Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

Rancho Sta. Monica, popularly known as Mitra’s Ranch is one of the popular tourist spots in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  This was one of the destinations in our Puerto Princesa City tour.

The big ranch is owned by the family of late house speaker Ramon Mitra & son, Baham Mitra.  I feel it’s a bit generous of the Mitra family to open their personal property to the public.  Entrance fee is free!  We are free to hang out and roam around the place but the house is off-limits.

Mitra’s Ranch is open daily from 6am to 6pm.  Once you see this signage (picture below), you would already know that you’re entering the beautiful ranch.

There are tons of activity you can do in Mitra’s Ranch.  You can do hiking, horseback riding, zip lining and sight-seeing.

There are tables and chairs available for you to have picnic at the garden.  We were there for a few minutes so we toured around and took some pictures.

On March 2011, Mitra’s Ranch started its Palawan Rancho Zipline Adventure.  For only Php500 per person, you can enjoy not just one zipline but three!  Rancho Sta. Monica’s Zipline is composed of 3 zip lines where you can transfer from one zipline to another on tree tops.  First zip line is 300 meters long while the 2nd and 3rd zip lines are 150 meters long each.  After riding the 3 zip lines, you will then do a short hike to go back to the jump-off area.

The triangular-shaped mansion is built on a hill thus providing such a great view of Palawan.  While we enjoy the beauty of Mitra’s Ranch, we took pictures as well.  We had pictures at the picnic grounds and even at the walkway.

I really love the view that we can see from Mitra’s Ranch particularly the Honda Bay Islands.  The beauty of nature indeed!  Ganda ng Pilipinas (Philippines is so beautiful!)!! 🙂

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Mitra’s Ranch
Mitra Road, Santa Monica Heights, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

A trip to any place won’t be complete without shopping for some gifts for friends and family.  In Puerto Princesa, Palawan, every tourist spot has its own souvenir section.  However, I believe a visit to Tiangge Tiangge Pasalubong and Souvenir Center is a must!

It’s a pure pasalubong haven, literally!

I never thought that I actually spent more than 30 minutes in there!  Tiangge Tiangge is a public market where you can buy pasalubong goodies.  You can find everything in this place!  It’s like a mini-mall for Puerto Princesa souvenirs.

I immediately entered the air-conditioned souvenir center.  Oh my gosh!  The place is really huge!  I got myself a basket because I was sure I’d be getting so much stuff to bring back home to Manila.

There were clothes on display.  T-shirts, sandos, skirts, shorts and even dresses!  They are affordable too!  Don’t forget to haggle especially if you’re getting a number of items.  Also, you can’t try on white shirts 😛

Palawan is known to sell pretty cheap pearls.  You don’t have to worry as they are real pearls.  It’s just a cheaper version of it as they are freshwater pearls (saltwater pearls are the expensive ones).  So go ahead and get some earrings, bracelets and necklaces there.  I surely did!

Aside from pearls, they also sell other kinds of accessories.  I spent the most time trying to figure out which style of accessory I should get.  I ended up buying several necklaces and bracelets.  One color for each design.  I love to accessorize so I was really happy considering I got all of them at a very low price!

A common souvenir item in Palawan are wood carving creations and handicrafts.  The most popular one being the rainmaker which is a musical instrument that produces sound when you turn the item upside and down.

My last stop in the air-conditioned area is the food section.  I was sure that if I get some food to give to officemates, they will like it.  We sure love to eat, don’t we? 🙂

The popular commodity in Palawan is cashew nuts.  I was ecstatic when I saw that Tiangge Tiangge sell them.  I got myself several big packs of ‘kasoy’ as the delicacy is pretty expensive in Manila.

Tiangge Tiangge Pasalubong and Souvenir Center is a popular place in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  I wasn’t surprised when I saw the line in the counter.  I mean with the number of items being sold in the place, no one could ever resist not buying anything!  I was pretty impressed with how fast the people at the counter works, they are so used to the long lines!  By the way, haggling happens in the counter so get ready with your pitch when it’s your turn to pay.

I was pretty satisfied with my 3 shopping bags full of souvenirs.  Then….. I saw that there’s actually a non-airconditioned section!  Aha!  I couldn’t stop myself so I shopped again (part 2, yeah!).

This time around, I concentrated on looking for accessories.  There might be styles that I like.  And yes, I got to buy several rings!  You know what?  I got each of them for less than Php100.  I believe I got a very good deal! 🙂

There wasn’t much difference with the items that are being sold in the non-airconditioned area and the air-conditioned area.  I guess we just need to exert more effort in finding souvenirs in the non-airconditioned area as they are not as organized as the air-conditioned one.

Whew!  I super enjoyed my souvenir shopping at Tiangge Tiangge.  Before you wrap up your trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, make sure you drop by Tiangge Tiangge Pasalubong and Souvenir Center.  Believe me, it will complete your vacation.  It’s the best place to get your Palawan memorabilia and gifts for your loved ones.

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Tiangge Tiangge Pasalubong and Souvenir Center
Lacao corner Carandang St., Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
(048) 434-6041

The Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral is one of the tourist spots in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  It’s located across Plaza Cuartel and is always part of the city tour.

Known as the grandest catholic church in Puerto Princesa City, this church has a lot of history.

When Spain ruled over the Philippines in 1521, they controlled our people through Catholicism.  We continued to practice the Roman Catholic religion up to this day even after we gained independence.

Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral started as a small church building back in 1872.  It was actually built a year before the Spaniards proclaimed the Lady Immaculate Concepcion of Mary as the Patroness of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Under Bishop Gregorio Espiga, the church was transformed/reconstructed to a cathedral.  In spite of the renovation, the cathedral’s monument was preserved.  They also followed the architectural design of the church.

We went there on a sunday, mass was going on so I wasn’t able to really tour around the cathedral.  I said a lil prayer and took some pictures quickly before we took off for our next destination.

One thing that really stood out for me was the design of Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral.  Blue and white is its color combination.  Its design is angular considering the pointed arches both inside and outside the church.

I was lucky enough to have visited Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral especially after knowing so much history about the place.  I may not be a catholic but I respect the religion that most of our countrymen are practicing.

I end this post by sharing with you what Immaculate Concepcion means (got from Wikipedia):

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is the conception (the being conceived) of the Virgin Mary without, according to the Roman Catholic Church, any stain (in Latin, macula or labes, the second of these two synonymous words being the one used in the formal definition) of original sin.  It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.

The Feast of Immaculate Concepcion is being celebrated annually in Palawan from November 29 to December 8.  If you happen to be in Palawan that time, you will be able to see the parade and cultural presentations that are prepared by the different barangays in Puerto Princesa.

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Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral
Rizal Avenue, Barangay Liwanag, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

Whenever I’m out of town to tour places, I always have this happy outlook wherever I go.  When I learned about the history of Plaza Cuartel in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, I just felt sad.

Before Plaza Cuartel became a leisure park in 1997, it was a military fort in World War II.  Plaza Cuartel has a colorful (or shall I say, dark) history because of the events that happened in World War II.

Right behind the entrance of the plaza, lies the place where 143 American soldiers were burned alive by Japanese soldiers :'(

As we moved along, we saw the Memorial Marker that was made for the 143 American Prisoners of War.

The marker has the following words engraved:
“A grim reminder of the realities of war as a price for freedom and the burning to death of 143 American Prisoners of War by their Japanese imperial army Kempie-Tai captors inside tunnel on this site on the fateful evening of December 15, 1944.”

Under the description were the names of 11 survivors who were able to survive the tragedy by swimming their way out from the sea to Iwahig.

In addition to the memorial marker, there was the Palawan Massacre Monument.  The monument was created by Don Schloat, a World War II veteran and was one of the survivors in Plaza Cuartel.

Strolling and enjoying the sceneries of the plaza are things that people do daily in Plaza Cuartel.  Plaza Cartel is open everyday from 8am to 6pm.  Admission is free.

I will forever remember Plaza Cuartel as a place where several American POW sacrificed their lives as part of the historical World War II.  The realities of war indeed.

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Plaza Cuartel
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines