I am writing this blog para sa mga interesadong magbasa about my experience sa Palawan. And also sa mga may balak na magpunta sa Palawan pero worried sa kung anu-anong bagay about the place at worried sa mismong tour.
Let me start with the plane ticket:
I got mine last August 2011 for only 1,100 pesos (round trip + taxes + 15 kls baggage allowance) that's for 1 person only. So dalawa kami ni Jay so bale 2,200 for our round trip ticket via Cebu Pacific. By the way, wala kasing biyaheng Clark to Puerto Princesa so we don't have a choice but to get the Manila-Puerto Princesa flight. Para makakuha ng best deal ng ticket fare you need to wait and to be alert talaga sa mga seat sale ng mga airline companies tulad ng ginawa ko. Ang original airfare kasi usually nagrrange sa 7k to 9k for a round trip so masasabi ko na ding sobrang mura nung nakuha ko. Mas maganda nga magpa-book ng matagal para atleast magkaka-panahon ka pa na makapag-ipon for the hotel at pocket money.
Hotel Accommodation
I booked our hotel accommodation I think 2 or 3 weeks before the trip. You should consider a hotel that is very accessible sa lahat like restaurant, grocery, gimikan etc. But on this trip, I considered ung hotel na may beach so I ended up with Marina de Bay Resort and Spa. I thought na may beach sya, actually meron naman but hindi sya seafront. Di ka puedeng maligo. Bale parang bale beach lang ang scenery pero di ka makaka-swim kasi puro mangrove ung paligid. In fairness naman, magnda ung place. Okay ung service nila at napaka friendly ng mga staff. Almost lahat ng request namin eh binibigay nila. Bale 4,580 nga pala per pax dun sa hotel kasama na dun ung Underground River tour (which costs 1,800/pax). Included na din dun ung free breakfast (American, Continental or Filipino breakfast, your choice!). Then nag-add kami ng another 750 (each) for lunch and dinner for the whole stay (3 days). Sulit na din ung 750 each kasi ikaw nman pipili ng food na gusto mong i-serve nila. Bale 2 dishes per meal nman tapos may dessert na ding kasama. They also have swimming pool na overlooking din ang beach.
Underground River Tour
From our hotel, 2 hours pa ang byahe if pupunta ka ng UR (underground river). Bale 2 hours na byahe by land and then another 15 to 20 minutes pa na byahe by boat. Actually pag galing ka sa city proper kahit anong hotel ka mag-stay you will still consume 1 1/2 to 2 hours na byahe by land. Whole day ang gugugulin mo for the UR tour. But if you still have energy sa gabi you can still have dinner sa mga masasabi kong "must-try" nilang resto. Before the UR tour, we had our lunch sa isang beach sa Sabang area (don't know the exact name of the place) basta malapit sya sa Sheridan Hotel na sobrang sosyal at the price of 17,000 pesos per PAX! Imagine, per pax talga ung 17k na un! From that beach, they offered Tamilok (wood worm na sumisira daw sa mga mangrove according to our guide). Jay had the courage to taste the Tamilok. Eto un:
Dining Out
Before I go to Palawan, I read some blogs/articles/forums related sa Palawan trip. I've heard that Kinabuchs is a must-try resto. Actually there's nothing special about this place. Just a plain restaurant pero grabe sa dami ng tao. We've tried their Sisig, Camaron Rebusado and Bulalo. They also serve exotic foods like Tamilok and Crocodile Meat but we never tried any of them.
City Tour
City tour consists of Crocodile Farm, Mitra's Ranch, Baker's Hill and Iwahig Penal Colony and most of all ung Tiangge tour. Another tip, if pupunta kayo sa mga lugar na yan, better na wag muna kayong bumili ng souvenir kasi lahat ng makikita nyo from Underground River tour to City Tour is makikita nyo sa tinatawag nilang Tiangge Tiangge. Mas mura lahat ng bilihin sa Tiangge nila at nandun na lahat from dried pusit, keychains to t-shirts. Sa Baker's Hill, I suggest na bumili kayo ng Hopia, Pianono and Crinkles. Sobrang mura ng hopia nila na nagrrange from 40 to 50 pesos per box.
We had fun in Palawan!!! :)
