Lesson Learned

Check a cheap trip, food, gadgets, etc. Vacation won't be an expensive anymore. Live like kings and queens but spend thriftily. Avail discounts, freebies and rewards. Get some tips and tricks of travels and leisures. Know your destinations well. Travel, though a first-timer, but like an expert.

Experience cultures, taste delicacies, respect beliefs and embrace humankind.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Follow Me In Palawan

UNDERGROUND RIVER of Puerto Princesa, Palawan is the pride of Philippines as it is the only country's nominee for the new seven wonders of world nature. Have you casted your vote yet at http://www.new7wonders.com/?

As summer had started, two of my officemates and I planned to explore the whole island of Palawan. There's a lot of destinations you can go when your feet get landed. Puerto Princesa's Subterranean Underground river and El Nido's white-soft sandy beaches are the famous attractions.

If you are just given three days to discover the wonders, will you be able maximize your time embracing the fullness of it? This is what exactly we had.

DAY 1
From Davao City, we stopped over in Cebu then flied for another an hour to reach Puerto Princesa City.

We arrived during lunch time and we headed our way to Balinsasayaw Restaurant, as this was featured on a TV show. This is their special dessert called Balinsasayaw cream. I was wondering if the cream is made up of the bird's nest. It is a must-try to a new visitor like me. 

After we had fixed our baggage in our rented hotel, we started wandering the city. We went to Crocodile Sanctuary, Butterfly Garden, Mitra Ranch and Bakers Hill. These are the top landmarks in Puerto Princesa. Don't miss to visit these places.

More or less thousands of crocodiles are fed and bred in Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center.

Angry crocodiles are ready to swallow me whole.

Another destination that a traveler shouldn't miss is the Mitra Ranch. It is an overlooking ranch where the whole city and seas are seen.

During the afternoon, we snacked at Baker's Hill. Literally, it is a bakery that's on the hill!

We demanded to our driver to drop us by in their City Hall. We had fun taking photos at their City Hall.


Beside of this church is the historical Plaza Cuartel, a hideout tunnel. There was nothing good vistas there but, the notable heroism of Filipinos and American who were burned alive by Japanese after their captivity.

At night, my officemates and my cousin spent some hours roaming their baywalk. The colorful lights and no. of people made us pleased. 

My cousin's officemate invited us for a night swimming at one of the city's hot springs. We took the privilege to get to know with these new friends and to give time into relaxation from the whole day exhaustion.  

DAY 2
It was around 2am in the morning and we were still on the road waiting to commute. The highways were not busy compared to Davao City as the public vehicle operation is 24/7. In their city, after 10pm in the evening, the streets turned calm. We had difficulty of hiring a motorcycle to transport us back to their downtown. At last, we negotiated a driver and arrived at the hotel at around 3am in the morning. We just had 2 hours of sleep since we have to catch the first trip bus going to El Nido. El Nido is an 8-hour trip. The bus fare is PHP600.00.

After 8 hours of sleeping inside the bus in order to get the sleep hours we passed up, we arrived El Nido, Palawan. The scenic scenery of El Nido gives us strength from a long tiring trip. 


We immediately had our island hopping before the night came in. We hired a boat. The cost was just only PHP500 because my cousin got favor from the owner.

I received a power hug from my lovely cousin.

This island looks like a helicopter. Yes, they call it helicopter island. And there are many islands can be found there that look like turtle, snake, woman's breast, etc.

We jumped down in one of the islands where many foreigners bathed. So that, we can experience also how it felt to be like a foreigner. Whoa!

I met some lovely ladies too. Hmmm!

My attention was caught to this water-floating rock.

El Nido is a beautiful town having beautiful seascapes and breathtaking sunsets. We lingered on the seashore to catch the awaited sunset. 

El Nido does not have electrical power lines. So the people get their power source through solar energy. All lights turned off after 8pm in the evening. The evening turns quiet and at rest. 

DAY 3
We woke up early again to catch the first trip going back to Puerto Princesa. The last destination to visit is the Subterranean Underground River. We traveled 6 hours to arrive Sabang where the river is situated. The bus fare from El Nido to Sabang is at PHP500.00. From Sabang we took another two hours to get to the park. We arrived at around 2pm in the afternoon.

We purchased a ticket which cost at around PHP200.00, boat fare is included.

Here comes Lee indulging the mysterious river.

We were all 8 passengers and 1 rower on this very small boat.

Rey and I seated on the last row of the boat.

Inside of this river are stalagmites and stalactites. The difference of the two is that, the former rises from the floor while the latter hangs from the ceiling. All has its different shapes and forms. The tranquility of the water reminds me to be just still even if you don't see the future ahead of you because for sure the end of your journey, a new hope of bright lights awaits.

We went back safely to Puerto Princesa downtown. We made the most of our remaining hours of our last night by spending our dinner at Kinabuchs, a known restaurant in the city.

Three days of vacation  may seem not enough to embrace the Palawan's fullness. It was like an amazing race of fun-filled travel and discovery. I'd love to visit once more but I will include Coron in my list. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...