Puertro Princesa, Palawan (Day 1) – August 21, 2009

After a quick review of my 2009 trips, I realized that I have a few unblogged trips from the digital baul. One such trip was a 4-day trip trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan with travek budy, “The Backpack Boy” Jasper Jugan, almost a year ago.

I have been to Palawan twice before in 2009. First to El Nido followed by Coron. Palawan is such an awesome destination. And since the Palawan islands themselves is such a long province (Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines in land area) there are a lot of destinations to choose from.

View Puerto Princesa, Palawan in a larger map

I flew into Palawan on Philippine Airlines which arrived around half an hour before Jasper’s Cebu Pacific Flight. I found the Puerto Princesa airport quite nice… as far as provincial resorts go.

Being on the earlier flight, the hotel shuttle suggested I hop on board while we waited for the Cebu Pacific flight to arrive. Then the van filled up with other guests so we went ahead to the hotel… they came back later for Jasper. Jasper made arrangements at the Duchess Pension. A nice affordable and clean place for the next few days. At least they had WiFi.

When Jasper arrived we decided to make full use of our remaining half day of daylight and take the standard city tour.

Iwahig Penal Colony

The Iwahig Penal Colony is an prison established by the Americans in 1904. Personally I find it strange that a prison is part of tourist destinations.

Next stop, the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center.

Oooo Crocodiles!

At the end of the walking tour, you get to have your picture taken with a baby crocodile. At first I thought it was slimy… but the skin was actually quite smooth… like a bag hehehe.

Haha… ok, so I was a little nervous.

Next stop was the Mitra Mansion… again, a strange destination. But it was definitely scenic.

Next… Baker’s Hill which is actually on the way to and from the Mitra Mansion

Last stop for the tour, the Binuatan Creations handicrafts. I don’t usually buy souvenirs. After all this travelling, one realizes that at the end of the day, the souvenirs just end up as… Junk.

After a while, we hopped back into our van and went back to the hotel before dinner.

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