Day 2, DIY Puerto Princesa tour (Underground River)

It was a beautiful morning when I woke up on our second day at Puerto Princesa. We all needed to get up at 6:00 a.m. to have breakfast since our guide for the world-famous Underground River tour would pick us up at 7:00 a.m. Hotel Centro serves breakfast at 7:00 but they happily began serving food early because of our request.

True to their offer in their Metrodeal voucher, they served buffet breakfast. They always do every day. There were Filipino, American, Korean, French, etc. food. Fresh fruits were also available, even kimchi. This was maybe because there are always so many Koreans checking in the hotel.

My plate -- fried rice, omelette, smoked longganisa, chicken adobo, fish teriyaki, and mixed vegetables

Fresh fruits, bread, and butterscotch

That was the breakfast we exactly wanted and we needed to fill our stomachs in preparation for the long travel to the Underground River. I was able to get live updates and scores on the 2012 Australian Open. Thanks to their free wifi.

Soon enough, our tour guide arrived in a van. We were a group of twelve people. The Underground River tour costs P1,300/pax which includes the roundtrip van ride, lunch, boat fare, and entrance fees to the park. The guide told us that it was going to be a two-hour drive to get to Sabang Beach port where we will ride a motor boat to get to the side of the Underground River under St. Paul Mountain.

After one hour of driving and passing by a lot of mangroves and some forestry, we stopped over the Buenavista Viewing Deck to take a good look of the seas from above. It was so serene.

From the Buenavista Viewdeck

We continued our journey to Sabang Beach and we passed by beautiful rock formations and landscapes. There were mountains of solid marble and some caves too.

Side of the Lion's Roar

Rock mountains

It was almost 11:00 a.m. when we arrived at Sabang Beach to register for the Underground River tour. Our guide arranged for everything. We decided to have lunch after the tour thinking that it won't be long. We were very much wrong.

Underground River registration area

Sabang Beach

It took us at least 30 minutes to get to a boat that would take us to the edge of the Underground River. There were a lot of tourists even in the month of January and the staff told us that they were taking in more than their average number of guests for the tour. No wonder the long wait.

It was a twenty-minute boat ride to the river. The shores of the that edge of St. Paul mountain was really breathtaking, made us think that we were on paradise. The mountain by the way was named after St. Paul since it was shaped like St. Paul sleeping on his back. The curves of the mountain top really resemble human features.

St. Paul Mountain shores

The place was crowded. It was a mistake that we did not eat lunch first. We just amused ourselves with the exotic animals scattered and freely wandering around the park. They were harmless but beware of the monkeys. It was not allowed to feed them nor show them a plastic bag since they would think that it has food in it and would grab it from you.

A celebrity monkey

A very large bayawak

After more than an hour of waiting, to change scenery, we were brought to the entrance of the cave. It was marvelous! The river was a crystal clear aqua blue and was so clean. Being from Manila, you could really admire the river's unspoiled quality.

River edge

Entrance to the cave

With so long a queue, it was already 3:00 p.m. when we were able to get in the cave. We were on a large boat which could seat ten people. Other boats could only seat eight.

It was so dark inside and a bit cold. Only soft spot lights held by people seated at the front end of the boat lights the cave so you would be able to see the stalactite and stalagmites. The Underground River extends to 4 km but only a very small portion of this was being traveled in the tour. The guide told us that to access the other areas, special permits are required. Most of the people who navigate those areas are usually scientists who study the lime stones and the cave.

Spotlight

The formations inside the cave were formed for hundreds of years. The stones were in different shapes and textures. And the guide had stories and jokes while we cruised the river. It took us 45 minutes to get in and out of the cave. Though it was just a short tour, I could say that it was well worth it. Just imagine that you would be able to touch stones hundreds of years old! Also, it would be a pride to say that you were able to see one of the world's best seven wonders of nature.

Cross etched by Spanish priests during Spanish regime

A lime stone formation which looked like the face of Christ

Cave entrance/exit

We had our lunch back at Sabang Beach at 4:00 p.m. and was able to return to the city at 6:00 p.m. We had dinner at Shakey's (yes, there was one there) and had our one-hour aromatic hilot-massage at Hotel Centro which was also included in the Metrodeal voucher. It was very relaxing and soothed our tired body.

Day 1, DIY Puerto Princesa tour (Puerto Princesa City tour)

Finally, my most awaited trip to kick off 2012! The long wait is over and we have arrived at Puerto Princesa, Palawan!

This trip has been booked since the middle of last year. As usual, we took advantage of the Piso Fare promo only this time by AirPhilippines. It only costed P350/pax for a roundtrip airfare for Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila route. Are we not lucky? Regular roundtrip fare would have costed P8,000 if it was not booked early.

Our flight to Puerto Princesa was scheduled to arrive at around noon. We decided to grab an early lunch at NAIA 3 before our flight since the city tour we booked would immediately start upon our arrival with check-in to the hotel included.

It was a hot hot day when we arrived at the Puerto Princesa Airport. I looked for the shuttle service that would bring us to the hotel that we booked. We were welcomed by a uniformed driver of the hotel and ushered us to a van. We had the van all to ourselves since there were no other guests checking in to the hotel at the same time as us.

Hotel Centro shuttle

Again, our accommodation was courtesy of a deal bought from Metrodeal. I bought the vouchers months back for a 3D/2N stay at Hotel Centro for P6,600 for 2 pax. When I saw this deal on the net, I immediately grabbed it since the validity dates jibed with our flight schedules.

Let me tell you first about the deal and Hotel Centro.

There are many scams nowadays in groupon sites, so just to make sure that I will not be scammed, I sent a mail to Hotel Centro. Before I purchased the vouchers, I inquired first from Hotel Centro if they indeed accept vouchers from Metrodeal. I was glad that their representative promptly answered my inquiry and confirmed that they do have a deal ongoing. After reading their response, I then purchased two vouchers.

Metrodeal voucher

The details of the deal are shown in the voucher above. Hotel Centro is a bit pricey compared with the other hotels/inns in Puerto Princesa if you consider their regular rates. This is just right since the hotel is recognized as a four-star hotel and glamorous events such as Miss Earth are held there.

I made our reservations as early as July last year and requested for room arrangements for four pax. Yes, I was able to request for a room with a queen sized bed and another room with two twin beds. I was glad that when we checked in, the rooms were already set up. We were also welcomed  by friendly staffs with cold refreshments at the lobby. Hotel Centro was indeed a classy hotel. There were a lot of foreigners checked in, majority are Koreans. I was not able to take photos of the rooms but I can say that what are shown in their website are true each with safe deposit boxes and the toiletries are complete too from toothbrushes to sewing kits! I love the hotel!

Hotel Centro lobby

Hotel Centro poolside

After checking in, we were fetched by our guide for a tour of the city. We had this tour booked from outside the hotel since it was a lot cheaper. The hotel charges P600/pax for the city tour on a van. We opted for a tour via tricycle which only costed P600 for all the four of us. Entrance and other fees however were not included. But hey, it was still a lot cheaper.

Some parts of the city are still under developed and the roads to some tourist spots were rough and dusty.

Our first stop was the Crocodile Farm and Nature Park. This is where you can have a photo holding a small croc and learn things about crocodiles. There was an entrance fee of P50/pax and P30 for each photo op. There are also other wild animals in the park.

Crocodile Farm

My sister's photo op with the star croc

Next, we went to the Butterfly Garden. Entrance fee is also P50/pax. My sister took the opportunity to take pictures of the colorful butterflies in the farm and the little creatures knew how to strike a pose! They were not shy at all!

Butterfly Garden

The butterfly pose

Then we went to the famous Mitra's Ranch. We just took pictures of the view here since there was nothing for us to do here but relax and enjoy the fresh air. There was a zipline activity though, but we did not try it.

Tourist vans at Mitra's Ranch

Zipline adventure

Near Mitra's Ranch is the Baker's Hill where you can buy freshly baked goods like chocolate crinkles, hopia and ther pastries and breads. There were also a lot of colorful statues around the vicinity of the bakery and other snack posts. We enjoyed taking pictures here.

Baker's Hill

Our last stop was the Tiangge, Tiangge were we bought some of our pasalubongs for friends and family.

Finally, we had dinner at the Badjao Seafront Restaurant. It is too bad that we were not able to watch the sunset there since it was already dark when we got there. Just a note, the place is always crowded and it was strict that you make a prior reservation when you want to dine there. Thanks to the staff of Hotel Centro who made the reservations earlier for us.

The restaurant stands by the edge of the sea. The sea is literally under it. It has a very classy ambiance and an old man plays the piano for the guests. The food we ordered were all delicious and were not expensive. We really enjoyed our dinner at Badjao Seafront.

Badjao Seafront Restaurant

We went back to the hotel after dinner to rest and prepare for our next adventure!