"Tidakkah mereka perhatikan, bagaimana Allah memulai ciptaan kemudian mengulanginya? Sesungguhnya yang demikian itu mudah saja bagi Allah. Katakanlah:'Berjalanlah di muka bumi dan perhatikanlah, bagaimana Allah memulai ciptaan, kemudian Ia mengulangi penciptaan itu sekali lagi. Sesungguhnya Tuhan Berkuasa atas segala sesuatu." (An-Naml:19-20)
"Berjalanlah kamu di atas muka bumi, kemudian lihatlah bagaimana kesudahan orang yang mendustakan itu." (Al An'am: 11)
Day 1 - Take off
Met up with my long-lost
buddy, Peter J at KK airport & flew together to Manila. He took flight from
Kuching. He
looked the same youthful Peter whom I met when we were 18 @ KMPP. Gosh it has
been 18 years since we got to know each other!
Meanwhile, I arrived a day earlier to KK & had some catch ups with
my good friends, Suba & hubby, Sasi ; then my machan, Param. Have not met
him for ages! Lunch with Suba &
Sasi at Lucy’s Kitchen, Tanjung Aru; then Dinner at Hard Rock Café @ Oceanus
with Paramendra. Had wonderful time catching up with them, has been yearning
for a meet up with good old friends. Slept at Param’s new condo at Likas. Next day, Param sent me
to KK airport.
Flight A.Asia left to KK
at 11.40am, slightly delayed. Nevertheless, the journey was smooth, Alhamdulillah.
Touched down Pinoy Aquino International Airport (Terminal 1) at 1.40pm. We are
supposed to check in for our next flight to Puerto Princessa, Palawan. As we
approached the departure area, we were told that flights to Palawan departs
from Terminal 3. It was 3pm & our flight is scheduled at 5.50pm. We rushed
to the transit area, where they were supposed to provide transit bus to carry
passengers to Terminal 3. Unfortunately, we were told that the bus is “delayed”
and we may have to wait 45 minutes. The journey may take 30 minutes depending
on traffic condition. Worried about their efficiency, we decided to take a Grab
car and rushed to taxi waiting area. But to our dismay, no Grab car available!
Suddenly a guy approached us in an unassuming manner offering us Taxi to ferry
us to Terminal 3. He literally said he is not sure of the fare, when I asked
him. He took us to an Innova & got our luggage to the car boot, before flashing
us a price list showing that the charge for this trip is 1900 PHP! When we
checked on google map, the journey is only 2.4km and we were like WTH…our
pockets were slaughtered mercilessly! FIRST UNPLEASANT ENCOUNTER ON PINOY SOIL…
Nevertheless, life has to
go on. We checked in at Terminal 3 & waited for the flight patiently. No
delays. I did my zohor-asar in a musolla prepared at this Terminal 3. Met a
Saudi guy whom was travelling to Palawan as well. He spoke little English,
while I spoke no Arabic…so we communicated via google translate J
He is going Palawan to visit an Islamic Foundation.
At 7pm, we reached Puerto
Princessa Airport safely. A guy from the lodge I booked, was waiting for us
holding a placard. Took us about 15 minutes to reach by the bay, Jacana Bed
& Breakfast. Quite a secluded place. Checked in, took shower & left to
town looking for food. We have not had our dinner & nowhere to eat near
this lodge. The lodge owner helped to call a tricycle ( a passenger vehicle,
where by seats attached to a motorbike).
As expected, all the
eateries we came across sold pork. Hence I had a coke, while Peter J had his
dinner. Later at the lodge, I supplemented with cookies & breads I packed
from KK
Day 2 – River Cruise
We did the Underground
River Cruise on Day 2 (one of the seven nature-wonders of the world)
Our day started with
breakfast at the lodge (cookies & breads for me). At around 7.30am, the van
came to pick us up. And stopped at few other lodges to pick up our fellow
trip-mates. Our bubbly guide, Jake gave some briefing throughout the journey.
Together with us were a family of 4 from the Netherlands, a family of 3 from Manila,
a guy from Morocco with his Pinoy gf and a Korean family. The journey took us
1.5 hours to reach the Sabang shore. From here, we got into a boat (30 minutes
ride) to reach the Underground River Cruise starting area. We had to wait for
1.5 hrs to get into this boat. So, we thought of trying the Zipline before
getting into the boat, but unfortunately the Zipline was malfunctioned that
day. We had our lunch here; but not for me L
The waiting time for the
Underground River Cruise was agonizing. We waited almost 2 hours. The cruise
itself took us about 1 hour. They provided us with radio & headphone to
listen to the narration while we were peddled along the river. The boatman was
helpful as well in showing us the peculiar shapes of every stalagmite &
stalactite.
We left in the manner of
how we came. Reached our lodge around 5pm. After Solat & freshening up, we left
for another tour, the Iwahig firefly watching. Dinner was part of the package,
but of course again pork was served! We finished our tour at about 10pm. This
was a mere waste of time, as the waiting time to get onto the boat was
horrendous. The only plus point was that the boatman was super informative and
was talking as if he was reading a script.
Day 3 – Honda Bay
Started as the day
before. Our tour guide remained the same. Today we were joined by 2 Korean
girls, a family from Manila and a couple from Manila. Honda Bay is quite near
to Puerto Princessa town, just a mere 45 minutes’ drive. From the shore, we got
onto a boat for Island hopping. First stop, Starfish Island. Where we did
snorkeling & posed with dead starfishes. Next was Luli Island, where we
also snorkeled & I did some nonsense poses. Third & the final one was
Cowrie Island, where we had our lunch (finally no pork served). I had rice with
mussels & kangkong. I did not take the meat for obvious reasons. Here we
could do some water activities e.g jetski, banana boat. Peter & I did
banana boat while the Korean girls took pictures of us on the boat. Soon after,
it was time to leave. We arrived at the lodge quite early at about 4pm. After
cleaning ourselves, we got off to town. We visited the POW memorial & the one opposite cathedral. Then we walked to Puerto Princessa bay walk & some
souvenier shops nearby, before we walked a mile to the Robinson Mall. It was
here where I finally found a place which does not serve pork; Coffee Bean! Had
my seafood meal & a pleasant cup of coffee. As tonight is our last in
Palawan, we headed for a supper at Hadramawt (Arab) restaurant, where I had another
cup of coffee & some ice cream. This place serves alcohol (expected la kan)
and hookah. But no trying hookah, as I am out with quit-smoking co-ordinator
for the district of Lubuk Antu…haha. Hah, on another note, the waiter is a
Sabahan (born in Sabah, but no IC), hence had a good time talking “Sabah bah”
with him
Day 4 – The End of
Palawan & Mabuhay Manila !
Our flight to Manila scheduled at 12noon. Jacana owner’s husband sent us to Airport. He’s a friendly
chap, hence we were talking all along the way about Manila & encouraged him
to visit Sabah. (I’m a bit biased perhaps, but of course I always promote Sabah
before any other states in Malaysia J Since we checked
in way ahead of time, I decided to take a ride to visit the Islamic Foundation.
Peter J did not want to follow as he’s
skema & worried might miss the flight…hahaha. This place is a mere
10 minutes ride from the Airport. Met with few bros there, who are actively engaged
in dakwah & islah activities in the island of Palawan. I was briefed about
the activities of this foundation & about the Muslim community in Palawan.
Muslim population on this island accounts to approx. 5%, and they mainly reside
at the southern part of the island. By the way, I got to know about this
foundation from the Saudi Syeikh whom I met at Pinoy Aquino (Terminal 3)
Airport. Later I found out that this Syeikh is the one who started this foundation
and has been actively garnering funds to run this place & carry out
activities. Memang tabik spring la kat depa ni…steadfastly carrying out activities
of dakwah & islah. May Allah ease their work!
After about 40 minutes
here, I got back on the tricycle back to Airport. The tricycle guy in fact
waited for me & he thought I am a “muslim-minister” cause I visited this
foundation.hehe
Ok, fast forward; we
arrived at Manila Airport as scheduled. Took a cab to our hotel, City Garden Suites
Hotel at Mabini St, Ermita (somewhere near Malate). Due to terrible jam, it
took us around 35 minutes to reach this place. Thank god, not cheated this
time.
The hotel room was clean
and comfy, but the toilet is a bit small. But ya, that does not really matter
as we are not gonna sleep in the toilet, kan? Guess what was the first thing I
did after that??? To hunt for proper convincing lunch! After some googling
(which Ive already done while in Palawan), I found a few halal restaurants. As
I had planned, we headed to Gayyah Restaurant, but our dismay the service was
atrocious, hence we left the place and headed a bit further to an Arab
restaurant (Asy-Shams). A cozy place with reasonable price. Had my kebab &
had to finish Peter’s nasi mendy..walla!
Ok, I have to tell about
our 1st night in Manila… we wanted to buy souveniers. Hence after
some googling, found this bazar called “Divisoria”, which is apparently open
till late night. So, took a tricycle and headed to this place with lot of
expectation, but sadly…ended with disappointment as this place looks like a
fish market and obviously not open at night. The tricycle guy changed direction
and took us to another “night market” without asking us. He dropped us here and
demanded for double the fare as was agreed upon initially. Despite heated
arguments (of course he did not understand much of what I was saying), we paid
up a little less than the fare he wanted. And this so-called night market is
indeed like our pasar malam, selling tid-bits, clothes, underwears…haih. No
souveniers & not even the Phillipines based t-shirts available here! After
a while, we left the place on a tricycle.
Day 6 – the Adventure
Based on initial
itinerary, today is for us to visit Taal Lake Volcano. However, after we failed
to get a convincing tour plan from any of the tour companies we visited
yesterday, we almost cancelled this trip. However, I did not give up &
googled on “how to make the trip to Taal, on your own” And of course our mat
saleh dudes have written a number of articles on this. Hence, I felt inspired
by these articles & decided to go on our own..hahaha. Nevertheless, my
Peter decided to stay put in Manila. So, solo trip lor…sad.
I was out of hotel before
7.30AM. Took a cab to the Buendia bus station. From here, took an express bus
to Olivarez in Tagaytay. Took me almost 2.5 hours to reach Olivarez (Tagaytay).
The traffic was horrible! A young chap (forgot his name) was waiting to ferry me to
Talisay, on a bukyo (something like “äuto” in India). I managed to pack some
drinks & Dunkin donuts at Olivarez, as food at Taal was told to be
expensive. OK, before leaving Manila, I called this guy named Bryan (whose
number was mentioned in one the articles I read). SO, this Bryan arranged this
bukyo for me to get to his place at Taal Lake. He even gave an alternative
route to get to his place from Manila, but it was rather confusing, so I stick
to the route I read in the article.
Upon arrival at Bryan’s
place (he is a boat operator), he gave short briefing about the trip. Very
soon, I was on the boat to cross a river/lake (tak pasti) to get to Taal Lake
Volcano (an Island within an Island, within an Island). The boat trip took me
30 minutes. At the island, I was introduced to Mary Jane (guide is mandatory
for foreign tourist it seems…) With no further a due, we started to hike up.
Was not too difficult. Got 14 checkpoints. Reached peak in 25 minutes. Spent a
good one hour at the peak. Mary Jane was very helpful in helping me to get
shots of me along the way & at the peak. By the way, she’s a single mom
with 2 school-going children (husband passed away months ago). She should be in
her mid-30s. Earns her living by being a guide. Gets about PHP 200-300/tour.
Apparently most of the visitors to Taal, use horse to hike up. Only a handful
of tourists will use their legs..sigh. Kesian the horses. Horse rides are not covered by these guides. They have separate owners/association
Hike down was even
faster, and straight to the boat to ferry me back to Bryan’s jetty. Had a nice
coconut drink (they call it buko),
before leaving back to Tagaytay in the same
bukyo which I was in earlier. The young chap was very friendly & spoke
good English, hence communication was much easier. On the way, I stopped to buy
Avocado – which was priced RM4/kg (after conversion)-dirt cheap as compared to
Semanjung (RM5-7/piece!). So, I sapu everything the makcik had ~ 2kg.
At Tagaytay, had my
Zohor-Asar prayers at Masjid Al-Huda (just opposite the bus stop). Met a
tabligh guy from Mindanao, named Noor. Too friendly as he kept talking in
sabahan malay in fact. Wished I had more time to spend, but unfortunately no;
hence had to cut the conversion & hurried away to the bus stop, after
exchanging FB contact with this guy. Bus came within 5 minutes, and another 2+
hours to Manila. I took a bus of different company this time and only upon reaching
Manila, I got to know that this one will only pass by Buendia Train Station,
not the bus station. Hence, I just alighted somewhere at Makati & had to
take a cab (PHP 150) to reach my hotel ~hence an additional 45 minutes.
6.30 PM : Finally arrived
at my hotel room; tired and broke, but felt happy & satisfied with what I
experienced today. Peter J was in the room, having shopped handsomely the whole
day…haha.
After a quick bath, Peter
& I left for dinner (at Dulang – a Muslim restaurant, serving apparently
local dishes; but did not really appear very local), followed by hunt for
souveniers. This time we walked to Quaipo Market! I repeat, we walked! The
place is about 2.5km from our place. Since Manila is known for its massive
congestion, google map reported that, it will take 40minutes to reach our
destination regardless we take a cab or foot. Hence, we decided to go on our
foot (despite some hesitancy from Peter J..haha) But again, we got
disappointed, as this Quaipo Market is in fact a pasar malam, selling veggies!
So, we went home again feeling dillusioned. But, it was still early! So, we
were left with 2 options, to watch live bands at any restaurants/bars or movie
at the Robinson’s Mall. Peter J opted for movie, so we went for Skyscraper and
I fell asleep towards the end…haha. I was super tired & sitting down to
focus on the movie was a difficult task for me. This Robinson’s Mall is
walkable from our hotel.
Summary (how to do Taal on your own)
Buendia bus station (Manila) to Olivarez (in Tagaytay) 2.5 hrs
Take bukyo to jetty at Talisay (4o minutes)
Boat ride to Taal Lake Volcano (island) (30 minutes)
Hike up (20-30 minutes)
*Bryan's no : +63 9172032792
After breakfast at the
hotel, we took a cab & reached Ninoy Aquino Airport well ahead of time. But
again, this Manila airport confused us, as we reached Terminal 1 & got to
know that the Air Asia flights will depart from Terminal 4! So ridiculous…the
other day, A.Asia landed at Terminal 1, but out-going flights will depart from
Terminal 4…just cant fathom their system. As we tried to look for another cab
to take us to Terminal 4, a guy approached us and carried our luggage into his
cab, offering to send us to Terminal 4, again without telling us the fare!
After some metres of travel, he said this trip gonna cost us PHP 500! I just
lost my cool & ranted at him. So much so, he stopped by the roadside and we
got off his cab! It feels so horrendous looking at how they con tourists (and
maybe locals as well) to get easy money! As we were waiting by the jammed
roadside, a cab pakcik came along and after some haggling, agreed for PHP 200
(plus toll fare) to send us to Terminal 4 (still expensive, considering the
distance is only 2km). At least this pakcik was very decent & thoughtful.
The flight back to KK was uneventful. A little hiccup at KK Airport, as customs
initially wanted to check on my Avocado – but the higher officer cleared me to
go as I was carrying only 2kg…bukan nak pi niaga kat pasaq malam pun! At KK
airport, the kereta sewa that we hired via Param was waiting for us. We checked into Grand Borneo Hotel @ One
Borneo. Met Daphne (our batchmate in uNIMAS) there, after 12 years! She’s a
plastic surgeon in SGH.
Spent 2 more nights in
KK, before going back to our kampungs
WHAT
TO DO/EXPECT
Palawan
– Puerto Princessa town is the centre here. So, find a place to stay near town
area. Perhaps can use Robinson’s Mall or Plaza Palawan as the landmark. The
other places to go in Palawan (besides the ones I mentioned above) would of
course be Coron & El Nido. However, these are far away places. El Nido is
about 6 hours drive from Puerto Princessa & you will need to overnight
there if were to enjoy El Nido. As for Coron, you need to take a flight or go
on a boat from El Nido. If you are an avid snorkeler or diver, Coron +/- El
Nido are must go places for you. Of course, you will need to spend longer
period of time in Palawan if you were to go these places.
Manila
– basically is a city for nightlife. If you are not keen for booze, “massage
++” or night clubs then don’t waste time in Manila, as it is not the place for
you. Probably can spend a night or two, that is all. Most you can do is to
listen to their live bands at a relatively decent bar/restaurants or go for
movies (as what we did..haha). I would suggest you to explore Northern Luzon or
Southern Luzon (where Tagaytay is located) There are a few nice volcanic
mountains to go (e.g. Pinatubo, Taal) if you are an avid hiker/nature freak.
There are some historical monuments/places to visit, but that will be kind of a
boring stuff to do if you are not into these histories.
TRANSPORTATION
1)
Be careful on which Airport Terminal you
supposed to be! Read properly what is written on your ticket in regard to
departing/arrival Terminals. There are 4 terminals in Ninoy Aquino Airport, and
you need transfer buses to move from one terminal to another. Bear in mind
these transfer buses might not be punctual and be prepared to take proper cab.
2)
NEVER rely on Grab cars in Manila!
3)
LOOK FOR only cabs with meters, to avoid
getting cheated. If the driver does not want to use the meter (for instance
when the road is terribly jammed), confirm the exact fare before getting into
his cab
4)
Explore express buses (so-called express)
for long distanced travel. It is a cheaper option.
5)
Intra-city LRT available in Manila, which
I did not get to try
6)
In Palawan as well as Manila, you can get
connected from one place to another by tricycle. Haggle the price before you
get in. I find these tricycle riders in Palawan more decent & do not cheat.
In Manila, tricycle fare can be similar to taxi fare. So, consider using
metered-taxi unless not available.
FOOD
1)
This is a big problem, particularly in
Palawan. Almost all (except one veggie restaurant & Coffee Bean at
Robinsons Mall) serve pork & alcohol. Since pork is on the menu, no option
for you to eat anything convincingly (including seafoods) Bring along breads,
cookies to avoid starvation & ketosis.hahaha.
2)
Manila – easier to find proper halal food.
3)
Even McD has bacon sauce L
4)
Dunkin Donuts got sliced pork J
5)
Beverages – not an issue.
6)
Price – pricey if you go to
air-conditioned eateries, or else the price is quite OK. In Palawan, I did not
really enjoyed the foods, except that one night at Coffee Bean
TIME
1)
Similar time zone with Malaysia, so need
not adjust ur watch.
2)
Solat time, as in Sabah (in fact 20-30
minutes earlier for certain prayers)
EXCHANGE
RATE
1)
Can change at KK (if you are flying from
KK). I find the rates a bit better as compared to what I got in Penang
2)
PHP 10 = 80cents
PHP
50 = RM4
PHP
100 = RM8
EXPENDITURES
1)
Accomodation (for 6 nights)
PHP
3926 / per person (RM300)
2)
Taal Trip
PHP
3400 (RM260) (could be lesser if more people were to join) I paid all in all this much because it was a
solo trip
b/down
: taxi to Buendia bus station (Manila) PHP 85
Bus to Olivarez (Tagaytay) PHP 83
Bukyo to Talisay (Jetty) to
& fro PHP 500
Tour (boat, guide & entrance fee,
Boat parking at the
dock PHP 2150
Guide tips PHP
300
Red lava PHP
50
Bus back to Buendia PHP 82
Taxi to hotel PHP 150
PHP
4750 (RM360)
PHP
1390 (shared) (RM105)
Approx
RM800 (Penang – KK, KK – Manila, Manila – Palawan & return in the similar
manner)
6) Other costs
-
Food, Souveniers (not mentioned here)
 |
| by the bay Jacana B&B |
 |
| the arrival card & boarding pass |
 |
| ceiling view at the first place we went for dinner |
 |
| one of the hedonisme site at Palawan |
 |
| Sabang beach - it is from here we take a boat to Underground river cruise |
 |
| Cave entrance ( river cruise) |
 |
| Starfish Island |
 |
| with the starfish at their Island |
 |
| swallowed 17 ketul mussels with nasi...after 2 days no nasi @ Cowrie Island |
 |
| Korean girls at Cowrie Island |
 |
| starfish egg it seems, held by Korean model |
 |
| PPrincessa bay |
 |
| PPrincessa bay at dusk |
 |
| Masjid Dawah @ Palawan |
 |
Islamic Development Foundation - next to Masjid Dawah
MANILA |
 |
| Night Market @ Manila |
 |
| Jeepney - ala2 minibus |
 |
| even Batman has his own bus here |
 |
| Taal Lake Volcano from a distance |
 |
| with the boy who took me to Talisay (jetty) from Tagaytay |
 |
| Captivating Taal Lake Volcano |
 |
| part of the track need to be traversed to reach Taal peak |
 |
| Nampak tak asap?? |
 |
| with macik jual Avocado (Rm3-4/kg)! |
 |
| Illustrated overview of Taal Lake Volcano |
 |
| some sweet local keuh I had in Dulang Restaurant |
 |
| Dulang restaurant - run by local Muslim (3* jak for the food) |
 |
inside Masjid Huda @ Tagaytay (a tabligh jamaah were camping here at that time)
|
3 comments:
informative.adventurous...
Thanks for your kind comments
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