Another summer to spend and another year to celebrate miwifey's birthday all pointing in MIMAROPA area. We will visit a popular tourist city with numerous beach resorts and seafood restaurants. It also has a subterranean river named one of the "new 7 wonders of nature". We can all go through a list of what the place offers but it's better if we show it so here it goes...
We arrived around seven in the morning and had breakfast. We took off 2 hours later and arrived in Puerto Princesa Airport at 10am.
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| Love ko 'toh! |
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| with the company of Momsie! |
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| Touchdown! |
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| warmest welcome indeed |
Before we managed to secure the accommodation and itinerary, we had some struggles including both Hunda Bay Island Hopping and underground river cruise in our 3D2N stay in this wonderful island. But all hope was not lost because we had our travel agency arrange it for us but with additional cost.
Since our schedule was really tight we had to do Hunda Bay Island Hop just after we arrived the airport. We had lots of energy reserves, I guess?
We have four Islands to visit on our list but we only managed to visit three namely Starfish Island, Pandan Island and Luli Island
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| boat ride to our first island |
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| the party was just getting started |
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| Starfish Island |
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| Geared up Mama |
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| Onto our next Island |
Pandan Island was not ordinarily included on a typical Hunda Bay Island hopping but since I got an advise from a friend, with her employer developing the Island, that "it's a must see!". Even our guide told us we should take our lunch break there, so we did.
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| Ella & Basti by the beach |
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| I can do all things through Christ! |
We spent a few more minutes enjoying the facilities as you can see.
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| kayaking with chikitings! |
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| Family Pic |
When everyone quite rested, we then went to our last island stop, Luli Island. It's already late in the afternoon so we had the whole island for ourselves and it has something interesting... Jump & Fall!
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| recharged |
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| Couple pic |
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| not for the faint of heart |
Just when it's about to get dark, we checked-in at Acacia Tree Garden Hotel. I thought everyone got tired but not our Ella. She tried the pool before we even got the keys to our room.
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| Acacia Tree reception |
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| Pool test |
We had our late dinner in Badjao Seafront and the ambiance here was really nice! We took our time here and went back to our hotel just before midnight.
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| nice warm feeling |
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| last guests of the day |
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| view of resorts amenity at night |
A fine new day for everyone... that's how we felt the next morning. Call time for breakfast was early and our schedule with underground river requires us to be there around nine in the morning.
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| rhythm play |
On our way to wharf we saw a sign...
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| we've got it all for you |
We finally arrived in Sabang, Puerto Princesa to behold the beauty of darkness... (you'll get it once you're inside).
A few tips for people wanting to visit here. Schedule should be booked earlier and when I say earlier, please just assume the worst possible case. Consider the possibility that even you have a schedule, once you're here, it can actually change!
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| waiting patiently... |
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| it is time! |
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| wearing your life vest is not a law but a must! |
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| a few more steps... |
There will be a lot of waiting time especially during peak season and depending on the number of guest that were accommodated daily. Just be creative!
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| photo op |
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| on shallow waters |
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| at long last... |
Just remember your actual condition before you enter the cave since most of the people who went out especially kids, were either asleep or tired. Me, I'm just fine!
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| Ingress |
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| Egress |
Related to what I mentioned earlier about the moving schedule here, ours should be to have lunch before getting inside the cave but we opted to do the opposite so we ended up quite hungry after. But wait, behind every dark cloud is a silver lining! BUFFET @ Gusto Grill
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| I told you, either asleep or tired. Our Basti got both! |
We managed to get back earlier and agreed to take a short trip and visit Baywalk. Once we felt our tummies calling for help, we sure know where to find it. Ka Lui to the rescue...
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| rented a bike for the kids |
Ka Lui wasn't just a restaurant but it's also an art gallery center. Once you got inside you'll understand what I meant and might be tempted to take pictures of their toilet hehehe...
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| family pic |
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| soft, light dinner |
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| nice and clean |
It's our last night here in Puerto Princesa and we wanted to make the most of it so we plunge into the resorts pool for the last time with the kids until 10pm.
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| wantusawa! |
Another fine morning for everyone and today we will have a half day city tour to famous locations found here in Puerto Princesa. I had a rather funny but frustrating experience here though so I would recommend not to take too much coffee when it's free!
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| let's eat |
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| 1st destination |
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| still holding on... |
After we got this photo with a croc, I felt uneasy. I got so hungry and lost my legs. I literally can't walk and focus. It's fortunate that there was an available store inside so I ate what I could until I'm satisfied and finally realized that what happened was the immediate lost of caffeine when I perspired along the tour.
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| Mitra's ranch |
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| the sweet promise of siblings |
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| 3rd destination |
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| 4th destination, souvenir shop |
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| last destination, plaza cuartel |
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| no ordinary hole but a prison |
We were brought back to Acacia Tree to ready and pack our bags. Our van transfer arrived earlier than expected so we got ourselves to the airport and spent almost 2 hours there before our flight to Manila.
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| hot summer |
Yeah, we still knew what we did last summer and it was a blast! IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES.
