Luli Island (LU-lubog-LI-litaw), Honda Bay
Me and my sister began our three day travel in Palawan on November 29, 2011. It was a sunny day. Our flight was scheduled at 1:45PM. This was the first time I missed a flight in my entire life, just because my sister was too confident about the time. I had been to places such as Thailand, Cebu, Bohol, Hong Kong & Macau, and never missed a single flight. I was always early. Consequence was we had to pay more than what we bargained for with the flight being rescheduled. We boarded Cebu Pacific, and at this point they only allow at least 45 minutes before your flight to check in, and 30 minutes before the flight to board the plane.
DAY 1
We arrived in Puerto Princesa at around 6pm. We were suppose to have a city tour, but due to the missed flight we had nothing to do, but check in at our hotel. My sister was responsible for arranging our accommodation. We stayed at duchess pension house which is 10 minutes away from the airport. We booked a twin sharing fan cooled room at Php 350 a night with common T&B which was pretty much practical since we usually spend our time during the day touring the city, and only get to stay there during sleep time. We'd rather spend more on the tour itself. The pension house has their own travel agency which they call TS Sea Adventures. Their tours are very reasonable, and not too expensive considering you have an air conditioned van, a tour guide and lunch for all tours. It ranges from 600 to 1,500 depending on the tour you like. My sister got in touch with Tricia who is very much accommodating. The pension house gave us a welcome, and gave us a token. They call it the "rainmaker". I have no idea what's inside this bamboo, but it definitely sounds like rain. I'm guessing it's grain of rice. The sound really felt relaxing, but they said that if you make it sound then it will rain. I would give a rating of 8/10 for our room and 10/10 for their service.
Rainmaker
DINNER TIME. I heard about Ka Lui's Restaurant which is a very popular resto for tourist. They say it's a must to drop by the resto if you're going to Puerto Princesa. We asked our hotel to make reservations for us at around 7pm. The resto doesn't accept walk-in's, so you have to make reservations first before going there. The place was pretty much lighted by candle light tables. One very unique experience was you have to take off your shoes before entering, and deposit your shoes in a deposit box. We loved the place. Even their restrooms are sooo nice! The food was also great, and very much affordable. Our bill was only under 1k. We had the Ka Lui's Special which is already good for two.
DAY 2
This day was the most exhausting day for us. We started at 7am in the morning. We were bound for Honda Bay. We had a lot of Island hopping, fish feeding etc. Here are the places we went to. I am trying to remember as much as I can. Next time I'll blog it right away, so I won't forget.
Honda Bay
Snake Island
Luli Island
City Tour
Baker's Hill
Palawan butterfly garden
Ranche Zip Line Adventure
Baywalk
NCC Mall
LUNCH: This was provided and included in the tour package. A very satisfying lunch.
DINNER TIME: We had our Dinner at Ugong Rock. It's a Bar & Resto. No reservation necessary. They also have a live band. The food was great and affordable. They also have food where you get to choose the sea food and have them cook it.
After dinner we still wanted to see the firefly watching, but we didn't have enough time. It takes an hour to go to the place itself. Maybe next time. I so wanted to see that.
DAY 3
The much awaited Underground River! We traveled 1 and a half hour to reach Sabang Beach where we had to ride a boat from there to the Underground River. This was the most exciting part of all our tours. They always remind you not to open your mouth when looking at the formations above the cave. Why? you will know when you get there. One thing we missed was to bring a flashlight. The boat only has one flash light which is given to the person in front of the boat. What's worse is if the person in front is old, and if ask to point the light to the left he points to the right. The boatman will guide you throughout the tour. Bats are all over the place, but are all hanging on top of the cave.
Sabang Beach
Sabang Beach
There it is. The incredible rock formations inside the cave. We had to drop by for some souvenirs after our underground river tour. Our flight was at 5:30pm on the same day. We would have gone to El Nido if we still had a lot of time which is only a 5 hour drive from Puerto Princesa City. Oh well, I won't miss Coron as well. Till my next Palawan tour.
LINKS:
Duchess Pension - http://www.duchesspensionpalawan.com/
Tricia - 0917-5530605
Sherwin - 0917-5870978
