Palawan Adventure (Oct. 11-15, 2010)

     Palawan has always been my dream vacation.  So I got so excited when I finally booked a flight to Puerto Princesa.  And what made it more exciting was because I'll be flying with Philippine Airlines for the first time.  

     For this trip, we chose to stay at Dangkalan Resort.  We also let them manage all our tours for a worry free vacation.  We were supposed to stay in Palawan for 4D/3N however, our return flight was canceled so we had to stay for another night.  

     Here is our itinerary for this trip:

     Day 1:  Arrival and City Tour - October 11, 2010

     We arrived early at the NAIA Terminal 2 for a smooth check-in.  Our flight departed on time and we had a nice flight.  We were served some snacks during our flight.  When we reached Puerto Princesa Airport, it took us almost half an hour waiting for our luggage.  there were too many people because there were two planes that arrived almost at the same time and there is only one conveyor.

My Boarding Pass

PAL In-flight Snacks (I brought the Pasta with me)

Welcome to Puerto Princesa!

     Outside the airport, we were welcomed by our resort's service.  We immediately went straight to the resort.  Upon reaching our destination, we checked-in and was escorted to our room.  The room was so spacious.  There was a cable TV, Large bathroom with hot and cold shower, a mini ref, and a sofa.  Our welcome drinks were served inside our room immediately.  After unpacking our things, we went outside to see the surroundings.  Our resort have a nice pool, a bar, a restaurant, and lots of cottages facing the sea.  However, it is not good to swim there because it is always low tide.  We took some pictures while waiting for our tour.  Suddenly, it got dark and rain started to pour.  We were so afraid that our city tour might be canceled.  Our Service came at around 1:30 in the afternoon.  It was still raining but the resort lent us an umbrella.

Our Airport Pick-up

Inside our spacious room

The view from the resort.

     Our first stop was the Iwahig Penal Colony.  This is a one of a kind  prison.  Inmates are not behind bars but are free to roam around the area.  Some have their own huts and their families are allowed to stay.  We were brought to their souvenir shop where handicrafts made by the prisoners are sold.

    Our second stop was the Crocodile Farm.  It was raining heavy when we reached this place.  Good thing is that most of the attractions we first visited were indoors.  Here, we saw the skeleton of the largest crocodile captured in the Philippines.  One of the main attraction here is taking pictures with a baby crocodile.  I was too afraid to hold it so I just posed beside my friend who was brave enough to hold the crocodile.

At the crocodile farm.

The largest captured crocodile ever.

     We were supposed to visit Bakers Hill but it was closed when we reached it.  We later found out that it recently implemented a new schedule.  They should have announced to the travel agencies that they will be closing their stores during Mondays because it is always included in the itineraries.  It should be easy because Puerto Princesa has a very organized tourism sector.  I was so frustrated because I was supposed to buy some breads as Pasalubong.  But the resort manager told us that she will find a way for us to visit Bakers Hill.  OK now back to our tour. Upon finding out that Bakers Hill was closed.  We went straight to Mitra's Ranch.  This time the rain has stopped so we were lucky to see the views.  From here, we saw Honda Bay and the islands that we will be visiting soon.

Mitra's Ranch overlooking Honda Bay.

Group Picture!

     The City Tour also included the City Hall, the Cathedral, Plaza Cuartel, and a running tour to other sights.  Our tour ended at a souvenir shop called Tiangge Tiangge.  This is where I bought my T-shirt and other souvenir items.  I always make it a point  to buy souvenir shirts from all the places I visit.

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

The Plaza Cuartel Marker.

Taguig has Market Market, Puerto Princesa has Tiangge Tiangge!

     We enjoyed our Tour not just because of the beautiful scenery but because we had a very jolly tour guide.  His name is Mak Mak and he was he best tour guide we had during our entire stay in Palawan.  There was never a dull moment during the whole tour.  We were also served sandwiches and bottled water during this tour.

That's our tour guide MakMak!

     It was already dark when we reached our resort.  We were the last to return since most of the guest's hotel was at the City Center.  We were the only guests with a sea front accommodation on this tour.

     Day 2: Underground River Tour and Dinner at Kalui - October 12, 2010

     Our call time was 8:00AM, so we woke up early and prepared ourselves before having our breakfast. When we went to the resort's restaurant, there was already a table reserved for us.  My name was written since I was the one who booked the accommodation.  When we sat, we were immediately served the breakfast  which is already included with the accommodation.  Since I don't drink coffee, they gave me hot Milo instead.

Our complimentary Breakfast (Noodle not included)

     This time, we will be having our tour together with the resort's guests.  It was a two hour journey to Sabang Port where we will take a boat ride to the underground river site.  Upon reaching Sabang, we were surprised to see our tour mates during the City Tour.  We still stayed together until we were called by our  respective tour guides.  Because there were still many tourists at the underground river, some of us took our early lunch first.  We walked our way to Taraw Vista Lodge to have our buffet lunch which is again included in the tour package.  We enjoyed our lunch in front of the beach and we were also served fresh coconut straight from the trees.  After some waiting, finally, we were told to proceed to the port for our Underground River tour.  During this tour we were provided life vests and helmets to protect us from the bats' pee.

Wind and Solar Powered Lamp Posts can be seen around.

Sabang Beach

Buffet Lunch (My 1st Plate, Grilled Tuna and Veggies)

     Being inside the dark Cave was like heaven!  I was so amazed with the natural rock formations.  There was even a spot were the ceiling was so high, and it seems like you are inside a dome.  This place really deserves to be one of the 7 wonders of Nature.  I almost felt that my tour was already complete and that  I could not ask for more when I saw this marvel.  The long wait was so worth it.  It's totally priceless. The tour was a bit short but enough to save the memories.

We are now set to enter the cave.

Bats hanging on top.

     It is said that your tour in Palawan is not complete without visiting Kalui.  A unique restaurant wherein you have to take off your shoes upon entering the premises.  You stay barefooted and you have to sit on the floor on some tables.  Reservation is needed before going there, however, you may be accommodated if there are vacancies.  Our resort reserved a slot for us early that morning.

     There is a free service from our resort to any City destination every 6:00PM, so we decided to go straight to Kalui even if our reservation was scheduled at 8:00 in the evening.  When we reached the restaurant, We were allowed to use one of the vacant table.  The table we were seated was the most pictured area of the restaurant because it can be seen on magazines and TV shows. Kalui's menu is affordable and the serving is great.  You can even download their menu from their website at http://www.kaluirestaurant.com (which I did) to have an idea of your budget before going.  A soup is served while waiting for your order.  We ordered seafood and some veggies.  We also tried their fresh fruit shakes.  When we finished our meal, we were served with complimentary fruit dessert while waiting for our bill.  We didn't left the restaurant without strolling around its unique architecture.

You have to sit on the floor while eating.

Our Appetizer

We ordered lots of seafood.

Our complimentary dessert.

     After a delicious dinner, we headed back to our resort to have some sleep and prepare for tomorrow's tour.  This time, we took a tricycle ride.  It should cost around 75-100 Pesos but we were billed 150 Pesos because the driver said  it was already late.

     Day 3: Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour - October 13, 2010

     Again, we woke up early and prepared ourselves for breakfast.  This time we will be having our tour together with guests from other hotels.  We were second to be picked-up by the service.  We joined two Korean girls.  We went to Microtel Puerto Princesa to pick-up the last tourists who will be joining us.  While waiting, we took some photos around the hotel.  The hotel was good but the location is too far.  Good thing we didn't book our accommodation here, we were supposed to but I found Dangkalan.  This time we will be joined by some Filipinos and an Italian.  Everybody's in so off we go to Honda Bay.  When we reached our destination, we had to fill up some registration forms and rent snorkeling gears for only 100 Pesos.  There are  also waterproof camera cases available for rent at 250 Pesos.  But the price is nothing compared to what you can save on your cameras.

We rented a waterproof camera case.

     We are now boarded on our boat.  Our first stop was Pambato Reef.    This is where we snorkel and fed some fish.  We enjoyed watching the magnificent corals. We enjoyed for about 30 to 45 minutes until we were told to board our boats.

Snorkeling at the Pambato Reef.

     Our next destination was Snake Island.  This island was named due to its shape not because there are many snakes found on the island.  While our buffet lunch is being prepared, we saw our city tour buddies once again, so we had some picture taking and we also got to feed the fish on the island.  We went back to our respective huts for our lunch.  We enjoyed our seafood lunch on the island, I think I went back to the buffet three times to refill my plate.  During that time my eyes hurt due to an infection.  After spending about two hours on the island, we headed to our next destination.

With our City Tour buddies.

My best jump shot ever!

Buffet Lunch by the beach.

     The last stop was Pandan Island.  This is a perfect place for swimming.  It has fine white sand and crystal clear waters.  There are abundant fishes here so you can still enjoy snorkeling.  There are shower rooms here where tourists can take a bath and change clothes.  It was suddenly getting dark when we were told to board our boat.  It started to rain on our way back to the port.

A view from Pandan Island.

I found Nemo in Pandan Island!

     My eye infection worsened on our way back to the resort.  We asked the manager where we can have my eyes checked.  She recommended Dr. Ong of Palawan Eye Center who is known to be the best eye Doctor in the City.  She immediately scheduled a free service to the clinic.  When the doctor examined my eye, it was a stye or medically known as hordeolum.  I had a minor surgery on my other eye the previous year for the same reason so I know that the medication would be expensive.  I had to call my Mom to ask her if she could transfer some money on on my friend's account because his bank has a branch near our home.

Just had may chek-up with Dr. Ong.  I was diagnosed with "Internal hordeolum with Blepharoconjunctivitis"

     After my eye checkup, we went to the Market to buy some fresh seafood.  We were surprised how huge  the fishes are.  It's totally different from what I see here in Manila.  And the prices are so cheap too.  We immediately went back to the resort where our friend is waiting.  We grilled our seafood and we bought a platter of rice from the restaurant.  The resort was kind enough to lend us their utensils and even provided us with drinking water.  We used one of the picnic huts near the seashore.

Our own masterpiece!

Stuffed squid with fresh sea weeds.

     We were supposed to have our dinner at Badjao Restaurant but because of my eye infection we decided to have our dinner at the resort.  But we prepared ourselves delicious food and we enjoyed it so much.

     Day 4:  Mangrove Forest and Free Time at the Resort.

     We are done with all our tours, this day was our time to enjoy the resort.  My eyes worsened so I had to stay in my room and rest while others went to see the mangroves just beside our resort.  Later that day,  when my eyes don't hurt anymore,we sang at the videoke, played billiards, too bad I was unable to swim at the pool because of my condition.  We had our dinner cooked at the restaurant so we can enjoy the night more.

Mangrove Forest.

Free Billiards at the Resort.

Dangkalan Pool at night.

     Day 5:  Departure.

     This is our last day.  I'm so happy that my sty began subsiding.  We had our last breakfast and took pictures at the resort one last time after we have done packing our things.  We were each given a rain maker souvenir by the Resort.  It was a very short stay because we had to be at the airport immediately for an early  morning flight.

While waiting for our airport transfer.

     The resort's manager was the one who brought us to the airport.  She was really nice and even gave us a goodbye kiss and even hugged us before we went inside the terminal.  Our flight was on time and it was again a huge Airbus A330.

     At the NAIA Terminal 2, we saw Mommy Dionisia Pacquiao.  To make my trip more memorable I took a picture with her.

Mommy Dionisia at the NAIA Terminal 2 Arrival Hall.

     My Palawan trip was the best so far, and I really would like to go back there and try other activities soon.

My First Trip to Manila Zoo (June 06, 2010)

     Yes, you read it right!  It's actually my first time to visit Manila Zoo.  I have been to other Zoos but not in Manila.  It was a rainy morning when I told a friend that I haven't been to Manila Zoo, he was so surprised and told me if I wanted to go there.  I said yes I want to go to Manila Zoo,  and I asked if he could take me there that day.  He asked me if I'm sure and I said yes I'm sure and lets go.  So off we go to the Zoo on a rainy day.

     Our first stop was at Quiapo Church.  We had to take another ride from here to the Zoo.  Because it is raining so hard,  we bought cheap umbrellas.  Upon reaching the Zoo, I felt a sudden excitement as I bought my ticket and enter the premises.  The first animal that I saw was the Elephant.  I was so happy to see it in person.  I only see it on TV, but now I'm actually in front of it!  I also saw the very old hippo.  We were told that the hippo has already reached its maximum life expectancy.  I also saw Lions, Zebras, Horses, Deers, snakes, birds, turtles, and many others.  I didn't mind the pouring rain, it was a lot of fun.  Now I can say that my childhood is complete because finally, I've been to the famous Manila Zoo!

Welcome to Manila Zoo!

The Famous Elephant

Deers

A Zebra

The very old Hippo

     After a memorable trip to Manila Zoo, we stopped by the Manila Ocean Park to eat and wait for the rain to stop.  We didn't enter at the oceanarium but we had a chance to see the fishes from the top of the Aquarium which is free for public viewing.

Asian Food Village at the Manila Ocean Park

On top of the Giant Aquarium

     Although I was unable to see the other animals that Manila Zoo used to exhibit including the giraffe which died several years back,  I still enjoyed just being there and finally I can tell everyone that I have been to Manila Zoo!