Puerto Princesa, Palawan Honda Bay Tour

We just boarded our boat.

On our third day, we decided to take the offer of the tricycle driver again (Mang Lito - 09184397471) for the Honda Bay tour. Because there were four of us (Peachie and her sister Marichit were with us), instead of paying Casa Linda P900 each, we only paid the driver P400 for transfers from Casa Linda to Pier and back again, then paid P1,100 for the boat that will bring us to three islands - Pandan, Snake & Starfish. Solo namin ang boat and kami ang bahala sa time. Unlike if we were part of a package tour, nakadepended sa tour guide ang sked namin. And since it was not a package tour, it was up to us to prepare or buy our own food. It’s a good thing that the driver of yesterday’s Underground River tour, Kuya Nervon (09059681215), was very nice to us. He knew someone who caters and so we were able to order food for P200 each consisting of 5 dishes (fried shrimps, fried chicken, squid, kinilaw na tangigue, chopsuey, rice, softdrinks, water and fruits).

  

In the middle of the sea, we saw the mangrove forest on our left and this lone native house on stilts on our right. 

By 7am, Kuya Nervon dropped our food  baskets at Casa Linda. By 7:30 am, Mang Lito was already outside waiting for us. By 8am, we were the first batch of tourists to arrive at the pier and so we were able to get a nice boat exclusively for our group only. Our first destination? Pandan Island.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan Underground River Tour

 

Arriving at the entry point of the Underground River 

On our second day, we bought the package tour of Casa Linda for our trip to the Underground River. It cost us P1,300 each. We would’ve gotten the one offered by our trustworthy tricycle driver, Mang Lito, if it didn’t involve being on the road for two hours. I thought, if something bad would’ve happened to us, at least Casa Linda would’ve been accountable for it. So we went on with our journey.

The left side of Sabang Beach was where we boarded our boat.

By 7:30 am, we were already on the road. The annoying thing about joining a package tour is that you get to be with other people, mostly of foreign descent, who have their own various styles and personalities. What ticked me off about it was these two Koreans is that they move so slowwho happened to move so slow. They seemed ignorant about the concept of respecting other people’s time. We waited for them outside Asturias Hotel for more than 30 minutes when we could’ve been using that time heading to our destination already! Apparently, when I talked to the Filipino couple we were with, who also came from Asturias Hotel, they explained that their hotel front desk  officer was not able to coordinate well with the tour agency. The two Koreans thought they were going to Honda Bay, so they went back to their room and changed attire making us all wait for them in the process. How inconsiderate, right? Grrrr!!! It was infuriating!

Puerto Princesa, Palawan City Tour Day 1

After visiting the Crocodile Farm, we headed to the Butterfly Farm. It has almost the same look and feel to it as the one we visited in Subic and Davao. Well, I guess that's because butterflies have the same needs of course --- lots of room to fly around and lots of flowers to get nectar from. We only spent around 30 minutes or less inside. I guess, once you've seen one butterfly farm, you've seen 'em all. What's surprising was that hey had these mini cages with different insects inside, including a reptile. Creepy.

 

 

Caterpillar                                    Scorpion  

Puerto Princesa, Palawan CROCODILE FARM Day 1

How was your long weekend folks? Were you able to observe Holy Week or were you off somewhere on a deserted island baking under the sun? You wish? Hahaha!

As you all know, we went to Puerto Princesa and spent 4 days and 3 nights exploring the city and nearby towns and islands, which was a first for us coz the last time we went to Palawan, it was Coron we explored.

  

 

Anyway, being the budget-conscious travelbugs that we are, we checked in at Casa Linda (048-433-2606; 048-433-2309), one of the best but cheapest resorts in the Philippines as published in the book 100 Resorts in the Philippines. It is located in Trinidad Road, Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City.

Coron Palawan: a Late Summer Trip

Another long weekend is coming up (June 10-12) and what better way to spend it than to travel to Coron, Palawan over the weekend, Right?!  All you need is a friend/sibling/lover to go with you and around P12,000 cash for the both of you and off you go! Never mind the weather. It won’t be so bad since the heavy rainy season at Coron falls on the month of September. And it’s only June.  Superferry bound to Coron leaves the Manila port at around 9PM on a Friday and by 7am Saturday, you’re already there! The boat leaves for Manila every Sunday, 9PM and by Monday morning, you’re back! Perfect schedule for a perfect vacation, right?

Our Superferry boat ride and arrival in Coron

Kokosnuss Resort

 Off to our island hopping adventure