Vegan Beatin' in the Philippines, day 2: Jeepney Joyride to Port Barton

     Classic public transportation falls into the groups of buses, trains, cars, bikes, horseback, motorcycles, what have you. I'm used to the webs of Seoul subways, cabs, and buses...stateside, I called to legs and bikes, the Philippines, there are motorbikes and jeepneys!
     Jeepneys are jeeps on steroids...they resemble school buses and make such a jarring noise, they announce their oncoming presence! People are piled into these guys, literally piled!
     Day dos was a mission to Port Barton, we wanted beaches and we were getting to them...there's a jeepney that barrels to Port Barton for about 250p (6,690 원 or $7)!! The bus station is called "San Jose station." It is home to my first public restroom Filipino style...I nearly vomited. This is a short video pre-bathroom story~

       First, there is a charge to use the bathroom, about 20p (535원 or $0.47 USD), there is no toilet paper, no toilet covers, and no flush. The bathroom is covered in an ashy sticky dust that's painted like a Pollack in sweaty water; and outside the crooked metal stalls are giant trash barrels full of water. There are no hanging hooks in the bathroom; balancing my purse on my knees while clutching onto toilet paper and crouching strategically over the bowl and avoiding a potentially fatal fall was my main point of focus... What makes this situation even more uncomfortable is...my body had a calling. (aiii digestion) and being Korean, balancing acts over toilet bowls isn't too difficult but I was dealing with a no flush and body-demand situation. I started to hear laughter and more footsteps brazing with the floor. My heartbeat started to pound in my ears and I was sweating profusely at this point, nerves, heat....

literally how will I deal with this shit.

     So I stood...trying to figure out what to do. I checked out the plumbing mechanics, no help there and after about five minutes of standing in the stall, I hear the women next to me leave her stall (what no flush!) and take a bucket of water out of the trash barrels right outside her stall and manually deal. Aha~ at this point, there was a party in the candy-coated bathroom...I was the only foreigner, feeling like a dog with a tail between it's legs, I poured a couple buckets, washed my hands and ran. aiiii~
        The guesstimate of our jeepney mission is that after a 4 hour drive, we'd be sipping cocktails and basking in the gloriously sunny and salty scented-beaches.

photo taken by VeganBeats

     There were a few stops and more people would nuzzle up together. I saw a lot of painfully adorable kids snuggling up to their parents and grandparents...how did these people rock jeans, crammed jeepneys, AND  a warm snugly kid on their laps?!

lovey snuggles~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     Two hours in we made a bathroom/food/beer pit stop. I used the second grossest bathroom and felt like a pro, I knew what to do... The pit stop stores were caked in dust, left pricetag-less, but still offering some potentially sustainable calories. First though, I played with a mangled kitten...these animals, ai they all need love. I was getting a bit sneered at, not aggressively more like "ech, she touching that thing?!"

love love love! photo taken by Scotty Soul

     Washed hands again and after store searching I got a cashew sugar patty (literally a ton of cashews sticking together through a maple like sugar base) and sweet potato bread, made up of rice flour, sugar, and purple sweet potato! So good~

blurry bread~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     It's hot, I was sweaty, there was a good half of the trip left and my legs were sticking to the chair and the women next to me...Red Horse again, a litro. Energy fuel and drunky jams...game on~

Red Horse, Scotty Seoul, and bread~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     The cashew patty was delicious, is had a smokiness to it and although sweet, was generously filled hugged in cashews, and the bread, was beyond expectations! It was light, naturally sweet, had a strong sweet potato flavor, and it just hit the spot! Red Horse, you can't go wrong...went down nice, and the two hour trip was somehow more fun! (sloppy slurry beats~)

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Finally we arrived....all the shit was worth it....

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Ahh I may have lost original focus....I love jeepneys~

annnnd ~  More to come...aiiiii

Vegan Beatin' in the Philippines, day 2: Morning Mangroves

     So the beach at Dangkalan Beach Resort happens to be mongroves, they were beautiful really! Even though parts of me were hoping for some glorious light soft sand and clear salty water...I got weeds, mud, pebbles, and some beauty to spoil the eyes~

photo by VeganBeats

photo by VeganBeats

     I'm currently in a present state of "I was here?!" and "When can I go back?!"

photo by VeganBeats

photo by VeganBeats

photo by VeganBeats

photo by VeganBeats

     Swampy, muddy, beautiful nature...This was a great place to start the morning!

grumble smile~ photo taken by VeganBeats

Vegan Beatin' in the Philippines, day 2: Dangkalan Beach Resort and Exploring

     After our first day in the grimy city of Puerto Princesa (it really wasn't what I expected it to be), there were beach cravings. We stumbled to the front desk, dropped "beach" and were soon in a tryc to a "beach"...fifteen minutes later we were at Dangkalan Beach Resort. The beach...was a mangrove.

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Craving water and a place to just park, we weren't very combative with life's guide as to finding another place to crash. There were rooms available and a tree house!! Call me a child, immature, whatever, but my eyes lit up, my soul squealed, in that moment, the second my eyes tied the letters together, I think I actually prayed... It was 21,000 peso (about 70,000원) but it was a treehouse!!!
     And. we. got. it!!!! YAHHHHH~~~

our treehouse~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     Dangkalan Beach Resort has a restuarant, bar, offers tours and all sorts of packages, and it even has an outdoor pool. The downside, there's a charge to even dip your toes into it. They also offer breakfast, from 7-9 am...it's a signature toast, jam, butter, slab of meat, eggs, and maybe a slice of fruit. I dropped the dietary preferences and was told I'd get something special...hmm I wonder~
     We had some friends already living in our home for the nights, while climbing  up our ladder/stairs we were surrounded by mews and under our "home" was a mama cat and her little striped baby!

mew~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     While settling in and setting our eyes over the sun setting over the mangroves, the staff brought some buko juice over (coconut water) and post sipping, we did some exploring!
     Right next to the resort is a local beach that costs about 30 pesos each to get into (1,000 원), it's not big, but there are loads of locals kicking it there, hosting birthdays, karaoke parties, or just dipping into the water. There are coconut trees everywhere, the signs read "Beware of falling coconuts"~ love it.

coconut trees, everywhere~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     Along with coconuts falling around, ice-cream carts, we also met a goat!! Here are a few pictures~

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

hey~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     After a bit of exploring we returned back to our resort and bought a Litro of Red Horse (yummy beer) and went for some swimming! The fridge was shut off so we got ice (this is charged extra) and got a bit swirly~
     There were loads of people joining in on swimming jams and while sharing our second litro, a few brave and super friendly kids swam over and started chatting with us! The kids were all pre-teens, around 12-14 years old, I think one was fifteen, but there was so much personality and sass! I really love this age, so awkward but so much spirit! They offered all sorts of advice on what to eat, where to go, what to do and see and upon discovering that I don't eat any animal bits and have a weakness for tropical fruits, one kid zipped off...

Scotty Soul and our friends~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     ...and came back with a baby pineapple for me!! *swoon*

pineapple pal~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Day two discovers was awesome....and I was living in a tree house~!

papaya tree~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Dangkalan Beach Resort
BM Road, San Manuel, Puerto Princesa City
Phone #: (048)-434-9207 or 723-1618
Mobile #: 0928-6868214 or 0927-688244
Email: dangkalanresort@yahoo.com

Vegan Beatin' in the Philippines, day 1

     The Philippines was spread over eight days for this Vegan lady, I'll cover all that I did, ate, saw, etc through day coverings, then I'll do a final review post...aiii may be a lot~

     Scotty Soul and I took the first day flight via Philippine Air to Manila, which only took about 5 hours total! I got the veggie meal and it wasn't all that bad, I was surprised actually! I got vegan soy milk, vegan butter, maple syrup (from New Hampshire!!), a whole wheat roll, a small fruit salad of watermelon, apples, and honeydew, and the main part was a steamed slab of tofu, steamed shitake mushrooms, carrots, and spinach, some roasted cherry tomatoes and sesame soy cubed potatoes! I ate the tofu, mushrooms, and spinach, along with the fruit~ according to Scotty Soul, the potatoes weren't all that bad! >.<#

vegan meal~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     We landed around noon in Manila and jumped into a jeepney, while it rained! There were only about five hours to play with until another flight via Cebu Pacific Air to Peurto Princessa! 

     My initial impression of Manila, it's pretty rank, rather dirty, and properly scary. Of course, I was stressed a bit and rushing around a wet city with everything important on me. I looked lost, was very clueless and chased around/haggled by dozens of old men, or young wide-eyed boys seeking money or offering tryc-rides.       

     There are about 10 flights daily (by the hour) from Ninoy airport to Peurto Princesa, and the entire flight is an hour long! The plane is small, but not too packed, the window seat grants visual access to the beautiful islands that only tease the traveler's heart! 

     Peurto Princesa wasn't quite what was expected. I heard from friends that it is beautiful, hugged by beaches, surrounded by the ocean...gritty, lots of shops, stores, hunkered restaurants, and still the try-riders that insist on driving you somewhere, no matter how often you swear you're alright. 

     Finding accommodation was a bit challenging, nothing looked very promising, but the growing stress and frustration led to a pricier place but it was air conditioned and available. 

     First adventure in Peurto Princesa was Ima's Gulay Bar! A restaurant I've been reading loads of reviews about, a highly recommended all-vegetarian place! And it was only ten minutes from where I was crashing. Considering the holiday I was on, my mental "don't eat too much" jam and "I have to exercise" wasn't so loud...spoil yourself!! I'll blog more about Ima's later...it deserves it's own blog post really~

    Post dinner and tummy-stuffings we did some exploring and followed some reggae jams and ended up in Reggae Pulse, where live reggae music was being pumped! There were loads of drinks options and food stuff...but meh, pass the drinks!

das menu~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     One in particular caught my eye....

my drank~ photo taken by VeganBeats

     ....oh hey liquid marijuana!

Drinks were delicious, the music was fun and gloriously chill....day one Philippines was so far a very peacy success. 

Reggae Pulse information:

Facebook page 

Phone number: +63-947-867-3322

Email address: reggepulsebar@gmail.com

Address: 4th District, Rizal Avenue, 5300 Puerto Princesa City, Puerto Princesa, Philippines 

'VeganBeatin' in the Philippines is around the bend~

     I JUST stumbled Seoul-side from the Philippines...I've got loads to share, from all senses!! Be patient...'VeganBeatin' in the Philippines is around the bend~

VeganBEATIN!!!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Beautiful Stars...The MV is HERE!

     I stated earlier of something Brilliant that was to drop today...

And here is Black Ilumin's music video for "Beautiful Stars"~

     You can download Beautiful Stars at http://soundcloud.com/blackilumin/beautiful_stars Black Ilumin's Soundcloud Enjoi ^^~

You are Awesome