Of General Cleaning and Finding our Palawan Tour Guide's Contact Details

The best part about doing a general cleaning is finding things I forgot about or do not even know I own.  Te he!  That's my usual realization every time I engage myself in this tiring yet rewarding task.

I am due for a week-long vacation in Aklan on the 22nd and so today, I rummaged through my closet, cabinets, drawers and boxes to look for things I bought a few months back for my loved ones.  True enough, I found a malong for my mom, shirts for my dad and brothers and nieces, unused bottles of perfume, cologne and lotions for the female members of the family, toys and books for kids and an unopened box of an iPod shuffle, which is a freebie received when I bought my Canon Powershot G12 last December.  I packed all these, gleeful that I now have more pasalubong for them.

Among my finds is a calling card of our tour guide when we went to Palawan in 2008.  Most of the comments and e-mails I receive on this blog is about that trip and so I am posting Ate Alma's contact details here.

Alma D. dela Rosa
Mobile: +63921-437-0599 (Smart)
             +63917-545-0265 (Globe)
E-mail: aldrosa21@yahoo.com

I am not sure though if the above is still updated so I might as well add the travel agency that she is connected to.

Sanctuary Tours and Travel
Room 203, 2/F Corporate Center Building
Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa
Palawan Philippines
Telefax: +63948-434-8363
24-hour number: +63948-434-7673
Mobile: +63926-701-5269
             +63919-350-3279
E-mail: sanctuarytours@yahoo.com

And I also found photo of her.  I remember asking for her permission to post her photo in my blog so I might as well post this here.

Ate Alma during our Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour

To add as this is also one of this blog's frequently asked questions, we only availed of the city tour and the Underground River Cruise from Ate Alma.  Our island hopping was arranged on our own, as said here.

Pasalubong from Palawan

For those of you who are wondering what to give to friends as pasalubong (keepsakes) from Palawan, you need not worry as virtually all tourist destinations have souvenir shops where you can buy indigenous products like boxes or containers made of rattan, bamboo rain makers, hats, capiz shell products and bags. There are the perennial key chains too, fridge magnets and of course, shirts.

Pearl products are also quite popular and they sell them cheap.

They also sell other jewelry pieces like earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from shells and other semi-precious stones.

For those of you who are into food products as pasalubong, cashew nuts will do but I suggest you buy them at the airport as it's cheaper to buy there. You may also want to buy food products from Baker's Hill. Their hopia and crinkles are very popular among locals and tourists. For details on Baker's Hill and pictures of its products, click HERE.

As for myself, I bought a pair of pearl earrings, crocodile fridge magnets that a friend specifically asked for, a rain maker, cashew nuts as well as various food products from Baker's Hill, paper weights and pens. The irony here though is that I did not buy anything for myself as what I bought were all given to loved ones and friends.

Oh well, I guess the pictures I took as well as the memories I have of the place will suffice as keepsakes of one of my best trips ever!

The lonely tree

The following pictures were taken in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It formed part of the view that I had when we were waiting for our food to be served at the balcony of Badjao Seafront Restaurant.

Badjao Seafront Restaurant - Palawan

After we had our morning walk in Puerto Princesa's Baywalk, we went back to Puerto Pension for breakfast. We then spent the entire day just resting in the room while watching TV and packing our stuff. Later, we had a massage which was the perfect treat after our 3-day tour of the island.

We checked out at 12:00 noon and left our luggage with the front desk. Then we flagged a tricycle that will take us to Badjao Seafront. This restaurant is very popular among locals. In fact, this was recommended to us by half a dozen people. Save the best for last, huh? As that was our last day in the island.

The place indeed had the ambiance. It was built on stilts and to get to the main restaurant, one had to cross a bridge with colorful swags in its posts.

Inside, the place was also tastefully done. It also overlooked a swamp.

I ordered their kare-kare which was really very delicious. The sauce was rich, the meat tender and the vegetables cooked just right. At Php225 (plus 10% service charge), it was worth it as aside from it being delicious, it was also good for sharing.

For my drinks, I had their buko (young coconut) juice. Its juice wasn't as sweet though as the buko juice I had in Sabang Beach.

My friends ordered these. They let me taste them and they were also good.

Among the many restaurants that we had been to in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, this was so far the best. It had all - good food that's reasonably priced, great ambiance and quality service.

On our way out, we even saw this photograph that touted Badjao Seafront as the only place in Puerto Princesa visited by His Royal Highness, Prince Albert, the Prince of York.

And oh, before I forget, a tip to those who are interested in going here. There are two (2) Badjao restaurants in Puerto Princesa (the other one is located just within the city proper) so ask to be dropped off in the one that's fronting the sea (as the restaurant name suggests but it wasn't really a sea, just a mangrove swamp). Also, it's better if you ask the tricycle driver to wait for you as the place is off the beaten track).

Badjao Seafront is located at Abueg Road, Puerto Princesa City. You may contact them through (048) 433-9912.

The Princess of the Sea

These pictures are of a monument in Puerto Princesa, Palawan's baywalk titled "Ang Prinsesa ng Baybay" or The Princess of the Sea. A symbol of the life and culture of Palaweños, this was artfully sculpted by artist Ronel Roces and unveiled in 2007.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan's Baywalk

Our fourth and last day in Palawan was pretty laid-back as we did not schedule any tours on this day. We woke up early though as the night before, we planned to go jogging in Puerto Princesa's baywalk.

The place was just a 10-minute walk from Puerto Pension. Here, one had a good view of the sea and of docked boats and ships.

We walked from point of origin to end and it was tiring but worth it as aside from giving ourselves some form of exercise, the view was nice.

My favorite was the view of Ang Prinsesa ng Baybay (The Princess of the Sea), which I will blog about later.

I also decided to play around with my camera. Normally, I just use its auto mode but this time, I tried color accent and color swap. Cool.

Baragatan Festival - Palawan

We were lucky that when we were in Puerto Princesa, Palawan last year, they had their Baragatan Festival. The festival is an annual week-long event celebrating the founding anniversary of the civil government of Palawan.

Baragatan is the Cuyuno (a dialect) word for "beggar" and means a convergence of people coming together from various municipalities bringing their songs, dances and music and presenting these aspects of their life through cultural presentations, trade shows, exhibitions, float parade and street dancing (definition paraphrased from Palawan's official website). Baragatan also has an official website. Click HERE for details.

In the afternoon of our arrival, we were told there was a float parade but we already had our tours of Iwahig, Crocodile Farm, Butterfly Garden, Mitra Ranch, Baker's Hill and Puerto Princesa scheduled in our itinerary that we decided to just skip the float parade.

On our third night, after having dinner at Kinabuchs Grill & Bar, we decided to go to the plaza where the trade show was being held. In there were booths of various municipalities of Palawan that showcased their products.

There were food stalls too as well as booths selling Palawan souvenirs and products like bags and of course, the perennial shirts. I did not buy any shirt though as I did not like the quality. But I did buy a pair of slippers as my sandals' strap got cut. Must be from all the walking. LOL.

A tip to those who plan to join this festivity: It can get too crowded especially at nights when there's an artista (local movie star) or banda (local band). This was the reason why for the past two nights of our stay, we evaded the plaza like the plague as the line in the entrance was too long.