Food Trip

I don't bother going on a diet before taking a trip to Boracay because all the self-deprivation would become useless one I set my eyes and hands on the various foods on the island.

Warm Bread with Pesto and Balsamic Vinegar in Olive Oil

Paella Valenciana in Dos Mestizos

To get to Dos Mestizos, you'll have to walk a bit into the path beside the Tourist Center in Station 3. The restaurant has a nice Spanish ambiance and the menu boasts of various authentics Spanish dishes. We were served warm bread with pesto and balsamic vinegar in olive oil dips while we waited for the main dish. The Paella Valenciana we ordered tasted really well and the serving was good for two people -- two starving people.

True Food

I'm not very familiar with Indian cuisine so I just ordered a set curry meal (good for 2) for around P550.

Strawberry Halowich

Out of all the new stores that opened in D'Mall, Halowich was the one I decided to really check out, despite having a full tummy. Don't blame me. It's the sun's fault. It was too hot that the sound of ice crushing was just way too tempting that I had to give in. The Halowich I ordered had strawberry sherbet, chunks of watermelon and mango, red beans, and vanilla ice cream. Slurp!

Boats in Boracay

I will never get tired of Boracay. Never.

Sinking my feet into those powdery, almost cornstarchy, sand made me want to say "aaaaaaahhhhh" out loud. I just feared that the men peddling sunglasses, pearls, and boat rentals would find me weird, if not, uh, unwillingly sexy.

Speaking of boats, while I was trying to take a photo of the beach from the roofdeck of our resort, a dragonboat came rowing by. Suddenly, I realized that there were four different boats in the sea! The one with sails is what is known on a island as a "paraw". People usually rent it to look at the sunset from a different vista. I'm not sure what type of boat is the first one on the left but the one beside it is definitely a speedboat.




Now I feel like singing... Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream...
Haaay, Bora. I heart you. :)

Spit fire

I love spicy food. I ate this rice meal at Thai Express in Singapore. I forgot what it was called but it has chicken and pepper. As you can see from the picture, the chicken looks ground up. It had a little bit of sauce with it. It was already very spicy at first bite but very delicious. I really liked its level of spiciness and saltiness.

Oh wait, did I just say I liked its level of spiciness? As I ate my way through it, my tongue and throat began to feel as if they were on fire. By the time I was halfway through, I was ready to throw in the towel. I never thought you could be numb and yet feel every sensation at the same time. Well, my tongue felt just like that. I tried my best to finish the whole dish because it was very yummy. Unfortunately, my mouth just couldn't take anymore punishment.

Next up: Hope that my spice tolerance goes up so that someday soon, I'll be able to finish off this dish with relish, without the agony.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

To add to Ces and a Cup of Choco's Palawan post, below are some photos of the entrance to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park a.k.a. Underground River (for brevity?). It's a 90- to 120-minute road trip from Puerto Princesa.

For more info, you may visit www.puerto-undergroundriver.com

Nice washroom...

Pretty neat, huh?

A good, no, GREAT, reason to buy an underwater camera...

...Palawan! It doesn't have two entries topping the current New 7 Wonders list for nothing!

I stayed overnight in Puerto Princesa (a scheduled but totally unplanned vacation). It was a real pity that I couldn't go to the Subterranean River! I've heard so many great things about it. But what can I do when I'm just staying overnight?!?

Go to Honda Bay, that's what! My best friend and I were supposed to go island hopping, but considering that I have a 5 p.m. flight to catch on that day, we only went to one island. And it was already worth it. We'll just have to save the other islands and the underground river for another visit, a more organized one.

It was really easy to arrange for island hopping or city tours because almost all, if not all, hotels and inns can arrange them for you. They work closely with the tourism agency so everything is organized. Heck, you can even ask the tricycle drivers for tour details.

Since we wanted to control our own time, we decided to arrange the island hop by ourselves. Our receptionist at the inn helped us flag down a trike and she gave the driver instructions to take us to Honda Bay. The inn-Honda Bay-inn trip costs P400. We just got our driver's mobile phone number and arranged for him to go back for us at the Honda Bay tourist center at 2:00 p.m. The trip from the inn to Honda Bay took about 45 minutes. If you're riding in a van, the trip would be much quicker.

At the tourist center, we rented a boat for P1,300 for the whole day. The admission fees to the different islands were posted in the info booth.

The island we went to was Starfish Island. It was so lovely! When we got there, there were only three groups (including us) in the island. I could stay there the whole day, but I was also fully conscious of my 5 p.m. flight. Sigh...

The admission fee was P50 per person and the fee already includes use of a cottage. There's no shower room nor running water in the island. Just toilets, so you don't have to do your thing out in the sea.

Noknok, our very kind boatman, accompanied us when we went snorkelling. We went into the water and just a couple of feet from the shore... Camera!!! I need a camera!!! Anywhere I looked there were interesting coral formations and schools of multi-colored fish. The whole scene, coupled with the sun's rays reflected underwater, was really beautiful.

My favorite moments:

- Face-to-face with a fish. I just found it so amusing when one fish swam straight at me and stopped a couple inches from my face. We just stared at each other for three seconds before it swam away. I stretched out my hand after it and managed to feel its slippery body.

- Spotting a fish that was trying to camouflage itself. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I spotted that fish. Its body was light brown, like the sand and corals around it. I was just swimming by when I saw two blue circles. I did a double-take. Could it be? Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was indeed a fish. Yay!

- Eating spider shell. While we were busy stalking the fishies, Noknok was busy getting spider shells. There was a grill by the cottages where he barbecued the spider shells. He gave us a piece each and it was so yummy! It didn't even have any flavoring or seasoning on it but it was so delicious and fresh. I think its taste is closest to a squid's.

That amazing zoo

I always complain whenever I accompany a first-time Singapore visitor friend to the Singapore Zoo. "But I've been there already..." And yet...

The place is already huge and has a lot of attractions yet they still come up with something new each time I visit. That's one of the reasons I still end up amazed.

A really good deal was the 2-in-1 ticket my friends and I got for SGD30. It allowed us admission to the Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park, another amazing place. It was my first visit to the Bird Park so that I did not whine about. Had we bought separate tickets for the Zoo and the Bird Park, we would have paid SGD18 each.

Back to the Zoo, I especially love it when the lions roar. It's as if you're hearing sound effects but it's the real thing! The last time I was there, the lioness was kind enough to strike a lovely pose for us tourists. There she is, the grand lady herself. Crappy photo resolution, I know.

I also love their Fragile Forest attraction. Butterflies fluttered around us (a couple even landed on my friend's shoulder), a mouse deer and her baby tiptoed just a foot away from us. We got real close to some lemurs and a couple of bats. I just got a bit anxious about the bats, thinking they might suddenly wake up and swoop down on me. I'd probably be channeling Evinrude (from The Rescuers movie) if that happened.