Philippines Summer 2010

This was not the first time I had traveled to the Philippines. It was June 13, 2010 when I arrived with my family at Puerto Princesa Airport at Palawan, Philippines. We were supposed to arrive the day before, but the plane we took to Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific from LA was delayed and we missed our flight to the Philippines. After picking up our luggage and finding our family, we were on our way to our first stop on the itinerary, the Puerto Princesa Underground River, which was the longest underground river in the world. While on the way to the dock where the river was, we encountered some wildlife roaming around such as a monkey and a couple of monitor lizards. Once on the river, we were shown various stalagmite and stalactite formations inside the cave which the river was located as well as where the bats were located. Some of the formations included a giant jellyfish, candle, half-face of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and a dinosaur fossil. Although we did not go through the whole river, it was a very great experience even with the high humidity inside the cave. After seeing the adventure on the river, we headed back to the main island to have lunch. After lunch, we took the van to a place called Viet Ville, which was a place where Vietnamese refugees went during the Vietnam War. Although many of the refugees migrated to the US, some Vietnamese were still living there. After our journey around Viet Ville, we went to Liberty Hotel to take a rest.

            On the next day, we traveled to Honda Bay (meaning deep bay) where we were to travel to three islands. While waiting for our boat, we bought some bread to feed the fish on each of the islands. After a few minutes of our arrival at Starfish Island, our first stop, we found a live starfish on the shore. Once we adjusted our snorkel equipment, we headed down the beach and fed the fish that lived around the island. After an hour on the island, we boarded the boat again to go to our next island, Snake Island (named after its shape). The island was crowded so it was hard feeding the fish, but there were various species of fish that lived in the waters around the island. In about half an hour after arriving at Snake Island, we had lunch which included adobo (one of my favorite Filipino dishes) as well as fish. After a couple of pictures of the scenery around the island after lunch, we headed towards the last island, Pandan Island, which was known for its abundant growth of pandan trees. This island had the least amount of people compared to the other two; therefore the fish were more willing to come towards the bread we had bought earlier that day. After taking a quick shower, we headed back to the boat to go back to the main island to go back to the hotel and rest. For dinner, we took a van to a restaurant called Badjao Seafood and tried Pandan chicken.

            On the next day, my family and I went to Puerto Princesa Airport to take a plane back to Manila where we would take a van to Baguio City to see relatives. It was fun in Palawan seeing all the wildlife and natural wonders. Even with all the tick and mosquito bites as well as the many rainstorms, I had had a great time in the Philippines.