The Palawan Experience

I must admit, I do not have the concinnity of a travel writer and I can’t promise a detailed chorography of Dos Palmas or the subterranean river. This humbly, would be my futile attempt of chronicling our recent Palawan escapade. Pathetic as it is, read on.

We had our flights booked as early as February this year. Our biggest mistake was we didn’t really put so much thought on how long our stay in Palawan would be. We settled for 3 days and 2 nights, and for anyone who’s been there, Im pretty sure you’ll agree, that wouldn’t be enough. And boy, it wasn’t enough.

We boarded ZestAir at 4:40 in the afternoon, the plane ride was smooth and they didn’t disappoint. I’d say from 1-10, Id give them a 9. and that’s only because our flight got delayed by an hour.

Our plane landed at Puerto Princesa Airport at about 6:30pm. We were picked up from the Airport by Kuya Lito from Raq Pensionne. My wife and I had our first quick tour of the city from the airport. Kuya Lito took care of the warm welcome, giving us his tour guide prowess he described the places and gave us a sneak peek of what to expect from the city.

Puerto Princesa Airport

Accomodation at Raq Pensionne

Raq Pensionne

At Raq Pensionne, we were greeted by none other than the hotel owner herself. She was very nice and warm and even offered extra towels that we can bring to Dos Palmas so we wont have to rent bath towels from them. They even took care of our reservation at Ka Lui’s. (we’ll get to that later). The place was clean and had a home vibe. Our room was clean and everything was well provided. I would easily recommend Raq Pensionne to anyone as we had a very pleasant stay at the hotel from our first day down to our last day. They never said no to anything. Even when my wife asked where she can buy a hair clip, the hotel owner herself lent her one. Talk about going the extra mile.

Nothing fancy about the place, its cozy and affordable. What's there to ask for?

Stairs to the 2nd floor

Dos Palmas

We were told to get up at 6am so we can have breakfast and be on time for the bus ride that will take us to Honda Bay. Everything went as scheduled. A boat was waiting for us at Honda Bay and took us to Dos Palmas, the ride took an hour and as soon as we docked at Dos Palmas we were greeted by their staff and they were playing ethnic music, kulintang and some other percussions. My wife couldn’t get enough of the complimentary drink that was served as soon as we entered the receiving area. They called the beverage snow on top. Damn it was good.

A short briefing was conducted by one of their senior staff member, Melmar, We had to cover our noses to hide the bleeding. While Melmar displayed demeanor true to how a staff member at one of the most well known resorts here in the Philippines should act, Melmar also had a strong command of the English language, if his audience were bats and dugongs. “Okay its sea urchin season today, please do not touch them okay” Translation: Beware of Sea Urchins

Do not lost the kay locker because you lost them, you pay $20.

Translation: $20 for lost key locker.

We had fun snorkeling and following the school of fishes as we explored what lies beneath the waves. Id say of all the things we did, this one I enjoyed the most, apart from the occasional struggle with saltwater that keeps on pressing on my nose, which I could have avoided by adjusting the goggles or if my nostrils weren’t that big. (Not my fault but my mom’s genes) My wife enjoyed it so much she said she’ll do this again and even learn scuba diving. It was very calming. There’s no other way to describe it.

After the fun time with the fishes, my wife and I decided to kayak. This was another fun activity you shouldn’t miss if you ever plan on going to Palawan or any other resort that offers it for that matter.

Lunch was served between 12-2. I think we had lunch at 1pm. We ordered another round of snow on top and we had our snacks first at the cabanas. The buffet was great. I had seafood kare-kare and shrimp gambas.

Lunch

My wife

Our stay at Dos Palmas was short and sweet, we had to board the ship at 3:30 and we were back at the hotel by 5pm. We took a short nap and then went to Ka Lui’s for dinner.

View of Dos Palmas from the boat

Dinner at Ka Lui’s

You have to get a reservation at Ka Lui’s so they can accommodate you. (Raq Pensione took care of that on our first night, Thanks to Gerard, One of their staff) That’s how popular they are in Puerto Princesa. And you would not be disappointed. They offer superb service and a variety of meals fresh from the sea. Upon entering the dining area, its a must that you have to leave your shoes or your sandals on a designated locker. Yes, you have to go barefoot. Even the staff walk around minus the slippers/shoes on  the well polished wood flooring of Ka Luis. I asked one of their staff why we had to go barefoot. He answered me with a smile "Para daw po parang nasa bahay ka lang" [''So everyone will feel at home''].

The Underground River

We had to prepare early for our tour of the Subterranean River, that's because we had a flight to catch at 5:50 in the afternoon. Our tour guide was Mai, and we were joined by a family of four on the van. It took us 2 hours to reach Sabang. From Sabang, we rode a boat to the Underground River.

The Underground river is the longest navigable river in the world, it is the official nominee of our country to the New 7 wonders of nature. A boatman serves as your tour guide inside the cave and also picks the part of semi entertainer while describing the underground river that houses a spectacle of rock formations. Inside the subterranean river, the cool breeze gently sways you to feel the calm and its simply breath taking, partly because of the bat droppings that will greet you as soon as you enter the cave. But once inside you cant help but get awed by the sights that nature gallantly created by itself.


After the tour of the Underground River we had our lunch at a nearby resort where we had a taste of Tamilok. They say a visit to Palawan will never be complete without a taste of their native delicacy (This is debatable because some Asian countries claim it originated from them Indonesia, Thailand etc) known as tamilok. Its a woodworm found in mangroves and tastes like your familiar oyster.

Tamilok

Kudos to Ate Mai (our tour guide) we were able to make it to our flight back home and even had spare time to take a shower. Overall our Palawan experience was great and because of their amazing service (Raq Pensionne and sorry I forgot the name of the Travel and Tours company, but if you book at Raq you can ask for them) we'll go back there and get their services again.

Oh Palawan... I wish we can go back there soon. Its the best vacation I've ever had.

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