Some classmates from MBA and I flew to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the weekend. It was my first time to Puerto Princesa and my first out-of-town trip for the summer. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. So was everybody. Except for Val and I, they had already gone ahead on the 5th. Val and I were supposed to just catch up with them on the 6th.
Early in the morning of the 6th, I jumped out of bed and drove off to pick up Val. However, when I got to her place, I learned that due to last minute changes in her schedule she won’t be able to make it. It’s a bummer but there’s nothing that can be done about it. So, I went back home, picked up a few things I’ve left behind and then drove to Park ‘N Fly (nice service) where I parked. They then shuttled me to the airport terminal.
Upon checking in at the counter, I learned that the flight was delayed due to a temporary closureof the airport for some government thing. After a looong and boooring wait at the pre-departure area, it was finally boarding time. A short and thankfully uneventful flight later, I was in Puerto Princesa.
I was met at the airport by the shuttle of Badjao Inn, the hotel where we stayed. After a short drive I was outside the hotel. It’s a bit misrepresented in the photos on its website. Things didn’t get any better when I went in. But then, I was not in town for the hotel so I just let it be. I met up with the others and broke out the news about Val. Everyone was sad but things had to go on.
After a quick lunch, we hustled over to Honda Bay where we island hopped to Starfish Island, Snake Island, and Luli Island for some swimming and frolicking on the clear blue waters and white sands of the islands’ beaches. Towards dusk, we went to Bat Island to wait for the bats coming out to feed. It’s awe-inspiring looking at the bats taking off singly and heading off to the hill with a sense of purpose. Nature sure is amazing. The Bat Island stop concluded our Honda Bay tour and we headed back to town to wash up and have dinner at Bilao and Palayok (probably the best restaurant in that town). We were tired from the days activity so everyone slept relatively early.
The next day, we got up early for the Subterranean River, one of Puerto Princesa’s main attractions and a world heritage site. The road was long, zig-zaggy, and ROUGH. There were two rest stops along the way and we took advantage of them to stretch our cramped and roughed-about body parts. We reached Sabang Beach (a pretty good beach) which is the jump-off point for the boat ride to the subterranean river. We had to wait and eat lunch as there were no more boats due to the number of visitors. When a boat finally became available, we shuttled over to the Subterranean River.
After disembarking, we entered the entrance to the Subterranean River National Park and took a look at the monitor lizards and long-tailed macaques roaming around the entrance attracted by picnic goers’ food. It was like King Kong in a smaller scale. We left this living diorama behind and walked through a wooden raised pathway to the lagoon where the entrance of the Subterranean River is.
After we donned flotation vests and helmets, we got into a boat with Toteng, a boatman who was recently featured in a Business World article. He took us through the underground river and back, all the while telling his usually corny but ocassionally funny jokes. There were a quite a few rock formations of which our comedian boatman would make a wisecrack about.
The underground river itself is huge and long. It is supposed to be the world’s longest navigable underground river. Being a underground river, it comes with it not only stalactites, stalagmites, domes and other rock formations but also pools and lagoons.
Here and there bats hung upside-down sleeping on their precarious perches. All around, swifts fly around making clicking sounds. Probably their version of sonic navigation.
After the tour, we headed back to town. The road seemed much rougher and longer than ever but it eventually ended and we got back to the hotel. After washing up we went to check out Deep Forest for dinner. Unfortunately, it was so far, secluded, and eery looking so we left and had dinner at Haim Chicken Inato (not too great) instead. Afterwards, we had halo-halo for dessert at Chow King (yes, they’re already there). After dinner, we returned to the hotel where Glenn, Wil, and I played poker which we just discovered.
The next day, it’s off to the airport. During the flight, Glenn, Wil, and I whiled away the time playing poker. In no time, at all, we were touching down and we’re back.