Category: Travel

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.

——————–
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.

——————–
Plaza Cuartel
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

Puerto Princesa’s Baywalk Park was part of our city tour.  However, we decided to drop by before the scheduled trip as the place is pretty close to the hotel we stayed at.  It was just walking distance from Marianne Home Inn.  Since the city tour will be done in the morning, it would be nice to see Baywalk Park in the evening.

Puerto Princesa’s Baywalk is Palawan’s version of our Manila Baywalk.  It’s located beside the port area and is walking distance from the public market.

The beautiful peacock lamp was the first thing I noticed when we entered Puerto Princesa’s Baywalk.  The peacock is the official seal of Puerto Princesa City.  Having this beautiful symbol in Baywalk signifies that we are indeed in Puerto Princesa City.  What a beautiful view!

This new park has ample space for strolling, biking and jogging.  It’s a great place to relax and reflect considering Puerto Princesa Baywalk is not a noisy place.  There were no bands playing music when we visited.  The place was quiet so it was pretty laid-back.  I liked it!

I noticed that there were several stalls set up.  They were selling street foods like fish ball, isaw, squid balls, fruit shakes and some other stuff.  When we visited the next morning, they were closed.  I assume that they open quite late in the day.

The best time to visit Puerto Princesa’s Baywalk is during sunrise, sunset and in the evening.  You’ll have a great view of the sun rising and setting in the place during daytime.  While you’ll be able to see the beautiful lightings in Baywalk at night.

Don’t forget to take a picture at the colorful fish display as remembrance.  We certainly did!

——————–
Puerto Princesa City Baywalk Park
Western Visayas, Sandoval Street, Philippines

You might have noticed that it took me more than 3 months to continue with my Palawan posts.  I honestly don’t know why it took me that long but I guess this post about Puerto Princesa Underground River is just too special.  The place is too beautiful that I’m totally lost for words.  I kept thinking how I can share the awesomeness of Underground River and how I can influence you to visit the place.

After our visit to Buenavista Viewdeck, we went straight to the main destination.  The Underground River is known by many names: Puerto Princesa Underground River, Puerto Princesa’s Subterranean River National Park and St. Paul’s Subterranean River.  When I describe it to people, I usually refer it as Underground River.

Upon arriving at the Sabang Pier, we rode the boat to reach Underground River.  The ride took approximately 10 minutes.  It was a pleasant ride considering the great view.

We arrived at the destination and I immediately noticed the beautiful Tuturinguen Point.  It’s an astounding view and I highly suggest you take pictures with it.

From the beach, we took a walk to the registration table.  While I wait for all my travel companions to finish registration, I walked around the site.  According to the people there, we can actually see monkeys and lizards!  I was lucky enough to see several lizards and was able to take a good picture of it.  Cute!

When everyone’s done, we all walked through the wooden footbridge to the cave opening where the boats are.

I was greeted by the pungent odor right at the jump off point.  I learned that the smell were actually the bat feces/urine.  I said to myself, “this must be a great adventure!”.

We were asked to wear an orange life vest and a helmet.  We cannot take them off during the ride coz we can fall off the boat and bats might pee on us.

A boat can only take 8 tourists.  The two people in front will have to take responsibility as light torch-bearers.  Do take note that Underground river is completely dark inside.

The Puerto Princesa Underground River is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It’s the world’s longest navigable underground river and is our country’s nominee to the New 7 Wonders of the World.

The river is 8.2km long that winds through a spectacular cave before emptying into the South China Sea.  It’s navigable up to 4.3 km.  However, we took the shorter route which is about 1.5 kilometers.  I hope that when I get a chance to visit Underground river again, I’ll do the longer route which is about 3 kilometers.

Trained staff members operate the paddle boats to take tourists to a 45 minute tour of the cave to appreciate the different rock formations and tons of bats that lives in it.

The view inside was just so cool!  It includes stalactites and stalagmites formations and several large chambers composing of limestones.  I was sitted on the 2nd row so I wasn’t able to hear much of what the tour guide was saying.  Based on what I heard, he was explaining the different formations and what those shapes are.

Can you tell from the pictures below what those formations are? 🙂

While I was enjoying the tour, I was really a bit worried that the water dripping down from above were bat pees.  I was reacting quite a bit whenever water drips down my way hahaha!

Don’t forget to say hi when you see other tourists in the cave.  Smile! 😀

I also noticed some signatures in the rocks.  I hope I can do that too.  It’ll be a great way to mark a very awesome visit to Underground River.

Light signifies the end of the tour.  I didn’t even notice that 45 minutes has passed already.  I wish to go back in the future.

I took a short video while inside.  For you who are curious what you’ll see in the Underground River, here’s a preview.  Please visit Underground River when you go to Palawan, okay? 🙂

Before I end this post, I would like to convince everyone to please vote for our very own entry to the New 7 Wonders of Nature.  Do vote for Underground River, we only have until November 11, 2011 to do so!  I have voted a few months before and I highly suggest that if you haven’t done so, please do vote!

We have been very active SMS and internet users here in the Philippines.  This is our time to put it into good use.

To vote via SMS, send PPUR to 2861.  There’s a Php 2-2.50 charge per SMS but it’s totally worth it.  We’re making history here! 🙂

To vote online, just go to the New 7 Wonders of Nature site and vote.

The Pamangan Fiestang Kapampangan is mainly a foodie event that showcases the best of Kapampangan dishes.

Several restaurants and caterers participated in the event sharing their bestselling traditional Kapampangan dishes.  It’s an event that I was so glad I attended.  Even with the 2 hour travel time, it was so worth it!

Being a Manileno, I truly appreciate that I was able to try out dishes from one of the best culinary places in the Philippines.  Pampanga has got to be the place where most well-moved Pinoy dishes came from.

We arrived at Museo Ning Angeles at around 8:45AM.  We were greeted with the beautiful presentation from Angeles City National Trade School Drum and Lyre.  They were all smiles dancing and marching even if the sun was rising so warmly.

As we entered, we were offered a drink called Batteron Chocolate.  I’m not fond of chocolate but this drink made me want some more.  I ended up bugging the server what the drink was and how it was made.  It was that good!

So the secret is…. peanut!  The Batteron Chocolate was made with cocoa and peanuts!

Next, we were served with Putong Babi!  I haven’t eaten breakfast because our meet up time was at 6:40AM.  Boy, am I so glad to see the yummy-looking bread.  Putong Babi, if translated to english, is pork bread.

Almost everywhere I looked, I saw the smiling organizers willing to answer any questions.  They were very happy to see us non-Kapampangans visiting their city.  I was happy too! 🙂

I noticed the organizers wearing the ‘Angeles City, I like!’ T-shirt.  I really like that they branded Angeles City that way.  I was pleasantly surprised that I was given a shirt to take home too!  I’m planning on wearing it real soon because I super enjoyed my visit at Angeles City.  I can truly say that Angeles City, I LIKE! 😀

Here are the components of the Angeles City logo (my comment: so well thought of!  I’m so impressed!):

• Brown represents Kuliat (old Angeles; kuliat refers to the type of vine that used to grow in the area in abundance)
• Multi-color represents a new and vibrant Angeles City.
• Gray phoenix Monument which will be erected in late 2012, will serve as Angeles City’s iconic landmark symbolizing the city rising like the phoenix from the ashes of Mt. Pinatubo.  The monument immortalizes Angeleno resilience and the celebration of life after the tragedy caused by the great volcanic eruption of 1991.

We got the package (Php 1,000) that includes a walking tour of the historic district of Angeles City and Luncheon Buffet.  Here’s a rundown of our overall experience:

• Museo Ning Angeles

A very precious asset of Angeles City is their museum named Museo Ning Angeles.  It was there that I learned the events that transpired from past to present.  A great way to get to know Angeles City.

• Pamintuan Mansion

The Pamintuan mansion served as the residence of our former President Emilio Aguinaldo for a few months and was made central headquarters of major general Arthur MacArthur, Jr.

• Center for Kapampangan Studies

This has got to be the most interesting place I visited in Angeles City, Pampanga.  Center for Kapampangan Studies has shown so much about Kapampangan history and culture.  It surely made me appreciate the province more.

• Kapampangan Luncheon Buffet

The best of the best culinary creations from Pampanga can be found at the Kapampangan Luncheon Buffet.  Definitely one of my memorable foodie trips!

The Pamangan Fiestang Kapampangan is part of the Fiestang Kuliat 2011.

There are 4 more days left in the celebration.  Here are the rest of the activities for October 2011.  I highly suggest you sign up for the Pamangan Fiestang Kapampangan on October 30, 2011.  I recommend it!

• October 26-27 (10am to 6pm)  3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at SM City Clark
• October 28-29 (6pm to 4am)  Tigtigan Terakan Keng Dalan Festival at Mon Tang Avenue, Mc Arthur Highway
• October 28 (4am to 6pm)  Piesta Ning Apung Macalulu – Feast of our Lord of Mercy at Holy Rosary Church
• October 29 (7am to 1pm)  Guinness World Records Attempt: Longest Sitting Massage at SM Clark Bayanihan Park
• October 23 & 30 (11am to 2pm)  Pamangan Fiestang Kapampangan: Lunch Buffet & Food Fair at Museo Ning Angeles
• October 30 (10am to 2pm)  Closing Ceremonies of the Fiestang Kuliat 2011 at Museo Ning Angeles

Thanks to Mayor Ed Pamintuan for supporting and spearheading this initiative.  It’s so nice to see that we are driving tourism!  Philippines is truly beautiful!  I’m just so glad that I’m sharing my beautiful experience with Angeles City with you.  Please come visit Angeles City.  Try the Pamangan Fiestang Kapampangan!  It’s happening this sunday, October 30, at Museo Ning Angeles.  Please make your reservation now! 🙂  Here’s the number you can call: (045) 887-4703.