Last February my restless feet has taken me to the country's last Frontier: Palawan. With the limited time off from work I got, we only zeroed in on Puerto Princesa. Coron/El Nido will NEED a separate week (uhm, make that two!) of their own. For those who have not heard anything about Palawan, or better yet to entice you more and decide to hop on a plane that will take you to Palawan, here's a short but very inviting video.
Video credit here
The itinerary for trip was rather a bit more relaxed compared to my last one. Also, the fact that the Underground River tour was sold out weeks before, we had to move the activities. We arrived there Monday morning and spent the day roaming around PPC. On our first night, we stayed at the very tropical Puerto Pension since the original hotel we wanted for this trip was sold out on the first night.
The hotel staff fetched us from the airport with their very gregarious chauffeur/tour guide. He was a healthy knowledgeable fellow, and as soon as he started the vehicle's engine he then happily blabbered about Palawan. Proud Palaweno, I said to myself, we need more people with this outlook. In the wise words of the current Department of Tourism secretary, Mon Jimenez, Tourism is everybody's business. I couldn't agree more. The hotel is a mere 10 minute ride from the airport, but the traffic seemed slow as the streets were flooded with trikes. Better than the sea of vehicles in EDSA :)
The hotel really felt very tropical, built in an elevated area overlooking the sea boulevard. A lot of wood, very Filipino. On the top of the hotel building is their restaurant/roof deck facility: The Tribu Roof Deck Restaurant.
The roof deck offers a full view of the bay. We had this view while having our lunch. Sea breeze, I welcome you!!
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| Blue, Blue, Blue all around!!! |
After lunch, we went around the area looking for a place to buy pasalubong. My pre trip research got me a name but I do not know exactly where it is. We ended up walking from the hotel to where the tiangge is! And it was scorching hot that day! Oh well, it was fun. After 30 minutes of walking and asking for directions, we got to the place. But it was a disappointment. I didn't get to buy stuff as planned, except for some beaded bracelets for me. (We got to a better tiangge).
Dinner on our first night brought us to the famous Kalui Seafood Restuarant. Pre trip research told me to reserve a slot for dinner and boy was I glad that I did just that. When we arrived, it was a full night! There was a whole group of students (probably a whole section or two of Tourism students) from FEU.
Welcome to Kalui!!
This sign was placed on a desk right before you get ushered to your table but people don't seem to notice it. Or maybe they're just hopeful that there's an open table haha
Before entering the restaurant area, we were asked to remove our shoes. Magpapaa po tayo, Ma'am/Sir. The shoes were placed inside a shoe basket/cabinet for safe keeping, the floor area is made entirely of shiny wood. It must be hard to clean them off of mud and dirt :)
It's a seafood feast!! Although I wasn't all too happy about the way the shrimp was cooked. Tasted bland for a garlic shrimp recipe.
We got free dessert!! Mixed fresh fruits with Muscovado sugar in a coconut shell .
We went back to the hotel happy, full and sleepy. Aahh... vacation.
The next morning, we had our breakfast at the roof deck restaurant. We checked out at noon since we will be transferring to another property.
Welcome to Marianne Inn. We booked our accommodations with them plus the tours. Again, the river tour was full booked so we settled with the itinerary below: Tuesday - City Tour; Wednesday - Honda Bay.
Tuesday was when we checked in at this property. By noon, Palawan was blessed and it started to rain. Drat! Oh well. We will survive.
The property is fairly new, built last March 2011. The clean interiors would tell you this, brightly colored walls and it smelled clean, too. It was quite small, an inn in fact but very comfortable. And affordable too!
Second morning in Palawan, we had the city tour scheduled but my heart sank as it was a very gloomy day. It rained on our way to the Crocodile Farm. Here are some photos:
Even if this was a baby crocodile, I was really scared! Notice that I was only holding the tail of the little fella. If he bites, he ain't cute and little anymore! Surprisingly, the skin felt really smooth and un-crocodile like hahah! This is the reason why some people really pursue to buy bags or purses made of crocodile leather. Nooooo! Not good, these fellas were not created for that purpose. (You can hold the crocodile and have your photo taken by paying Php30 each, photo gets printed too!)
Piercing eyes. Ulk! Reminds me of Dolores Umbridge of Hogwarts. See the resemblance? Beady eyes ain't shy!
As if the lone crocodile was not enough, we went inside a crocodile nursery and saw loads of them. My imagination ran wild and thought a little one will jump off its container and attack me!!
Sorry chicken, you were the ultimate sacrifice!
Hello there bear cats! They are a sleepy bunch :)
And the tamed one. Cute, furry little fella :)
After the farm, we went to the Iwahig Penal Farm and stopped by very briefly. It was interesting to note that every item in their shop were made by prisoners, you can see them working and minding their own business.
Some creations:
We also got to visit the Mitra Ranch. It was overlooking the Honda Bay, I'd love to own a property similar to that. *day dream mode*
Bakers Hill!! At last, food!
Inside the quaint little restaurant.
Photo op: the plump sexy maiden and the little baker edition!
The house inside the Bakers Hill compound.
On the way back to town, we stopped by a much better tiangge. And this is where I got my underground shirt!!
Last full day in Palawan was spent island hopping in Honda bay. But it was raining really hard that time thus I wasn't able to take a lot of decent photos. I was busy hiding my face, my camera and holding on to dear life so we will not go overboard as the waves are going crazy. Sharing some photos below. These are from my personal file:
Even if this was a baby crocodile, I was really scared! Notice that I was only holding the tail of the little fella. If he bites, he ain't cute and little anymore! Surprisingly, the skin felt really smooth and un-crocodile like hahah! This is the reason why some people really pursue to buy bags or purses made of crocodile leather. Nooooo! Not good, these fellas were not created for that purpose. (You can hold the crocodile and have your photo taken by paying Php30 each, photo gets printed too!)
Piercing eyes. Ulk! Reminds me of Dolores Umbridge of Hogwarts. See the resemblance? Beady eyes ain't shy!
As if the lone crocodile was not enough, we went inside a crocodile nursery and saw loads of them. My imagination ran wild and thought a little one will jump off its container and attack me!!
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| Nope, they are NOT cute. |
Sorry chicken, you were the ultimate sacrifice!
Hello there bear cats! They are a sleepy bunch :)
And the tamed one. Cute, furry little fella :)
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| And he posed!! |
Some creations:
We also got to visit the Mitra Ranch. It was overlooking the Honda Bay, I'd love to own a property similar to that. *day dream mode*
Bakers Hill!! At last, food!
Inside the quaint little restaurant.
Photo op: the plump sexy maiden and the little baker edition!
The house inside the Bakers Hill compound.
On the way back to town, we stopped by a much better tiangge. And this is where I got my underground shirt!!
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| That's my shirt alright! You can even have your name on it too, free of charge. Good quality shirt printing :) |
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| Bugoy's shirt: Keep Exploring Palawan! |
Last full day in Palawan was spent island hopping in Honda bay. But it was raining really hard that time thus I wasn't able to take a lot of decent photos. I was busy hiding my face, my camera and holding on to dear life so we will not go overboard as the waves are going crazy. Sharing some photos below. These are from my personal file:
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| The day started out warm and Mr Sun was in his gregarious form. Didn't last long though. |
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| Set sail!! |
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| the lone sea cucumber. where are your other friends, buddy? :) |
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| sand bar, wet from the rain |
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| it ain't easy being an actress I had to pretend being stepped on hahaha! |
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| looking cool when it's really cold hehehe |
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| Happy campers!!Will do this again :) |
Even if I left Palawan feeling sad, I boarded the plan with a renewed zest to travel and see my own country.
Next on my Palawan list: El Nido and Coron.
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