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| ppc! |
I have never been in love with a
city until I set foot to Puerto Princesa City (partida bad weather pa un ha).
We arrived to a gloomy weather
and have been praying for the sky to open up and for the sun to shine its
brightest as this was my first time in Palawan. I’ve heard and seen so many
stories about Palawan and was excited to enjoy it with Jayjay. We scored a seat
sale with Cebu Pacific and booked with Tres Pension for P1000 per night for 2
people with free breakfast and airport pick up. We enjoyed our stay here I find
it cheap but very comfortable and clean and nice staff though it’s quite far
from the city center. You can ask them to book and reserve a slot for tours,
island hopping and other activities. We decided not to book for any tour ahead
of time as we’re not sure how the weather would be we also decided that we can
just skip the underground river tour because I feel like the experience of seeing
it on TV and pictures was just the same as experiencing it for real and we have
a limited budget so we decided t skip it for now. Then we learned that after
being awarded as one of nature’s seven wonders you have to book a tour in
advance like a month or so and according to Ate Joan of Tres Pension from what
they’ve heard it was fully booked already for the next 2 months. We instead
asked them to book us for the Honda Bay tour and the firefly river cruise.
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| entrance to tres pension |
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| garden |
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| our room |
We’re supposed to arrive at PPC
at around 4:00PM but our flight was delayed due to air traffic. I suggest that
whenever booking a promo or seat sale choose an early morning flight schedule
to avoid delays. We landed at around
7:00PM and it was raining we were picked up by the van from Tres Pension and we
just left our backpacks and then decided to hunt for a place to eat. The staff
of Tres Pension suggested Balinsasayaw which was 10 minutes away by tricycle.
Balinsasayaw has a nice façade but make sure to wear pants and long sleeves or
put on an insect repellant as there were a lot of mosquitos. We asked the
waiter for their specialty and he mentioned Balinsasayaw Express which we
ordered and Sinigang na Talakitok. We were surprised to discover that their
specialty Balinsasayaw Express was just like chopsuey without any meat or fish.
We keep on thinking why the waiter would recommend something that’s not that
good. We spent P371.00 for our dinner.
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| balinsasayaw entrance |
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| balinsasayaw |
On our second day we were anxious
as it was still a gloomy day and already started raining and we’re scheduled to
visit Honda Bay. The tour guide picked us up at 7:30 AM and upon arriving to
the jump off point for the Honda bay tour all visitors were just staying on the
parking lot and all boats were docked. We were informed that Coast Guard did
not allow any island hopping trip due to bad weather, there was actually no
rain but the wind was strong and the tour organizer informed us that there was
an incident before that almost toppled the boat due to strong winds that’s why
Coast Guard does not allow boat tours with strong winds. A lot of disappointed
sighs were heard and we were already paid and I’m not sure how we can refund
the money. The guide told us that we will do city tour instead because they
have also prepared lunch and will maximize the day to cover as much that will
equal our money (ay ganun!).
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| honda bay i'll be back |
We went first to a korean spa I
was disappointed there was nothing you can do in it, the spa they’re saying was
like a cubicle with pool like I don’t even have words how to describe it hehe.
The rest of the group seems to feel the same way as they head back to the van.
We then went to the mangrove beach at the back (or I think it’s the front I’m
not totally sure) of Mictorel Palawan. It was a nice place very quiet, it was
very low tide that you walk meters away and the water will still be just at
your ankle. We already crossed out swimming on our list because it will be
impossible. We had our lunch here and it was a healthy feast, combination of
pork and seafoods with matching fresh buko juice. We stayed here for almost 2
hours and started chatting with other members of the group and explored the
beach and the mangroves.
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| korean spa |
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| mangrove beach |
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| kubo along the beach |
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| eating time |
We then went to Balsahan River
inside the Iwahig Penitentiary. They say that inmates here can freely stroll
around the compound and around the penitentiary. It was almost like a barangay
to me there were houses along the road and people wearing orange shirts were
walking in the streets. I was a little scared I’m not sure if this was a safe
thing to do but according to our guide there was never an incident of violence
or tourists being harmed here. Iwahig was a far drive from the city center and
it was raining hard when we arrived at the Balsahan River. There was a
construction going on at one side of the river and they say that they’re
widening it to accommodate tourists and water activity. They say that they plan
to put up river tubing activity here. We did not stay long as it was raining
hard.
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| balsahan river |
We then went to the Iwahig
Penitentiary proper, they have a hall where they accept tourist with a
welcoming dance group and a lot of souvenirs you can choose from. It looks safe
and there were also other tourists roaming around. There were some prisoners
selling siopao and some were very pushy that I decided not to buy any souvenir
because if they see you buying something they will not leave you until you also
buy from them. One of us was forced to buy from one of the prisoners because he
got scared as the prisoner was very pushy and to get off his back he just
bought from him.
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| inmates-made souvenirs |
Next stop was Baker’s Hill, it
was like a house in the US with the house design and it’s like you’re not in
the Philippines. We roam around and they have a mini zoo at the back and the famous
bakery in front. The hopia boxes still hot and fresh from the oven at a
reasonable price. Lastly we went back to the city
proper and went to LRC souvenir shop which was along the highway. If you wish
to buy pasalubongs and souvenirs you may want to do it here the merchandise
here are cheap but I’m not sure if there’s another place that sells much
cheaper pasalubongs and souvenirs.
It was a tiring day and I was
expecting myself to feel very disappointed but surprisingly I was not, I was
very impressed with the city. We almost drive longer that staying to the places
we went to and were able to observe the city and enjoy the view and I was even
mesmerized when we decided to walk along Rizal Ave to look for a place to eat. We
were supposed to join the firefly river cruise with dinner but unfortunately
there was a misunderstanding and a mix up with schedule. We ate at Ugong Rock,
the place was cozy and their food was good though their servings are not that
big, we spent P397.00 here.
It was like any other provincial cities that I’ve been through but there’s something with Puerto Princesa City that I
felt, we were never been yet to any of its natural wonder and enjoy its
pristine beaches and it’s like even without showing us the beauty it possesses,
the city itself already made me swoon. I’ll be back for sure to be fully in
love with the city.
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| i <3 ppc! |
EXPENSES FOR 2PAX:
Air fare: P1700 2 way (seat sale)
Transportation:
P40 triclycle – from hotel to
Balinsasayaw
P16 – multi cab from resort to
city center
P60 – from city center back to
hotel
Food and drinks for 2 pax:
P1150 – will depend to the place
where you will eat and drink. We bought beer at one of the convenience stores
in the city center and consumed it in our hotel room :)
Activity:
P1500 each for Honda Bay tour
Accomodation:
P1000 - 3 days/ 2 nights
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