Coron, North Palawan

Due to weather conditions, the difficulty in leaving very beautiful places and our laziness we went to Coron for a few weeks and ended up staying over a month (including El Nido). We expected different things from where we went as well as from ourselves and once again remembered that traveling usually happens to you (if you let it) and it is not that easy to be prepared. Another thing we realized about the place was that it was very easy to be confused by the names. Coron Island for example was opposite to Coron Town which was on Busuanga Island, which had a Mount Culion opposite to a little island where Culion village was, while Culion Island was a big island further down South. We didn’t ask why. Culion Island by the way, used to be the biggest leper colony in South East Asia, which means when leprosy was an incurable and scary disease they would just send lepers to this island to live with other lepers and sort themselves out. There are some museums on the island telling this story but we didn’t go to that island, with a similar reason to why we hadn’t visited the killing fields in Cambodia. I don’t really enjoy visiting traces of human suffering as tourist objects (while I acknowledge that learning about past suffering we inflicted on each other can help us see it and stop it when it’s happening again in the future).

The day after we arrived, there was a nearby typhoon and dark skies for 3 days.

We expected (not hoped) Coron to be a little undeveloped island with great coral reefs around and good wreck diving. Instead we spend our first days in our guesthouse (which are all called “resorts” here) waiting for the rain to stop while doing more internet than we ever did thanks to the free wi-fi and free coffee in the restaurant. The first relatively sunny day we rented a kayak to discover the nearby islands. After the tranquility of some nice mangroves our first discovery was a fisherman village on stilts. I find it not very easy to understand why here most local people live right over the water when there seems to be enough land just behind the houses. It seems, some of them being sea gypsies, they trust sea more than they trust earth. They have their kitchens, washrooms, and even pig pens right over the water on stilts. It seemed to me that the first building on land was the government school (which was perhaps centrally designed without regard to environment anyway.)

Coron Island

Then we paddled to a tiny island with little beaches and nice corals to snorkel and then to the big and most famous Coron Island which is a huge chunk of sharp limestone shooting straight up from the ocean. This is supposed to be the biggest limestone formation “on earth”. The white sand beaches were like really white and green and the rocks really razor sharp. They are in fact so sharp that even if you wear shoes you wouldn’t find a good place to hold without cutting your hands unless you have been a manual farm worker or a fisherman all your life. Still it felt pretty insane to learn that the aboriginal Tagbanwa people of this island climb to the highest edges of these rocks to harvest swift nests! The bird nest soup is an expensive delicacy found all over South East Asia and is made from the nest of accurately named bird edible-nest swift, which is some fine mud mixed with the bird’s saliva. One kilogram of these nests fetches over 200 dollars and this is enough reason for some locals to risk their lives for their harvest. It also seems to have made them a little more conscious of the environment. The most touristic attractions on Coron Island, Barracuda and Kayangan Lakes close at 4 PM because that’s when the birds come down to drink water and in some parts there are restrictions on using pesticides and even tourists are warned to go easy on the mosquito repellant.

Little lagoon on the entrance to Barracuda Lake on Coron Island

After the Banul Beach, we started to follow the ragged edge of the Coron Island, discovering many hidden lagoons in the process. We had seen the name Secret Lagoon on the list of places to visit on a boat tour but some of the lagoons we visited were obviously not accessible by anything bigger than, well, a kayak like ours. The clarity of the water helped us watch all the sea life without having to get wet and we even saw a small black-tip shark among a multitude of other fish. In one place the lagoon bent to one side and the rocks on two sides got higher until there appeared a straight up wall in front of us. As we got closer to it we saw a tiny opening in the rocks, just big enough to glide through and access the deep blue lagoon fed by many fresh water streams around it. When we snorkeled there we realized the thermoclines and the psychedelic visuals of mixing fresh and salty water. At the end of our kayaking we had a little walk up and down in the jungle to visit the Kayangan Lake just before the swifts came to drink and were lucky enough to be there alone to feel the serenity of this outworldly environment, walls of limestone rocks going straight into a deep blue lake. When we were back to our kayak we realized we were too tired to do the last one hour of paddling back to town and got a relieving lift by the last tourist boat there. When we arrived back at our “resort” soon after dark, there were few people already waiting for us at the pier, fearing that something happened to us. The girl we rented the kayak from said she was going to call the coast guard if we didn’t appear soon because “nobody ever did that”! There are still waters of almost an inner sea over great corals surrounded by the best white beaches and lagoons to discover and nobody ever took a whole day of kayak and went all the way to Coron Island which is just 2 miles away? Hmmmm… What to say!

This is not the kayak in the story (we didn't carry the camera that time)

This is the local kayak, small bangka, paddling near Concepcion

Wreck Diving in Coron

I’m not an experienced diver. I just got my PADI open water diver license last November in Sumatra. I had only 10 dives before I arrived here in Coron, Palawan which is supposed to be the “World capital of wreck diving” because in 1944 the US navy sank 24 Japanese warships around here. At least half of these ships still lie in shallow waters, good to dive. During the past 64 years much marine life have made their homes around these dead warships. Also the area consists of many coral islands, so diving would still be great without the wrecks.

I choose to dive with local dive shops (Coron Divers in this case), not necessarily because they are usually cheaper but also to make sure more of the money I spend here stays in the local economy. The feeling is also very nice; we quickly make friends with them. The funny (!) thing about diving with local dive masters is that usually they do many things most western dive masters would warn you not to do. My dive guide in Bali, Ketut had tried really hard to make a puffer fish puff, poking it with his stick but later I learned that this fish can puff a couple of times in a whole lifetime and then it dies. So this is not a great thing to do; better not to touch things. Yesterday’s feat was the table-size giant clams which were quite reluctant to close up like the small ones but our guides managed to do it anyway.

Another thing many western dive masters would think twice before doing was guiding us into those wrecks. Although we were 3 inexperienced divers (one first-timer) and two dive masters, some of the entries and exits were pretty scary. Our pipes and dangly parts got stuck several times but nothing serious happened because they were really carefully watching everybody’s moves and we were following each other closely. But next time I attempt a wreck dive I’ll ask for gloves; 60 year old rusty metal cuts are pretty irritating.


I can’t help it; when I’m inside a dead ship I think about the people who died there and think this place can also be my grave if I make just a couple of wrong moves. Although driving feels far more risky then diving, the chances of being rescued is greater and the time during which one can be saved is longer, whereas in diving it is a matter of seconds or minutes. In fact just the day before we took a sightseeing/snorkeling boat tour with 6 other people we just met. While we were snorkeling in our first stop, one of them, a 64 year old professor drowned. We tried to rescue her. We were fortunate to have a first aid instructor with us who knew CPR and emergency breathing and all that stuff but we were too late to save her. She just died snorkeling with a life vest on. Well it was surely her time but also it was just a few crucial minutes between saving her and not. Makes one reflect on how thin this string we are attached to life is.

Inside the wrecks is magic. Small doors opening in to big dark spaces where one looses the sense of direction (including up and down), little holes which let in rays of deep blue sunlight and families of fish around their chosen little cavities. I try in vain to find a bone or any sign of past human life but all I found was rusty metal and broken glass. We move from one hull to the other through narrow corridors of a capsized shipwreck and suddenly I realized a beautiful but deadly poisonous lionfish only one meter right in front of my face. We both have no space to back off; so I remember the no-panic principle and my encounters with snakes and keep floating with tiny beats of my fins. One of the guys in front of me step on the dusty bottom creating a big dust cloud in which we are lost once more. I hold on to a rusty door pane and wait a little to see what’s in front of me. We turn around and enter a big space with two gigantic metal circles which are perhaps engines or tanks. A big triggerfish is nesting in the bottom. I see once more how life springs from death of another thing and death is just the result of life.


At the end of each of my spacewalks in the ocean universe I get anxious to breath freely, be in my own habitat. I love the alien feeling and the no-gravity effect under water but once again the other place becomes a mirror and I learn the value of our nice and perfectly habitable sphere of existence. I give thanks, move on.

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I didn't take these photos ;)

Tomorrow will be blue skies

I’m in Coron. It’s a really beautiful coral island paradise. The only thing is that it didn’t stop raining since we arrived 4 days ago. So I came here hoping to stay away from any civilization for a while and ended up more online than ever. I also wanted to write about Coron later but I’m almost bored so I start now.


They say there are no typhoons in this side of the Philippines but this is obviously a bit too much for just the monsoon rain. There is the huge Typhoon Nina passing by the Philippines and this seems to be a “tail” from it and this hour it looks like we are just about to leave the cloud cover soon. The sky is still completely covered but the clouds are less dark today and the rain less frequent. Tomorrow will be my day of kayaking and snorkeling, yes, tomorrow will be blue skies…

Fruits of Manila

We were headed for the historic center of Manila when we decided to take a horse-cart ride through it. While Rambo the horse pulled us not through but around the fort, our driver Rolando Miguel Gonzales played guide and informed us about everything we saw.

“This is the old wall.” (it is, obviously)

“This is the statue of Magellan who died here in the Philippines.” (ah, nice)

"This is China Town." (Lots of banks)

“This is a child factory” (oh my God, this street is sooo full of kids, some just naked, seemingly living in these cardboard houses.)

“This is a papaya tree. Do you have papaya trees in Turkey?”

“No.”

“And this is coconut. Do you have coconut trees in Turkey?”

“No, we don’t.”

“This is a banana tree.”

“Yes, yes, we have banana trees in Turkey, in fact we have them everywhere and Turkish bananas are so much sweeter than the bananas here.”


I learned to enjoy tropical fruits but it took some time and I still have some reservations. And although I saw all sorts of fruits growing wild in tropic countries it was still surprising to see these around the crowded streets of downtown Manila. But each city has it’s surprises. And I know some blueberries in downtown Istanbul.

Icould Travels So Can You

Sometimes it makes me sad to see people give up on traveling because they think they cannot. Although they would very much like to travel, they think traveling is a kind of skill only some people have. They are mostly wrong, traveling can be learned.

I have some friends back in Turkey who would make excellent travelers if only for once they’d make the leap and start to travel. But instead they spend years asking the same questions and “getting ready”. So I decided to help you get ready. There is not so much to be prepared for anyway, it’s all in the mind.

The first obvious obstacle in front of starting to travel is of course finances. Although you do need money to travel, you shouldn’t take the amount you spent during your 1 week holiday in a resort hotel by that famous beach and multiply it with the weeks you want to travel for. First of all, when you travel, especially for a longer time, you gain by not paying some bills that you have to when you are settled, such as water, electricity and telephone bills. If you normally live in a big city like Istanbul, it is also very likely that the total cost of your monthly accommodation will be less than your monthly rent. The best way to figure out how much money you will need for traveling in a certain place, just like other things, is to ask people who have done it before.

Although it is normally against the law to make money with a tourist visa, there are many people who do that and make their money along the way. You may have a certain talent or something you produce but of course the most important thing is what is in demand where you want to go. If you make music or perform, you can make street performances in most places in Europe. If you are a good looking young girl you can make pretty good money as a hostess in Japan and finance your further traveling (it is not uncommon among travelers). If English is your native language you can teach in places like Philippines or Brunei where teachers are in demand. Perhaps one of the most common ways to make traveling money after busking is selling handicrafts in local tourist markets. If you are creative enough you can make pretty good money in the flea markets of Goa.

And do not forget that once you start to travel you will learn to reach the cheaper alternatives. You will find out the local restaurants and take some local transportation, which will all be cheaper than the touristic ones. You won’t have to lower your standards to the point of discomfort but you will learn about those things that you always had but didn’t really need.


The second big mind obstacle people have between them and traveling is fear. What if I cannot find a place to stay? What if I get my money stolen? What if nobody speaks English? There are so many what if’s that it is simply impossible to answer all of them. It is always good to remember that, even when we live in the supposed security of our hometowns, there are still many such questions one can ask. What if you are robbed? What if there is a traffic accident? It is better to filter the questions and ask only those which will help you be better prepared.

How do you know how to move around, where to stay, what to do when you travel? Well, if you don’t like the travel guides like many travelers, the internet is full of great sites who’ll give you all sorts of information. But the best way to get relevant information is to ask people. Once you are on the way, you will meet other travelers and it will become a natural part of your interactions to inform and get informed about the road. The best options are rarely listed in internet sites, far less in travel guides. You learn these things as you go along.

Many people feel insecure in new places. Today’s mainstream culture is built on fear and all the movies, all the news and many modern stories tell about unfortunate events as if they are the norm. You are constantly told that you are only secure when you are behind a strong and locked door, at home. One reason I want to help people to start traveling is to make them see for themselves that this is not true. Perhaps you also don’t believe that the world is so full of crime but knowing feels really good and can change your feelings about life in general and traveling helps it.

To play it secure you can use travelers cheques or a credit card. Money transfer services are pretty common around the world these days, in case you’ll need to get some money sent. Never carry all your money in cash. Also divide it to few portions and put them in different places so if you loose one it is not all you have. Carrying a little bag hidden inside your clothes is also very common. And after you have done these please stop being paranoid about your money being stolen.

There are places which are more dangerous than others. Usually there is more crime in cities then in rural areas and there is less crime in countries where the distribution of wealth is more even. Still, I think, one of the most important things is your attitude. If you look very flashy, as if you are carrying a fortune in your valet, of course, you may attract some hungry people. Same apply for being paranoid. So leave your Blueberry, laptop and other gadgets home; you won’t need them anyway. Avoid looking like a rich tourist (even when you are one) and also show it with your attitude. Travel light, and travel with a light which will create a shield around you.


Although most people would prefer to have a good travel companion, traveling alone has its own benefits and is not that bad at all. You will have much more time to think or meditate and random people will approach you more often. You’ll make many friends and you may even receive more invitations. The best thing about it is that when you travel alone you feel free, independent in doing whatever you want or going whichever direction you desire. And when you come across fellow travelers it is a greater joy.

There are many marginal questions which in most cases depend on what you are planning to do. If you are going to do hiking you may need shoes and if you are going to China learn some Chinese. When you are missing something it may become a good learning experience depending on your attitude. I had great time with people I had no verbal communication with and I can laugh about getting wet and being saved by some angles along the way. This is about trust in the universe.

Attitude matters a lot. If you are paranoid, you may actually attract some of the things you fear. If you are suspicious of people, it is unlikely that you’ll inspire trust in people anyway. If you are negative in your attitude and accusing, you are actually asking that your experience teaches you a good lesson about these. After all my traveling years I can easily say that what they meant by “who travels more knows more” is this. When you are in a completely new place where you don’t know and where nobody knows you, you are completely face to face with yourself. “A new place is a negative mirror” says Calvino. When you travel you learn these things much faster and if you get the feel for “making your way” than you may also get wiser. Of course, there are some people who interpret things very differently and keep on traveling being complete a**holes. Well, ask them about their experience and you may see that they are still learning what they have to, but perhaps the harder way.


Some last words for the traveler of the near future:

- Travel light. With your initial insecurity you may take lots of useless things with you; drop them along the way.

- Be responsible for your own health. Discover which local foods agree with your personal digestion and be your own doctor. Carry only a little natural medicine.

- Learn the art of making friends. Carry things between places. Give as you receive.

- And most importantly, enjoy it! Traveling is fun.

WELCOME

Today I announced my first time ever blogs. I have been motivated to do this by Maya who has been blogging for some years and recently started a new blog with the purpose of letting off steam. So I thought I also can use some letting off steam. At first I thought “who’s going to read these anyway?” but then I realized I don’t need to care. It’s more like putting a message in a bottle and tossing it into the ocean of the internet. Someone will read it one day, someone with patience. I have a lot to share and I know I like to keep it as detailed as it gets (one could say “I have a problem with keeping it short” but I rather not see it as a problem). I hope you have the patience

So I started this blog and three others about a month ago. I’ve been updating it quite often ever since but this may not be sustained as I’m not this much online when I’m on the road. I’ve decided to make use of this period of temporarily settling in a ‘civilized’ place by sharing things.

I was waiting to be more satisfied with the first part of the content to invite you here but I realized that’s very hard. I’m not that happy with my blogging skills but it’s a new thing for me anyway. I feel like I’m writing an e-mail to a good, concerned friend who doesn’t have a face or a name. It’s like keeping a diary starting with “dear journal” and then letting the world see it. It’s weird. I just hope it’s not boring and that you have a little patience to see what I have to share.

I just learned that the order of blog posts go reverse. So what you see right below this one is the last post I sent and the first post I wrote is at the bottom of this page, or even on the ‘history’ part which can be reached through the side panel. I would really appreciate it if you can start with the couple of first entries rather than the last ones, so that the blog gains a little relevance.

I would really like to hear some comments about what I wrote so please click the ‘comment’ link right under the posts to give me some feedback. If you really like what I write and want to see what I write as soon as I put it online you can ‘subscribe’ to this blog using the ‘subscribe’ links on the side panel (RSS).

As I said I have 4 blogs now. This one is about my inner journey and I have one on my inner journey, one on relationship stories and one in Turkish.


Welcome to my little web.

But this is an old tale you tell – they say.

But surely this is a new tale you tell – some say.

Tell it once again – they say;

Or, do not tell it again – others say.

But I have heard all this before –say some;

Or, but this is not how it was told before – say the rest.

And these, these are our people, Dervish Baba, this is man.


Naqshibandi Recital

as quoted in The Way of The Sufi by Idries Shah

Names

I come from a country where the only names you can legally give your children are the ones that appear in Turkish names dictionary. This not only limits being creative while naming your kids, it also makes it impossible for millions of people to be named in their mother language. You can name your child “sold” (in Turkish of course) but you cannot use the letters x or w that exists in Kurdish, or anything that is not Turkish. Strange enough many Arabic names are fine as it is considered good to give Islamic names to your children.


I have been to many countries where people have interesting to strange names but so far no other country came close to Philippines in being liberal in choosing a culture for naming. Of course, because of the influence of Spanish colonizers and Catholic religion, the most common names are mostly Spanish, such as Maria or Juan. Then comes the American influence and names like Ronald and Grace. But it seems today’s Filipino families do not need any more influence to find names. For example, Maya’s cousins have the names from Greek, German, French and other cultures. They all have the same family name but their first names are like a world tour: Abigail, Fabienne, Athena, Odessa, Jamaica, Fraulein, Jefferson.


I really love this. Because of the fact that people learn to spell all sorts of names all the time, Philippines also became the first country where some people managed to spell my name correctly. Wikipedia says that if Malaysia didn’t get its independence first Philippines could be called Malaysia. It seems, once that name was taken they gave up about the search and kept the former colonizers name and there seems to be no change in that; it remains the only country in South East Asia with a western name. But they just like it better this way and that's perfectly fine as long as we learn how to spell it correctly (double p, single n, and with the the). At least they don't have a complex about their country having the same name with a very beautiful bird!