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palawan

Philippines: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Nov 17, 2011
/
Philippines, Travel

Date: April 28th 2011

I was up and ready by 7:30am. I waited for the tour van to come pick me up for today’s tour of the longest underground river in the world, the Sabang Subterranean River (which on November 11 this year, became one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature — based on public votes).

Tour van Palawan Philippines — I was the first to be picked up. I was also given a bottle of iced tea and a Palawan souvenir pouch. I don't know if it was because I was the first to be picked up, but I didn't see other passengers get it

Area near Microtel Inn beach resort Puerto Princesa Palawan — One of the members in our tour van had to be picked up from the Microtel Beach Hotel

Emerald playa beach and nature park Puerto Princesa Palawan — Which gave me the chance to check out the mangrove beach on this side of Puerto Princesa

Microtel Beach hotel Puerto Princesa Palawan — It was a bit of a wait, so we all went in

Microtel Inn emerald playa beach Puerto Princesa Palawan — Microtel is one among the few posher accommodation options in Puerto Princesa

Microtel emerald playa beach Puerto Princesa Palawan — The beach isn't great, but it's all you get near Puerto Princesa citytown

Microtel Inn emerald beach mangrove Puerto Princesa Palawan — We headed back to our van

Microtel Inn lobby Puerto Princesa Palawan — The lobby of the Microtel hotel (Above photos were all taken using my phone)

Inside tour van Palawan Philippines — Once everyone was picked up from their respective hotels, we were on our way

Palawan highway Philippines — Since I was sitting at the back, I tried my best to take photos from behind the tinted glass

Hill range Palawan island Philippines — The hills of Palawan look lovely

Honda bay Palawan Philippines — To our right was Honda Bay

Road under construction Palawan Philippines — The smooth roads eventually gave way to bumpy ones

The van stopped at a viewpoint on the way for a break.

Beunavista viewdeck Palawan Philippines — Yes mayor, I'm sure you did this with your own salary. Psssh.

Viewdeck on the way in Palawan — The locals sell food and other small items here -- and there's a toilet, thus the stop

South China sea Puerto Princesa Palawan — The South China Sea

Cock chicken viewdeck Palawan — We got back in our van

Sabang mountain Puerto Princesa national park Philippines — The guide pointed to that big hill

Mountain Puerto Princesa National Park Palawan Philippines — The underground river is beneath that!

Sabang beach village Palawan Philippines — After one and half hours of driving, we were by the sea

Sabang outrigger boats Palawan Philippines — Ahh, finally! What I came to Palawan for. No, not the boats... crystal clear water!

Sabang beach clear water Puerto Princesa Palawan — Sabang beach

Sabang boats Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — It was time for my group to begin our tour

Sabang South China sea water Puerto Princesa Palawan — I like these boats, they feel safe

South China sea Filipino outrigger boat Philippines — The bamboo poles on either side prevents the boat from flipping over (well, in theory at least)

Limestone rock Sabang beach Palawan Philippines — Even though I've seen similar sights in Malaysia and Thailand, I never tire of these limestone rock formations amidst blue waters

Arriving at Puerto Princesa national park by boat — We arrived at the Puerto Princesa National Park

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park entrance — Since our tour cost ₱1500 ($34/€25), all our charges were covered

Long-tailed macaques Sabang underground river Palawan — Lots of monkeys here too

Puerto Princesa national park wooden path to river — I walked towards the underground river

Puerto Princesa national park heritage site information Palawan — This place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Boat entering Sabang Underground river Palawan Philippines — The cave... beautiful, isn't it? 🙂

Sabang Underground river tourists photo Palawan Philippines — We had to wait for our turn, as they only allow one boat in at a time

Sabang under river emerald water Palawan Philippines — Look at the colour of that water!

When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.

So I sat, adjusted my tripod’s height and set the camera’s settings. I was going to hold the light with my left hand and press the camera shutter with my right hand.

Entrance to Sabang Underground river cave Palawan Philippines — Helmets and life-jackets on, we followed suit

Entrance to Puerto Princesa subterranean underground river Palawan — Here we go! 🙂

Inside underground river limestone cave Palawan — I knew it was going to be tough to shoot inside while moving and shooting in manual mode that too. I didn't want to use flash since I assumed it wouldn't be good for the eyes of the cave's creatures.

Inside underground river cave swallow bird Sabang Philippines — But other tourists inside the cave were shooting with the flash on and the guides didn't say anything. So I switched my camera to Auto mode and continued shooting.

Inside underground river cave Puerto Princesa Philippines — It was cool inside the cave

Inside underground river cave tourists boat Sabang Philippines — Other boats were making their way back

Inside underground river cave boat lights Sabang Philippines — Kinda looks like car in the distance doesn't it?

Inside underground river one light Puerto Princesa — Besides the sounds of the cave dwelling fauna, the only echoes one could hear were the cheers of the tourists

Inside underground river dinosaur rock formations Puerto Princesa — The guide would point to many limestone formations that were moulded over hundreds of years into shapes resembling many things. Like these 'dinosaurs'.

Undergound river National Research Council Puerto Princesa — Scientists visit the underground river quite often

Inside underground river candle shape rock Philippines — The 'candle' rock

Inside underground river horse Palawan Philippines — Spot the horse 🙂

Inside underground river stalagmite Palawan Philippines — There are a lot of birds flying about inside

Inside underground river rocks Palawan Philippines — This is the only 'land mass' we came across

Inside underground river religious Palawan Philippines — This was something resembling a 'religious' event, but I can't recall what the guide told us

Inside underground river stalactites shape Puerto Princesa Philippines — There were many more object-shaped rock formations

Inside underground river end point for tourists Puerto Princesa — We had reached the end point for tourists. Even though the underground river is the 8.2 km (5 miles) long, only a kilometre is allowed to tourists. To go beyond that, you need a special permit.

Inside underground river turning around Puerto Princesa Philippines — The boat turned around

Inside underground river big insects Puerto Princesa Palawan — Because I was holding the torch lamp, these big bugs were all over me. I had no idea what they were, but they made my position all the more uncomfortable.

Inside underground river man face rock Puerto Princesa Palawan — This was a 'face' rock

Inside underground river cave swallow birds Puerto Princesa Palawan — Swallow birds, lots of them inside

Puerto Princesa underground candle rock Sabang Palawan — Past the candle rock again

Inside subterranean river jesus face Puerto Princesa Palawan — I don't remember if I took this shot because the guide told us it resembled Jesus' face

Inside subterranean river stalactites rock Puerto Princesa Palawan — Yes, the boat went in between these rocks

Sabang subterranean river towards entrance Puerto Princesa Palawan — After nearly half an hour inside the cave...

Sabang subterranean river cave opening Puerto Princesa Palawan — ..."light at the end of the tunnel"

Sabang subterranean river towards entrance Puerto Princesa Philippines — Here we go...

Coming out of underground river Sabang Palawan — Ahhhh....

The boat dropped us back to the banks where I collected my bag from the counter. Going inside the subterranean river is my second cave experience on this trip, the first being back in Sagada last week. I truly enjoyed this though! The above photos were just a few of the 140 shots I totally took from inside. 30 minutes went by really quickly and you don’t even realize it took that long until you look at your watch. I wondered what the remaining 7 kilometres must be like.

Underground river beach boats Palawan Philippines — Walked back towards the boats

Subterranean river tour boat Palawan — Our tour group gathered and headed back to our boat

Palawan island hill Philippines — Everytime I see islands like this, I'm reminded of LOST (man, I miss that TV show!)

Palawan island boat going through rocks Philippines — Yes, our boat would go through these rocks as well

Palawan island boat sea rocks Philippines — Don't know if the boat drivers do it as a challenge 🙂

Palawan island Sabang beach coconut trees Philippines — I was looking forward to spending some time at the beach and in the water

Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — We walked back to the shore, where a buffet lunch was prepared for us

Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Philippines — I thought of hitting the water before lunch but...

Sabang beach no swimming sign Palawan — ... I don't know why it was so

I still went into the water, knee deep.

Sabang beach coconut trees Panorama Palawan — Panorama comprised of 7 shots

I then decided to check out the accommodation available on Sabang beach in case my readers were looking for information on where to stay on Sabang beach.

Vista Lodge and restaurant Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan — There weren't many beach front 'hotels' as such

Taraw beach resort Sabang beach Palawan Puerto Princesa — Got a card from here. Some info: 09196011227/09215492156; e-mail: rebecca_nuevo@yahoo.com

Green Verde beach inn restaurant Sabang beach Puerto Princesa Palawan — Ph: 0910-978-4539/0926-701-9246; e-mail: rlenez80@yahoo.com (as mentioned on their card)

The lady at Green Verde curiously asked me where I was from, among a few other questions. I asked her if it was easy to get from Sabang to El Nido and she told the only way it’s ‘easy’ is when there is a group big enough to fit a private van that can be booked in advance. That’s it. Otherwise, its back to the junction at the main highway and wait for a bus to El Nido.

Considering how much time I spent yesterday, going back and forth thinking how to do Sabang and then El Nido, I guess it is far more convenient to do the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa City itself.

Sambang beach coconut tree Palawan Philippines Panorama — I liked taking panorama shots of these trees (comprised of 6 shots)

Buffet lunch Sabang Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — I had my lunch, which was mostly barbecued tuna and other dry dishes. (Didn't really enjoy it much)

Sabang beach yacht Puerto Princesa Palawan — We left Sabang past 2pm

Sabang beach village Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — No matter how far or how small a village is, you will always find a basketball hoop in Philippines

The journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.

I spent the rest of the day back at Banwa Arthouse’s cafe, researching on El Nido, but as I went through my photos, newer guests who had checked in that day said their “hello” and began conversations. First a Japanese surfer, who spent a few months in Canada picking apples (seriously, some of the people I meet on my backpacking journeys) and then spent those earnings traveling throughout India and is now in the Philippines. (Sigh, it’s moments like this I wonder why I spent 8 years working at multi-national corporation back in Bangalore!)

Then a group of young Danes (I believe they told me they were Danish) asked me where I had been today. We spent quite some time talking and then, we decided to go to Baybay for dinner and check out what was happening there tonight.

We walked to Baybay expecting a crowded festival.

Babybay at night food stalls Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — Hmmm, not quite

Chicken intestine fried street food Palawan Philippines — We all bought some beer cans and decided to snack. We tried fried chicken intestine first.

Barbecued meat stick Philippines street food Puerto Princesa — Had this next. Barbecued... something (I don't remember what)

Filipino food Palawan stall Philippines street food — Quite a lot of Filipino cuisine is this shade of dark brown

Babybay at night Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — Walked around a bit with our beers in hand

Danish tourists burger stall Palawan Philippines — 'Main course' was hamburger

Just as we were walking out, a b-boy dance battle was announced to begin.

Baybay b-boy competition Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — Puerto Princesa's finest dance crews (I'm presuming) were on stage

Baybay dance crew stage competition Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — Some of the moves were impressive

Baybay dance battle Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — We didn't hang around for too long though

Back in the room, the Danes were curious about all the places I had already been to in Philippines and wanted to see my photos. After an hour of that, I paid for my two nights stay at Banwa Arthouse as I was checking out tomorrow early morning. I had to call it an early night. Tomorrow I was going to take the first bus to the final stop on my Philippines tour — El Nido.

And wait till you see those photos! 😉

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country (Last post)

Banwa Arthouse Puerto Princesa Philippines

Philippines: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Nov 10, 2011
/
Philippines, Travel

Date: April 27th 2011

Today, I didn’t have to wake up that early. My Cebu Pacific flight to Palawan was at 11am, so I took it fairly easy after yesterday’s tiring tour of Bohol. Once I got ready, I checked out of Sugbutel and the staff hailed a taxi for me to go to Cebu airport (cost ₱183).

Though there was a bit of traffic (being office hours), I got to the airport by 9am and checked in. My flight was on time and I got a window seat again.

Cebu to Palawan flight aerial view — Goodbye Cebu

Palawan island aerial view Philippines — Hello largest island in the Philippines

Puerto Princesa airport Palawan Philippines — The flight landed past noon

Puerto Princesa airport Cebu Pacific flight Palawan — Palawan looked beautiful already

Even though I didn’t have a reservation anywhere, I did make a list of a few good hostels or budget accommodation, referred to as ‘pension inns’ here in the Philippines. I hired a tricycle taxi and asked him to take me to Duchess Pension first – one of the most recommended budget hotels in Puerto Princesa.

When I got to Duchess Pension, it was full. So yeah, it’s popularity is true. I then asked the driver to take me to my second choice, Banwa Arthouse, which wasn’t too far from Duchess. When I got to Banwa, fortunately, a bunk bed was available.

I paid the trike driver ₱50 (because that’s how much he charged) and I checked in.

Banwa Arthouse dorm bunk bed Puerto Princesa Palawan — A bed in the mixed dorm cost me ₱350 ($8/€5) per night

Banwa Arthouse dorm toilet Puerto Princesa Palawan — The toilet is attached to the dorm and was clean

Banwa Arthouse interiors Puerto Princesa Palawan — The one reason why I shortlisted Banwa Arthouse was because of how it looks

Banwa Arthouse restaurant cafe Puerto Princesa Palawan — This is the cafe and where you can access the wi-fi

Banwa Arthouse lobby Puerto Princesa Palawan — The basement has more shower rooms, but otherwise it's where the staff and family stay

Banwa Arthouse garden entrance Puerto Princesa Palawan — The sit-out area

Puerto Princesa town houses Philippines — I decided to go for a stroll

Puerto Princesa children Palawan Philippines — If you are wondering if I was staying in some village, no, I wasn't.

Felix Pension Inn Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — There are other 'pension' inns around

Balayong Pension Puerto Princesa Palawan — This place looked new

Iglesia ni Christo Puerto Princesa Philippines — No, I wasn't going to spend time seeing another church

Way to Baybay Puerto Princesa Philippines — I headed towards the sea

Baybay Puerto Princesa Philippines — Though I was aware there was no beach in Puerto Princesa (seriously) I hoped to at least touch the water. But Baybay is a corniche, so you can only sit by the ledge and stare at the sea.

Tonight at the Baybay, there was going to be an event with stage performances, food stalls and such. I guess I knew where to come for dinner.

Jollibee sign Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — I decided to get lunch for now (not Jollibee of course)

Unitop shopping mall Puerto Princesa Palawan — But given how hot it was, I stepped in here to cool off a bit and to get some water

Puerto Princesa capital Palawan Philippines — I walked all the way to the city centre where I hoped to find a good seafood restaurant

Bench Bruno's deli restaurant Puerto Princesa Palawan — I crossed the road

Road Puerto Princesa Palawan — There were more budget accommodation available here

Circon business inn Divine sweets Puerto Princesa Palawan — But aside from a bakery, there were no seafood restaurants

Puerto Princesa city hall Palawan — I moved on

Skylight Hotel lobby Puerto Princesa Palawan — I stepped into this hotel presuming since hotel looked nice, the restaurant maybe good too

Skylight hotel restaurant policy Puerto Princesa Philippines — Errr...

I glanced at the menu and despite the restaurant’s appearance, there was nothing out of the ordinary available. Even the seafood options were limited. It was nearing 3pm, I didn’t feel like walking anymore. So I ordered just a seafood pasta and a beer.

Terrible seafood pasta Skylight Hotel Palawan — How was the pasta?

Bad! In fact, it was the worst I’ve ever eaten! Not to a point where it was sickening, but just plain bad for the ₱130 they charged for this. The sauce was straight out of a can, the bread didn’t have a hint of garlic or wasn’t even toasted – it was just plain sliced bread! The prawns were surely packaged, frozen ones and I could barely identify the other seafood used in the dish. Ugh, I still ate it as I was hungry and I didn’t want to pay double for this rubbish!

If this is the quality of food served at this restaurant, then it’s no wonder patrons leave leftovers on their plate! Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Jollibee Dunkin Donuts Puerto Princesa Palawan — Sigh, I should have just gone to a Jollibee!

Balinsasayaw chicken grill restaurant Puerto Princesa Palawan — Walked towards the airport because I did remember seeing more restaurants there

Tiki restobar Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — Manny Pacquiao's next match was being hyped well in advance by just about everybody

Airport wharf Puerto Princesa sign Palawan — I walked towards the airport road

Palawan provincial capital building Puerto Princesa — I was bored, so I sat near these fountains for a while

Airport road Puerto Princesa Palawan Philippines — This road leads to the airport

Banana tree Puerto Princesa Philippines — Banana?

Puerto Princesa airport road Palawan Philippines — I walked a bit up the road and just felt so uninspired to walk any further. So I hailed a trike and decided to go back.

It looked like Puerto Princesa had very little to offer within its city limits. I asked the driver if there was anything remotely interesting and he said “church”. Sigh.

Immaculate Conception Cathedral church Puerto Princesa Philippines — Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Philippines Port Authority Puerto Princesa Philippines — I left the church and walked a bit further down. It was the port, I couldn't enter. I walked back.

That was it. I was officially bored.

I walked back to Banwa Arthouse, and went to the cafe to do some research. It was so hot even though there was a fan on. Well, on and off. Electricity kept going and coming, along with the internet.

My original plan was never to stay in Puerto Princesa. My hope was to land in Puerto Princesa and head straight to El Nido, which is at the northern end of Palawan. Unfortunately I had just missed the last private van going to El Nido as its a 5-6 hour journey by road. Another place on the agenda was the region of Sambang, famous for its Underground River.

As I sat at my table, a Polish guy came over and we began talking. Turned out, he too was planning to head to El Nido but had to be back in Puerto Princesa the day after to catch his flight in the evening. We decided we’d go to El Nido together and share expenses for accommodation.

“Great!” I thought, but two Swedish girls across from us joined in on our conversations and told us they had just gotten back from spending a few days in El Nido. They showed us their photos, we shared our plans and my intention of going to Sambang, and after hearing our experiences, the Polish guy and I decided it was best we go our separate ways. I decided to go to Sambang first thing in the morning and after doing the underground river tour, spend the night on the beach. Wake up the next day and then head to El Nido from Sambang, since Sambang is before El Nido.

But when I went to inform the staff that I would be checking out tomorrow morning because of my intention to head to Sambang, he told me my plan may not go as smoothly as I hope. He told me it’s because there’s a crucial junction along the way from where one has to take a left to go to Sambang. From that junction, Sambang beach is still a fair distance. Problem is, if I need to get to El Nido, I have to head back to very that junction to catch a bus going to El Nido. He also warned me saying that the buses are not that frequent given the distance. (Palawan is big island, but it’s sparsely populated)

All of this was confusing and at the same time, I didn’t want to risk – or waste time – in case I didn’t get the bus from that junction. The staff advised it’s easier to just do the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa itself. He may have pushed for it so that I stay another night and book a tour through him, but alas, I couldn’t afford to take any chances.

So book a Sambang tour for tomorrow I did.

By the time I decided what to do, the Swedes, the Polish guy and a Palawan native who was staying at the Banwa Arthouse asked if I wanted to join them for dinner. The local said he knew of a good restaurant and assured me their seafood was good. So in two tricycle taxis, off we went to a place called Kalui.

Kalui restaurant dinner Puerto Princesa Philippines — The place looked quite nice and was moderately priced

Vegetarian food Kalui Puerto Princesa Philippines — The Swede beside me ordered vegetarian and her dish looked, interesting

Seafood sisig Palawan Philippines — I on the other hand ordered a seafood sisig (cost ₱250/$5/€4). It was alright, but I would have preferred it without the mayo.

Dinner was pleasant, and we each spoke about where all we had traveled and our stories. It’s moments like this why I especially love backpacking — meeting other travellers and sharing our experiences!

Kalui restaurant Puerto Princesa Palawan — Nice place for a gathering

Once back in the hostel, it was another early good night from me and another early wake up tomorrow!

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country (Last post)

Two & half weeks in Philippines… a teaser

By Mithun Divakaran
/
May 08, 2011
/
Philippines, Travel

This past April, I embarked on another journey. Given the circumstances at office (which I’ll explain later), I decided to go somewhere ‘interesting’. This time, a country which upon researching last year, I realized offered so much more than I thought. I’ll go into the details as to why I took the plunge to go as far as Philippines when I begin this series 2 months from now, but until then, here a few of the 5000-plus photos I took from this 2 & 1/2 week long trip.

South China sea islands from plane — Flew over the South China sea for the first time -- very pretty (Taken on my cellphone)

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial sparrow on grave Philippines — First day of sight-seeing: The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial graves — Where 17,202 soldiers, Filipino and American, are buried

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial rainbow sprinkler — A rainbow caused by the sprinkler and sunlight

Aimee Marie Autobus station Manila — Met my reader (& now friend) Aimee who helped me a LOT in Manila

Banaue view from People's Lodge Philippines — Arrive in Banaue the next day

Banaue hanging house Ifugao Philippines — Go on a tour by trike through a region quite prone to landslides

Batad steps down trekking Banaue Philippines — Embark on what became the toughest trek I ever did

Batad villagers pigs trek Banaue Philippines — Seeing these villagers carry livestock and kilos of grain for nearly a 1km through terrain that I found *incredibly* tiring even with hiking boots on, made me want to never complain about corporate life ever again. Listening to pigs squeal (& the resulting echo in the valley) for more than half-an-hour also made me not want to have pork... (that day)

Batad village rice terraces Banaue Philippines — After nearly 1 1/2 of trekking, the view I get in Batad. A village with no access via road and one that only got electricity recently.

Batad hide and seek village children Banaue Philippines — And since these children don't see new faces often (least of all an Indian), played with them for a bit as well

Batad trek landslide path Banaue Philippines — After a break, trek all the way back through tracks destroyed by landslides... but this time, with a local I hired to carry my bags. My body just couldn't take the load a second time.

Banaue rice terraces panorama Philippines — End the day with a view of the grand daddy of them all, the Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue rice terrace farmers Philippines — The sheer size of the Banaue rice terraces are a bit hard to capture on photograph

North Luzon fugao village rice terraces Philippines — The next day, take two jeepneys to get to the small town of Sagada

Sagada rice terraces Luzon Philippines — A small, but beautiful town!

Sagada limestone cave water Philippines — Sagada is also famed for its limestone caves

Sagada limestone caves Luzon Philippines — Which was an amazing 'first' experience for me

Sagada Hanging coffins Echo Valley Philippines — Sagada is also famous for this, Echo Valley. People laid to rest for years on the side of a cliff.

Ifugao province farm Luzon Philippines — Leave the next day and drive through beautiful terrains to get to Baguio

San Fernando Pampanga Good Friday celebrations crosses — Then, on Good Friday, arrive in the town of San Fernando in Pampanga district for the main reason I chose to fly to Philippines at this time of the year.

San Fernando Pampanga praying — Warning: The next few photos are going to be graphic in nature.

San Fernando Pampanga Good Friday flagellation — I don't have to time explain what the rituals are about and why they celebrate it this way, but you can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_Cutud_Lenten_Rites

San Fernando Pampanga Easter Child — Mind you, it was scorching hot that day

Filipino Roman soldier San Pedro Cutud — "You want photo? One bottle!"

San Pedro Cutud re-enactment Good Friday — The famed annual re-enactment ceremony of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ

San Pedro Cutud Pampanga Christ crucifixion — People volunteer to be actually nailed to the cross

Good Friday Pampanga nailed hand — And in case you don't believe me...

San Pedro Cutud crucifixion nail leg — Taken on my cellphone because of number of people jostling to get a close up view

San Pedro Cutud Rites Pampanga Philippines — (Also taken on my cellphone)

San Fernando street children smiling Philippines — Street child: "Hey! One photo mister!" (grabs baby sister) (I start to click) Street child: (Oh, he's *actually* taking my photo?) ~shy~

San Fernando night mass parade Philippines — The night mass with beautiful floats of... erm, Christian characters from the bible(?)

Manila Chinatown purple fire engine — Arrive back in Manila for a guided tour by Aimee. The Manila Chinatown was nothing special, but their fire engines were!

Manila Cathedral panorama — Manila Cathedral in Intramuros

Manila mobile phone chicken — I get everything... except the 'chicken' part. As seen in Robinson's mall in Manila.

Cebu Cathedral ceiling — Arrived in Cebu to kick off the second leg of my journey. This was the ceiling at the oldest church in Cebu.

Chocolate Hills Bohol Philippines — Take a ferry to Bohol, hire a trike and drive one hour to see this: the Chocolate Hills

Chocolate Hills panorama Bohol Philippines — 1,776 hills that make for a phenomenal geographical formation

Tarsier Bohol Philippines — See Bohol's Tarsiers. An animal I think, became the inspiration for Dobby's appearance (from the Harry Potter films)

Sambang underground river Palawan Mithun in Philippines — Arrive in Sambang in Palawan island to visit the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park

Sambang Underground River boat going in — The underground river is a 8.2 kilometers long but tourists are only allowed 1.6kms in. The place is in contention for the 'New 7 Wonders of the World' contest.

Sambang Underground River caves — Another interesting and never-done-before experience for me! Also, quite a challenge holding the light *AND* clicking photos

Sambang underground river boat inside — Trust me, there's a LOT more photos from inside the cave but no time for me to work on all of them now.

Sambang beach coconut tree panorama — Once out, had lunch on Sambang beach.

Palawan dog stretching — Wake up early the next day, take the local bus to the Northern most town of El Nido

Sandwich bun ice cream Philippines — Have sandwich bun ice cream for breakfast (Rs. 15)

El Nido beach view Palawan Philippines — Arrive at my guesthouse in El Nido beach. Sit out, stare into what's right in front of me...and do little else. (Taken on my cellphone)

El Nido lagoon swimming Philippines — Go on an island-hopping tour the next day. Snorkel in a lagoon wearing a life jacket...

El Nido kayaking lagoon Philippines — ..and attempt kayaking for the first time. It was a lot easier than I thought! (Unfortunately no photos of me doing all this because I was afraid to get my valuable camera equipment wet. I've had previous bad experiences with salt water screwing up my equipment)

Palawan island spade-shaped rock — Stop on an island for lunch

BBQ lunch E Nido Philippines — Which was barbecued fish and pork

Coconut kid drinking Palawan — Kids on this island must be sick of drinking coconut water

Las Cabanas beach sunset Philippines — Watch the sunset on Las Cabanas beach

El Nido lobster dinner Philippines — Have a 'home-cooked' dinner of lobster soup, grilled lobsters, fried tuna and rice, all for Rs.250

Leaving El Nido dog on trike — Leave El Nido the next morning

Sunset Palawan flight Philippines — ... and leave the island of Palawan at sunset, thereby concluding my sightseeing around Philippines.

Needless to say, I have many more photos to share and plenty of experiences. This was without a doubt, the best trip I ever made in my life (so far)!

Read the entire series here:

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches