Letting My Feet Decide: 2011 Trips (Part 4)

I know that this is supposed to be the last installment but...I sorta changed my mind. Haha. There will be a Part 5. Hehehehe.

Other places to visit, other things to do

So far, I've written about some of the best places to visit while in PPC. However, if you have time, you have to check out these places, too. They're not as popular but equally captivating. Plus, they offer activities that you might find really interesting. :)

Puerto Princesa Baywalk

Look at how serene this place looks. Isn't it a beauty?

Unlike The Baywalk that we know (with the endless garbage and the foul smell of rancid water), the Puerto Princesa Baywalk is a place to relax and hang out after a long and tiring day.

The PPC peacock

Highlights: Need a quiet place to think, write, draw, jog, walk, whatever? Go to the Baywalk. The best part? It won't cost you a single centavo. Well, maybe except for your fare, which is roughly around P20. You can also buy souvenirs here of almost the same quality but less expensive prices.



Lowlights: I'm not completely sure if it was because we arrived quite late or what but I didn't find much food stalls. It is advisable to bring your own snacks or eat first before going here.

Beans and Pages: Coffee

The ambiance is very comfy and very homey --
you'd feel like curling up with a really good book!

Craving for a coffee fix, my sister and I visited this coffee shop. As we were passing by Rizal Avenue on our way home (home is my lola's house, by the way), its name caught my attention at once because it stands for two of my favorite things: books and coffee. I practically shouted Para! when I saw it. Too much excitement, I suppose. My sister looked at me as if she was the most embarrassed person in the world. Hehe.

My sister, enjoying her latte

Highlights: The idea of combining a coffee shop and a book store in one is just great! And their book selection is really good. The variety of books is suited from different age groups. Plus, I sort of interviewed the owner of the place and they hold movie nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM. He mentioned some titles and I figured that the films aren't too mainstream but they're really interesting. They're more of the artsy, cultural type. Beans and Pages is like mag:net in Manila, only it's a coffee shop.

Lowlights: Their coffee is not that fabulous. I hope it has improved, though. I was there back in 2011, after all.




 Pho Saigon: Chao Long



Before there was lomi, there was chao long, Vietnamese rice noodles that will always, always be a Palawan staple for me because it was the first dish I ate during my first-ever visit to Palawan. It was summer of 1998, I think, and Papa was really, really insistent that I try the dish before we head to NARRA (where we really stayed/lived).

Happy, happy, happy! :)

Highlights: Why, the chao long, of course! What else? :)

Our food

This is chao long. Yay!

Lowlights: The service is quite slow. Quite unacceptable, as there weren't too many customers.  Or maybe I was just really hungry and really excited to have chao long again after such a long time. Haha!

My sister, the ever-kind and ever-patient creature that she is,
waits for her food with a smile on her face. Or a half-smile? 

 Outside Puerto Princesa: NARRA, Palawan

I would be mad not to visit one of the many places I called home (and for at least three years, too). Ladies and gentlemen, NARRA, Palawan.

The lagoon. LOL. Tru took this picture. :)

Highlights: Visit its peaceful plaza and lagoon to relax and to chill. I remember having cheering practices here. The gym, located near the plaza, is where I received my medal for being first in class during our recognition day eons ago. When I visited my friends after Mama’s death, we also hung out here.

This is the playground near the lagoon. I don't have a picture of the gym. :(

Though I didn’t get the chance to visit, don’t forget to go to Estrella Falls. I remember it being, er, cold and wet. Hahaha! Oh, on the way to and from NARRA, watch out for the Wonder Coconut tree. It’s amazing. I don’t have pictures but, well, you just have to see for yourself. J

  

I don't have pictures of Estrella Falls so I'm posting pics of flowers from my old school instead...

...and a butterfly, too. Pictures all taken by my darling, darling sister.

Lowlights: Beware of monkeys at Estrella falls. That’s all. Call me biased but I heart NARRA. Haha! 

When I was in third grade, this used to be an ordinary shed where I spent my afternoons reading books.
Now, it has been turned into a mini-library! I am so happy! :)

Meet Acel, my friend from way, way back.
(She was the one who showed me the shed-turned-library, actually.)

We ate halo-halo at the marketplace!
My cousin and I used to eat here with our lolo.
I miss those days. :(