I've been getting some complaints about the previous author so I'll re-write a little.
Also how we booked is important for those planning a trip.
The first thing we noticed in Phillipines is that nobody wears shoes.
Everybody is wearing flip-flops and is extremely fit.
And they all look half their age. Maybe it's because they don't eat anything.
There is no Chabad in El Nido so we spent our first shabbos in Manila.
Manila is very hot and humid and overall very run-down so we only spent 3 days there.
In Manila itself, there's not much to do. The main day trips out are Pinatuba crater lake and Taal volcano lake. We chose Pinatuba crater lake. We booked the tour for around $300 all in. (klagman@filipinotravel.com.ph trust me, we contacted all the tour agencies and bargained)
It's basically the same price if your 1 person or 4 people.
They picked us up in an SUV with A/C and we drove 2 hours. We then got on a jeep for an hour. There was a typhoon a few weeks before that threw a lot of rocks and boulders around so the jeep wasn't able to go as far as it usually goes. Along the way there were gorgeus views and we saw some little kids with Bulls and cows and other animals. We got off and hiked 2 hours (mostly flat terrain). We were hiking in sneakers but our Filipino rice-farmer-guide and the 2 "government officers" who accompanied us did it in flip-flops! Through steep cliffs, rocks and rivers! (Side point: the rice farmers love when they get a chance to be a tour guide because they usually make 200 peso a day which is $4)
When we finally got to the top, it was all worth it. It was just stunning! Apparently a volcano blew the whole top off the mountain in 1991. Since then it has filled up with a little lake.
It was very quiet up there. We took some pictures, davened, ate lunch and chilled up there for an hour or two. There was one other group that also did the hike that morning. And then did the 2 hour hike back, the jeep and the drive back to Manila. After mosh47 collapsed, I headed out to the Chabad to see if they had any food. The Chabad is located in the rabbis house in a gated community. There was a helper there that put together a couple schnitzel sandwiches.
I found out that the rabbi's wife had a baby the day before but their house was still wide open and they were still making shabbos as usual!
It's worth noting that the local supermarket also had kosher chocolate, Pringles, and some wafers.
On Friday we went to Divisoria market which is a huge, smelly market. I thought it would have some tourist stuff like in thailand but it was just a ton of junk for locals.
We then went to the Mall of Asia and got some cheap clothes and souvenirs. And we took a "jeepy" for about 7 cents each!
Shabbos was very nice and we met some locals.
There were no shabbos issues as we just hid the key near our apartment and no electric sensors.
On Motzai shabbos we just swam in the pools and enjoyed the sauna. There was also a nice bar on the top floor overlooking the city.
On Sunday morning we got up early to catch our flight to El Nido, which was the highlight of our trip
Some people buy cheap flights to PPS airport which is a 6 hour scenic drive to El Nido.
We wanted to have 5 full days there so we flew direct on a little "airline" called ITI. It left from a hangar in MNL airport. All 40-something people wait in a lounge with some food and drinks.
The tickets range from 4,500 to 8,500 peso each way.
(95-180$) we went during the low season so we got for $95 each way.
http://www.elnidoboutiqueandartcafe.com/TravelCenter.html Is the only way to book.
Pics coming soon!
