Poyt Salazar Palawan Experience Day 2

Photoblogger Faith "Poyt" Salazar took a 4-day PAX (Palawan Experience) tour and we'll be sharing her travel chronicle in this blog.



Our first day in Palawan was a blast – so I was barely able to sleep when I knew that we were going to go caving and swimming on our second day.

Underground River

Traveling from the hotel to the Underground River was quite stressful. The terrain was rocky and zigzagging so I couldn’t sleep – let alone keep my body still. After two hours, we got to Sabang Wharf and board a boat going to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.



We put on our gear – a helmet and a life vest – got into the boat and started being amazed at the façade of ROCKS. I mean – how many times in a lifetime can you be so much impressed with rocks? At the cave’s entrance, I was expecting a group of bats coming out and scaring the socks out of us, but we just saw a bunch of birds sleeping.



The underground river had different ‘sections’ – they call one part “The Cathedral”, which literally looks like the inside of a huge church. There were rock formations that looked like a lion and the holy family. We also passed “The Highway” with long rocks on the ceiling that looked like giant beams. On the way out, we finally saw – and unfortunately smelled – the bats and their dung.



The park also housed monkeys and large lizards (bayawak). All forms of head aches and tummy aches caused by our two-hour travel were replaced with wonder at how beautiful the Philippines is. You shouldn’t miss the Underground River experience when you’re in Puerto Princesa.

Taraw Beach



Again, we boarded a boat to have our lunch at Taraw beach. The whole place was lined with cottages – there were no big hotels or large structures. We enjoyed the sand and the sea but had a hard time taking pictures because the waves just kept coming at two waves per second.

Viet Vill



Before going back to the hotel, we had a quick stop at Viet Vill (Vietnamese Village). I was expecting a lot of Vietnamese offering us Viet cloth or something but the village was apparently abandoned two years ago. Viet Vill has a restaurant and a souvenir shop for all your authentic Viet needs. They even have a Catholic church – it was pretty eerie knowing that when we rang the church bells, no one would care.

Kinabuch’s



I was really excited to have dinner, not just because we were eating at the place to be at Puerto Princesa, but because we were going to taste a local dish called the Tamilok. I’m very experimental with food tasting, so anything that is weird, wormy or slimy is fine. After eating prawns, shrimps and other sorts of wonderful seafood, we finally got to see what the Tamilok looked like. Yes, it is slimy and it looked like a bunch of worms stuffed on a plate. It doesn’t taste bad actually – it’s like extra slimy oyster. I just had a hard time swallowing the whole thing. If you want to get a taste of this much talked about exotic dish, make sure you order it ahead because the tamilok tends to be elusive depending on the tides.



The part where the tamilok is supposed to be an aphrodisiac – I leave up to you to decide after you try it.

Coy Caballes Palawan Experience Day 2

Video blogger (vlogger) Coy Caballes took a 4-day PAX (Palawan Experience) tour and we'll be sharing his travel chronicle in this blog.




Here comes two new videos of the Palawan Gang's second batch of adventures and trippings in the beautiful Palawan. We started off with a grand breakfast at Legend Hotel, which prepared us on the two-hour trip we made to Sabang Wharf. The boat trip to the Underground River was fantastic. It was half an hour of serenity and relaxation as the group watched splashes of clear water under several islands covered by very green flora. It was a great appetizer to the main dish, which was the Underground River.



The Underground River is not like any other place I've seen before. It was so grand and majestic - it made a believer out of me that it's one of the wonders of the world. It was a product of millions of years of erosion and shaping of the earth - we were literally staring at history. The rock formations are like fingerprints - all unique and yet each piece takes my breath away equally. Going to this Palawan gem made the day itself for me.

Now watch the second video as the gang "socializes with nature" and have fun for the rest of day. Day 3, coming soon!

Rick Manzano's Palawan Experience - Day 2

Photoblogger Rick Manzano took a 4-day PAX (Palawan Experience) tour and we'll be sharing his travel chronicle in this blog.



Going to Underground River
I was still feeling exhausted when I got up but nevertheless was looking forward to see the famous Underground River. I made sure I’d eat a heavy meal in the morning because we had lots of activities ahead.



The ride from the hotel going to Sabang Wharf took about an hour and a half. The roads were very rough. Good thing we stopped by a rest area as we were able to go out and stretch our legs and use the restroom since the ride was very stressful. When we arrived at the wharf we barely had the time to rest because there were also lots of people getting boats for themselves.



I enjoyed the boat ride because we were busy taking photos of the mountains and the turquoise water surrounding us. The place looked so beautiful and untouched.

Underground River Park
When we arrived at the Underground River Park shore we headed straight to what seemed like a little forest with a wooden pathway. The guide led us to the desk where we registered and got our life vests and helmets.



I got the front seat on the paddle boat and was fortunately asked to hold the spot light. I was able to freely move the light around see the different areas of the cave. There were lots of birds flying around while the bats were all asleep. Seeing the stalactites made me realize how old the world really is because every year they only grow several millimeters in length. It took hundreds of thousands of years before they looked that way now.



What amazed me even more was the area which they call the “cathedral”. I thought the tour guide was talking about a huge formation amongst the stalactites. But when he asked us to look up, my jaw dropped in awe because I didn’t realize that caves could rise as high as a building. It was so high that the spotlight could barely reach it. It looked so magnificent.

After about 30 minutes, we finally turned around and went back outside the cave after a couple of kilometers of the 8-kilometer stretch of the Underground River.

Taraw Resort
We were still ecstatic with all the things we saw inside the Underground River that we started getting hungry. Good thing our next stop was at Taraw Resort which was located just minutes away.

We arrived at the island and were ready to have lunch. The water and the sand were so inviting so as soon as the buffet table was ready, I hurriedly ate because I couldn’t wait to finally swim in Palawan for the first time.

It was a bit wavy but the cool water did not disappoint. The water was very clean and the sand was white and fine. Not as fine as the sand in Boracay but I still loved how it felt on my toes. We had fun using Kring’s waterproof cam even though we struggled posing amidst the waves. That’s cam whoring at its finest!

Vietnamese Village
On our way back to the hotel we stopped by the Vietnamese Village which I had no idea even existed. Looking back at my Sibika and HEKASI subjects, I couldn’t recall hearing the part where some groups of Vietnamese people settled in Palawan during the World War. (Or maybe I just wasn’t listening?) What’s weird is that there were no longer Vietnamese people in the Vietnamese Village. Or if there were, there were only a handful of them.

Apparently, they started migrating to the United States and some of those who weren’t successful decided to go back to Vietnam because they were ashamed to go back to the Philippines.

Kinabuchs
The past two days were full of activities. We had some time to rest when we got back to the hotel and when evening came we were itching to experience the night life in Puerto Princesa. One must take in mind that this isn’t Boracay where there are bars, clubs and beach parties. Palawan caters to families on vacation who want to bond together by taking the numerous packaged tours and enjoy Palawan as it is. In fact, the Mayor has banned clubs and bars in Puerto Princesa. Hence, the very low crime rate in the city.



Kinabuchs is a bar and grill known to be the ultimate gimik place in the city. We were fortunate to locate a table on the area with an open air where we enjoyed the clear sky and the bright stars. Seafood was again served and cooked in different variations. The prawns were very fresh and delicious as usual.



The term “Tamilok” was mentioned a number of times since the moment we arrived in Palawan. All I know was that it’s sort of a local delicacy, it’s not cooked, it’s found on mangroves, and it’s an aphrodisiac. My friends were scared of how it looked like yet were very thrilled to try it. Everyone but me. Like what I mentioned before, I’m very sensual with food but I’m not the experimental type.



The Tamilok tasted like oyster, only longer and slimier. I don’t even like oysters to begin with! You can just imagine how excruciating that was for me. Good thing my beer helped remove the taste from my mouth because it made me want to vomit. Nevertheless, it was an experience I would never forget and I don’t regret doing it all.