My and my sisters' 2011 trip to Palawan aka the Philippines' Last Frontier was surreal for me. Staying for eleven days in one of the most beautiful places in the country helped me realised a lot of things that I wouldn't have understood if I didn't travel. For me, the tour was more than just seeing the
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, island hopping in Honda Bay, eating tamilok in Kinabuch, strolling at the Baker's Hill and the Baywalk, or even going from island to island in El Nido.
So in this entry, I am not going to bore you with a narrative of the things we did in Puerto Princesa City and in the town of El Nido. I'm sure a lot of people has done that already and you can find a lot of articles that contain itineraries and the like over the Web. Instead, I am going to discuss a few of my observations and how all these inspired me and made me thankful after the trip.
- Public transportation is still a big problem in some parts of the country.
It might seem funny and all but coming from a province where highways are lined with sugarcanes, rice fields, and vegetation, I used to think that Negros Oriental is one of the remotest places in the country. For one thing, even if it's still around seven in the evening, you will find it hard to see public vehicles and even private ones. Nevertheless, once in a while, a few motorcycles will pass by and if you are lucky enough, one of them will let you hitch for a ride.
When we were travelling from Puerto Princesa City to El Nido, however, I realised how hard it was for people to get from one place to another. Unless you have your own car or if you have a lot of money to rent a van that would cost around Php10,000 (from PPC to El Nido), you will have to endure travelling for 7-8 hours (or even more!) inside a jam-packed bus or jeepney.
 |
The jeepney going to Port Barton in the town of San Vicente (a popular place among tourists)
|
The last trip going to El Nido is 9:30 AM or at any later or earlier time depending on the decision of the dispatcher. In our case, we arrived in the terminal at 6:30AM and were told that the bus would leave at 7:30AM. Guess what, the bus actually departed at 9:30AM because the dispatcher said so.
 |
Just when we were about to enter the town of El Nido, one of the tyres broke down, delaying our trip even more.
PS. Look around. Vehicles passing by are really a rarity so imagine if you were living there. You better have your own ride. |
- A natural wonder is never secondary to a man-made one.
I have nothing against Disneyland,
Lotte World, the Merlion, and all the amusement parks and modern sculptures and structures that typically wow human beings. But if I were to choose between looking at waxed statues at the Universal Studios or exploring the limestone islands of El Nido, I'd definitely go for the latter.
 |
Isn't this nothing but breathtaking? |
For me, nothing is more magical than be able to see all the things that are beautifully created and carefully placed on Earth . . . the amazing stuff developed in time with the help of the ever-changing weather and other elements. For me, to be given the chance to gaze at one or two of these wonders is very touching for me. It's amazing how every element on earth is put together and crafted into snow-capped mountains, crystal clear waters, colourful coral reefs, limestone cliffs . . . the list could go on.
- Travelling makes you proud of your culture, of who you are, of where you belong.
If it is a person's first time to travel to a certain place in this country, she begins to see a lot of things that are very novel to him--the language, the food, the scenery, the people, etc. And although an individual observes that her destination is very unique from her hometown, she starts to appreciate the difference. In fact, she begins to understand more about what her country is made of, about the diversity in her nation, about what makes the Philippines very interesting for tourists to visit. On top of that, her vacation makes her even prouder that she is a Filipino, that she is part of the race blessed with very distinctive, breathtaking, and rich natural wonders that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
"Whenever I visit a new place and get so amazed with it, I always end up teary-eyed with joy.
When I came to Palawan, that’s what happened to me. I cried … with happiness, of course. The Last Frontier is one of the few places in the Philippines where I felt proud to be a Filipino, where I became even more inspired to save our seas, our natural resources." - my Tumblr post about Palawan
It is saddening, however, that some parts of Palawan has been exploited by opportunists who want to get our valuable resources and make money out of them. Mining companies are cutting trees and digging the ground in search for minerals that will give them big big profits. It is so sad that our government is allowing multinational firms to destroy our paradise.
But it is not too late. Let's do our part and help pass a petition to STOP MINING IN PALAWAN. Visit
We can do this!
Labels: stop mining in Palawan, The Last Frontier, travel
