Palawan - before anyone else

We came into Palawan slowly. A few days in Singapore first, which deserves more than a night by the airport, and then a stretch of coast that took some getting to: the kind of place where the day is mostly pool, a long massage, a good dinner. But the water is the real reason to go, and it’s best early.

The lagoons here are famous, which means they get busy. On our second morning I asked the crew to set out ahead of the fleet, on a boat that was just ours. We reached the coves while they were still empty, kayaked through water so still it held the cliffs upside down, and snorkelled over coral with no one else in the frame. Because we’d chartered the boat, the timing was ours too: we stayed where we wanted and left before the crowds came in.

Lunch came the same way. While we swam and lay in the sun, the crew laid a table on the empty beach — linen, proper dishes arranged in advance and sent out from the resort’s kitchen, far more than two people could finish. A table on the sand sounds like a small detail. It’s the part I plan for most carefully now: the early start, the quiet cove, and lunch ready on the beach while you’re still in the water.