Palawan : One of the Best Places on Earth

I just got back from a trip to Palawan, and up until now I’m still picking up pieces of my brain after it got blown off by Palawan’s beauty and awesomeness. It’s so beautiful I’m actually considering to pack all my stuff and live there. Allow me to narrate my trip in detail. I will capitalize the points I love most about Palawan. I’d divide this narration into three parts since I’ll be writing a lot about this travel. Yep. What a way to start 2009.

January 1, 2009 8:00 AM. Only hours after the noise barrage of fireworks and a sumptous media noche, our flight took off from NAIA Terminal 2 bound for Puerto Princesa. I didn’t really know what to expect save from the idea that the place is pwned by the Mayor Ed “I’m-Gonna-Kick-Your-Ass-To-Your-Face” Hagedorn and the few pictures I’ve seen in the magazines and online. I have high expectations of the place. I was prepared to be blown away by its beauty.

8:30 AM. I observed that half of the people on-board the plane are foreigners. Seems like Palawan’s tourism industry is not slowing down this time of the year. The flight stewardesses and cabin crew looks good, but they forgot to serve me my coffee. Fail.

9:05 AM. Plane lands safely at the Puerto Princesa airport. Renovation of the airport is still on-going. We were greeted by the people from the hotel we’re staying, Legend Hotel. It’s actually a few kilometers away but since there’s NO TRAFFIC, we were able to reach the place only in a few minutes.

12:00 NN. Buffet lunch at the Hotel. My first encounter with Palawan cuisine. The FOOD IS AWESOME. Seafoods, meat, vegetables, you name it. The food looks great, tastes great, and healthy too. I had to loosen my belt afterwards. I had only a few minutes to spare until we’re off to island hopping.

1:00 PM. Road trip to the Puerto Princesa wharf, Hunda Bay. It’s only 20 minutes away from our hotel. You can ride a tricycle going there. Actually, there are only two modes of public transportation in Puerto Princesa: a big tricycle that can comfortably fit 6 people including the driver (7 pesos per person), and the jeepney, used to travel to the ends of the island.

1:30 PM. We rented a boat to take us to Snake Island. Snake Island is not famous for its snakes but more for its snake-like shape. Our freelance tour guides, Joseph and Joven, were good in giving Wikipedia-like information about Palawan and the historical stuff behind all of the places we’re going to visit.

2:30 PM. After almost an hour of boat ride, we reached Snake Island. Joven distributed the snorkeling gears while Joseph gave us directions where the best corals can be found. PALAWAN IS GREAT FOR SNORKELING. And when I say great, I really mean “omg-the-fishes-are-awesome-holy-crap-thats-nemo” kind of way. Jospeh was even kind enough to take me far from the shore with his Baywatch bullet thing and took me where the far more mind blowing corals and fishes are.

The fishes are literally all around me, something I thought only happens in Discovery Channel. (And I thought Batangas was the best already)

3:30 PM. We had to leave the Snake Island and move to the more exclusive Pandan Island. Pandan Island is located a good 20 minutes boat ride from the Snake Island. This is my favorite island in Palawan. The beach’s sand is so fine, similar to Boracay’s but the view is twice as breathtaking in Palawan. The snorkeling site here is even better than Snake Island. I spent most of my time in the corals playing with the fishes and other marine life like crab-like animals and stuff.

4:50 PM. We had to go back to Hunda Bay already. The captain dude of the boat said the winds may go stronger sometime later so we should be able to get back at Hunda Bay before nightfall.    

6:00 PM. On the way back to the hotel. The hotel van is already waiting for us by the time we got back from our island hopping trip. By the time I got back to the room, I was too tired to move. But the day is not yet over. We need to visit as many places as possible. So in our attempt to hit two birds in one stone, we decided to have dinner at a famous place that serves great Palawan food.

7:00 PM. Reached the Badjao Restaurant. This places serves the best seafood cuisine I’ve ever had. Seriously. It’s so good that European royalty visit this place for the food and leave afterwards. Try their Inihaw na Pusit (grilled squid), Sugpo (giant shrimps), Lapu-Lapu and Clam Soup. The Inihaw ng Liempo (grilled pork) is not so bad either. The ambiance is also cool. It’s actually above water, the restaurants in stilts, with a bridge connecting it to the mainland. SEAFOOD GALORE. Somewhat expensive but well worth it. Had to loosen my belt for the second time that day.

9:00 PM. Went back to the hotel for a much deserved rest. The next day we still had to wake up early. The van is supposed to pick us up at 7 AM for another day of Palawan adventure.

(To be continued)

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