Our Palawan Underground River Experience

(Note: This is a long overdue post. Our trip to Palawan was taken February 8-10, 2009. A major part of this post is my entry in my virtual tourist page.)

The highlight of any trip to Palawan is the tour to the Subterranean River. Touted to be the longest navigable underground river in the world, this tourist destination is currently vying for a spot in the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Our hotel made arrangements for our tour. For P 1,500 per person, the guided tour package includes a 2-hour van ride to Sabang port, a 15-minute motorized banca ride to the Underground River Park, the boat ride inside the Underground River and lunch in Sabang Beach.

Our tour began as early as 5:30a.m. when we were picked up from our hotel/resort. The ride took about 2 hours with almost half of it on rough roads. We got off at Sabang port and lined up to take a short ferry ride to get to the Underground River Park.

The short banca ride accorded us majestic views of limestone formations.

After 10 minutes, we docked at the Underground River Park. From there, it was a short walk on a trail

to get to the mouth of the cave/river.

There was already a long line of tourists waiting for their turn to get on another banca which would take them inside the underground river. We fell in line and whiled away the time by taking pictures of the girls making silly poses. After about 1 1/2 hours, it was finally our turn.

Our boatman/tour guide took us on a canoe-type boat. Motor-powered boats are banned inside the cave to preserve nature in all its glory. Our guide injected humor in his narration and pointed out the various stalactite and stalagmite formations.

stalactite formation called "Dory" (a character from the Disney movie, Nemo)

stalagmite formation called "holy family"

The trip inside the underground river lasted about 20 minutes. Upon exiting the cave, this view came into sight.

where freshwater meets saltwater

It was a one-of-a-kind and truly memorable experience. We witnessed nature at its best.

our souvenir shot

Ka Lui Restaurant

Another popular restaurant in Puerto Princesa in Palawan is KaLui. Diners are accorded a different experience as guests are asked to leave their shoes or slippers before entering the main dining area. Yes, guests go barefoot when they dine.

Reservations are necessary as the resto is always full.

While waiting for our food, the flowers on the side of the table (marked on pic above), which I think were meant to be a centerpiece, found their way on my girls' hair.

To cool us off, we ordered iced tea and fruit shakes.

For starters, we were given an appetizer of seaweed salad.

We got the house specialty called the seafood platter which consisted of steamed fish, grilled squid, grilled tuna and shrimp.

seafood platter

For dessert, slices of fresh fruits topped with brown sugar, served in a coconut shell.

Mmmm, everything was good! No wonder, KaLui is a must-go-to restaurant when in Palawan.

Honda Bay Island Hopping

Coming back from Palawan is now making me nostalgic about our family vacation last year. Allow me to make a very belated post about that trip as I found this narration (written in February 9, 2009) in my multiply account which is still tagged as a draft.

I'm another year older and to celebrate, our whole family hied off to Palawan. Thanks to Cebu Pacific Airline's promo fares, we were able to book our flights last October for only P6,000 for all five of us. More internet surfing made us decide to book our accommodations at Niko's Cabanas - tagged as the #1 resort on Tripadvisor.com. Making and confirming our reservations were all done thru e-mail. Our reservation was done with about a month to spare for our much-awaited 3 days and 2 nights vacation.

our room at Niko's Cabanas

Upon landing at the Puerto Princesa airport yesterday, we immediately noticed the overcast skies. Nonetheless, we were determined to go island-hopping in Honda Bay. After checking in at the resort, we ordered brunch and ate at around 11.

bulalo and sizzling spare ribs

The girls took a very quick nap and we were on our way to Honda Bay Wharf by 12:30 p.m. We rented a boat for P1,500 and the boatmen were eager to point out Luli (for "lulubog-lilitaw") Island:

and Pandan Island:

With the cloudy skies, our boat ride was like a roller coaster ride as the waves were huge. The girls were scared and excited at the same time. We first docked in Starfish Island and the girls were very awed to touch the live starfish.

Our next stop was Snake Island.

Even with the strong waves, the girls had a grand time feeding the colorful fishes with bread. After snacking and resting briefly, we hopped on the boat once more and headed back to Luli Island. By the time we reached the island, the girls were asleep on the boat, no doubt lulled by the waves. We then decided to call it quits for the island hopping and returned to the wharf. After a quick tricycle ride , we were back in Niko's.

Our planned dinner for my birthday night in Kalui's was postponed as we were informed that the restaurant isn't open on Sundays. We surfed the internet for other recommended dining places. By the time we made our revised plans, we were invited by the resort staff to join the their party. It turned out that the resort owner was celebrating his birthday and it was also the resort's 2nd anniversary. What perfect timing for us!

Next Post: Our Dinner at KaLui's Restaurant

Badjao Seafront Restaurant

On our second day in Puerto Princesa, we were able to wrap up our work by 2pm and decided to take a late lunch before our 5:30 pm flight back to Manila. The front desk staff of our hotel suggested that we try out one of their city's popular restaurants. They made arrangements for a van to pick us up at the hotel and bring us to Badjao Seafront Restaurant,

where we enjoyed a 145-degree view of this while dining.

We ordered sisig

Php 140

and spicy shrimp.

Php 175 per 300 grams order

Food prices were very reasonable. With those 2 dishes pictured above, we also had a couple of canned sodas and three cups of rice and we paid less than Php 600, which is already inclusive of tip and service charge.

I'm glad we were able to squeeze in this dining experience. There was nothing extra unique about the food but the ambiance of the place was worth it. Simply put, I soaked up the sight of mangroves plus sun, sea and sky before heading back to the jungle called Manila. ;)