Philippines
/ Palawan / The Island
Palawan
is the Philippine island with the most fascinating countryside.
Especially on the north side of the island there is a coastline
of beaches and curious rock formations which gives the feeling
that they have been taken straight from a fairy tale. Small islets
are scattered all around Palawan; actually of the more than 7000
islands of the Philippine archipelago, some 2000 belong to Palawan
province. Big portions of Palawan’s terrain remain untouched by
man and still feature virgin jungle and a wildlife in a variety
not found in the more populated and more civilized islands. However,
according to the latest discoveries of anthropological science,
Palawan was the first island of the archipelago to be settled
by man.
Palawan was
reached by an Australoid type of early man some 22,000 years ago
via a land bridge which connected it to Borneo. About a thousand
years ago, Chinese traders regularly came. They gave the island
the name Pa lao yu, referring to the beautiful safe harbors it
provided. From these original Chinese words, today’s name of the
island is derived.
After the
Chinese came the Indonesians, particularly via Borneo, but not,
like the Chinese, just for a visit but to stay. The Indonesian
Malays settled along the coasts of the island and drove the natives
to the interior. The situation remained like that. The descendants
of the Indonesian settlers, en-forced by migrants from Luzon and
the Visayas, populate the coastal areas whereas in the interior
of the island, the tribes of the original inhabitants still live
quite undisturbed in their native ways.
The Spanish
had given Palawan a new name, Calamianes. Their colonization of
Palawan was very slow and concentrated more on the north than
the south of the island.
The newest
human wave reaching Palawan is made up of foreign tourists. For
many of them, The Country side alone is thrill enough to visit
the place. However, Palawan meanwhile also has some tourist infrastructure
to offer, with accommodations of all classes and facilities for
water sports. However, those who already see Palawans natural
beauty in danger of being destroyed by tourism can be appeased.
The tourist infrastructure does not encompass wide areas but is
rather dotted.
A typical
example for the Palawan situation is the El Nido resort hotel.
This is one of the most luxurious beach resorts in The Country
. However, as its location may be described as somewhere in the
jungle, the most common means of transportation to reach this
resort is by small aircraft. To go there overland would be an
unreasonable demand for a clientele coming mainly for a luxury
holiday.
If one disregards
flying, traveling on Palawan is always exciting but never comfortable.
Asphalted roads are only found in the towns. During the rainy
season, it is generally more convenient to travel by banca on
coastal waters than on land. Land travel anyway also would mean
a lot of wading through swamps and swimming on roads which become
rivers.
The south
is the least explored part’ of the island. There, it is even unclear
what the dominant organized force is. Only some claim the representatives
of the national government to be in charge. Others say the area
is ruled by the MNLF, or the NPA. Those from Quezon and Brooke’s
Point say it’s by organized bandits. But whoever may rule, there
are only very few reports of violent incidents on Palawan.
The traveler
may therefore see the Anopheles mosquito as the more immanent
danger. This little animal transmits a big disease, malaria. On
all of Palawan, there is a risk of acquiring malaria throughout
the year. Prophylaxis is possible with the same medical preparations,
which are used to treat the illness, Resochin and Fansidar. Fansidar
nowadays is the more commonly used drug as malaria seems to have
developed some resistance against Resochin. In the U.S. and in
Europe, efforts are being undertaken to develop a remedy against
malaria using methods of genetic engineering.
Malaria is
not an Incurable illness. And because the drugs used for prophylaxis
may have unpleasant side effects if taken over long periods, those
who are residents on Palawan would rather keep a dosage of the
appropriate medicines at home than taking them regularly as prophylaxis.
Anyone traveling
or staying on Palawan should be alert for sudden high fever. It
could be caused by malaria, as high fever is the only immediate
symptom of this illness.
Physicians
in Puerto Princesa are generally well informed about malaria -
and may be consulted. For addresses, see entries under Puerto
Princesa. | 
