Three Great Weeks

I had another chance to see beautiful places in Palawan. It was five months ago when I last flew there. It was never tiring to witness time and again the grandeur of the country's Last Ecological Frontier. This time, I and a friend, started the journey in Puerto Princesa, the capital city and went up North to Coron and Culion, skipping El Nido this time. Last June, we kicked off our vacation in Coron, then to Culion, El Nido and Puerto Princesa. This time we did it the other way around.

Let me do a travel tip/review of places, hotels, and food this time. This will help you guys if planning to go there too.

First, airfare. Cebu Pacific ranges from Php 1,400 ($30) to Php 7,000 ($152) depending on the availability of seats, season, and the time you purchased the ticket. The plane is divided into price categories so basically all seats have different prices. You are lucky if you can avail the lowest rates since there are no difference in the accommodation once on board (e.g food, no free snacks by the way, tv, pillows, etc.) Flight takes approximately one hour.

Hotels. We first booked ourselves to Turissimo Garden Hotel formerly Airport Hotel. Not too bad for Php 1,300 ($28) with AC and TV and free breakfast but we decided to upgrade to a better room, Php 1,800 ($39) We love windows and porches, by the way and never fans of free breakfasts. One big disappointment was there were no brewed coffee there. They have a small swimming pool but never got our interest. Must be the space factor, the pool is located on the way to the rooms in the back building in a so narrow walkway, not too much of a privacy. After two days we decided to check in at Microtel. Heard so much fuzz bout this new chain of hotels so it was time to check it out. Located in a secluded beach in the outskirts of the city, they will pick you up either from the airport or any hotel you are transferring from once you make a reservation. For Php 4,200 ($92) you can get a room facing the sea, double bed, AC, flat screen TV, telephone, fridge, and free breakfast.Quite expensive, though but it's worth it.  One disapointment, though is the WI-FI which is only available at the lobby. Nice view and cool breeze specially at this time of the year when winds coming from Siberia and Northern China are blown to the country by Northeast Monsoon (Amihan). The beach is fine but the waters isn't really for swimming. Tidal line is so far during low tides exposing mangrove roots and lots of starfish. At night when the tide is high, it is very enticing to swim but the waves are strong. We opt not to dip though for fear of scraping ourselves against the rocks and roots. Good alternative for swimming is the pool but the flooring is plain concrete and not tiles that makes it a little bit slippery and yucky underneath. Their Kilawin Tanigue (Mackerel in vinegar) is great too. The place is quiet and idyllic for honeymooners. I give Microtel Palawan four stars out of five.

Next destination, Sabang/Underground River. This is one truly magnificent work of nature. I hope it could still make it to the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Since we were planning to stay there for at least a week, we decided to stay on a more modest cottage like Green Verde in the main beach as it is more affordable at Php800 ($17) compared to the lofty rates of Daluyon at Php4,450 ($96) per night. There is no power supply in the village until 530 in the afternoon when generators will start running up to 11 in the evening. However, Daluyon runs their generators 24 hours and WI-FI is available in their restaurant. As wise as we are, we checked in at Green Verde, had breakfast and dinner at Daluyon to check mails and send reports. Entrance to the Puerto Princesa River and Subterranean Park, formerly known as Saint Paul Underground River, wass secured from their office in downtown Puerto Princesa, Php200 ($4) for foreigners and Php150 ($3) for locals. Bus or jeepney rides to Sabang is at 200 pesos and would take some two hours. For a more convenient and faster ride specially for those with extra money you can rent airconditioned vans from Php3,500 ($76) to Php4,500 ($97).

After three days of sand, sun, and fun, we decided to head north to Coron via WGA Superferry. We took the Suite for only Php3,500 (two pax). Much better than getting a tourist accommodation for some Php1,500 per person and sharing spaces with another 100 passengers or so in that AC room with double deckers. Not a good idea if you are travelling with some gadgets like laptop and would always go out for a smoke. Just can't leave important things unattended. The voyage took some 15 hours. Was really bored throughout the whole trip but I was able to get lots of sleep though. As usual the food in the ship sucks big time. No choice but to force it inside. We arrived in Coron just after midnight and checked ourselves in everybody's favorite Seadive. We had a reservation for Deluxe for only Php1,800 ($39). The room was nice, clean, but no TV. I wonder why. Wi-fi is only from the restaurant. Not too bad as long as there's connection for emails.

We planned to spend seven days in Corn for relaxation and a day's visit to Culion once again. We made sure that the Museum will be open as we didn't see it last time. Hired a boat going there for P3,500 and stayed a night at Tabing Dagat Lodge. Room rates are between P500 and P700. We really love this island. It gives me a playful imagination that I am living in the 17th century. The town is rustic, quiet, and has a different appeal. People are shy and would never approach you and talk. I guess it's all about the stigma attached to this island once relegated as the island of despair. However, things changed when we started saying hi to people and smile a bit. They smiled back and nod. We felt sorry for all those who've been confined here. On the brighter side, I met one of the Tourism Information Officers, Pastor Hermz Villanueva and told him about my plans of coming back to do some trail riding and hopefully bring other bikers with some assistance from the Local Government. Will tell you if this thing materializes.

Back in Coron, our fave hang out was Kawayanan Grill. We think that they have the best stuffed squid in town or maybe in the entire country. We just loved it so much. Their kinilaw (mackarel or tuna in vinegar) is also great. We don't get tired of eating the same food everyday with matching lato (seagrapes) and of course red wine.