intoxicated sobriety

How To Take a Vacation

Just came back from the craziest and best vacation I've ever had. Sunday morning, we (my newlywed aunt and uncle, and my cousin) left for Palawan, to stay at Club Noah. When we arrived there, after a ride on a tiny plane and a banca "cruise" through a mangrove swamp, it became clear that the resort was not at all what we expected. The island itself was beautiful. But the accomodations were pretty shabby. And the service was doubly worse. So I guess nobody could blame us for the fact that within an hour of getting there, we've already made plans to hightail it out of there. So where do you go after such an experience? You go to the best. And as far as we were concerned, Amanpulo is the last word in resorts.

It wasn't easy to get there. The next morning, we had to endure the same banca "cruise" and once again get into the tiny plane, to go back to Manila. Once in Manila, we loitered around for a few hours before taking another plane back to Palawan, where Amanpulo is located. So now you get the crazy part. As my cousin keeps telling me, it was the biggest u-turn ever. But, it was more than worth all the trouble.

The moment the plane landed, the staff literally (and figuratively) rolled out the red carpet for us. They were waiting on the tarmac with cold towels, leis, and the warmest of greetings. After that, we were whisked away (as much as is possible in a golf cart going 5km/hr) to our own casita. The moment I walked in, I found out what luxury is. Luxury is a king-size bed, with down pillows, made up in the whitest linen. Luxury is walking in to find a bottle of champagne on ice, with frosted glasses waiting on the side. Luxury is your own garden with sunbeds, a hammock and a path leading to your own private beachfront. Luxury is having people at your beck and call, ready to grant your every request. I could write a couple more pages detailing the luxuries of the place, but I'd rather not.

The funny thing is, all that luxury was really just an enhancement of the island. I could honestly say that it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and I've been travelling all over the Philippines for quite some time. The sand is so white you have to squint when looking at it. And its fine as sugar. Boracay sand doesn't even compare. The water is so blue, and the contrast with the sand is just lovely. Beyond its color, the water held a lot more in store for us. You only had to step into the water and schools of fish would already be flitting around your ankles. And further out there is such a wide variety of corals and all sorts of fish that you just can't take it in all at once. It's simply my new favorite place.

The pictures here are from the resort's site, and they are perfectly accurate. We took tons of pictures and I'll post them later on. :)

posted by Chrissy @ 8:14 PM