Fall Dressing: In El Nido, Palawan

We just had the most fabulous trip to El Nido, Palawan in the Philippines. Our time was spent island hopping or scuba diving. Again, the beauty of this region is breathtaking. Up above water is a delight, and then down below amongst the coral and sea life there is an amazing other world. It’s so fun that we have this common activity of scuba diving together. Perhaps investing in underwater camera gear might make my Christmas list. With out pictures it’s really hard to describe. The closest I can come is by saying it’s like Avatar underneath in the open water!

Since this trip took place during our Mid Autumn Festival break, I did pack with fall dressing on my mind. I figured my black embroidered, see through tunic would make for the perfect cover up. (It was last featured here paired over jeans on a trip through KL.) I have my black scuba swimsuit on underneath that’s basically like a sleeveless tee onesie with an open back. It’s the best swimsuit for diving. I added Puka shell anklets the moment I arrived to the Philippines. (Did you know there is an actual beach called Puka beach over on Boracay?) I painted both my nails and toe nails in a gold metallic color to mimic the sand and wore sandy colored sunnies the entire trip. Finally, I just went with three silver, same sized hoops for the entire time, so I didn’t have to worry about accessorizing and my silver Karma necklace.

I do have to give some honest feedback on El Nido, Palawan: the scenery, nature, and underwater experience is beyond magical. It is breathtaking location. However, the accommodations at present don’t match the place. Of course there are plenty of 5 star options that will break the bank big time when traveling as a family of four. Hence, pretty budget places are the only options. The Krembs, with KevStar Travels as are organizer, have become pretty spoiled. It wasn’t difficult but staying in a place that wasn’t our usual standard plush experience was humbling I guess I’d say. Vincent saw a live rat skitter across at one point, and Gigi and I had to tell the staff twice to remove the dead rat from the front office area. The staff at our place pretty much just hung around the front office on their phones all day sucking up the already very poor wifi connection. For this reason, it’s the first time I cannot recommend where we stayed during this vacation. I’ll refrain from naming the hotel, but I will let the manager know regardless. I figure everyone wants to improve somehow, right? We cannot improve without feedback, and feedback can always be given constructively. I’ll do my best to convey the good (cute, cheery, clean rooms) and the bad (as mentioned above). In the meantime, I hope the town of El Nido catches up to its jack pot. They are sitting on a gold mine of beauty, so hopefully eventually there will be options for all travelers–including the mid range one like ourselves.

Finally the weather was perfect. It was never too sunny nor too rainy. Basically there was just tons and tons of weather. Once we were stuck on our boat in the middle of a major lightning and thunder storm, but the day had started out with such sun. Another time we started our dive with sun and finished with major rain. I love experiencing weather like that. Plus it’s way better on the skin. (For my tan I just used this: Nkd Skn Pre Shower Gradual Tan Lotion. It works like a charm!)

Have you been to the Philippines? What’s your favorite spot?

*This post has been linked to Catherine’s #iwillwearwhatilike and Samantha’s #fakeituntilyoumakeit.