Puerto Princesa

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*waiting to hear back from support on fixing the picture uploader. Sorry.*

That small van might have been crammed but I am thankful we did it. After 2 stops in Puerto Princesa it was down to Calvin and I and the 2 Swedish ladies. The driver was having a hell of a time trying to find our hostel, Banwa Art House. After stopping 3 different times someone finally informed him that it burned down. Another Lonely Planet fail. We ended up staying at Your Space with the Swedish girls for 250 pesos each, a night. We were in the dorms the first night, but were asked to move to a private room so "you and your husband can have private time." I asked her if it would still be 500 pesos, she said "no, 700 pesos." I explained to her that we would rather stay in the dorm because it was cheaper. Her and I had a run around for the next couple of hours, on and off again. She wasn't very clear or assertive in what she was trying to explain. Perhaps there was a language barrier, even though her english sounded great to me. That is when she approached me and said that she will give us the private room for 500 pesos because the dorms aren't co ed and 2 more female travellers were coming in that day. Now if she would have lead with that, she probably could've gotten us to do the private room for 700pesos. Our win.

I had finished Tornado Down and decided to exchange it for another book. I started with Diana: Her True Story_ In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton. It was an interesting book. I was too young to remember much about that beautiful princess, besides her terrible fate. That I could remember. I read about half of the book before I decided it was time to replace it. The book was huge and it took up too much space in my already bulky day bag. So I left Princess Do and picked up the other english book, Touch by Claire North. That was different. Slightly bizarre.

We stayed in our first night and much of the next day. That night we walk around Rizal Ave, through a food market, and Chinatown. That is where I would pick up my Nemo inspired Palawan flip flops for 25 pesos. It took them about 5 minutes to find a pair that would fit my, to them, abnormally large feet. The 2 of them giggling to each other while they digged through a massive bag of flip flops. The largest male pair would have to do, barely. My heel hung over slightly. At 25 pesos, I wasn't complaining.

We walked back up to Rizal Ave and spotted a Vietnamese noodle shop with plenty of locals enjoying their big bowls of steaming noodles. We both had the need noodle bowl. Yummy!

Next to our hostel, sharing a wall with them, was a conveniently located convenient store with large Red Horse beer for 35 pesos. We picked up a few and continued our night relaxing on the hostels balcony. We met a really cool Aussie, Andrew. He was on his way to Michigan to teach at a summer camp. Great conversations were exchanged about the places we've been and the people we have had the pleasure of, or not so much of meeting.

The following morning we signed up for the Undergroud River Tour. A 7th wonder of the world. A national park with a subterranean river full of stalagmite and bats. So many bats. I sat in the front row of the boat with a fellow American from our hostel, Sahara. We talked the whole 2 hour van ride up the mountain, then a short boat ride to the island where the river was. Sahara was from Milwaukee, finishing up her 2 month(i think) trip before going back home.
Her and I were a tad jumpy. Anytime one of us flinched, so did the other. I promise you those bats were dipping and diving like Kamikaze fighters. Of course no one else on the boat had a problem, maybe cause they weren't riding in the front in complete darkness.
I couldn't make out what our guide was saying. Could've been the fact that he was on the back of the boat paddling, or me plugging my ears was with my fingers. Probably the latter. It was dark. Pitch black. The guide was a pro. Every now and again he would turn a light on and shine it onto a formation in the stalagmite. One a garlic clove, looked more like an artichoke to me. Another the Virgin Mary, the water was "holy water" and if you opened your mouth and looked up "you could get holy shit". It truly was incredible. However VERY touristy. But what would you expect?
Our guide said sometimes you can see monkeys on the beach and to be very careful cause they know how to open bags and still your belongings. We where hoping to watch catch a lucky monkey with a new iPhone. But no monkeys.
We took the small 10 person boat back where we were given a free buffet lunch. Not bad, not bad at all. Had everything from rice to pork, salads and spicy soups.

After lunch it was back into the small van with 6 Asian ladies, all talking in their rather loud "teacher voices", who eventually fell asleep for the remainder 1.5 hour drive back to Your Space. Sahara and I got out and took pictures at one of the legs of the Amazing Race. It was nice talking to another woman traveller, especially one who has travelled as much as herself. It was a different pace.

We hung out on the balcony again that night. Andrew had been to Honda Bay that afternoon, something we were debating on doing the next day, to which he explained is also touristy and other assholes were actually picking up the starfish just to take pictures with them. Humanity repulses me. I've seen so much garbage lying around during my travels. And all from the other tourists. At least the locals burn theirs, which I can't stay is better either. Asia uses a lot of plastic. Were constantly denying bags when we buy anything.
Calvin has walked up to tourists and picked up their trash that they had so carelessly dropped, shaken his head at them. The majority give him a different look and walk away, acting as if what they did didn't matter.
I watched a middle eastern man dry his hands then throw the paper into a bush. We held eye contact, which then I pointed to it and dropped my jaw. "Wtf man?" He gave me an evil glare, shrugged his shoulders and kept on his way. UGH!!!! I want to grab them, shove their face in the trash and scream 'NO'. Sorry but I'm not sorry. Soap box over. Thanks for listening.

We walked in the sweltering humid heat (working on that tan) 2 miles to grab lunch at a really cool spot that sat on the water. Badjao Seafood. A gorgeous restuarant with a stunning view. That fortunately somewhat made up for the okay food. I will not complain...too much. This isn't Yelp and I refuse to be one of those people we all hate. We're in a forgien country, enjoying the culture, sites, and food. An absolute lifetime experience! We know where the real treats are at, not restuarants, but food stalls.

That evening we took a stroll down Rizal Ave towards the beachwalk. We passed by and snapped some pictures of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. A beautiful baby blue structure with high towers and bells. There was a mass taking place so we stayed outside with a sad looking girl following 2 feet behind us, trying to sell rosaries. She wasn't talking, just right next to us, lifting the plate of rosaries up to our faces. After saying 'no, thank you' a handful of times, it was best to leave the church grounds.
Across the street sat Plaza Cuartel. An old WWII American Filipino base that was raided and taken over by the Japanese on Dec 14, 1944. The Japanese soldiers places the POWs in tunnels, poured gasoline on them, and set it on fire. Only 11 survived. They created a memorial garden to honour the fallen soldiers, filled with flowers, water fountains, and a memorial statue.
The beachwalk was fun. A bunch of food stalls, restaurants, shops, and bike rentals. All that sat on a large bay filled with boats. We arrived just in time to watch the pink and orange clouds dance on the sky while the sun set behind a green mountain.
All throughout the Philippines we have seen signs for 'Crocodile Sisig'. Sisig means to snack on something sour, I believe the vinegar used in crocodile sisig is what makes it a sisig, I could be wrong. We couldn't get a definite answer from the locals. They say that crocodile is an aphrodisiac that also helps to lower cholesterol. We enjoyed it. A tad oily but that was expected with meat sisigs. 110 pesos for a small plate. The restaurants are always more expensive than the stalls.
We stopped by a few stalls, ate a bunch of fried food. Fried chicken intestines, fried fish ball, fried pork ball, fried yummy yum yum!

We spent a total of 5 awesome days in Puerto Princesa. We met amazing people and experienced an amazing place. But it was time for our next adventure. Cebu.

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Photos

Sunset