Palawan, Philippines as a Travel Destination

Note:
I've written this article for a different audience in mind and which you can find in its entirety in my Helium.com account. The article was meant to introduce you to a must-see destination in the Philippines, where you can probably have the opportunity to imagine how the archipelago must have looked like long before people showed up to call the islands their residence. I've been to Palawan alone by myself, and where I started my multi-day trip from Puerto Princesa, a remarkably clean and peaceful city. This provincial capital also offered me glimpses of the life in the community of the Vietnamese refugees - some of them have put up french-styled bakeshops that offer pho noodles with baguettes for meals. Priced reasonably, I particularly remember the taste of those noodles I had in those food places.

I just followed the details found in the latest edition (then) of Lonely Planet about Palawan, which book was very helpful. People were being helpful, too, whenever I asked for help on details. I also ended up buying some antique wares in the market (one of the biggest in Puerto Princesa), too, which I thought were smart buys.

My Palawan trip allowed me to take land trips, too, from one location to another. In one segment of the trip, I remember our bus having a brief lunch stop. I remember having eaten for lunch adobo made from the meat of wild pig, which the owner told me about as she was trying to convince me that 'I ought to try it at least once.' It turned out to be among the best adobo meals I've had as the meat's gamy but so tasty even though it's teeming with oil. I just told myself, 'this adobo's healthy enough' for whatever it means now as I tried myself that I can still manage my cholesterol levels.

I also remember meeting a couple from the United States, with the lady being a brunette and the guy being of Philippine-descent but was born and raised in the US. For a few days, we were together in El Nido. I wonder what happened to them after their trip in Palawan - I only heard back from them one time again when they had a trip to Taal Lake.

I also spent trekked to one of the biggest lakes in Palawan, the actual name of which eludes me as of the time of this writing. The locals tell me that the lake continues to grow each year.

I also recall the opportunity that almost came my way when I was approached by a man who thought of inviting me to join them on a boat trip from El Nido to Manila - we would be riding a relatively small boat. I thought that would have been the highlight of my trip (there were actually so many highlights during this particular trip, including going to at least 15 tiny islands all in one day) but I decided against it. I could right away imagine our boat being tossed to and fro by waves as we're certainly going to travel in the open sea (at the side of China Sea or inland sea-water in between the islands in that part of the Philippines). I'll certainly take it if a similar offer lands on my lap these days.

I know I'll be back one of these days.

Take your time reading the earlier mentioned article here:
This location is made up of a long, narrow-sized main island that is dotted around by tiny islands and islets (counted around 1,780) situated practically in the main island's periphery and highlighted by magnificent long stretches of mostly white sand beach. The best and least time consuming way of reaching Palawan is via a one-hour plane ride from Manila, depending on the location you plan to visit. There is a major airport in the provincial capital, Puerto Princesa, and other smaller airports in Sandoval, Busuanga, and El Nido, served by major as well as smaller airlines flying frontier routes.

Continue reading here.





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