Around Puerto Princesa

Day 3

May 8, 2012
Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan

On our last day, we took a city tour of Puerto Princesa. We visited  Mitra Ranch, Butterfly Garden, Crocodile Farm, and Plaza Cuartel, where around 150 American captives were burned by the Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Plaza Cuartel

Butterfly Garden

Crocodile Farm

Along Underground River

Day 2

May 7, 2012
Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan

We spent the second day at the Subterranean River National Park, one of the 7 new wonders of nature. There were some really interesting huge cave formations inside but the boat ride along half of the 8.2 km river was very quick and was not enough to appreciate them. The cave could also use some artificial dim light in strategic places.

Later in the afternoon, to kill time, we rented bicycles at the city baywalk. We then ate dinner at Ka Lui Restaurant, known for its delectable seafood.

Grilled Tuna

Island Hopping at Honda Bay

Day 1

May 6, 2012
Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan

I and my officemates were fortunate enough to be able to redeem the vouchers we bought last November from coupon website CleverBuy before it was shutdowned due to complaints of fraud recently. Each voucher cost 9900 PHP and included a 3D/2N accommodation for 2 with roundtrip airfare. It also covered free breakfast and the Underground River tour with free lunch. It was a great deal even if it took about 2 months to finalize the actual airfare and hotel bookings for all 10 of us.

After checking-in at Tropical Sun Inn, we went to St. Lourdes port for the Honda Bay Island-hopping tour. It was already noon when we got there and there seemed to be a shortage of boats. Luckily, we were able to secure a whole boat to ourselves, as another group refused to share boat with us. This allowed us to hop through the islands at our own pace.

Our first stop was at this small island with a long stretch of white sand (It was not Snake island which was closed for renovation). We then moved to to Lu-Li island, which only emerges during low tide, hence the name which is short for Lulubog (sink) - Lilitaw (emerge). We also went to Starfish island, where we found a single starfish (we probably would have seen more if we explored further) and at Pambato Reef where we snorkeled for half an hour. Our last stop was at Pandan island, where we rented a cottage and ate the lunch we brought with us.

Jumping from a springboard at Lu-Li island

Jump shot at Starfish Island

For dinner, we went to Badjao Seafront, one of the more famous restaurants in the city. Their grilled squid and pandan chicken were good but it was their shrimp asparagus with cashew nuts that I enjoyed the most.

Sunrise and Falls at Sagada

Day 2

April 22, 2012
Sagada, Mt. Province

We woke up early the next day to view the sunrise at  Kiltepan Peak, only to wait for our driver for about 20 minutes. Luckily, we still made it to the view point a few minutes before the sunrise, just enough time to find a spot among the tourists already in there. The view - sunrise over a sea of clouds - was awe-inspiring. I have never seen anything like it before and I wished I could paraglide through it.

After about an hour, long after the sunrise, we went back to inn for breakfast. We went to Bana's Cafe for the kape Alamid or civet cat coffee, which is made of droppings of the Alamid. We changed our minds when we got there as the coffee was made out of poop quite expensive.

After breakfast, we were ready for the 1 hour trek to Bomod-ok falls. It was a very leisurely trek along stoned pathways at the Aguid rice terraces.

We reached the falls at 1030 AM and were surprised that there were only a handful of  people in there.

We left the falls at noon time and went to Rock Inn & Cafe for lunch, as recommended by friends who went there a week before. The restaurant had a nice ambiance and their red chicken was to die for.

We then went to Bokong falls where one can jump off the falls' highest point into the ice-cold pool below. I did jump but only from the lower point and only after contemplating for 10 or 15 minutes, during which time, people at the pool below were cheering me on and a little girl, aged 5 or 6, jumped off twice from where I was at the precipice. I had no choice but to jump.

We ended the day at the Lake Danum where there was supposed to be a view of the sunset. We found out later on, after the sun had set, that we were facing the east side and the sunset view at the west was blocked by some trees. Good thing was that our driver set up a bonfire and brought some marshmallows. It was a nice way to end our Sagada trip.

Estimate Expenses:

  460 PHP - bus fare (Manila to Baguio)

  460 PHP - bus fare (Baguio to Manila)

  400 PHP - accommodation (2 nights)

  900 PHP - food (300 PHP per day)

2100 PHP - van rental for 2 days including round trip to Baguio (14,000 PHP)

  200 PHP - caving - tour guide (500 PHP for 5 persons)

  100 PHP - Bomod-ok Falls - tour guide (600 PHP for 10 persons)

 =======

 4620 PHP

Extreme Caving at Sumaguing

Day 1

April 21, 2012
Sagada, Mt. Province

After many years of wondering what Sagada was all about, I was finally able to convince some friends to come with me to the popular destination. At first, I was actually not sure if they were up for the challenge waiting there so I sent them some caving pictures I found online. They looked difficult and risky and it seemed to me that some level of physical fitness, not to mention courage, was necessary to go through it. I waited for anyone to backout, but they seemed more concerned of the bat poop strewn across the cave.

And so, on April 21 we arrived at Sagada before noon, after 11 hours of travel including 5 hours from Baguio where we met our driver. The original plan was to arrive in time for sunrise but that entailed arriving at the bus terminal 20 minutes before the 7 PM departure (which was indicated, in the smallest font possible, at the back of the tickets I bought earlier that day). We arrived a minute before 7 PM and by then, stand by passengers had already taken our seats. As a result, we had to exchange our tickets to the next available departure at 12 midnight. (Lesson learned: Never buy the 7 PM ticket - any ticket - bus, movie, etc. Nobody leaves the office before 6 PM).

We stayed at Residential Lodge which was highly recommended online. It was nothing fancy - it was clean and homey (for 250 PHP a night, I expected much less) and the owner was extremely nice.

After we have settled in, we left for a quick lunch at Lemon House, known for its lemon pie and egg pie. One thing to note regarding dining out in Sagada was that food were a bit expensive - it was like dining out in Manila.

the popular lemon pie but my friends preferred the egg pie

the gang - Marianne, Susanne, Rissa, Jojo, Chod, John Paul, John2x

After lunch, we finally started spelunking at the Sumaguing cave. Climbing down the cave, we held on to what some us have dreaded coming in - rocks covered with bat poop.  There really was no choice - either hold the rocks or risk falling and rolling in the deep...

After about an hour, we reached the 2nd phase of the adventure. Here, we took of our footwears and had to crawl through small openings...

...cross a pathway by holding tight to a rope (one of the guides had to piggy back one of us across this)...

...wade through ice-cold waist-level water...

.. and hold-on-for-dear-life rock climb.

The 3 hour trek was an adventure of a lifetime and I can't wait to try the cave-connection next time.

For dinner, we went to Salt and Pepper diner where I ordered and enjoyed Inutom (Roasted Chicken in Salt and Pepper). And for desserts, we went to Yoghurt House where we had some yoghurt-based desserts.

yoghurt with strawberry, banana and granola