the beach
All of my friends know that I'm not a beach person, I'm more of the swimming pool type. But my college friends planned this Palawan trip for months so I couldn't say no to them anymore. We flew to Puerto Princesa, Palawan via Cebu Pacific (my first time to ride in another airline because you know my loyalty to PAL).
After we checked in at our hotel, we ate at the famous Ka Lui Restaurant. The place was packed with foreigners because you'll really feel like you're in a traditional ‘Bahay Kubo’ with all their native furniture and bamboo walls & floor. I love that you have to take off your shoes/sandals at the main entrance and you'll walk barefoot to your table. The place was very cozy. The food was just ok. From all the seafoods that we ordered, I only love their Seafood Sisig. The fruit shakes were also delicious. Oh well, I think it’s the ambiance that you’ll be paying for.
This is our official ride at Palawan. You can explore the whole city with just a tricycle.
The next morning, we were joined by our other two friends. We had light breakfast and rented a van that will take us to the boats for our Honda Bay Tour/Island hopping.
We hopped in to our boat. God knows that I'm scared with riding boats and yes, I can say that I've conquered that fear with all the boat riding we've done.
First stop is Pandan Island, where we ate our seafood lunch and fresh buko juice.
We did a lot of snorkelling here because the fishes were beautiful and they kept on coming to us.
Next is the Snake Island. Our tour guide said that the most beautiful island in Honda Bay is Snake Island, and I couldn’t agree more! The long 2km stretch of sand bar was shaped like a snake thus acquiring the name, Snake Island.
We looked like an idiot wearing life vests in shallow water.
Last stop was Starfish Island. It was named Starfish Island because you can see plenty of starfish all over the island.
We couldn't swim at this island because of the sharp corals in the beach so we just roamed around and played with ourselves.
After that whole tiring day, we ate the best bulalo and seafood in Palawan at Kinabuchs Grill.
The next day, we endured two hours of rough and bumpy roads to reach Sabang beach where we rode the boat that took us to the Underground River.
During a stopover along the road for restroom break, we saw this nice view overlooking the islands that we visited yesterday during our island hopping tour.
We finally reached the Sabang beach after two hours and this was me waiting for our boat. As the sun was intense, we put a lot of sunscreen all over our body.
At our boat, on the way to the island where the Underground River was located. I was amazed by the different limestones that we saw while riding the boat. It was such a feast for our eyes.
This is on the way to the Underground River entrance. Look at those magnificent limestone as our background.
The famous UNESCO World Heritage Site-Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, also known as the Underground River.
The Underground River is the longest searched underground river in the world. Approximately 8.2 kilometers have been discovered wherein 4.3 kilometers are passable, but for tourists, the accessible areas were only limited to 1.5 kilometers equivalent to about 45 minutes tour. According to the tour guide, if we went further, it would already be a dead end and a bit dangerous, and if we wished to explore more, we’d be needing a special permit to explore the rest of the river.
Group picture at the entrance of the cave.
We were given life jackets and helmets to wear and this was the small boat that took us to the cave.
We had no decent pictures inside the cave because it was pitch black. We just had one flashlight to be able to see all the rock formations at the cave. It was really scary going inside the cave and seeing those bats hanging at the roof of the cave but once you’re inside, you’ll be amazed by the wonders of nature. It was dark and cold inside but our tour guide and boatman were so witty and funny while pointing all the different rock formations. Seeing all those different stalagmites formed inside the cave took my breath away. It was really an amazing experience.
After our Underground River tour, we headed back to Sabang Beach for our well-deserved buffet lunch.
Since we’d be going back to Manila the next day, we just walked along the beach and savoured the beauty of Palawan.
Contrary to what I said earlier, I just need to say that I love the beach! The sand, the water and the waves rushing to my feet were nice!
See you again, Palawan!
