Puerto Princesa Weekend (Day 1)

It's cool to find out that my closest friends in graduate school also love traveling as much as I do. The first time we traveled together was in Davao last August (see my previous post here), and after that, we already booked our flight to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the Bonifacio Day long weekend. Also this time, a Couchsurfer whom Dennis was hosting also joined us in the trip.

This time, it was our friend, Mayette who took charge of our itinerary. She called the local travel agency that toured her sister in Puerto Princesa. Besides our 3-day itinerary, it's the travel agency who arranged our accommodation and all our transfers/transportation too. The agency's name is Diamond Princess Travel & Tours. We requested for April as our tour guide for 3 days but she was able to accommodate us on the 2nd and 3rd day only. She's very lively and funny so we really liked her.

Our airfare was around Php 3,500 roundtrip. We flew Zest Air going to Puerto Princesa then Seair (Tiger Airways) back to Manila. And we only spent around Php 6,500 for our accommodation, meals, and activities for 3 days there. We stayed at Corazon Tourist Inn which is located near the airport and the commercial areas. So here's how our 3-day trip went:

Day 1 (Nov.30) - Puerto Princesa City Tour

Arrival at Puerto Princesa Airport - Our flight from Manila was more than 2 hours delayed.

trying to entertain ourselves despite the delayed flight

this is what I call, very "touristic"! like yeah, we're sooo tourists! LOL!

Puerto Princesa Coliseum - We went there to physically sign up for the Underground River tour. Since it's now one of the New Wonders of Nature, there are limited slots each day for the tour and they prioritize those who appear there physically to sign up.

Checked in at Corazon Tourist Inn - All 7 of us fit one room. We paid Php 350 each per night for our accommodation. That included free breakfast too. Anyway, from the airport, we just left our stuff in the room and headed out for lunch.

the reception

the van

Lunch at Badjao Restaurant - It's a nice place and the food was good too. We only spent around Php250 each.

Plaza Cuartel - The van picked us up from the resto then our city tour officially started.  You must memorize your van's plate number because all tourist vans look the same. Our first stop was a historical spot. Okay, I couldn't remember the story the tour guide told us, so never mind haha.

 
Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral - Just like every "first time" in every church, I stepped my left foot in first then I made a wish. Now I forgot what I wished for lol!

Pasalubong Center - There's this huge pasalubong center near the hotel, but I forgot its name. I just bought cashew nuts 'coz they said that's what's good there.

Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center - I wasn't so sure if that's the first time I saw crocodiles, but what I was sure about was, I've never seen such crazy huge crocodiles in my life! And it got me proud to have seen lots of species that are endemic to Palawan, such as the Palawan Bearcat! It's kinda cute yet scary haha!

LOL!

it's real!

baby crocodiles

the bum crocodile lol

cute kids carrying the Bearcat

Mitra's Ranch - There's zipline and horseback riding, but what's only free was picture taking, so that's the only thing we did. LOL!

Honda Bay at our background

jump!

Snacks at Baker's Hill - It's a nice place to hang because there are a lot to see. Plus, there are lots of food to munch on too, and hopia is a popular one. We had snacks there, which included in our city tour package.

Binuatan Weaving Center - It's my first time to try traditional weaving and it's really an interesting experience. The creations of the weavers there were being sold not just there at the center but also to different places outside Palawan. One of the ladies there told us that they're supplying Rustan's and Marks & Spencer too.

supervisor mode LOL!

my turn :)

finished products

Firefly watching and dinner on the boat - It was supposed to be in Iwahig, but they said that's more expensive and farther. So we just settled for this firefly watching somewhere 30 minutes away from the Puerto Princesa Port. The fireflies can be found at the mangroves so we had to transfer to a smaller boat to enter the mangrove area. We changed boats at the middle of the sea. We were actually the second batch who went to the mangroves for firefly watching. While the first batch was away, our boat seats were transformed into a dining table where we feasted on a seafood dinner. But besides the crabs, fishes and shrimps, they also served us what they called, "Amazing Eggplant", which really tasted good! When the first batch got back, it's their turn for dinner and it's our turn to go firefly watching. It was so dark there and our only light was the moon. Anyway, our tour guide was carrying a red light because everytime she flashes it to this plant, which I forgot the name again, the fireflies sparkle like Christmas lights. After 45 minutes there at the mangroves, we headed back to the boat; then we headed back to the port, then back to the hotel.

dinner in the middle of the sea :)

So that's our first day. Here's our total spending for airfare and accommodation:
1. Airfare - Php 3,500
2. Accommodation - Php 700 (Php 350/night per pax) - additional charges for our extension would be indicated on our last day expenses.
TOTAL: Php 4,200 per pax

And here's our total spending (per pax) for the Day 1:
1. Terminal fee - 0 (It's already included in our airfare)
2. Lunch - Php 250
3. City Tour - Php 480 (originally priced at Php 600 but we got 20% discount)
4. Eco-Tourism Fee - Php 40
5. Snacks - FREE (included in te tour package)
6. Firefly watching w/ Dinner - Php 1,200
TOTAL: Php 1970 per pax

Coming up next is my post about our Day 2: Honda bay Island Hopping. :)

Hey SEOUL Sisters! (Day 4)

For our fourth day (Nov. 18)  in South Korea, we took a day away from Seoul. We spent the day in Gyeongju City in North Gyeongsang (or Gyeongsangbuk-do). It's a city that features multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites, which show the origins of the Korean culture. Gyeongju is really far from Seoul, but it's near Busan. But because of the KTX line, featuring a bullet train, it's just fast to get there. There's actually a free tourist bus from Seoul going to Gyeongju but it had to be booked at least 10 days before the trip,and it takes 4 hours of travel time. You may check the official tourism website of Korea to book a free shuttle bus. In our case, we took the KTX because it would only take us 2 hours from Seoul Station to Singyeongju Station (near Gyeongju). A couple of days before leaving Korea, we already bought our KTX tickets online and paid using credit card. For foreigners, there's a one-day unlimited pass for 58,200 won, but for a group of 2-5 people, each pass would only cost 52,400 won so that's how much we paid for. We just submitted our passport details online, and bought e-tickets, which we had changed into actual tickets at the Seoul station. Check this link for more information. Anyway, their trains depart and arrive on time so it's best to be early always. We departed at around 7am and arrived there at 9am.

The train ride was so comfy. There's also an attendant inside each cart who serve food (for sale) and assists the passengers. We just took a nap during the ride. So after 2 hrs of travel, we finally arrived to Singyeongju Station. We headed to the tourism office to claim our reserved tour tickets but apparently, we we're not booked. Before leaving Manila, we already booked the Gyeongju City Tour Course 3 online through this link, but when we got there, they said they didn't receive our reservation. Anyway, the tourism officer called up the tour guides and finally, they were able to give us slots in the tour. Since we're a bit early for the tour, we waited for almost an hour for the bus to arrive. The bus was full and most of the tourists were Koreans, that's why the tour guide only spoke Korean; then we realized later that she can't speak much in English. We really felt that what she's saying about every attraction was really interesting, it's just that everything's told in Korean so we were not able to understand. Anyway, when the tour guide collected our payments while inside the bus, we paid 60,000 won (15,000 won each)  for the tour plus additional 48,000 won (12,000 won each) for the admission fees. So here's how our tour went:

1. Singyeongju Station - We left the station at 10am for the tour.

Welcome to Gyeongju!

tourist information

outside Singyeongju station

2. Gyeongju Poseokjeongji - It used to be a small palace.

the only part of the palace that's left

autumn :)

Pam

Pam, Dianne, Thina

3. Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) - Lots of ancient tombs that looked like Bohol's Chocolate Hills. The tombs were huge because the Korean ancestors were buried with their properties like jewelries and armors.

i love the colors!

Pam

Korean drama? LOL!

HDR effect via Camera360 app

We just can't get enough of the background...

ancient tomb

scary...

i like!

4. Geyongjucheomseongdae (Cheomsongdae Observatory in Gyeongju) - It used to be an observatory of Silla. For us, it looked like a Rook in the Chess board game haha!

yikes!

Chocolate Hills? haha nope, they're ancient tombs :)

I don't know what this is called but it's yummy!

5. Lunch (at a Korean restaurant in one of the buildings nearby) - We were only given less than 30mins to eat. We ordered bulgogi and pork cutlet. The food was quickly served. However, we were too hungry to take photos of our food haha.

6. Gyeongju Donggung Wolji (Imhaejeonji, Anapji) - Another royal Silla heritage site with large temples. But again, not everything got preserved. But, there's a diorama there that showed how this palace used to look like.

the lake

how it used to look like

7. Seokguram Grotto - We walked too far and climbed so high just to see the giant Buddha, but when we got there, no photo taking was allowed so we're not able to take a photo of the giant Buddha.

bell tower

just like Baguio haha

the giant Buddha is inside (it's like a cave inside)

small Buddha

8. Gyeongjubulguksagyeongnae (Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju) - It's a really huge and nice place. We explored the palace and the beautiful scenery around.

at the entrance

autumn colors...again!:)

eeewwwy but pretty pond :))

so nice!:)

photo bomber alert! tsk!

We left at 5pm from our last stop and we're back to Singyeongju Station before 6pm. Since all the trains going back to Seoul were fully booked, we were allowed to take any train we wanted (no need for reservation). However, we were just seated on the floor in between carts, since we didn't have seats.

We headed back to Hongdae. We decided to find the Hello Kitty Cafe first before heading back to the apartment. I found a map posted by a blogger, which she got from the cafe's official website. In my attempt to follow what's on the map, we lost our way! haha! Good thing there's this random Korean guy whom we asked for directions, and he can speak in English! he actually didn't know where the Hello Kitty Cafe was, which I was glad about 'coz if he knew, we might have thought his gay LOL! But he actually helped us by using maps from his smartphone. Good thing he was headed that way too so we walked with him. That's like the most awkward 500 meter-walk of my life haha! Anyway, when we got there, we realized that it was just less than 150 meters away from our apartment. I loved the place (being that Hello Kitty fan since childhood haha). Even their drinks were good too. We tried Cafe Mocha, Green Tea Latte (Matcha), and Cafe Latte. After finishing our coffee, we bought some streetfood, which we brought back to the apartment for our super late dinner. Our Malaysian housemates also shared their take away food with us. We really had a great night hanging at the apartment.

Total spending for the day for 4pax:

1. KTX Train from Seoul to Gyeongju - 209,600 won (52,400 won each)

2. Transportation (subway only) - 8,400 won

3. Gyeongju City Tour - 60,000 won (15,000 won each)

4. Admission Fees - 48,000 won (12,000 won each)

5. Lunch - 30,000 won

6. Coffee - 13,500 (ave. of 4,500 won for each coffee, total of 3 cups)
7. Dinner (street food & soft drinks) - 10,000 won

TOTAL: 379,500 won = Php 14,539 (or approx. Php 3,635/pax)

Two days left...yay!