Philippines: Day 24 - Back in Puerto Princesa

We had booked a flight with Cebu Pacific, a big Philippine Airline, that offers cheap flights in the Philippines and to some international destinations, like Hong Kong. Our primary destination was to get from Hong Kong to Puerto Princesa, where I grew up, lived and studied. 

To get there, we had to fly to Manila and then take another aeroplane to Puerto Princesa. But first, we took a cab from our hotel, the Butterfly on Hollywood, to the Airport Express Station at the Hong Kong Station of the MRT. We didn't need to buy a ticket, as we still had the return ride on our convenient Airport Express Travel Pass, which included a return ticket to the airport and three days of free travel on the MRT. 

Our flight was leaving at 8.30 a.m., so, we had to be there early. And we needed some time, as there was another train inside the airport to get to the right gate. We were a bit late, but fortunately, check-in, immigration and security were relatively quick, and we came just in time for boarding. Unfortunately, there was no time, to spend some remaining Hong Kong Dollars for gifts...

In Manila, we had some spare time, because immigration and security didn't take that long (we were positively surprised - a few years ago that was entirely different). We had to bring our luggage through security and could just give it to transfer personnel. Soon we took off to Puerto Princesa, from where we took a tricycle to our nearby hotel, the Acacia Tree Garden. Our favourite hotel, the Hibiscus Garden, had been fully booked. We, therefore, chose the Acacia Tree Garden, which has a pool and is located close to the airport and relatively central. 

We got a spacious room with flat screen TV (only lacking a refrigerator) and of course had to try the pool. After all, it was around 35 degrees. We actually slowly went up, temperature-wise. In South Korea, we had 10 to 20 degrees, in Hong Kong about 25 and now 35.  

It was too late for sightseeing, so, I just called my nephew, and we went to Robinson's Mall together by tricycle. There we had some pizza, did a bit of grocery shopping at the large supermarket and made plans for the next day.

For many visitors, Puerto Princesa - with its airport - is just the entrance to Palawan. And it is possible to go from the airport directly to the main tourist destinations in Palawan, El Nido and Sabang. However, it's also nice to stay for a few days in Puerto Princesa. You can book a city tour or do a self-guided tour by tricycle and visit attractions like the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, walk to Plaza Cuartel and the Baywalk, where you surely will find something to eat. 

There are also a lot of day tours available, which can easily be booked at most hotels in Puerto Princesa or here. One of my favourite day tours from Puerto Princesa is Honda Bay, where you visit beautiful islands. With the brand new Puerto Princesa International Airport now open, it will also (hopefully) be more comfortable to directly access Palawan. 

But we just wanted to enjoy the pool first! 

Our plan for the next day, however, was to visit something, we've missed the last times when I came back to Puerto Princesa: The Crocodile Farm!

Philippines Day 44-46: Manila-Taipei-Amsterdam-Berlin

Vacation is over, and I finally had to leave Puerto Princesa. My nephews accompanied me to the airport, and I travelled back to Manila, where I returned to the Microtel Mall of Asia and just slept, as it was already getting late and I was a little exhausted.

I still had a day left in Manila, so I went shopping the morning after. When you travel through the Philippines, you eventually have to get back to Manila in most cases, because it has the main international airport in the Philippines. I always come back to Manila at least a day before my international flight departs because there's still the possibility of a delay or cancelled a flight from anywhere in the Philippines to Manila due to bad weather. So, it´s advisable to have a little buffer. When you're there and have time left, you can quickly take a day trip to Taal Volcano, visit Intramuros or just go shopping and buy gifts. After I had already done the first two things, I decided to go shopping to the nearby Mall of Asia and used the free shuttle service from the hotel!

In the evening I went to nearby Manila Bay opposite the Mall of Asia, where you have a lot of opportunities to get something to eat or simply hang out. I took my dinner at one of those restaurants by the bay, took pictures with my mobile phone and went back to the hotel for the nightcap.

The next day my flight was departing at around 8 p.m. I checked out at the hotel around noon but could leave my luggage there. So I went again to the Mall of Asia to buy some more gifts (mostly sweets like polvoron, dried fruits etc.) and to get something to eat. There was still time left, so I also walked to the bay to enjoy some ocean views.

I slowly went back to the hotel to get my stuff and took a taxi from there to the International Airport, where I soon checked in. You have to remember to always keep some cash, as you have to pay an Airport Terminal Fee of about 750 Pesos when you depart from this airport. 

After checking-in, I surprisingly met the group of three (teacher and two pupils) at the waiting area. They are from Puerto Princesa San Miguel High School who is part of the International Students Exchange Program (ISEP) from a German-Filipino-Tanzanian-Bolivian group, whom I already knew from Berlin and my group, Carpus e.V. has been a part of. They had the same flight as I have and so we were together during the whole flight to Europe. We had a short stop-over in Taipei, where we had to change the plane, and then to Amsterdam, where our ways parted. They met there the rest of their group, to continue to Bolivia with a stopover in Peru and still had about 20 hours to go. I was already exhausted after nearly 20 hours of travelling and fortunately just had one flight left, going to Berlin. I hope to be back in the Philippines (and also Japan) soon, but until then, Sayonara and have a good travelling!