Category: Philippines

After Viet Ville, we passed by Buenavista Viewdeck which is also on the way to Underground River.  People usually stop over at Buenavista Viewdeck to take a washroom break.

For the rest of the group, they can go inside the souvenir shop.  They can choose from the numerous products on sale which they can buy as ‘pasalubong’ to their loved ones back at home.

The souvenir shop have all sorts of things.  From keychains, musical instruments, tons of decorative displays and clothes.

Prices are reasonable.  Bloggers, who I travelled with, bought several stuff at the JAZZ souvenir shop.

If you’re really tired, you can also take a short nap at the ‘duyan’ located at the side of the souvenir store.  You can also just take a picture with it.  You don’t see ‘duyan’ that often in the city.

If you’re hungry, you can have some small meals and snacks at the back of the souvenir shop.  While eating, you can enjoy the beautiful view.

Buenavista Viewdeck is a great place to stop over as you can see Ulugan Bay from there.  Ulugan Bay is where the Vietnamese refugees landed to escape the war.  This also explains why Viet Ville is near the place.

What a wonderful view!

You can take pictures with the beautiful view as well.

A lot of people do drop by Buenavista Viewdeck as the view is just astounding!  Perfect for taking pictures.

I do think though that the 2nd structure in Buenavista View Deck is better for taking pictures.  You do have to climb the stairs but it’ll be worth it.

On top, you’ll see full view of Ulugan Bay.

If you look closer, you’ll be able to see the so-called Tres Marias.  Tres Marias is composed of three islets standing at the Ulugan Bay.

If you’re traveling to Underground River, do not forget to take a few minutes to stop over at Buenavista Viewdeck.  You’ll be so pleased as you can take home with you an awesome viewing experience.  Don’t forget to take pictures!

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Buenavista Viewdeck
Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

We were set to go to Underground River for the 2nd day as part of the AirPhil Express Puerto Princesa Adeventour Package.  Along the way was Viet Ville where we stopped over for a few minutes.

Viet Ville is the place where a little over a thousand Vietnamese people took refuge during the time their country, Vietnam, was ruled by communists.  They took refuge in this community located at Puerto Princesa, Palawan provided by mayor Hagedorn.

This small community village, Viet Ville, is a popular tourist attraction in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  Their french bread is one of the main reasons why people kept going there.

Catholic Assistance for Displaced Persons (CADP) setup Viet Ville for the refugees.  In return, the Vietnamese refugees work for the CADP by manning the restaurant, the bake shop and the noodle factory located in Viet Ville.

The small community in Puerto Princesa is self-sufficient.  I wish we tried the restaurant but we have to stick with our itinerary.  Nevertheless, when I get the chance to go back to Puerto Princesa, I’ll make sure I’ll try to eat at Viet Ville Restaurant.

According to history, there were about 1,500 Vietnamese refugees in Viet Ville when it was first setup.

However, when ethnic Vietnamese lawyers based in United States and Australia started helping the refugees to go abroad, a lot of them left the community.  This is particularly visible when you go the place.  It looked deserted but actually there were Vietnamese refugees who decided to stay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  Some reasons may be they’re contented already or may have married Filipinos.

We toured the place for like 15-20 minutes and just took pictures in the churches inside Viet Ville.  There were catholic and protestant churches.  There was a temple there too!

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Viet Ville
Kilometer 13, Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan, Philippines
+639182437252

I never thought that touring in Puerto Princesa, Palawan will be that educational.  I was in total awe when we had our Iwahig Firefly Watching & Stargazing in Palawan.  This was an optional tour in the AirPhil Express Puerto Princesa Adventours.  I strongly suggest you take it.  It’s a once in a lifetime experience that you’ll totally remember.

Iwahig Firefly Watching is an ecotourism project between ABS-CBN Foundation and the city government of Puerto Princesa under Mayor Edward Hagedorn.  It started October 2008 wherein ABS-CBN gave initial funding.  The Puerto Princesa community will then continue on with the project and sustain it.

The goal is conserve the natural resources of the city and provide the community opportunities.  At the same time, it offers tourists a unique experience of the wonderful Iwahig river.

As we entered the place, Eric even joked that the lights displayed were fireflies.  Well, I almost believed it but they were actually just candles hehehe.  The place was very dark at night which is what the place should be as we can’t see the fireflies if the place is well-lit.

The Iwahig River Tour will need us to ride a boat good for 3.  Each boat costs Php 600 (good for 3) but if you were coming from somewhere and you would want to experience the food too then you can go for the Php 1,100/person fee which includes transportation via van and dinner 🙂

I still suggest you go for the AirPhil Express promo so you don’t have to worry about anything.

Before we ride on the boat, we were asked to wear life vest and conical hat (cute!).

It was pitch black and I had a hard time taking pictures.  Honestly, I decided to stop taking pictures altogether when the 45-minute boat ride started.  I just enjoyed each and every minute of the tour.

Seeing the colonies of fireflies was totally astounding!  And even in the waters, when you move your fingers, you’ll also see the amazing bio-luminous planktons.  It just shows that the environment is clean and not polluted (or else, they wouldn’t be there!).

I listened intently to the boatman who shared so much information about Iwahig River, the fireflies, the stars, the mangroves and the planktons.

The boatmen are volunteers and they do it mainly for charity 🙂  Do you know that they are even trained by experts?  You’ll notice it when you get to experience the Iwahig River tour and listen to them.  They obviously know what they’re saying and you can feel their passion.  They have my respect!

Here are just some of the things that I learned from the awesome Iwahig Firefly Watching and Stargazing tour:

• Fireflies are winged beetles (they are not flies).
• The light of fireflies came from their lower abdomen (not from their tails as shown in movies).
• there are no crocodiles in Iwahig River
• Frogs and Bats are Fireflies’ predators.
• Fireflies cannot hear and make sounds (not scientifically proven but this was an assumption of the volunteers in the Iwahig River project)
• Presence of fireflies and planktons indicates a healthy and thriving ecosystem.
• Fireflies only lives for 2 months.
• Male Fireflies are bigger than female fireflies.
• Male fireflies illuminates stronger showing more power (or more machoness hehe :P).

Iwahig Firefly watching is definitely one of the must do in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  With this experience, I can truly say, WOW Philippines!

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Iwahig Firefly Watching, Mangrove Eco Tourism & Wildlife Park
Highway km. 20 Barangay Iwahig Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

As part of the AirPhil Express Puerto Princesa Adventour Package, we went on an island Hopping in Honda Bay.  Honda Bay’s original spelling was Hunda Bay but since people kept pertaining the place as Honda Bay, they decided to change it to Honda Bay.

Honda Bay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan is known to be a great place for snorkeling and fish feeding.  With that in mind, we dropped by a rental store before going to the pier for our tour.

There were fins, aqua shoes, snorkeling equipment, diving clothes and even camera case (so you could take pictures while snorkeling)!  Each item can be rented for Php 150.  I was ready because I brought my own snorkeling gear but I did buy some bread (Php 20) as I wanted to experience feeding the fishes.

We were asked to register at the pier before boarding the boat for our island hopping.

Boat fare ranges from Php 1,300 to Php 1,500 per boat with minimum capacity of 6.  Additional person will be charged Php 220 for a 1-3 cylinder boat and Php 250 for a 4 cylinder boat.

There are numerous islands in Honda Bay.  The boat can transport us there.  If we decide to stop over one island, we also have to pay for the entrance fee.  The rates are as follows:

• Cowrie Island – Php 25/person
• Pandan Island – Php 50/person
• Snake Island – FREE (give donation to use the cottages)
• Starfish Island – Php 70/person (Php 50 if paid at the pier)
• Lulu Island – Php 50/person
• Pambato Coral Reef – Php 50/person

But why do you have to worry about all those fees if you can just avail one of the Puerto Princesa Adventours by AirPhil Express?  All you need is to pay just one package ALL-IN then enjoy the wonderful Honda Bay Island Hopping.  We certainly did! 🙂

Among the 18 islands and islets in Honda Bay.  We visited three, they are:

• Pandan Island

Pandan Island is known for the numerous Pandan trees in the place.  I actually exclaimed ‘Pandan Juice’ when the tour guide was sharing the information.  I was so wrong! hahaha!  The Pandan tree is not the same Pandan used in juices but the one used in making products.

I liked Pandan Island a lot!  There were white sands, the weather was beautiful when we went there and the scenery looked so good!  We took a lot of pictures there.  Here’s me trying to strike a pose 😛

Our tour guide prepared a beautiful buffet lunch for our group.  I’ll share more details in a separate post.  I must say, dining with the beach in full view was heavenly!

As I said earlier, Honda Bay is ideal for snorkeling.  Some of us already started the snorkeling activity in Pandan Island as well as feeding fishes.  I was busy taking pictures and admiring the beautiful island that I decided to just go snorkeling in our next Honda Bay island destination.

There were other recreational water activities to do in Pandan Island too!  Fun activities like banana boating, jet skiing, surfing, G-force and UFO.  Try it out when you visit.  A few hours just isn’t enough to enjoy such a beautiful place.

• Snake Island

Snake Island is another island located in Honda Bay.  This was our 2nd destination.  It’s called as such as the place is shaped like a snake.

It’s best to visit Honda Bay during low tide and I’m glad we arrived at the perfect time.

Photo by Boom Boncan

If you do stop over at Snake Island, do not forget to order their halo halo as my travel companions never stopped raving about it.  I tried a spoonful as I was too busy snorkeling! 😛

Photo by Boom Boncan

This is the first time that I really enjoyed snorkeling.  I saw so much fishes!  Fishes like Tuna, cavalla (talakitok) & nemo!  Good thing, I brought bread as whenever I try to feed them, lots of fishes came my way.  It was a great experience, I hope I had a waterproof camera with me.

• Pambato Coral Reef

Last, but definitely not the least, we visited Pambato Coral Reef.  It started to rain so I felt a lil lazy and decided to stay in our boat.  I wished I had aqua shoes though, coz if I did, I would have gone and enjoyed myself there.  Pambato Coral Reef has 2 sections: one is perfect for snorkeling bigger fishes while the other other for viewing coral reefs.

Honda Bay is definitely one of the popular places in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  If you love the waters and snorkeling then this is a must-vist!

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Honda Bay
Purok Honda Bay, Baranggay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

One of the good things about AirPhil Express Puerto Prinsesa Adventours is that you can choose which hotel to stay in.  Marianne Home Inn is the cheapest among the 3 hotels in the list but you don’t have to worry as the place is made of awesome.  Really.

Located right in the city of Puerto Prinsesa, Marianne Home Inn is very accessible.  The hotel is just an 8 minute ride away from the airport and the famous park, Baywalk, is actually a 5-minute walk.

As you enter the hotel, you’d see the beautiful homey design of Marianne Home Inn.  Not to mention, the very warm welcome of the staff when we arrived.  The place is fully connected too with free WiFi all over the place.

photo by Marianne Home Inn

All the rooms are located upstairs.  As we climbed up the stairs, we noticed the beautiful artifacts (such a beautiful sight)!

Marianne Home Inn has 4 types of rooms.  The rates are extremely cheap!  This is perfect for those who have tight budgets but still want to enjoy their hotel stay.  I really appreciate AirPhil Express doing their research.  They do understand as a low-cost carrier airline that their customers are budget-conscious.  You should really check out the different Puerto Princesa tour packages that AirPhil Express is currently offering.

• Single Occupancy (Php 900)

Photo by Marianne Home Inn

• Standard Room (Php 1,200)

Photo by Marianne Home Inn

• Dormitory (Php 3,000)

Photo by Marianne Home Inn

• Family Room (Php 1,600)

• Extra Bed (Php 395)

4 of us girls stayed at the Family room.  The only complaint that I have is that the blanket is just a cloth and I was freezing every night.  But what do we expect from a Php 1,600 room which is good already for 3 pax?

I liked how the rooms are situated.  We see a whole view of the city plus the colors of the guestrooms are so appealing!

Guestroom features and amenities are the ff.:

• complimentary breakfast
• LCD cable TV
• individually controlled air conditioning unit
• Intercom
• toilet hot and cold shower
• electronic key card system
• fully automated fire safety system

I can’t help but take picture of the cute slippers in our room.  Marianne Home Inn stayed true to their name, ‘Home’.  You actually don’t feel like you’re staying in a hotel.  For me, when we stayed there, it felt like I stayed in another friend’s house.

A highlight for us and a winner was the food!  Each and every dish tasted so good that all of us wanted to bring the cook with us back home in Manila.  We were already joking the owner of Marianne Home Inn if we can snatch his cook away from him hahaha!

The pantry also has free-flowing hot chocolate and coffee plus water of course.  I was always looking forward for breakfast and dinner as I knew then we would be eating great food at Marianne Home Inn.  I’ll provide more details as to the food we have eaten in a separate post, watch out for it 🙂

Photo by Marianne Home Inn

Last, but definitely not the least, the souvenir!  We were all cheering when we saw what was going to be given for us to bring home!  Marianne Home Inn might not be like the 5-star hotels out there but it’s a place we can very closely relate to home.

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Marianne Home Inn
Quezon Street Extension, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines
(048) 434-2138
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marianne-Home-Inn/128380873903191