PG and Palawan; what else is great?

(besides diving)

Really looking forward to my trip and that's sometimes half the fun i heard (hope not lol) But i was wondering what are some got-to-do things in Phillippines/PG? What food is great, which village is beautifull, which things you have to experience? I am talking about experiencing the true Phillippines cause i know PG ain't 'the real deal' when it comes to getting to know the culture. I dont care about musea and stuff like that too much but I talk about visiting markets for fishermen, renting a scooter and make a trip, drinking with locals, local holidays and so on.

And what are the negative sides of the Philippines?

I understand most Phillippinos speak English, often Spanish and always their local language; is that correct? Will not speaking Spanish be a problem?

One more extremely important question; are fruitshakes as common as in Thailand, Malaysia and Laos?

If this board ain't supposed to be for non-diving stuff; feel free to (re)move this thread

-OMG, looking so forward to tell my boss to **** my **** and **** off cause I am out-

Johnny Paycheck would be proud of you!

Well near PG there is the snake farm which is apparently quite cool. If you really want to get a taste of the culture, why don't you see if you could do some volunteer work (the real kind, not the kind you need to pay to be able to do!!!) with the local organisations such as the local schools? I seem to recall the St-Raphael school near there had some projects, but I'm not 100% sure. That would certainly put you in contact with the locals.
There is also the national park in west Mindoro which I heard is very cool. Wild buffalos and the lot. Could be a great expedition, although a bit far!

Hopefully, others will chime in with more suggestions!

food: you have to try balut and pig out on all the fresh fruits.
things to do in PG: you can rent a scooter or join some tours of sights in the island such as the waterfalls. or you can take the ferry to batangas and see the famous crater lake and volcano in tagaytay. if you're still here in the country by may 15, i would highly recommend taking the ferry to batangas city and hop on a bus to Lukban for the Pahiyas which is a thanksgiving fiesta for a bountiful harvest. its quite a treat for the eyes.

i just noticed that you're also going to palawan. if going to coron, it would be worth the extra bucks to go on a safari in Calauit island where 3rd to 5th generation African animals roam. about 30 years ago, zebras, gazelles, giraffes etc. were transported to this island for fear of being wiped out in some civil war in Africa. now these animals move about freely with local animals such as the calamian deer and mouse deer.

if in puerto princesa, you should check out the underground river which is now battling to be among the new 7 wonders of the world (dont forget the bug juice). the local delicacy there is tamilok (tommy-look) aside from the fat crabs and other seafood and cashew nuts.

if you're going to puerto princesa, there's...

kinabuch - they have a pool table and their food's great. classic pinoy stuff: sisig, crispy pata and jigo is right, you should try tamilok!

ka lui - its ambiance will make you feel like you're truly in PI with the wind pipes and all. seafood!

kamarikutan - art gallery where you can have drinks

itoy's - for coffee and free wifi (1st hour only)

grandma's - pan de sal and coffee

neva's - pizza and pasta

jo's - chicken inato

scenario bar in asturias hotel - parteh!

jigo:

i just noticed that you're also going to palawan. if going to coron, it would be worth the extra bucks to go on a safari in Calauit island where 3rd to 5th generation African animals roam. about 30 years ago, zebras, gazelles, giraffes etc. were transported to this island for fear of being wiped out in some civil war in Africa. now these animals move about freely with local animals such as the calamian deer and mouse deer.

if in puerto princesa, you should check out the underground river which is now battling to be among the new 7 wonders of the world (dont forget the bug juice). the local delicacy there is tamilok (tommy-look) aside from the fat crabs and other seafood and cashew nuts.

Click to expand...

aight
read about the river but these animals sounds really cool. Crabs and mango will be my new kebab

jigo:

Calauit island ... about 30 years ago, zebras, gazelles, giraffes etc. were transported to this island for fear of being wiped out in some civil war in Africa

Click to expand...

That was one of Marco's schemes, the animals came from Kenya as was rumoured to be for Marco Junior Bong Bong exclusive hunting playground (src: Rough Guide) - also all the island aborginal people were forced to leave, so spare a thought for them.

that's one of the versions. but there are no aborigines in the Philippines. some tribal minorities in other places but not calauit i think. but the island was inhabited by some fisherfold and subsistence farmers at that time and they were relocated. some are trying to move back though and have been blamed for hunting down the local and imported wildlife.

maybe indigenous peoples is more appropraite term, in this case the people who have lived there for 3000 years already (Source: http://www.iapad.org/publications/ppgis/coron_best_practice_paper.pdf)