5 Things to Do When You Are in Puerto Princesa: Palawan, Philippines

Starfish Island in Palawan

The Philippines is quite known of having so many beautiful islands and of course beaches around the world. Then, what would you do if you were in it right now? Do you have any ideas? I bet you have a crazy list in mind already but let's talk about the practical ones. The ones that we already did in one of the most popular island the country has, which is Puerto Princesa city at Palawan island.
This tip was a trip that almost did not happened. Melody is one of the people who anticipates seat sales of our local airlines here. She usually buys them immediately when either she likes it and/or she thinks some of her friends like it too. The catch here is that the sale usually lasts for some minutes and most of the time seconds only as many also do it too. Thus bringing us to the situation of sacrificing our schedules for that if time comes. Though we already have previous talks on having a trip together (the best batch, haha!) but not as surprising as this one lol. So after fixing our work leaves and personal errands, we pushed through with the trip. Wow! This is really happening haha!

Subli Guest Cabins

As part of our schedule of course on arriving on the island, we first settled in our booked place there which is at Subli. A super cozy place to stay. So simple. The area was clean, peaceful and relaxing. Man, one of the things I really miss there is eating breakfast (You'll see in the video below why). They have accommodating staffs which can help you coordinate if you need some transportation. The place was surrounded with plants, trees, and they even have a wooden cottage library for the bookworms out there (not me lol). So if you are looking for such a place, not to mention their affordable rates too, this one is really recommendable. And with this, let us start the list of things to do when you are in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
 1. Eat local delicacies
  

Kinabuchs grill and bar

Well for this one, I will be using my immunity (haha!). We ate at Kinabuchs grill and bar upon our first night and there we tried two of their local delicacies. First is the alligator's meat. Uhhhm.. Well, haha! It tastes like the regular meat we have in the metro but this one, its harder to chew since the meat is a bit thicker. Another thing is that I can still taste the swampy water on the dish. Maybe it depends on how it is cooked but this is just for me.
The second one was Tamilok. Tamilok is actually a worm who eats wood for breakfast. It is usually served raw and only dipped in a locally mixed substances/sauce. Man, "never again", sorry. I tried eating it. I swallowed it, I chewed on it a little, and I nearly gagged myself out. Thank you for the experience but that would be the last time, really. Would I recommend it? Of course! Just for the experience. Besides, these are the memories you'll remember in the long run.

Going inside the underground river

2. Visit a wonder of the world - The Underground river
I was so excited for this one as I have really no idea what to expect. Caves are so-so for me but when we talk about an underground one with a river, well its a game changer.
The guides here have a lot of jokes in their pocket so be ready to have some giggles. The river has many different pathways so the route you will be taking is the commercialized one.  There are parts of the river that are limited for the guests as going further more can be already risky. I felt a bit scared on the possibilities that might happened knowing that some parts of it are really deep. One wrong turn without the guide can get you lost. If you still add the darkness factor and the difficulty of finding you when emergencies happen, ugh. You'll just be so willing to participate and do everything right until you see the light again haha! It was a nice experience really.. especially once you reach the dome part. It surprised me big time as you'll not expect to see a huge space inside that narrow opening. So, fun stuffs.

After the Sabang X Zipline

3. Do that island to island zip-line experience
As a strong group (yes naman, except Lian lol), this is a must for us. I remember seeing a video of the Sabang X Zip-line before actually going there and I was so looking forward to this. You will be flying through above the water from like a high place to a detached land from the island.
Soo worth it. I felt like superman! You can even see some of the corals below as you fly by the water. Too bad all of our cameras went offline so this is the only picture we had to remember it. And just a little note, since you are flying from a "high place", you will be going for a little hike before reaching the take-off site. It actually surprised us that we need to climb "that" to experience the ride. Because "that" hike was really tiring. I still remember one of the foreign tourist who were with us repeatedly saying "Are we there yet?" countless number of times. We actually had a good laugh because one of us said to the guide that we did not sign up for a hiking activity. Haha! But to be honest, we were all  breathing heavily on top. Haha!

Ihawig firefly watching

4. Drop by at Ihawig firefly watching
This one can actually be one of the highlights of the trip (lol). As far as I remember, we only agreed to visit this as it perfectly fits our schedule. Aside from it being an unusual activity, and us laughing about it when we saw it on the plane's brochure, it was efficient for us to visit it to spare our night time to use rather than sleeping early or maybe doing a night life (which they were continuously bringing up lol - joking)
At first, we taught that it will be a comfy and relaxing ride but we were completely wrong! Haha! The moment we saw how little the boat was, how close we were on the murky water and how dark it was (Men, it was absolute black), we were like "Can we go back now?". Just imagine, going through all of that in a mangrove! And not only that, we heard an alligator like breathe then suddenly dipped into the water.. The three of us freaked out! Haha! I was already anticipating that anytime a creature will be jumping off the water and will be attacking us. lol!
The guide though made us felt a little bit secured and not that long, we saw the fireflies. It was great seeing them as it is not everyday you see that kind of view. I actually want to do it again but I hope to be more calm to appreciate it fully the next time.

Sand bars at Palawan

5. Go island hopping
I can enumerate this one for you as they are many.
- The boat rides in between the islands are so cool. You can try to sit on the tip of the boat to fully enjoy the experience. I have never cruised before so it was extra special for me that time. So now I really appreciate why they go there and spread their hands like what they did in the Titanic movie (lol).
- Go snorkeling. It is rare enough to snorkel in beautiful places such as the islands in here where you'll appreciate them better. The number of beaches all over the world that has clear waters are continuously decreasing so might as well take the opportunity to find Nemo as soon as possible. 
- Discover unique islands with different characteristics. If you'll watch the video below, you will see some of the island's name which denotes either its major characteristic or what it is abundant of. For example, Luli island - which stands for "lulubog-lilitaw" or "sink and appear", because that island will only appear during low tides then will disappear on high tides. Well, the other island is starfish island. May be because there are many coconuts there? lol. Of course because many starfish are seen on that island.. We did not had the courage to even see the snake island though.. would you?
- Fine white sand and Sand bars. Man, this reminded me of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean". Pure beauty. I was not expecting to see such view really. I just wanted to take it all in and breathe. In the video below, you'll actually see me just sitting on the sand and staring blank at the horizon. Feels! Aaaah! Take me back now!
I wish we could have taken more photos and videos really. But we also have a phrase that says "The best moments you once lived are the ones you absolutely forgot to take pictures of". Well, its not for everyone but I guess I'll take it for now and for those memories in here. I hope you guys enjoy the video below.
See how beautiful more the island is at this video