Category: 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

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!

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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.