Lakwatsarah

It's enchanting to meet you Palawan! Sharing with you an edited video of our early summer Puerto Princesa tour. Location: Puerto Princesa bay, Plaza Cuartel, Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Crocodile Farm, Sabang Beach, Sabang River for the Mangrove tour, Underground River, souvenir shop, Ka Lui Restaurant, Skylight Restaurant

Fort Santiago I could barely remember the last time I went inside the walls of Intramuros for a visit. My last school field trip in Fort Santiago happened when I was probably in first grade, I could barely remember anything except for the name "Fort Santiago" and its historical significance. To date, some of my younger siblings are studying in Mapua and Adamson University, schools located inside and right outside Intramuros but I never really had that chance to even go visit them. Since I've gotten too curious as to how Intramuros actually looks now, I tagged along who I thought could be the best companions for this sight-seeing tour, my younger sister Hannah who's currently taking a Hospitality Management course in Adamson and mom, who has long missed the site she used to recognize as a neighborhood.

MV Logos Hope in Manila 2012 Life is a journey, we're all going somewhere, but where are we going?  The trip was planned the night before. And so together with mom and youngest sister Hannah, we journeyed all the way from Laguna to Manila for a day tour covering MV Logos Hope, Intramuros and Luneta Park.  Designed to replace MV Doulos, MV Logos Hope is a ship carrying over 5,000 book titles, making it the world's largest floating book fair .

Since we were able to save on our airfare, we feel good adding a little more to our food budget, so yes we splurged a bit. After all, Palawan's not just about beaches, it also offers fresh seafood options in a unique dining experience. Palawan Restaurants we tried and other food finds: 1. KaLui - Dining in Barefoot We ordered KaLui Special of the Day Set that includes fish steak, prawns, veggies of the day, fried fish with escabeche sauce, rice and starters. We also ordered eel in coco cream for a change. It's not everyday that we get to eat eel! :) For our refreshments, we ordered classic fresh fruit shakes like buko and mango juice and the equally interesting guyabano juice. They also gave us a complimentary fruit salad in fresh coconut bowl. Sweet! More in the menu includes shrimps halabos, Palawan seafood sisig, kilawin, sashimi and more.  

Together with my aunt and uncle, we visited Puerto Princesa city last February 21-23, 2012. Feel free to copy our itinerary. Day 1 - check in at Marianne Home Inn - lunch at KaLui Restaurant - at around 2pm, we started the City Tour - dinner at Balinsasayaw Day 2 - at around 8am, van fetched us for the Underground River Tour - early lunch at Sabang (meal included in the tour) - Mangrove Paaddle Boat Tour - Sabang Zipline   - 3pm start of Underground River Tour - dinner at Skylight Restaurant Day 3 - Pasalubong/ Pearl Shopping at Delma Pearl and Souvenir Shop for authentic south sea pearls - Pasalubong shopping for shirts at the newly opened pasalubong center - lunch at Badjao Seafront Restaurant - check out/flight back to Manila Expenses: Roundtrip ticket - Php350 roundtrip (thanks to Piso Fare) Terminal Fee - Php200 (Naia) + Php40 (Puerto Princesa Airport) Tour package - Php2990 (inclusive of 3 days 2 nights accommodation with bre...

South Sea Pearl Bracelets When one thinks of pasalubong shopping in Puerto Princesa, Palawan pearls are definitely on the must-buy list. Our third and last day in Palawan was devoted almost entirely on pasalubong shopping, of course I was on the look out for the cheapest store I can shop for pearls. The tricycle driver we hired that day brought us to Delma Pearl and Souvenir Shop located beside another famous local restaurant in Mercado de San Miguel, the SkyBox. We found this particular souvenir shop selling cheaper pearls and other accessories compared to the first store we were brought in during our city tour. Best of all we could still use our haggling skills here.

Puerto Princesa Bay So what made a former city girl like me love Puerto Princesa so much?  Every city dwellers who've been to this part of the country would surely agree that there's more to Puerto Princesa than the famous Underground River and many island beaches. Surprisingly, it also offers a much tamed city vibe feel unlike its equally stunning El Nido and Coron. Okay, just to be transparent, I've never been to the latter two which I'm pretty sure will both sweep me off my feet for their scenic beauties. It's just that I already found Puerto Princesa a lot more conducive to live ( if ever I plan to live here for good ), it's the more developed ( without the pollution ) part of Palawan. You get the outdoor feel which can be practically just a few feet from your home and at the same time you have a good number of schools, cheap and fancy restaurants, government agencies, hospitals, malls (Robinsons Galleria is under construction) and airport within reach.

Palawan Mangroves The Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour is a community based sustainable ecotourism project. The 45 minute tour into the Sabang River and its centuries old mangroves allows visitor to observe and appreciate what old growth mangrove forest free of human entervention looks like. Visitors are also given a chance to contribute to conservation by planting mangrove saplings in designated planting area. After taking our lunch and rested at Sabang Beach, our tour guide Mae-Anne asked if we wanted to join the newlyweds for the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour. We agreed of course, after all, our Underground River Tour was scheduled at around 3-3:30pm. We left the other group who chose to stay and relax at the beach while we hopped on the van that took us to where the mangroves are. During the very short drive, we saw tourists mostly foreign backpackers, walking their way to the much secluded part of Sabang Beach  where the mangrove tour is also located. It was like 12 noon and they'r...

inside the world's longest navigable Underground River  The two hour drive from Puerto Princesa to Sabang, passing through sharp curves on 2 part zigzag roads (yes, expect to sway inside the van) is already an adventure treat itself. We learned a lot from our tour guides Mae-Anne and Grace telling us stories about healers, folklore, history and other fun facts during the long drive while passing the scenic country charm of Palawan. This post gives you a glimpse of what happens on a typical day when you book the Php1,500 Underground River Tour .

colors of Palawan The beach, the sun, the sand...the island province of Palawan is best known worldwide for its GREAT OUTDOORS. Located at the western border of the Philippines, the irregular coastline of Palawan boasts a land area of 1,703,075 hectares and roughly 1,780 islands of sugar-white sandy beaches. From Manila, the capital city Puerto Princesa is approximately an hour's travel by plane.  February 21, 2012 - I boarded a Cebu Pacific plane bound to Puerto Princesa to experience the much raved Palawan adventure.Together with Uncle No and Aunt Lily, our first glimpse of Palawan was unforgettable, as expected. For 3 days and 2 nights, we drove from one tourist spot to another, the outdoor tours, picturesque stop overs, freshly grilled seafood dinners, the welcoming locals..geez, that 3-day Puerto Princesa tour was too short to fully explore the Palawan outdoors, I don't even think a week-long vacation would be enough, considering there's still Coron, El Nido and...