Underground River Experience

Palawan's top attraction is the St. Paul Subterranean National Park. This underground river is a short 2 hour land trip from Puerto Princesa on good roads and a pleasant 15 minute boat ride. Traveling to the Park is made easy with the numerous tours being offered priced reasonably at P1500 (US$35.00) per person. The price already includes admission fees to the park, air con van and boat transfers, and native buffet lunch.

However during peak season you have to wait at least 2 hours to be able to board the boat that will take you to the underground river. The tour inside the cave lasts only for an hour so the wait may be longer than the actual tour. The navigable area inside the underground river is 8 kilometers and you will see interesting forms and shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. Lighting inside the cave is provided by a battery operated flashlight which the person at the first row of the boat will be asked to operate to spotlight the interesting features of the cave.

The underground river is one of leading contenders for the new 7 wonders of nature. It is good to do it for the experience of doing an underground river boat trip but the sights inside are not really impressive. Nevertheless, the beautiful seascapes and landscapes that you will see along the way makes the entire tour a worthwhile experience.

Baguio in Bloom

February is when Baguio holds its month long flower festival, the Panagbenga. Highlight of the festival is parade of floats made of flowers similar to what they have at Pasadena's Rose parade. Since I am not fond of festivals because of the big crowds I have never actually witnessed Baguio's famous flower festival.

However, in January this year when I was in Baguio, the flowers were already in bloom. It is really a refreshing and colorful sight of flowers of various varieties and colors. Flowers abound at the amphitheater in Camp John Hay and at Burnham Park.

Fresh Organic Produce in Baguio

An alternative to going to the Baguio market for vegetables and fruits is to shop instead at the organic fresh produce market at the popular Cafe by the Ruins. I find this as the more convenient and hassle free way of getting fresh lettuce, strawberries, beans, broccoli, etc. The place is clean and crowd free, and does not require haggling skills for the best prices.

The produce are reasonably priced and there is not much difference from the Baguio market prices. This organic produce market is at the Cafe by the Ruins every Wednesday and Saturday from 8am to 12 noon.

Baguio's Delicious Strawberry Shortcake

My niece was raving about a really delicious strawberry shortcake that she discovered in Baguio City. So it was on my "must" list of desserts to try during my recent Baguio vacation.

This best selling cake from Viscos along Session Road lived up to the high recommendations of my niece. The cake was generously topped with fresh strawberries and the cake itself had a nice strawberry taste. It was really yummy and good, and was the best dessert that I tried in this trip.

The strawberry cake comes in three sizes, small (P345 or US$8) medium (P540 or US$13) and large (P850 or US$20). It can also be ordered per slice (P75 or US$1.75).