I flew back from Cebu City to Manila not having arranged a hotel so I called The Rothmans Hotel on arrival but they were fully booked so I went to my old standby, The Southern Cross in Ermita. They owed me peso 200 from last visit so it was nice to roll in and get a room like a regular, as well get the p200 back! I walked round to The Citystate Hotel and paid for the bus/banca trip to Puerto Galera Sabang leaving 08:00 hrs the next morning. I roamed around a while, ending at Robinsons mall and did what a lot of people do when in Manila, hang around the mall. I had a quiet night, usual sort of thing when travelling solo, a few beers at the bar, talk to some locals and travellers, dinner and bed.
The next morning was hot and sunny, the bus trip down to Batangas was easy and by 11:30 I was sitting in The Blue Penguin 3 as it cruised toward PG Sabang at 12 knots. We arrived just after lunch and I checked into Villa Sabang where I had reserved a peso 900 room with a nice view over the Sabang beach. Spent the rest of the day arranging XR200 Honda dirt bikes for my next visit with my brother Bob and his son Chris as well as 3 rooms at Villa Sabang. Had early drinks at Tina's, followed by late drinks at Big Apple's beachfront bar. It was good to meet Anne Marie the bar manager again, she remembered our previous visit with Ken and Duncan. Particularly Duncan, he seemed to be very popular with the locals!
Just roamed around the next 2 days, swimming at Big Luguna beach and spending a memorable afternoon at the floating bar drinking with a bunch of poms. It was a sensational day, no wind, hot and sunny, perfect for finishing off my 4 weeks travelling in Palawan, Cebu, Mindanora, Camotes Islands and Puerto Galera Sabang.
Next day was back to Manila where I actually ended up staying at Citystate Hotel, it was nice, a small room but cheap at p1515. A quiet night getting ready to return home to Taipei the next day. Thanks Liz, Kate and Maddy for making this trip happen, without your support and encouragement I am sure it would not have been such a success. And thanks to Ken and Rabbit for coming along on the Palawan/Jimmy Boyd part of the trip, it was great to have your company!
