El Nido: Hidden Paradise

“Waking up with a sea view, crystal clear waters and embracing sea breeze, it is indeed a haven for us city dwellers.”

That is what I got at the end of the 6 hours drive. That is if they are fast. If not it might take up to 8 hours on the rocky mountain roads. To be honest, it was a painful decision my partner and I had to make while we planned for the trip. It ain’t easy, to make a 12 hour trip to and fro just to visit an area for 2D2N. But like me tell you straight up, it was all worth it. Even my partner who was so reluctant to visit El Nido had to admit it was all worth it at the end of the trip.

We took up Tour A after much research on the internet. Since we can only afford 1 island hopping tour, we took up the much recommended one. I can only say pictures and words do not do justice to the place.

Back to some introduction of the island.. For those who have been to Phuket or Krabi, the nature of the shops there are quite similar, but unspoiled by the waves of tourist who travel there. I supposed it is because of the long tedious journey to reach this unlikely haven. When you arrived at El Nido, you have to take a tuk tuk lookalike or walk into the town proper as the buses and vans are not allowed in due to the nature of narrow roads and to protect the town from massive damages that might be caused by traffic. 

There are 2 main beaches in El Nido proper, one being along the shop front of the numerous restaurants operating there and one is the infamous La Cabanas. 

We have to trek though this road for about 2 minutes to reach the beach. To be honest, It may look like nothing here, but when we reach the entrance to this road, it was a little horrifying, it looked nothing near the coast. But the view is so rewarding. 

And one thing I loved the most was the stretch of restaurants along the beach. <3 

Like a scene we see in movies, dining along the beach, soaking our feet in the cooling sea is the best feeling ever!! As we spend our night indulging in live bands, cold beer and feet in the water, our journey in Philippines is slowly coming to the end.

The following morning, we went to the long anticipated Tour A!! Wheeee! Bundles of excitement on this one. We waited for the tuk tuk to come and pick us up to the beach area where we onboard our hire for the day! Funny thing is when the tuk tuk came, there was already 2 ang mos on board. Mind you, the tuk tuks here are unlike those in Bangkok which are relatively larger. Tuk-tuks here can fetch up to 5 people or maybe 6 with petite size. But to be honest, 2 is the most comfortable number.

Anyway how, we managed to get to the shop to register our names and get our goggles and supplies for the day and we head out!!! The rustic feel of this place is no joke. Think about Phuket or Krabi or Langkawi island hopping, the boat usually gets to a dock or ferry for you to board right, this is not the case here. We have to walk like 15m into the sea? Hahahaha. It was rather shocking for me since I’m really short. The water is already almost at my chest level when I reached the boat.

And our journey starts…

Secret Lagoon

Only entrance to the secret lagoon..

 7 Commandos Beach

A guide to finding your perfect job. (Like your perfect man)

I have always been in wanderlust for a long time now. I couldn’t stand a desk bound job in a office setting for now at least, I couldn’t bear it. Finding a perfect job is awful, it’s so difficult, especially for  people like  me, in  their  20s,  torned  between  living  everything  behind  and travelling or to start paving out their career path. It’s torturous. After a long while spending thinking  about  my perfect job, I  finally realized  it’s akin to  finding  your  perfect  man, or women per say. How should I put it, there is no perfect job out there. Sorry to burst all your little bubbles  of hope, all jobs  have their own fair  share of stress  and problems, which is a fact. BUT there is something else which we can all achieve, finding the best job for ourselves.

        1. Classic 3 prong

Looks familiar? Haha. I think things in life are often balanced by these 3 classic words. Of course striking a balance in these 3 would be the best, but more than often 1 of these factors have to be slightly sacrificed.

      2.  Everyone is different.

Something that works for me might not work for you. For instance, I can live with a man who doesn’t have an extraordinary income but dote on me like hell, but some women need the wealth in their life. Notice how is it similar with your career? I like a job with great flexibility (Quality). Sometimes it also means working beyond regular hours. For some, having a high pay is of utmost importance, and usually it means boring or extremely stressed jobs. For some, they would prefer a stress free job but might indicate a lower pay range.

3. What can you give up?

If we gonna start asking what do we want, we usually end up with unrealistic answers leading to a futile discussions. So an easier way would be to ask yourself what can you give up. Can you give up high wages for a stress free job? Can you give up your hours for your passion? What is the least of your concerns? Money? Flexible working hours? Stress free? Career prospect? Or could it be even nasty boss? Or the need to meet clients? As we slowly build up this list of realistic wants and don’ts, there, you may have finally found a direction to work towards to.

I think by understanding these 3 concepts, we can better understand what we want to achieve in life. It’s a little like the elimination method but hack it, it works! (ps. That's how I found the perfect man for me! Wheeee!)

Now, just a little photo of my Taiwan Trip as an appetizer! 

Sunrise on 陽明山 pinyin: Yángmíngshān