Trip to Palawan October 2014

1. PALAWAN ‘14
Treston International College – Tourism 101 Experience

2. Oct 1 – 3, 2014
a.k.a our days of rest after ONE TOUCH AWAY. After slaving for weeks for
our seminar, we ‘treated’ ourselves to a 3-day vacation.
With our luggage (or in my case, backpack) packed, we set off to our vacation and
educational trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

3. VACATION MODE:
ON

4. Palawan,
I’m on my
way!
Photo credit:
Precious De Castro
In the picture:
Most of us
Not in the picture:
Precious, Marynel, Sam, and
Ms. Luigi.

5. MNL - PPS
Well, as usual, here’s a
picture of my boarding
pass. It’s quite blurred
though. Anyway, since
we got there a few hours
early, we were just resting
and waiting for our flight.

6. DAY 1:
ISLAND “HOPPING” IN STARFISH
AND COWRIE ISLAND
(Well, there wasn’t really a good time for me to take pictures ((read: enjoy-the-moment-without-technology-as-much-as-
possible-rule by me)) so I’m crediting the next slide to Alyssa and Precious. Thank you guys.)

8. Seminar with
U.E.
#PagodMuch #MedyoOP
#HyperMode#CremaDeFruta
After snorkelling and
swimming, naturally, we
would long for our hotel
rooms and beds…but a
shower comes first, of
course. Unfortunately, that
was not possible. And so
here is Angelica and Alyssa
(and Precious’ elbow)
‘listening’ to the speaker in
a seminar about Palawan’s
sustainability. It was realy
interesting especially the
things that makes Palawan
unique, but to be honest,
we’re more interested with
sleep at that moment.

9. DAY 2:
UNDERGROUND
RIVER
(But first…)

10. The reason
why I love
travelling:
No, it’s not the sunrise here
in this photo. It’s the fact
that I could sleep really well
and really early, waking up
earlier than usual, and
taking a bath without the
shocking coldness of the
water.
Thank you Microtel. Your
beds, shower, and beautiful
location did not disappoint.
(Your food was lacking a bit of
variety each day though. )

11. Karst Mountain featured in
The Amazing Race and a
sign about Karst Mountain
being featured in The
Amazing Race. Oh and
me.
A random view of a
random island on a
random angle in a view
deck on the way to the
Underground River.
A carabao taking it’s time
looking at the paparazzi
(aka us) while bathing
under the sun.

12. Taste the
saltiness of
the wind
against your
face as
every other
sound gets
drowned by
the waves…
…and the
noisy engine
of the boat.
It would’ve been a perfect boat
ride if it wasn’t for the noisiness of
the boat and the splashes of
water trying to bathe me for a
second time.

13. A secluded
piece of
privacy
Unfortunately, Ms. Belle,
our tour guide, told us
that those small beaches
we passed by were off
limits. But it was alright
since they were doing
that to further preserve its
beauty and naturalness.

14. Smells
fabulous~
In Filipino: Amoy
digmaan. Just like
manong bangkero said,
“the water is 50%
freshwater, 49% saltwater,
and 1% bat poop”.

15. Aside from
the smell…
…since it was very dark
inside, taking a picture
inside would be worthless
and bothersome.
Anyway, we were too
busy watching out from
bats and bat poop that
could fall down on us at
any time. The boat ride
was really fun though.
With us being Filipinos, it
added to the experience
for the Filipino jokes the
boaters could tell while
relaying the history of the
place.

16. It’s drizzling
By the way, so as not to
forget the experience, the
sky decided to give us a
light drizzle while we were
at the underground river
location. Because of that,
we weren’t able to see the
monitor lizards. However, a
monkey decided to greet
us on our way back. Good
thing our group wasn’t
carrying anything worth
stealing for the monkey.
Remember: plastic bags
and food are monkey-magnets!

17. For dinner, we arrived at KaLui, which is the most famous restaurant in Puerto Princesa. The place was
really good. Seafood lovers would also love it here as well (I must admit that I wasn’t that thrilled with
desert though. See picture on the right).
(Too tired and out of it to take pictures. Thanks Alyssa!)

18. DAY 3:
LAST FEW HOURS

19. Wondering
where the
tour went
I actually thought of this for
the two days that we were
in Puerto Princesa.
Normally, there would be
tons of historical tours but
for two days, we went
swimming and
underground river-ing. But
hey! The third day
answered it.
Iwahig, the prison without
bars wasn’t really as scary
as it suggests. Although it
might get you feel a bit
wary, it was amazing how
order and peace resides in
this place.

20. Omnomnom
Not really. But seeing those
teeth, I wonder how much
this crocodile ate for his
lifetime?
Palawan Wildlife Rescue
and Conservation Center
(Crocodile Farm) or PWRCC
houses the world’s largest
caught crocodile named
Macarascas or Mac Mac.
Rio was the title holder
before him, then Lolong,
who both died due to
stress.
See? See how dangerous
stress could get? Say no to
stress!

21. Huh?
The only thing that
confuses me is this:
Why do they call it a
crocodile conservation
center if it sells crocodile
meat?

22. Last but not
least:
We visited their version of Manila
Bay (which is waaaay cleaner
than our Manilay Bay), the
Memorial Marker for the 143
American POW and the church
beside it.
Due to curiosity, I asked Lolo
Google a picture of Don Schloat,
one of the 11 American POWs
who survived the Japanese
prison facility during the War,
which is now a place now called
Plaza Cuartel, who made the
Marker as a remembrance for his
fellow soldiers and countrymen
who was burned alive.
Photo credits: Google and I.

23. Foooooood
We actually went to Mitra’s
ranch and Baker’s hill
before going back. But due
to the light rain, we didn’t
stay for long, bought
pasalubong, and
immediately went back to
eat and prepare for
checking out our luggage.
There were more time for
pasalubong afterwards but
since we were so busy,
there were no pictures.
…I miss the food.

24. I’m going
home, to the
place where
I belong
Originally, our boarding
time was at 5:05 PM but
due to a thunderstorm
back in MNL, our flight got
delayed for 2 hours (if my
memory serves me right).
With nothing to do, some
read books, ate food, or
were just facing the fact
that our vacation just
ended.
It was fun while it lasted.
However, it’s time to go…

25. BACK TO REALITY
End.