Adventures in Puerto Princesa: The Tour (A Photoblog)

Aside from the tour, we went to Puerto Princesa to celebrate Mama G's birthday. Here is a photoblog of our adventures in Puerto Princesa.

Day 1: Arrival

We arrived at Puerto Princesa past 7:00pm already. We just checked-in at our hotel, ate dinner and rested.

Day 2: Underground River Tour

We departed from our hotel at around 7:30am since the travel time to Sabang Wharf is approximately 2 hours.

Sabang Wharf

We waited for about 30 minutes to be transferred via boat ride to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.

Waiting Shed

On our way to the Underground River.

Boat ride to the Underground River

We had our family picture taken at the Underground River entrance.

Boat ride inside the Underground River.

After the Underground River Tour, we went back to Sabang Wharf to eat our lunch.

I want to share you the photos of our kulilits while waiting for our ride back to our hotel.

My Toes, My Knees, My Shoulder My Head

Hello, Hello, Hello

Love!

How do you cry?

One, Two, Three, Smile!

Aren't they so adorable?

Day 3: Honda Bay Tour

At around 7:15am we travelled to Honda Bay for our island hoping. Our first stop is at Pambato Reef where we did some snorkling.

Yes, my kulilits went swimming there too! They were so happy the moment they went into the deep water.

Our next stop is at Luli Island. It is a private island actually. It is called "Luli" in short of lulubog lilitaw. We saw some starfish and the kulilits did not bother to hold them.

I just realized in this picture that we are still wearing our life vest despite of the shallow waters. Hehehe.

The island is somewhat like the white island in Camiguin. The water is so clear wherein you could see a lot of fishes near the sea shore.

Our last stop is at Pandan Island. It is called "Pandan Island" because it has a lot of pandan trees. Likewise, the beach is so clean and the waters are very clear.

We had our lunch there too. It is included in the tour package. They grilled the fish and pork on the spot. My favorite here is the eggplant. I liked the way they cooked it.

After lunch, we rested for a while and then went back to our hotel.

Day 4: City Tour

We checked out from our hotel first before proceding with our city tour. We had lunch at Baker's Hill. According to our tour guide, the owner of  Baker's Hill is from Taguig.

Here are some pictures that  we took from the place.

Baker's Hill Garden

 The playground wherein the kulilits enjoyed.

Rest area where there is a sungka.

Old restaurant.

Other areas of Baker's Hill which is worth taking pictures of.

The house of the owner.

The main restaurant.

 

Note: Please don't forget to buy ube hopia at Baker's Hill.

After going to Baker's Hill, we went to Mitra's farm. We just had a family picture there since tourists are no longer allowed to enter the rest house due to security reasons.

Here is the view of Mitra's farm.

We went also to the crocodile farm.

Had some pictures with a Palawan bearcat. P20.00 is charged for picture taking.

We also had pictures with a 1 year old crocodile. P30.00 is charged for picture taking.

Our next stop is the butterfly farm. It is not that beautiful here. There are only few butterflies and it is not well maintained.



We went also to the Binuatan Weaving Creations and bought some items there.

The kulilits tried to weave here.

Chris

Ian

We passed by the Baywalk to take some pictures. It is nicer to go there at night because of the colorful lightings. Palawan's Baywalk is like our Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard minus the stinky smell and dirty waters.

We went to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

The facade of Plaza Cuartel. Nothing much to see here.

After our city tour, we went to the airport to check-in our baggages and went out again to eat our dinner at Ka Lui.



Well, that's our adventure in Puerto Princesa! =)

Adventures in Puerto Princesa: The Itinerary

If you are planning to go to Puerto Princesa, here is the suggested itinerary for a 4 Days/3 Nights Trip with Cebu Pacific 6:30pm flight to Puerto Princesa and 8:10pm flight back to Manila:

Day 1

7:40 PM - ETA in Puerto Princesa City

Check - in at hotel

8:30 PM - Dinner

Day 2

6:00 AM - Wake – up call

6:30 AM - Breakfast

7 – 7:30 AM - Depart from the hotel

9:00 AM - Arrival in Sabang/ Registration/ depart from the wharf

9:30 AM - Arrival at the park area

UNDERGROUND RIVER ADVENTURE

11:30 AM - Buffet lunch at Gusto Grill and Resto

1:00 PM - Depart from Sabang for optional tours ( mangrove paddle

Boat tour/Sabang Zipline/Ugong Rock Adventure w/ zipline)

4:00 PM - Back to hotel or Souvenir & Pasalubong Shopping

6:00 PM - Bay Walk
7:00 PM - Dinner at Kinabuch Bar & Grill Restaurant


Day 3

5:30 AM - Wake – up call

6:00 AM - Breakfast

6:30 - 7 AM - Departure for Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour

7:45 AM -Arrival at the wharf

9:00AM - Start of activities (Swimming and snorkeling at Pambato Reef & Luli Island)

12:00 NN - Picnic Buffet Lunch @ Pandan Island

1:00PM -Continuation of Activities: (Swimming, Photo Shoot & Beach Games @ Pandan)

4:00PM - Back to wharf / w/ side trip to pasalubong shopping

5:30 PM - Back to hotel

6:00PM - Firefly Watching with Dinner

Day 4

7:00AM - Breakfast

8:00PM - Go to palengke or souvenir shop

12:00 NN - Check – out

12:30 NN - Lunch at Baker's Hill

2:00 PM - City Tour.

- Start of City Tour with / Places to visit: (Bakers Hill, Mitra’s Ranch, Crocodile Farm, Butterfly Garden, Binuatan Weaving Creations, Palawan Heritage Center,

Running tour at the downtown area, Bay walk, Plaza Cuartel, Cathedral, Eulalia Park and tiangge for pasalubong shopping

5:30 PM - End of tour / Transfer – out at the airport

6:15 PM - Dinner at “KALUI”

8:10 PM - Departure from Puerto Princesa City

Usapang Mag-Asawa: On Alupihang Dagat

While telling hubby about my experience at the wet market...

Doc Padu: Ano yung alupihang dagat bebe?
Me: Yung parang lobster na maliliit tapos parang shrimps din. Hindi mo ba talaga alam ang itsura ng alupihang dagat?
Doc Padu: Nope. Pero I have an idea.
Me: What is your idea about it?
Doc Padu: It looks like a centipede.
Me: Okaaaayyyy... sabay tawanan naming dalawa

Talaga ang asawa ko oh. Niliteral ang word na "alupihan" sa alupihang dagat. Tinagalog lang eh. LOL! To show him what it looks like, we Googled it. Thanks to Google! =)

Puerto Princesa Travel Agency: N'Joy Travel & Convention

As I have said in my earlier post, instant ang hotel and tour booking namin for our trip in Puerto Princesa. Pero it was made possible by N'Joy Travel & Convention.

I talked directly to its owner, Nellie Joy Silverio. Super bait niya and madaling kausap. I need not ask her to give me discount. Siya na mismo ang nag-offer. She gave us a very good deal for a 4 days 3 nights stay with tours (Underground River, Honday Bay and City Tour). The tour is hassle-free. Meaning, no problem at all and we really enjoyed it. And ang pinakanagustuhan ko sa transaction with her is that unlike other travel agencies, she is not that sigurista. Kahit hindi pa kami nakapagdownpayment, she immediately processed yung mga permits na needed for the tour and booking sa hotel. Yung iba kasing agency, prinoprocess lang nila kapag fully paid ka na.

To Joy, thanks so much for accommodating me and for making our trip memorable kahit ura urada ang aming trip! =)

So guys, if you are planning to go to Puerto Princesa and you are looking for a travel agency, I highly recommend N'Joy Travel & Convention!

N'Joy Travel & Convention
Contact Person: "Joy" Nellie Joy Silverio
Rizal Avenue Extension, Puerto Princesa City 5300 Palawan
Mobile # +63918-752-8214/+639053204567
Hotline: (048) 7231465 Telefax: (048) 4341438
Email: njoy_travel@yahoo.com

Store Finds: Omni Led Lights

Before, we use our lampshade to light our room at night. But because of the kulilits in the house, I tried to look for a night light that you plug in the socket. Eh paano ba naman, 2 ng lampshades na ang nasira ng kulilits and delekado ang lampshade kasi the kulilits try to touch the light bulb.

At Makati Supermarket grocery, I saw this...

Walang basa basa regarding the functionality and features of this product. Ang binasa ko lang ay ang tag price. Carry naman, kaya dinampot ko na.

Pagdating sa house, I asked my hubby to plug it immediately. May konting spoof si hubby sa pagkabit ng night light. Hindi kasi palabasa ng instruction manual eh. He thought that the  knob of the light is used to adjust the brightness of the light. Kinalikot niya pero walang nangyari. Yun pala it is used to adjust the position of the light.

I liked our new night light. Tama lang ang lighting to make you relax at night. What is cool about this product is that it has a light sensor. Parang street light lang ang peg - it only lights up when the room is dim.

How about you, what do you use as night light?

Food Trip: Grams Diner

Last Friday, Mama G wants to try out Soderno. Mama G, Paolo (my brother), Louise (Paolo's GF) and I went there and to our dismay, it is closed. So we ended up eating at the Grams Diner.

Here is the restaurant's interior. It is just a small diner but it is maaliwalas.

You can see in their wall photos of celebrities eating in their restaurant.

Here is what we ordered.

Walang kamatayang bottomless iced tea. It was said in their menu that their iced tea is home brewed. But no! Parang iced tea mix lang siya tapos ang tabang pa. Pero in fairness, maganda ang glass kaya nakakaentice uminom.

P90.00

My brother ordered Rrready, Rrrrroast Beeeeef, Rrrrrumble (roast beef) ! He finished it all, so maybe masarap yung food niya. LOL!

P450.00

My mom ordered Flap it like it's Hot (chicken wings). The taste? Sakto lang. There is no special about it. Mas masarap pa rin ang chicken wings ng Yellow Cab for us.

P350.00

Louise and I ordered Fish, Chips and Question Marks. Nothing special also. Pero since it is bagong luto, we liked it.

P390.00

I tried their spicy rice. I didn't like it that much. Parang rice lang na ginisa sa spicy sauce na pareho ng sa spicy chicken wings.

P55.00

And I ordered Grams Prime Burger for hubby. Hindi kasi siya nakasunod so take out na lang. According to him, masarap naman daw yung burger specially the bread.

P395.00

So that's what we ate that night. Honestly, hindi kami ganun nasatisfy. Hindi naman kasi ganung kasarap yung food nila tapos medyo expensive pa (Parang TGIF kasi ang level niya).  We went home na lang with a not-so-happy stomach. Hehehe.

P.S. Their menu card (or whatever you call it) is gutay gutay when you flip it. Sabi ko nga sa waitress, sa mahal ng food nila, they are suppose to change it already. Ang pangit kasi sa image. Let me show you and tell me if you agree...

Bad Tindero!

I went to the wet market this afternoon. Wala na kasi kaming stock sa fridge eh and kawawa naman si Doc Padu kung puro delata ang babaunin niya.

While on my way to the wet market, I'm thinking of the food that we are going to cook for the week. Bigla akong nagcrave ng alupihang dagat (mantis shrimp). Gusto ko sana igata na medyo spicy. Kaso lang bihira sa market ito. If you don't know what it is, here is how it looks like...

source

While checking the products at the Moonwalk wet market, I saw a vendor selling alupihang dagat. Sabi ko pa naman sa sarili ko, jackpot ako kasi iniisip ko lang kanina tapos available siya ngayon sa market. I bought half a kilo of it.

Pagdating sa house, inayos ko na yung mga pinamili ko and I smelled something funky. Parang di maganda yung nabili ko and I asked Manang kung pwede pa yun. Ang daya ng tindero kasi hinaluan niya ng hindi fresh yung binili ko. Ang mali ko lang is hinayaan ko yung tindero na kumuha since ang bigat na ng dala ko and it was raining hard pa.

Manang told me huwag ng igata, ihilabos na lang daw niya para macheck kung pwede pang kainin. Buti naman at hindi nasayang lahat. Nakain pa naman niya yung iba.

Lesson learned sa akin ito. Alam ko na ang gagawin ko next time. Ako na mismo ang kukuha ng binili ko and iisa isahin ko to check kung ok. Pero talaga, babalikan ko yung tindero and sasabihan ko talaga siya. Nakakainis kasi yung mga taong mandaraya eh. Yung manloloko ng kapwa para lang kumita.

How about you, do you have some bad experiences in going to the wet market?

Overnight Stay at The A. Venue Suites (A Photoblog)

We made use of our free overnight stay at A. Venue Suites last week since its last day of redemption is August 8. Tamang tama, the kulilits has a well baby appointment din and hubby's clinic during MWF is in Makati also so no need to wake up early the following day.

The A. Venue Suites is like a condotel. It is my first time to sleep there and I really like their room - we stayed in a 1 bedroom suite by the way. It is cozy, spacious and well furnished.

Here is the kitchen complete with kitchen appliances.

The nook where you can work or facebook (hehehe).

The dining area.

The living room with TV.

The bedroom equipped with TV and alarm clock.

The bathroom. It is just small and simple. Too bad there is no bath tub (since this is the favorite hangout of my kulilits).

The A. Venue Suites has 3 pools.

The indoor infinity pool with jacuzzi at the other end. My hubby and the kulilits swam here.

The indoor lap pool.

and the outdoor infinity pool. It is nicer to swim here because of the fountains. Unfortunately, it is raining so my hubby preferred to swim at the indoor pool.

Here are my boys enjoying the water.

Ang sarap pagmasdan ng mga smiles nila di ba? Kahit hindi ako nagswim, I enjoyed pa rin. Makita ko lang na masaya sila, kontento na ako dun. =)

Overall, though The A. Venue Suites is not a 5 Star hotel, I'm satisfied with our stay there. Aside from the nice room, the staff are also friendly and the place is well maintained.

If you plan to go to Manila and stay in Makati and you are looking for value for money. I recommend this hotel. When we checked the room rates, it is inexpensive. An overnight stay with breakfast for 2 is around 3k only. There are a lot of restaurants around and offer free shuttle service to Glorietta and Greenbelt. What more can you ask for di ba?

Unplanned Shopping with Mudra

One Saturday, my kulilits and I were supposed to go to Laguna to visit my in-laws. Unfortunately, they are not available so we went with Mama G at ATC instead. Nasira nga raw ang schedule niya sa amin eh. Dapat kasi manunuod lang siya ng movie with her julalay after going to CANS.

While Mama G is inside CANS, we went window shopping first then went to the grocery since I need to buy some fabric conditioner. After that, lunch time na and hindi pa rin tapos si Mama G so we went to Luk Yuen near Makati Supermarket to eat. We just waited for Mama G there.

After lunch, we decided to stroll around ATC again - now with Mama G. In the mood ang mudra (malaki ata ang bonus kay padir eh. hehehe) kaya ultimo si Manang napagshopping ng shoes.

She bought the kulilits new walking shoes. Ang bilis kasi lumaki ng mga paa at ang kanilang mga shoes ay malapit nang magretire.

Nice ng shoes nila di ba? I asked nga the sales lady if they have same design for adults para terning terning ulit kami. Kaso lang wala ng panlalaki. So hindi na ako kumuha baka kasi magjelly jelly na naman si Doc Padu eh. Hehehe.

As for me naman, she bought me 2 pairs of new slippers. She also bought same design for her pero of different color naman.

Aside from the slippers, she also bought me some bracelets. Kinareer niya talaga ang paghanap ng bracelet sa akin. Nafrufrustrate daw kasi siya sa akin kasi ang daming magagandang bangles na uso ngayon pero walang naman daw kasya sa akin. Well, ganyan talaga si Mama G. Laging nasa uso yan kung maitatanong niyo. Minsan nga sa kasusunod sa uso nakakantsawan namin siya na nagmumurang kamatis eh (peace ma!). hehehe.

Anyway, here are the bracelets that she bought for me.


Tickles Bracelet with Charms

Cute ng Tickles bracelet no? Ang daming lawit. Natuwa ako sa mga charms niya kasi parang vintage lang ang peg.

XOXO Bracelet

The XOXO bracelet naman is a part of a set. Sa kagustuhan niyang mabilhan ako, she still bought it. Sa kanya na lang daw yung mga bangles na kasama. Hehehe.

After going to ATC, we went to Festival to attend our Church at Victory Christian Fellowship (VCF).

There goes our Saturday. Sobrang nakakapagod ha. Just imagine walking around for more than 5 hours with the kulilits!

Infants to Toddlers

While sorting our photos, I had a realization. Sobrang bilis pala talaga ng panahon kaya dapat every moment kailangan namnamin.

Ang mga kulilits ko ang bilis magsipaglaki. Parang kailan lang, mga babies pa lang sila na walang ginawa kundi matulog, ngayon mga bata na na sobrang kukulit at lilikot.

Haaaysssttt... Sana forever na lang kayong bata mga anak ko. You just don't know how blessed and happy we are to have you in our lives. I love you both!

Adventures in Kota Kinabalu: Travel Loots

KK is not a shopping haven. Like what I said in my previous post, their Sunday market (Gaya Market) is like our Divisoria na walang masyadong mabibili. And their Malls, wala rin masyadong mabibili, which is like our Greenhils naman. So we ended up buying at the grocery na lang. Hehehe.

So what did we buy?

At the Gaya Market, we bought the following:

White Coffee Beans. My hubby is such a coffee addict so hindi pwedeng hindi makabili ng local coffee.

Assorted ref magnets and a souvenir spoon (not in photo). I collect ref magnets from places that I've been to. I think kasi na ito na ang pinakamurang souvenir na mabibili ko na hindi consumable. Before, I used to buy display items. Pero sa liit ng bahay ko, hindi na siya feasible kaya ref magnets na lang. Hehehe.

Souvenir t-shirt. Initially, I'm suppose to buy lang for my kulilits kasi ang cute ng design. Then when I saw that it is also available in adult sizes, I had an idea to buy na rin para matching kami lahat. Pero hindi madali ha. Muntik nang hindi makabili si hubby. Mangiyak ngiyak na nga siya eh. Masikip kasi sa kanya ang XL. Eh ubos na yung black XXL sa store na binilhan namin and ang available na lang is gray. So sinuyod ulit namin ang buong Gaya Market. Remember his shirt na baliktad ang pagkakasuot? When he realized na baliktad pala, he even said na "Malay mo kaya baliktad ito pag hinubad ko at tama na ang pagkakasuot ko, swertehin na tayo!".  Inisa isa na ata namin lahat ng nagtitinda ng t-shirt eh. Buti na lang at nakaswerte din!

Cute namin di ba? Terning terning lang ang peg namin mag-anak!

At the grocery inside the mall, we bought naman the following:

Oreos. Why buy this? Just because of the can. Ang cute kasi eh. Pwedeng collector's item. It is a limited edition can in celebration of Oreo's 100 years.

Old Town 3in1 White Coffee. Sikat ang Old Town sa Malaysia kaya buy na rin kami nito. Pero I know available na rin ito sa local groceries natin.

Another brand of 3in1 coffee. Since coffee addict nga si hubby, buy na rin kami nito para matry niya.

Instant Gata. Aside sa masarap ang instant gata sa Malaysia, mura rin kaya ang dami kong binili.

And last but not the least, assorted instant noodles! Kung si hubby addict sa coffee, ako naman sa noodles.

Puro food no? Well, yan lang ang kaligahan namin mag-asawa and no choice naman din kami kasi wala naman mabibili sa KK unlike sa KL, HK and BKK na maraming shopping.

Adventures in Kota Kinabalu: Food Trip

Our KK food trip is the highlight of our KK travel - that is according to my hubby. Hehehe... Sabi nga nila, you haven't gone to the place if you haven't tasted their local food. Kaya every time we travel, food trip galore kami lagi ni hubby. Try this and try that ang mantra namin. Explore kung explore!

We went to their open air food stalls a.k.a. street food. They are only open from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.

When we arrived here, you can see the glow in my hubby's face. Parang nakarating sa heaven ang lolo niyo. Parang halos lahat ata ng food gusto niya itry.

You can see here in the picture that there are a lot of people in the food street. According to our tour guide, people in KK eat in the afternoon to break their fast.

There are a lot of food to choose from. Yun nga lang, sa mga dayuhang katulad namin, swerte swertehan lang kung ang mapili namin na food ay masarap.  

Their BBQ stalls. The chicken wings that you can see here, PANALO ito promise! They are selling it at MR1.50 each.

Their drinks. Hindi mawawala ang sugarcane juice. Very refreshing ito. It is a must try. I also tried their ABC. It is their local version of our Halo Halo. It tastes good and very malinamnam. Maybe because they use gata (coconut milk) instead of cow's milk.

We ate the food that we bought in our hotel room.  We bought chicken wings, assorted satay, roti sardin and roti ayam.  Masarap naman lahat ng binili namin kaya mapulang mapula ang hasang ni hubby after eating. Hehehe.

Aside from those, a must try din ang kanilang nasi goreng and mi goreng. Para ngang we want to go back to KK to try more of their food. =)

Usapang Mag-Asawa: On Coco Martin

While watching Walang Hanggan the other night...

Doc Padu: Be, magka-ano ba si Coco Martin at Carmie Martin?
Me: Answering hubby confidently and with a serious face. Eh di MAGKA-APELYIDO!
Doc Padu: Great!

Oh di ba? Eh titatanong niya kung magka-ano sila eh. Tama naman ang sagot ko di ba? LOL!