{Precious Moments} My thoughts on our trip to Puerto Princesa

Hello everyone!!!

I have finally decided to blog about our trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. I am only using my phone right now, so pardon me for any mistyped words or grammatical errors you may spot here and there. Trust me, it is hard to compose a blog post with such a small screen and touch typing. Whew! But, here goes...

So, we've just been to Puerto Princesa last weekend until Tuesday as a way of celebrating my birthday. :-) Let me tell you, it was a blast!!! This is, by far, the best birthday celebration.

It all started when we booked a flight via AirPhil Express during their 2 peso fair promo. I stayed up all night just to secure a booking. Haha. I am all about thrifty travelling. I was able to book a flight from Clark to Puerto Princesa for me, my BabyLove and for my mom.

Now, all that's left is accommodation. After looking through so many hotels and inns, we have finally decided on booking our stay at Deep Forest Garden Inn. It's kind of located in a secluded place, but, since we wanted to escape the city life, we thought it was perfect! Also, it had a pool as well, so no need for us to get out to enjoy a swim. We got a Deluxe Room which cost Php 1, 900/night. Review can be found here, wherein I discuss the place more in detail. ;)

Tours we've booked are as follows:
Honda Bay Island Hopping - Php 1, 340 each
Irawan Canopy Zipline - Php 1, 100 each
Underground River Tour - Php 1, 540 each
City Tour - Php 600 each
* Prices may differ, depending on the agency you are booking your tours with. :)

All tours include van transfers, professional and licensed tour guides, boat travel (for island hopping and underground river tour), and lunch/snacks (except for City tour), entrance fees, environmental fees. :) Again, I will go through each on a separate post. Watch out for that. :)

Unfortunately, our hotel booking does not include breakfast or lunch, so we have to buy food. Hotel food was really good for its price (I will cover it on my hotel review that will follow soon). Nothing bad I can say about hotel food.

The people were really nice. So honest and humble. Everywhere you look, you see trees and greens, which is really refreshing to the eyes!

I especially loved the tricycles at Palawan! Haha! Photos will follow on a separate post as I have so many to share! I will compile them into a slideshow so that it won't have to take a lot of time to load, and would not take up a whole page. :)

Also, at Palawan, I've developed a love for ziplining! I promised myself that from then on, I will experience as much ziplines as I can. Only through ziplining have I forgotten about my fear of heights, even as I stand by a ledge. Not to mention such a wonderful view from above: the Irawan Canopy itself, the rivers which you could see running down the stream which is so clear. I was almost in the verge of crying as I saw how wonderful the place is and how the people take care of their environment.

My final thoughts for now (I have a lot to follow! :P)

Not enough words can express my appreciation for Puerto Princesa, Palawan. A thought keeps running through my head goes like this:

They have so little, yet they can settle with what they have. We have almost everything, yet we never learn how to settle with what we have. 

By that, what do I really mean? People in Palawan live such a simple life. They have half of our minimum wage, yet they don't complain. They have higher gas prices, yet they never complain. They live by planting in their backyards, help their neighbors, live in such simple homes, yet all you hear from them is nothing but good.

That is what I envy them for. I wish everyone think the way they do. Yet, I also think it is a case-to-case basis. They have little which they have learned to settle with.

Also, you will find in Palawan that they don't have a lot of buildings and products we often find in the city. An example are mosquito repellent patches which I was looking for at the time of our stay for my BabyLove. And, they humbly say that those type of products have not reached Palawan yet. Also, they don't have POS systems or registers yet in their downtown department store. Oh, and before I forget, their downtown department store and supermarket close at 7:00pm! Goodness! We had to rush and get some groceries before it closed. Robinson's Place has just been constructed and opened recently, so not much stores are open yet. Besides, it's out of our way, so we did not have a chance to go.

One thing I also missed at Palawan are coffee shops! Being a coffee lover (as well as my mom), we were thirsting for gourmet coffee. However, there isn't any but one, Itoy's Coffee Shop which is popular at Puerto Princesa. We have only been there once, on our last night. :( How I wish we knew about it earlier. Well, it isn't our first and last visit. Next time, we know better! :)

I still have a lot on my mind, but I will end it here for now. :) More parts to follow, particularly detailed info on our hotel and the tour packages. Let me know if this appeals to you or not! Haha! Sorry for the lengthy post. I just can't help but share!
Posted via Blogaway on my Samsung phone Add it to your boards!