The Palawan Escapade

After months of preparation and a lot of sleepless nights, at long last, the wait is finally over. As planned, Tina, Bebeth, Jen and I made the tour of our lives. When I thought Palawan was just a dream for me, here I am, writing my blissful experience about my stay in Dangkalan at Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The whole experience was a total joy and pure relaxation.

We meet up early in the morning at McDonalds in Emerald Ave. in Ortigas. Jen’s Dad,Papito gave us a ride to the airport. Jen, Tina and Bebeth handled and prepared everything from the ticket, the resort where we will stay, up to the itinerary of activities. I am really grateful to have this three. I couldn’t have stepped in the lands of Palawan without them. This was my second time to ride an airplane, it was Tina’s first as well as Bebeth, and Jen was (if I may say) experienced.

We arrived at the Puerto Princesa airport at around 9:00am. Somebody from Dangkalan Resort picked us up and brought us straight to the resort. People at Dangkalan were very nice, polite and very accommodating and this goes also to all of the Palawenos. Dangkalan has a fresh and very cozy environment. It has a small pool, mini bar, restaurant and it is located in front of the beach. We had an early lunch in the resort in preparation for our first activity which is the trip to Honda bay which means we will be doing island hopping.

Honda bay was, if I'm not mistaken, a thirty minute drive from the resort. We met our nice and intelligent bangkero, Kuya Eric. We headed first to Starfish Island and saw the wonders of the sea. There are a variety of fish in that island, fishes of different kind and color. I will never forget the territorial fish that bit me (though the bite doesn’t hurt that much). We went to Snake Island next. The reason why it is called snake island is not because there are a lot of snake found here but because the shape of the island is somehow similar to a snake. Here we saw a lot of corals lying on the grounds of the sea, corals of different size and shape. Lastly, we went to Pandan Island which seems to be like a coconut plantation because of the huge number of coconut trees planted all over the place. From among these three islands that we’ve visited, I found home in Pandan Island because of the fine sand which reminds me of the beach at Bohol. I really wish I could stay longer in this island but of course we can’t. At around 3 or 4 in the afternoon we’ve decided to go back to the resort to have some rest.

We had our dinner at the Kinabuch which was the advice of Len who’s been to Palawan already. We’ve tried a couple of their dishes which was most of sea foods. Foods at kinabuch come cheap so we ordered a lot not to mention the fact that all were tasty. The environment was somewhat similar to Gerry’s grill or Dencio’s grill that we have here in manila. After the sumptuous dinner, we went back to the resort with our eye lids almost closed.

The next day was the most anticipated one. This was because we will be heading to the underground river which is known not only here in the Philippines but also in other countries as well. As additional bonus, we were joined by a couple of cute Koreans in the van (K-Pop as we call them). It was a 2 hour drive from the resort to the underground river. During the road trip, the girl from the resort served as our tour guide and gave us information about each and every place that we passed by. The underground river was epic. Every molecule in my body was jumping as I beamed at the opening of the cave like structure river. We took a boat ride inside the cave with Tina and me in the front seat holding the light that will guide the boat man as he drives the boat. I felt a mixture of joy and fear as we enter the cave. The sound made by the bats and the monstrous mosquitoes are really frightening not to mention the idea of falling out of the boat scares the hell out of me. In the long run, I got used to the feeling and that’s when I enjoyed the ride. Inside we saw the wonderful creation of nature. The stones inside were beautifully crafted by the water coming from the mountain and the river. It was such a joy knowing that I experienced riding a boat that passed by this marvelous river which I thought I could only see in textbooks or television or internet.

We had our lunch at the nearby resort which serves all you can eat buffet with fresh buko juice as refreshments. We were able to stroll along the shore of the nearby beach. It was ecstasy having the chance to amuse myself with the cool waters of the sea, the warm rays of the sun and the soft fine sand at my feet. All come together as if they are pepperoni, cheese and crust in pizza. Having this all in mind and being lucky experiencing this, I realized that part of my heart will beat for the love of the beach.

We had a small feast at the KaLui’s which adds to my fantastic experience at Puerto Princesa. The customers are to enter the restaurant bare footed. It has, if I may describe it, a mixture of modern and native touch. The whole place is made of wood as if you are inside a kubo. The floor is squeaky clean, chairs and benches are made of wood (as if it was just cut from the tree),tables are made of bamboo , sink is made of wood also paired with a huge jar that holds the water and the comfort rooms are also beautifully designed. There are also a vast collection of masks displayed all over the place. The food are also tasty same as with kinabuch. Again we’ve ordered most sea foods since it is only rare that we eat freshly caught fishes and squid. The spectacular food anchored with the warm environment in KaLui’s made my night absolutely memorable. We ended the night with a bottle of tanduay ice which made all of us a bit tipsy. We filled our room with good vibes and memories brought by the astonishing experience we had during the trip.

The next morning was packed with activities as it is for our city tour. Tina gave us a treat at Bona’s Chowlong. We had a bowl of hot beef stew flavored chowlong (rice noodles) with some bread sticks. After filling ourselves with some good food, we got on our feet and started the city tour. First on our list was the Crocodile Farm. It’s as if we were on a field trip that time having a tour guide leading us to the confinement of these creepy creatures. Next was at Rancho Santa Monica. It is located in a hill where you can take a good look on the part of Palawan. We had a chance to see the green fields and smell the bracing scent of the grass. The nearby place was our next destination, The Baker’s Hill. It was a small town that has beautiful modern houses, human sized statue of some cartoon characters like bugz bunny and the like, and also in this place they sell nothing but FOOD. Here we shopped for some goodies for pasalubong like hopia, crinkles, tarts, and other pastries. Before our scheduled flight to manila, we stopped first to the market to buy some dried squid, danggit and cashew nuts. At first I thought it was a bit pricey but it was cheaper compared to the price here in manila.

We got off Palawan at around 5:00pm and took a plane to manila. Papito was outside the airport waiting for our arrival and gave a ride. I can’t contain my emotions that time during our way home. I had the time of my life. I still can’t believe that I made it. I have only good words to describe the experience that I had during my stay in Palawan.