i’m all the more convinced how blessed the our country is with natural wonders. if what i saw in puerto princessa are some of nature’s 7 wonders, then the world hasn’t really seen much of what we have.

grabe, sa busuanga lang, the islands there are.. hmm. i don’t even have words for it! that’s in busuanga (at Club Paradise in march). walang sinabi ang Hunda Bay. no,  didn’t misspell that. basta, Unda ang root word niya pala. well, at least that’s what it says on the tourist board at the port.

Brgy. Sabang beach front, lunch stop over

like i always say, nothing beats traveling with good company. my trip to palawan wasn’t exactly all r&r. but one thing i like about this group is we all have the same philosophy: all work and no play makes a dull employee! hehe.

ang buko, bow. lunch at Brgy. Sabang stop over

if i gained another pound, blame it on the seafoods. hay, i love the food there. fresh, big servings, and mura! we had beach front buffet lunch on the way, and that was such a good way to start the week.

a natural rock outcropping found on the way to the underground river cove

i promised myself that i will take pictures of the scenery in palawan, even if cliche or how many times it’s been photographed by a million other people. i still had to have them too.

i won’t post much of what i saw inside the caves of the subterranean river; i’ll save that for later.  it’s enough to say that it deserves to be on the 7 wonders list.

the mouth of the underground river caves

the ‘cathedral’ formations inside will actually have full impact when, you’re standing at the wharf (before boarding the boat going to the underground river), you see 2 lumps of mountain looming starboard of the wharf. it’s almost impossible to believe that they’re almost completely hollow inside. our guide said that of all 8.2km of the river, there’s a dome area as big as Makati City. sort of like the grand finale of the river tour. unfortunately though, only 4.2km is navigable for tourists so we only got to see 2 of the highest peaks of the caves. even then, it’s such an overwhelming experience.

an authentic Vietnamese meal, w/ homemade rice noodles and the best garlic toasted bread

tired and appetites worked up, never mind the stench of the river all thanks to bat crap and urine, we stopped over at the Vietnamese Village. it used to be a settlement site for Vietnamese refugees and now there’s just 2 families living there making a living out of making rice noodles for Pho Hoa. trivia but they do have a restaurant there that make the best noodle soups.

the king crab, the biggest crab i’ve seen by far

also a must try is The Legend’s Tours package, which brings you to all of Puerto Princessa’s must see places, and a side trip of buffet lunch (food will always, always be part of our itinerary) at the Pandan Island beach front (again). fishermen there offer the fresh catch of the day like rock lobsters and king crabs.

unfortunately though, some of their catch include momma lobsters and momma crabs that still have their (millions of) eggs attached to them. the locals usually set them free.

so there you go for now. if you plan to visit puerto princessa (or busuanga, that’s why this is my Palawan, part 2), and you want to know what the best things to do there are, ask me.