meaning in the moving design

Jacques Cousteau once called Palawan, "The Last Refuge," a pristine island of lush rainforest, towering green-tinged limestone cliffs, and countless deserted islands and undiscovered beaches. And while Palawan does indeed have all of the above, Cousteau's vision of a remote and unspoiled island off the beaten track is well, so 10 years ago.

It started promisingly enough. My first stop was Sabang. After a strenuous week of deadlines and mad overtime, I left Taipei on a Saturday, but still had to endure two transit days (one night in Manila and one full day getting to the West coast of Palawan) before there was any fun to be had. After the bustle of planes, taxis, more planes, and one rollicking jeepney ride that left me looking the colour of dust, arriving in Sabang felt a lot like coming out of a banging club and witnessing the eerie silence of morning.

Sabang is a small, coastal town fringed with mountains and rainforest, and a famous nearby river that runs emerald green. It's literally the end of the road, and totally feels like it. Despite quite a bit of evidence of tourism (most notably felt in the price of food), the town has managed to stay pretty low key, endearingly awkward with a pinch rustic charm.

I stayed at the far end of the beach (left, if facing the water) at a place called Alpuerto Escapade. If there were an invisible set of train tracks dividing Sabang, I would say I was on "the wrong side of town." To the right lay uniform huts on manicured grounds and resort attendants busily attending to tourists. To the left, town- where the people of Sabang lived. In the center sat a cluster of restaurants, the Sabang visitor center and the town pier. Sabang reminded me of other places I had visited in Asia that were just beginning to recognize the draw of tourism and trying to perfect the formula, the one that's turned Thailand into something of a McDonald's version of backpacking. The way Sabang is laid out, I'd say they're about halfway there...

It wasn't that I chose or didn't choose to stay where I stayed. I was actually looking for a room at Blue Bamboo, but they were full (or at least that's what I was told) so I was shooed off to the place next door. I ended up with a cute little seaside nipa hut on stilts. And by seaside, I mean that when the tide came up, I was a little nervous. Interestingly, the sea-facing side of the hut was... how shall we say.. "open concept." There was no wall, per say. Just a few wooden slats going across, and no shutters or windows to keep anything out. The nice part was that I didn't need a fan, the ocean breeze kept the room extremely cool through the night. The downside was that it rained, so the ocean breeze became a bit of an ocean gale. I thought the shower curtain in the room was there as a safe refuge from peeping toms, but apparently it had more practical uses. Nothing like a little ocean spray in your sleep to keep you young! It was pretty amusing, actually.

The next morning, I took to the trail, towards Sabang's famed Underground River. If you go to the river (and chances are, you are only in Sabang because you plan to go) DO NOT miss the trails. The peace of the rainforest, the wild monkeys, and the sound of birds and cicadas made the hike one of the highlights of my trip.

I paired up with a Finnish girl, and we did the Jungle Trail there and the Monkey Trail back. Both trails consisted of wooden or stone blocks framed by a confused tangle of vines and roots, with a few short sections up and down proper wooden staircases. The Jungle Trail (going towards the river) was a super gentle hike, capped off with a brief uphill scramble up a rocky forested hill. I really liked doing this trail to get to the river, but the downside is that the Monkey Trail can be a little difficult coming back. Come high tide, the beach disappears, so we were forced to do some innovative rock climbing. At an incredibly chill pace with plenty of stops for pictures and monkey watching, it took about 2 hours each way. If you are going to cheat, I would recommend taking the Jungle Trail there and catching the boat back. But don't cheat, it's beautiful both ways. Both trails were very well marked and blissfully empty. In fact, we didn't see anyone until we got to the Underground River and encountered the hoards of people waiting for the boat to take them back.

I was almost going to conclude this post without saying anything about the Underground River. Here's my two-cents: Yeah, it was cool.

Here are a few pics.





My only regret about Sabang is that I didn't stay longer. The rainforest in the area and the mountains nearby would've made for an incredible trek. The river falls under the auspice of St. Paul's Subterranean River National Park, and I'm sure guides are available to take you out to some of the more unexplored terrain in the area. Don't do what I did and rush out to El Nido. Trust me, Nido can wait.

The Useful Bits
Room: Alpuerto Escapade, P300
Food: Avg P150 (Go to Dab Dab's for their Fish Curry mmmmm!!)
Jeepney from Puerto: P150
Underground River: P200, more for boat transport; trails are free

*Apologies for writing like I actually have a captive audience... just thought it might sound better.