid at least 6 months past your stay in the Philippines. At this point, if you need to renew your passport, you're gonna have to expedite it, which costs an extra $60-80 and takes 3+ weeks. If you're in a REAL hurry, Travel Visa Pro is an option, but gets even more expensive still.
Have Your Departure Ticket On-Hand: To get into the Philippines, you'll need to present your ticket for wherever you're headed next – home or otherwise.
Get Your E Travel Pass Before You Go: Everyone entering the Philippines must fill out a form for an E Travel Pass. There is a mobile app, but they pretty heavily imply
that it is slow and godawful, so get ahead of the game on your desktop, if you can.
Don't Dress Like A Trash Person: I'll quote them directly here: "Don't turn up with flip flops, shorts, or vest. Make sure you dress up appropriately to see immigration officers."
Get Cash: The Philippines is mainly a cash economy, so make sure you stock up. They suggest getting cash at the airport. Transaction fees usually aren't included, so add 3% in your head.
Get A SIM Card: Grab one at the airport, if you'd like – the providers they recommend for Palawan are Globe and Smart. That said, coverage is intermittent and unpredictable. Try to look at this as a positive. Digital detox, man!
I'll investigate a little further in just a bit, to confirm/deny all this.
Let's assume you made it to Manila. Great! From there, we'll be moving from city to city in these these hella cheap puddle-jumper planes. Links to our primary flights are noted in each section above.
Depending on where we are, our means of transportation will vary, so more info to come on this.
GrabCar is an app for arranging private car pickup.
Tricycles, in Filippino paralance, are similar to tuktuks, and can either be summoned like taxis or follow set routes.
Manila has significant public transportation – including buses, metro, and jeepneys, these little mini-buses often decorated like total chaos.
We can also take a look into renting shuttles and vans for big group hauls to and from airports; I'm told they're kind of pricey, though.
Remember: We're gonna be working on Island Time, so don't hinge anything wildly important on a vehicle being at a certain place at a certain time.
Depends on where you are and who you ask.
Kyle said, BEACH- and BEACH-wise, folks generally are lovely, staff are always happy to help, great.
Kyle ALSO painted a picture of Manila where pickpockets and aggressive street vendors are leaping out at you from all corners, grouping for your precious dollars.
He indicated he would be carrying a decoy wallet and passport. He wasn't exactly Sobey Maguire, though, so I'll check back on this.
Just for comparison's sake, I checked with Robin, and he said everything is pretty safe. Obviously have a little more care in the city – and
especially the markets, about holding onto your stuff. For the most people, we probably won't be comically taken advantage of as a bunch of dope tourists, although
things probably will be more expensive if we're seen trying to clumsily grunt out requests in broken Tagalog.
Here's an article from our boat company about basic health and safety reminders.
I'll look into this further, but there's always travel insurance, dogg.
I mean, yes, totally, always.
Oh, in the Philippines? Yeah, pretty much. It's gotten a lot better, from what we're hearing.
I'll report back after some digging.
Andre says he's "90% fluent" – and I expect that's him being humble. As we get a little closer to the event, he offered
to share some useful phrases for us to all learn. Thanks, Andre! Should we make you a TikTok???
As a taster, though, Andre passed along this video, which is a great start.
I might add some resources here, too.
Sadly, Duolingo has failed me, but it looks like there are some other apps floating around you can try.
The Philippines is mainly a cash economy, so make sure you stock up. Our boat friends suggest getting cash at the airport. Transaction fees usually aren't included, so add 3% in your head.
As I'm writing this (3/10), $1 USD = 55 PHP.
And, because I'm terrible at even the simplest mental math on the fly, I'll just throw out a few for you:
No, but for real, there are 2 main seasons in the Philippines – dry from October to May, rainy from June to September. We're right there on the fence,
but I recently discoverd I may have low-key weather manipulation powers, so I feel pretty confident we'll be fine.
May is the hottest month there, so dress accordingly.
Average High: 94°F
Average Low: 77°F
Average Humdity: 71%
Average Monthly Precipitation: 6.16"
Our boat friends suggest getting a SIM card at the airport. The providers they recommend for Palawan are Globe and Smart. That said, coverage is intermittent and unpredictable. Try to look at this as a positive. Digital detox, man!
I kept having to google it, so I'm just writing it down:
Every place we're hitting – Manila, Boracay, El Nido, and Coron – are 15 hours ahead of Pacific Time.
Remember: Not everything is going to be super punctual or reliable, necessarily. Weather, bureaucracy, boat engine trouble – the world is full of chaos. But, while in the Philippines, let's embrace it as leisure.
That said, at any point where you really NEED to be somewhere, make sure you give yourself plenty of breathing room.
Micah gives a good example here, catching your flight to the beach from Manila:
Yep!
The Philippines uses A, B, and C plugs, so you'll need A and C adapters.
Outlate voltage is 220V – a lot higher than in the States. Some devices (most phones and laptops, for instance) are designed to work at every voltage level. And some have a switch you can set to 220V.
If you're unsure, look it up. Either way, good to have a voltage converter on hand, just in case.
"Compatible with the two most common diameters in the world."
KYLE'S NICE ANSWER: "No presents – all I want is your presence."
KYLE'S LESS-NICE ANSWER: "No presents. I don't trust anyone's taste but Micah's and mine."
I'm gonna do a little more poking around, but short answer: Not so much.
We've got a Signal group going if you want to know more – ask on WhatsApp.
Girl, you can straight up lead that shit, if you want.
There's a tab on the kylewild.party spreadsheet, where people are listing out potential activites of interest. Jot some stuff down, and we'll
start figurin' out what people are up for, and how to bring it to life.
That's what I hear, man. It seems the time is ripe for the return of the Rossi Tossi!
1 L, 2 Ps. You think I'd get it right after typing it roughly 600 times now.
Or, "Piliinas," if you want to spell it like a local! ;)
