Paradise Island. Part 2
Now about paradise island. A year after the trip (from March 1 to March 14.2008), when the impressions subsided and the enthusiasm subsided, as they say, I can evaluate this hotel more objectively. But regardless of my own rational assessments, I can say that I fell in love with Club Paradise! First of all, this is an absolute three-ruble note, so the price that travel agencies are asking for this hotel today, to put it mildly, upsets. The room is furnished extremely simply, in a Spartan way, although the king size bed is very comfortable, the plumbing is also in order. For example, I was surprised that there was not a single drawer in the room, even in the bedside table, in fact, the bedside table was replaced by a semblance of a stool. No TV, no minibar. Large wide balcony with a hammock and wicker chairs. Two-storey houses with 4 rooms. Ours was on the second floor, so the balcony had a breathtaking view of the ocean. At the same price, separate houses were offered right by the water, but the room there seemed smaller to me, and the ceiling was lower. And, of course, there is no balcony there - a one-room house. There was also something like a building of rooms for 20, it seems that the rooms were better equipped there. In short, each type of accommodation has its advantages and disadvantages at the same price. Of course, there are also deluxe bungalows. What to say about them? They are bigger. Was not inside.
For a laugh, I'll tell you how the hotel stores the money and valuables of tourists. Anything you want to put in the safe upon arrival should be given to the receptionist. Calling him a manager does not turn the tongue - what kind of manager is he in shorts and a T-shirt! So, he brings an envelope made of thick (manila! ) paper, puts all your most precious things in it, seals it with tape several times, signs on top, offers you to sign and... and that's all. He then takes the envelope somewhere. I think "locker". Touching, right? When you need money for some reason, call any employee seen near the reception, he will bring your envelope, paste it in front of you and the above procedure will be repeated. I think it's not worth mentioning the lack of a safe in the room.
Dimakia Island is small, but besides the Paradise Hotel, it also has free territories - tiny rocky beaches in coves, beautiful shells lying here and there. There is only one hiking route through the island - through the top of a single mountain to the observation deck. It used to be wooden, but the hurricane toppled it and now they built a concrete one. The mountain is densely overgrown with local vegetation. It's very nice to take a walk. But the main thing is, of course, the ocean. South China Sea, to be exact. Unusual fish, not like in Egypt. Bright lips. Bizarrely shaped corals. I liked that there was not a reef, but separate coral formations and underwater boulders. You are free to move underwater in any direction and suddenly you see an unusual coral bush. Or a huge boulder, around which there are a lot of different fish. Unfortunately, we are not divers, so I, of course, missed the main thing. But I saw a shark twice, even took a picture, and twice a big turtle. We were there just in time for the turtle hatching season and saw how they get out of the sand right next to our sun lounger. Employees immediately enclose this place with a net so that the turtles do not eat monitor lizards, and the kids are taken to a small pool so that they grow up there and have a better chance of surviving in the sea. Since the process of hatching the entire clutch takes several days, I personally saw six newborns in the morning, put them in a large shell and took them to the pool. In the sand, turtles quickly dry out and die. Deer and monitor lizards also walk around the island. Lots of birds. All of them are not manual, so it is not so easy to take a picture. Oh yes, and flying foxes. Those who have been to the Maldives will not be surprised by them, but the main impression of the island is that the wild life of exotic nature is in full swing around. People don't bother her.
I must say more about food and excursions. The first produces a dual impression. Many of the dishes were very tasty. And hot, and desserts. For example, lettuce, it was called that - sea lettuce, from seaweed, which I have never seen, nothing to do with seaweed. I don’t know if this algae grows anywhere else, I want more of this salad! But, at the same time, for breakfast there were often dishes not eaten at dinner, slightly modified, chopped, for example. But, in any case, we did not get poisoned and, on the whole, I liked the food. Of the excursions, I advise you to definitely take a trip to Coron. This is such a natural reserve of rocks resembling crowns or Gothic castles. You will not see such unusual beauty anywhere else. Type Coron on the Internet, see what it is. There is also a trip to the island-zoo. We did not go, we were too lazy, now I regret it. But a trip to the dugongs or manatees is just a boat trip. Although my husband saw the back, but, in my opinion, the back seen in the distance for a couple of seconds cannot be considered a full-fledged observation of a manatee. Only divers in fins can really see it, which, among other things, can also catch up with the sea cow. But if we consider this excursion as a boat trip, then it was quite a success.
Another important quality of recreation in Club Paradise is its privacy. There are not so few vacationers, but you almost never meet them. If you wish, you can put a sun lounger so that you will feel like on a desert island. For those who want to communicate closely with the distant seas and their inhabitants, this vacation is the best fit. We were there in the first half of March, in Moscow, snow and rain coexisted in the most vile way, and, entering the water, I thought - what a blessing that I am here now! Yes, from April in the Philippines, a terrible heat begins, and in the summer there are also showers, and then hurricanes, so winter through March inclusive is the only suitable season. But it's worth going there, of course, although our tourists fly mainly to the city of Cebu, the tourist capital of the Philippines, and visit nearby resorts. This is a completely different vacation - many interesting monuments, plus shopping and accommodation in large beautiful hotels. Paradise Club - for those who love unusual places, silence and communication with nature
