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