Exploring Puerto Princessa, Palawan : Mini City Tour

The highlight of my 2011 was finally the chance to travel to my childhood dream destination - Palawan. We were able to get promo fares courtesy of Cebu Pacific, and a colleague at work, who happens to hail from Puerto Princessa, Palawan, offered us their lovely home for accomodations

We were very excited that morning when we took our flight, I didn't even mind the lack of sleep as we drove directly to the airport after work.

straight from the office

dream come true!

My colleagues picked us up from the airport and offered to take us immediately to one tourist destination - Baker's Hill. It's like a mini park owned by a private individual who was generous enough to open it to the public without any admission fee. You just have to make sure that you leave no litter and take care of whatever it is you see. They also have a restaurant there that serves seafood buffet for lunch, some kiosks that sell refreshment and a bakery that sells the yummiest hopia I've tasted. Too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of the hopia. It was all gone before we even thought of taking pics.

We were supposed to get in for the lunch buffet but my colleague's dad called and told us to save our appetite for a seafood lunch they prepared at home. Free is always better.

After spending an hour going around Baker's Hill, we headed to the next tourist attraction, also a part of the city tour which is Mitra's Ranch. The property is owned by the famous polician Ramon Mitra. They had zip line there that we didn't try, which costs about PhP500. Entrance fee to the ranch is PhP40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mitra's Ranch

After Mitra's Ranch, we decided to head to our hostess' home where we were greeted by the lovely family, and served with a sumptuous seafood lunch. Again, no pictures were taken as we were too excited to devour the food.

We rested for a bit after the late lunch, changed our clothes and then decided to explore the city again. This time, we went to Tiange Tiange, the popular pasalubong center. Here you find all sorts of souvenirs to take home to your loved ones. And they're very affordable, too!

Tiange Tiange

One delicacy they have is cashew nuts which are being sold at a really affordable price. It was a haven for me as I am very fond of cashews. After buying pasalubong, checked out the historical Plaza Cuartel. This place is where the American soldiers where burned alive by the Japanese forces during the World War II.

little plaque narrating the brief history of Plaza Cuartel

this place has become a little park for the kids and families to enjoy

After spending a few minutes here, and being awake for more than 24 hours, my body decided it's going to claim its much needed rest. So we headed home and called it a day - and that was how our first day in Puerto Princessa, Palawan went.

Serenity in Virgin Island

One of the must-do's when going to Bantayan is a visit to Virgin Beach. It's a little island approximately 15-20 minutes away via motorized boat coming from the mainland. To go there, you need to hire a boatman that would cost you PhP1,000 (for the entire day). For that price, you can also visit some other islands, but since we fell in-love with Virgin Island at first site, we decided to spend the entire day there.

going to Virgin Island...that strip of white you see is the white beach

We bought fruits and food from the market in Sta. Fe and brought them with us for the boat man to cook. You don't need to worry about utensils and cooking paraphernalia as they have it in the island. You can also buy rice there to cook, as well as drinks for reasonable price. Since this is a private island, you need to pay an entrance fee of PhP500, but that's for the entire group, no matter how many you are. Picnic huts are available for free, unless you choose those that are privately-owned.

The gang : hiding from the glaring sun...this picnic hut was included in our entrance fee

When you have the island to yourself, you can't help but have a photo shoot

The island is very secluded. When we went there, there were only one other group, so we had the entire island almost to ourselves.

 

The island also has a very rich marine life. So make sure you bring your snorkelin gears with you. A waterproof camera would be nice, too. The first time we went, we didn't have underwater camera. The moment we got our underwater camera, we did a break-in and went immediately to Virgin Island. 

Taken using our underwater camera. You don't need to go far, this is just very near the shoreline, where even our kids can see them.

family picture...make sure you have  your snorkeling gears

 This is one of the most beautiful islands I've seen. It's very peaceful and quiet, it's like having an entire island for yourself. The sand is soft and powdery, the waters is crystalline, and the entire atmosphere is just serene. If someone would invite me back to this island, I would definitely say YES, without batting an eyelash.

signature pose in Virgin Island

mother and daughter signature pose in Virgin Island

under the shade of the Talisay tree

photo shoot and effect : notice the white powdery sand? it's unedited

will i go back? definitely!!!

Bantayan Island : A Slice of Paradise

Bantayan January 2012

Since this is my first official entry in my own travel blog, I wanna start it off with my first weekend get-away for 2012, to nonetheless my favorite place in Cebu - Bantayan Island.

We originally planned to stay overnight, but just like what happened in our previous visit (blog to follow), we ended up staying for 2 nights. My early training as a scout proved to be handy as I packed for 2 nights, for the entire family.

We left the city at around 7am. We brought our own car, and by 9am, we were already in Hagnaya, where we processed the papers and paid the fees to board the car in the ferry with us to Sta. Fe. The fare for the sedan car is PhP1260 one way, plus PhP160 fee to Cebu Port Authority.

We stayed at Kota Beach Resort, and took advantage of the their promotion. You pay only PhP3,600 for 3 days/2nights inclusive of breakfast for two. I got this promotion from browsing through the ultimate Bantayan resource, wowbantayan.net

Kota Beachfront Cottage

What we love about Kota is that it has an open-air restaurant that serves great foods at reasonable prices. They beach line is wide, with fine white powdery sand.



It's also just a walking distance to the Santa Fe market, and to most of the bars and restos, thus offering you a variety of options for night life.

Sta. Fe street going to the market

Just make sure you don't party away too much at night so you have the chance to witness one magnificent sunrise when you wake up.


Three days and 2 nights seemed to passed by swiftly, and before we knew it, it was time to bid the island goodbye. We checked out of the resort with a heavy heart and proceeded to go to the seaport.



We had a little wait before departure, and we busied ourselves by taking pictures of the crystal clear waters, so clean you can see the fishes swimming. It was all we could do to keep us from jumping over the ferry!

Took this picture while sitting inside the ferry. Super clean waters! Their seaport is teeming with life!