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Copyright © 1996-2012 by Charles Keng. All Rights
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*Whew!
Somewhere
on an island I managed to sneak out, without my tour friends knowing it, to ride on this speedboat. ü §:-)
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**April 18, 2000-
Original boarding time was at 8:40
A.M. but moved to 10 A.M., then later moved again to 12 noon! Aren't these
ladies pretty and cute and by the way, they're all single!
J
All the chairs in the airport lounge have been taken, so we sat here, and
divided us from the glass wall is
where all the arrival passengers walk through.
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**Everybody sit, wait, chat and smile here at this new NAIA
(Ninoy Aquino International Airport)
Terminal 2 (Centennial Airport, MIA Road, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines) lounge. Eating snacks treated
by tour friends.
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**Tour friends bring many extra
snacks and drinks for the trip.
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**Strolling along the new NAIA
Terminal 2 (Centennial Airport) while waiting to board the jet plane.
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**With friend Jennifer at the new NAIA Terminal 2 (Centennial Airport),
which exclusively handle transit point for PAL's (Philippine Airline) domestic and international flights. Later airline
company provide each of us with a free chicken
sandwich but no drinks!
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**From Manila We jetted 50 minutes to reach Puerto Princesa
City, and finally this second time I came here I saw a small luggage conveyor
under construction inside this airport.
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*Outside the airport at
1:25 P.M. while waiting for the van to arrive to fetch us, many sweated at 32ºC! |
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*Almost everybody was
barefooted and only a few wear socks. |
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*It's
the restaurant's way that we must removed our shoes and placed it near the entrance gate.
They provided us slippers when we want
to go to the restroom.
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**While waiting for the food to be
served, we're all eagerly took many pictures.
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**There are many sizes and shapes of
wooden and earthen jars hanging on the wall and many more were placed on
mezzanine. Some are new and many are antique.
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**Entrance to Ka Lui seafood restaurant along Rizal
Avenue, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. We left Ka Lui about 2:30 P.M.
for a port in Roxas, where we would ride on a boat to Coco Loco Island. |
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*After
5 hours ride on the van at 9 P.M. we ride on this boat to Coco Loco Island. Finally we are all smiles and relax here
after a long ride and a few ladies slept too! §:-)
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*A big one so far
for us,
this boat can carried about 15 to 20 persons. |
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*We're so scared
on our 5 hours car's ride from Puerto Princesa City to the port in Roxas where we are suppose to ride
this boat to Coco Loco
Island, because the route we travel has many detours and were so dark and isolated. As a result, one of the
ladies ask the boatman if he
could maneuver this boat at night to where we
are going. The boatman answers with a sure and loud voice. It was a full moon
that night and everything brightens up a little.
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*All are very relax now
and chatting. |
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*When about 5 kilometers
distance before reaching the island, the boatman turn on an incandescent bulb on and off to signal the island that we
are approaching, and the island responded by signaling back.
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***A tourist (on the right) join us too, he was so kind
earlier to wait for us to finished our lunch at Ka Lui Restaurant. |
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Coco Loco Island's top view, the resort is located
at the top left of this island.
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*April 19, 2000
Wednesday,
about 6 o'clock in the morning on the north-east point of the Coco Loco Island. |
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*Here at the
northerly direction of
the island. After the rain stop at passed 6 A.M., we could see a fainted rainbow on the west coast of
the island at about 8 A.M.
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*Early morning at the
north-east direction of
Coco Loco Island. I stood in front of the cottage where we lodged to take this picture.
"Naloko kami sa Coco Loco!" just joking! §:-)
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*All smiles and
ready for breakfast. Behind these pretty ladies are the cottages we stayed in. This is the
north-westerly portion of the
island.
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*And behind these pretty
ladies are 3 small wood/bamboo/nipa huts sheltering 3 white plastic tables and many plastic chairs.
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*North of the island
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*Behind
is the tall wood/bamboo/nipa hut stood a big water tank. To the right of
it are 3 small huts sheltering 3 white plastic tables and many plastic
chairs. To the far right are the blue colored cottages where we stayed in.
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**While snorkeling very near the beach, we saw this little fish
sneaking her head out looking for prey.
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**Ho ho ho! At long last, our first
dip in this crystal clear water! Here we are on the beach of Coco
Loco, swimming and snorkeling around wearing life buoy jacket. Taken about
9:30 A.M. (Hindi kami naloko sa Coco Loco) kidding again! §:-)
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**Struggling to get closer. Hey! Wait for me!
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**Trying hard to compose this perfect picture.
I mean almost perfect! |
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**Forced myself into the picture frame!
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**All smiles? And excited to swim in very
crystal-clear water!
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**Me and Jennifer, and my big belly!
§:-) |
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**Beautiful coral reefs surrounding
the Coco Loco Island's seabed. Top
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**Everybody's amazed to see so many
fishes on this island.
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**One of our tour friends brings leftover of rice,
and wow, I seldom snorkel and I never see so many fishes came in
different size, shape and color! By the way, 60% of Metro Manila food
fishes came from Palawan Island.
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**Snails all over this island in the early morning,
crawling toward cottage we stayed.
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**Leaving Coco Loco Island we headed north-west
about 2:30PM for Port Barton.
The big house with white roof on the left housed the restaurant and
management, on the center is the wood/bamboo/nipa hut that housed the
water tank, next to the right are 3 small huts with tables and chairs,
and to its right are all the cottages. One could walk and circle around
the coast of this island and come back to where he/she started in less
than 30 minutes time. From port of Roxas to Port Barton, it takes about
2 hours ride on a van. |
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*Thursday
6 o'clock in the morning of April 20, 2000. Cottages we stayed in Swissippini Resort, Port Barton, Palawan Island. It is a very beautiful
and nice place.
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*Cottages
along the coast of Swissippini Resort, Port Barton, Palawan Island.
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*Early
morning at the seashore of Port Barton.
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*Tour friends swinging
after morning breakfast |
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*Behind the hammock are
the boats we will use for island hopping.
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*Everybody's ready to
board the ships, I mean small fishing boats.
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*Here
we are on board and ready again to hop the islands and swim on their beaches. |
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**There aren't much fishes here in these three
islands as there are in Coco Loco. |
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**The water is as crystal clear as in Coco Loco
Island.
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**Tour friend dived to take a closer look at the
stone on the seabed of Exotic Island, or is it Paradise Island? Sorry I
forget which one!
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**Don't know what they call this one. There are many
small flowers, at least it looks like it, which attached to this stone
and comes in many colors. And when you touch it they will hide and
shrink into the stone's cracking holes. |
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**6 or 7 of us, me included,
snorkeled without wearing diving mask (only goggles) and use no
breathing tube (Is this the right words for this?). This is how good we
are comparing to the other tour friends who used snorkeling gears.
Smiles §:-}
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**One of our friends was bitten by jellyfish and is
applying medication. This photo was taken along the beach of Paradise
Island.
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**The third island we hopped is small
Paradise Island which can only accommodate about 20 persons. I love this island, it's clean,
cute, special and has all the facilities as their big counterpart have.
I ate so many kinds of delicious fishes here. They have
freezer/refrigerator here to supplied us cold soft drinks, distilled
waters, etc. |
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**After eating lunch we left this
beautiful Paradise island for Panaguman Resort.
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*We ride on the boats
for 4 hours and experienced the long chilling effect when it rains that
day. And many of us quivered too, from the windy and the cold moist wet
wind and rainwater that hit us hard on our bodies.
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*Sunset on the beach of
Panaguman Resort.
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*Very colorful sky! |
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*Maybe it's the
afternoon rain that make this sunset very colorful and spectacular!
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*After
taking this group picture, though two are missing here (Don't know where they are, but
they're surely wish they were included here!), we went to the restaurant for dinner.
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*Here we are at the
restaurant of Panaguman Beach Resort!
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*After dinner we
remained
here in the restaurant and play playing cards on their table. Oh! I enjoy it so much and have the best laughs of my
life with these 12 ladies. They are pretty, funny and smart, and certainly
they outwitted me most of the time on the games we played.
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*Ready
to enter the cave, all wear life buoy jackets. The boats used now are very big
compared to 4 years ago, wherein we could only seat 5 persons per boat then. Gone were the required helmets we used
to wear.
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**Behind the ladies is the route where you go straight to the
Underground River Cave.
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**After the Underground River cave tour,
we all relax for a while here near the main entrance of Underground River
Park (when you travel by boats). There is another entrance on the other side
of the Underground River park when you chose to hike or climb the Monkey
Trail. If you could see it there is a lizard (Looks like a Komodo dragon.
but it's only about 5 to 6 feet (1.53-1.83 meters) long (including the
tail)) behind Jennifer. |
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**On their right is another Komodo dragon.
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**On the right is a small monkey standing in the
leaves of the plants, they are all in hiding
including the lizards when we are about to leave. The reason is there are
so many people arriving here now at 10 A.M., and they are scare of us humanoid
because we make a lot of noises. Some
passersby were able to feed them earlier. |
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**Main entrance to Underground River
when you travel by boats. After posing several pictures here we rode a
boat to Sabang then rode on a van to Puerto Princesa City.
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**Behind these scuba divers and swimmers is the
beach where all the boats docked. |
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**Look how many boats there are now, there were only
two when we first arrived.
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**This view is beside the entrance of Underground
River |
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**Remembering jellyfish bites.
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**Yes here we are in
Puerto Princesa
City at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Friday, April 21, 2000. I toke this beautiful pedicab
(taxicle as they called it here) while strolling and shopping along Rizal Avenue. Charged 3 pesos
(US$ 7 cents) per person when you ride on this pedicap.
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***Friday night dinner at a Korean Restaurant called
Palawan Garden, along Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City. |
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**Next early morning of April 22, 2000 (Saturday), we went
on island hopping again this time in Honda Bay. This is Pandan island, our first stop of the day.
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**Ride on boats again and island hopping again in
Honda Bay |
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**Snorkeling at Snake Island, there is not much fish
here around these few islands in Honda Bay. Because almost all of the coral reef here
were dead near the beach, though the water is still crystal clear.
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**We caught a popper fish, it pops like a balloon.
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**Left alone the popper fish will
shrink to its normal size. I didn't know it's a popper, cause I haven't seen one yet, until it pops up. |
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**7 of the ladies here wear snorkeling
gears and they are the best of swimmers and they are all scuba divers too. Can't let go of the
popper fish!
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**This island is small
and shape like a snake, hence called Snake Island.
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**See how romantic this two
starfishes are, the two move together and I guess they are a happy couple. Where are their babies? §:-)
J |
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** Here is the restaurant I won't
forget, guess why? Well, their beef and/or pork noodle soup cost only Php 15.00 (US$ .36) and their special
one Php 20.00 (US$ 48 cents). Its Vietnamese restaurant named Noodle House along Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa
City. The noodles were not enough for most of us and so many of us ate ice
cream to satisfy our hunger. This one taken on April 22, 2000, Saturday
lunch time, 2:30 P.M. |
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***April 23, 2000 10:30AM
(Sunday), inside Puerto Princesa Airport checking in our luggages and getting our boarding passes.
Four of us, me included naughtily stepped on the airport's big weighing
scale to see how much weight we gained from our trip. After knowing how
heavy I was, I didn't eat much for a week after I went home! §:-) J |
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*After 4 hours delayed, at
1500 hours we finally board this jet back home to Manila.
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*Jet
plane's cabin, I ask one of the stewardesses to take this picture.
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The red dots were the places we visited. Underground
River is located in St. Paul Subterranean River National Park. Coco Loco
Island is somewhere around or near the Stanlake Island and Howley
Island. This map posted here without permission!
§:-)
My April 18-23, 2000 Palawan tour goes like this-
First the jet plane touched down in Puerto Princesa City, then we ride
on a van to northerly direction to reach a port in Rizal. Then there at
a Port in Rizal we ride boat eastward to Coco Loco Island, then back to
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Then in Rizal we ride on a van again to northern direction to Port
Barton, then in Port Barton we ride boats again to north-west direction
to reach German Island, Exotic Island and Paradise Island. I don't know
where to put the red dots, but these three islands is very near to Port
Barton.
And then we left Paradise Island by boats to southerly point to
Panaguman Resort (It's not in the map, and I don't know where I should
put the red dot on!), but it is very near (10 minutes boat ride) the
Underground River.
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From Panaguman Resort we ride on boats southbound to St. Paul Subterranean
River National Park (Underground River).
After Underground River tour we ride on boats to south-westerly
direction to a port in Sabang, then in Sabang we ride on a van southward
to Puerto Princesa City.
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Again in Puerto Princesa, we ride on a van to the north, onto Sta. Lourdes
Pier in Honda Bay (Again don't know where to put the red dot), there we
proceed eastward by boats to Pandan Island, Snake Island and Starfish
Island. Back again by boats to the pier in Honda Bay and ride on a van
to Puerto Princesa City. That's it! |
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