I've always wanted to visit Chinatown, so when one of my friends agreed to go on a food trip with me there, I immediately planned our Binondo Adventure!

The Chinatown here in Binondo, Manila is the oldest Chinatown in the world. It was established on the year 1594.

(Arch of Goodwill and Carriedo Fountain----Plaza Sta. Cruz Chinatown, Binondo Manila Philippines)

We actually started our adventure in Quiapo, but we only went there to buy some stuff. We walked from Quiapo church to Ongpin street. There were three of us on this trip, my friend ate janet, my cousin ate tsen and me. It was all our first time to visit Chinatown and we're all excited.

The Arch of Goodwill at Plaza Santa Cruz welcomed us to our Binondo adventure.

A Restaurant/Inn where you can enjoy the scenic beauty of the old Spanish Fortress (Fuerza de Sta. Isabel) in the town of Taytay.

(Casa Rosa----Taytay, Palawan Philippines)

The best thing about this restaurant/inn is the view. With its unique location, on top of a hill, you can enjoy the overlooking view of the town's old fortress and the ocean as well.

Aside from providing its customers with a nice view, good food and accommodation, this establishment also offer a wide  variety of tours where you can explore and discover the hidden beauty and treasures of Taytay.

(Fuerza De Santa Isabel Taytay, Palawan Philippines)

Located in one of Palawan's oldest municipalities is a 346-yr. old Spanish Fortress.

(An Introduction to the Fort---Fuerza De Santa Isabel Taytay, Palawan Philippines)

This historic landmark in the town of Taytay was built in the year 1667 and it was also named in honor of one of Spain's royalties, Queen Isabela II.


The Fuerza De Sta. Isabel Plaza and a centuries old cannon (photos below) will welcome you to the historical Fort of Taytay .

(Fuerza De Santa Isabel Plaza--- Taytay, Palawan Philippines)

A nice site for snorkeling awaits you at the Pambato Reef in Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

A floating platform in the middle of the ocean serves as the gateway to a wonderful underwater paradise.

(Pambato Reefs from afar--- Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Philippines)

The roof of the floating platform (as you can see in the photo) is a giant sea turtle or a pawikan. Pawikans are an engdangered specie of turtles.

(Floating Platform--Pambato Reefs Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Philippines)

Pambato is a marine sanctuary that's home to a lot of different fishes and clams. The word Pambato is a Filipino term for "bet" or "contender". The place was named as such because it is Puerto Princesa's bet/contender when it comes to the most beautiful reefs in Palawan.

COME AND JOIN THE PALAWENYA EXPLORER AS SHE EXPLORES THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF PANDAN. :)

(Pandan Island, Palawan Philippines)

THE ISLAND

(Approaching Pandan Island)

The Island was called Isla Pandan or Pandan Island, simply because of the fact that the island is home to a lot Pandan trees, 

The Palawenya Explorer is also on Facebook and Tumblr! :) Please do like our FB like page https://www.facebook.com/whereisjackiej?ref=hl :) For those who have a tumblr account, you guys can also follow us at http://thepalawenyaexplorer.tumblr.com/ Thank you!!!

ADIOS!

-The Palawenya Explorer ;)

MATINLOC ISLAND Part 1

After having our scrumptious lunch at the Hidden beach, we proceeded with our tour. Our next destination is one of the most interesting islands in El Nido, our third stop, the island of Matinloc.

This destination is part of the Tour C group of El Nido islands.


It got its name from the native (Cuyunon) word "matinlo"  which means "maganda" in Filipino or "beautiful" in English.

The island has a lot of interesting places to see and stories to tell.

There was once a huge fishing vessel that got stranded in the waters of El Nido. After 3 days of getting stranded in the boat, the people in it decided to find an island that could become their temporary home. The people from the boat found this island, they went here and they inhabited the island for three months till' the boat was repaired and went on their way back home. After the island was abandoned, the locals discovered the island and explored it, they found a carving on one of the huge stones in there, and the carving reads "Seven Commando". It was believed that the words that the locals found, was the name of the huge fishing boat that got stranded in the island.

This was the story of our boatman when I asked him about the origin of the Island's name. I once read in the internet that the island was named after 7 soldiers who lived and got stranded in this island during the World War II, but according to our boatman that was not true.  Whatever the origin of this island's name is, it is still a nice island worth visiting.

This is the 7 Commando's Beach! Our last stop, the 7th Island that we've visited in our Combination Tour of Tours A and C. :) Actually, we still have three more islands to visit, but time didn't permit us to visit those three islands anymore. Sad, but its okay. So, here we go... Welcome to the Seven Commando beach, our 7th island destination (what a coincidence 7-7).

(Seven Commando, 2013)

MAY 2013

The SPECTACULAR UNDERWATER VIEW offered by this Island is one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen in my entire life!

From the underwater caves to the variety of fishes, everything that you will find in this island is just extremely awesome.

The Secret beach is my top 1 favorite island in El Nido (so far). Among the 9 islands that i've been to (in El Nido), this one tops my list!

The secret beach offers the MOST AWESOME underwater view ever!

Upon hopping out of the boat i bravely went to the hole alone. When i noticed that my companions are still at the boat, i went back and waited for them to come down into the water. This time i wore my snorkeling mask and bowed my head down to see the view beneath me. As i looked down, "Whoooah!", was the first thing that came out of my mouth! "Oh my gosh, thaaaat was amaaaazing", i said to myself.

That was my first time to see that kind of view under the water, there was an underwater cave that is really really amazing and the water is really deep!! I can imagine mermaids and other types marine life swimming at the depth of that water. GRABE ANG LALIM! Nakakalula! Imagine yourself at the top of a 20 or say 40 floor building, that is how deep the water is.

(This is the only picture that i got during our visit to the secret beach.)

Kuya Bangkero (boatman): Actually, Ma'am/Sir, may secret po ang island na ito. (Actually, Ma'am/Sir, this island has a secret)
Me: Ano yun kuya? (What is it, kuya?)
KB (boatman): Edi hindi na po yun secret kapag sinabi ko. (If I tell you, it will not be a secret anymore.)

Me: WEH.. Eto naman si kuya eh, puma-punchline pa. Go na!
KB (boatman): Hehe. Eto po ang tinatawag naming Secret Lagoon.. (This is what we call, the Secret Lagoon)
Me: Asan? (where)
KB (boatman): Ayun po oh, yung butas. Dun tayo papasok mamaya. (There, that's the hole. That's where we'll enter in a while)


Kuya bangkero, the boatman, was referring to this small hole (look at the picture below).

(The hole of the Secret lagoon from afar)

Our fifth island destination, the Secret Lagoon! :)

After our awesome visit at the Helicopter Island, we proceeded to this particular island, called the Hidden Beach.

This was our second island destination.

(The beautiful opening, upon entering the hidden beach---Hidden Beach; El Nido, Palawan, Philippines)

Hidden between two rocks is a strip of white sand beach.The beach is really hidden, that you can't see it unless you go further in between these two stones. It was named hidden beach, simply because it is a beach hidden between two rocks.

MAY 2013 Visit

Named after a Japanese diver who died in an underwater tunnel in this island, Shimizu has long been considered as one of the nice snorkeling sites in El Nido's Tour A packages.

This was our second to the last stop during our combination tour of tours A and C.Our boat didn't dock at the shore of the island, the boat just stayed at an area in front of the island where most of the fishes are. We snorkeled and just enjoyed our time with the fishes. This island is my top 3 favorite among the 9 islands that I've visited.

According to our boatman, there is an underwater tunnel in the side of the Island, i just don't know if it's still open for diving because there was a Japanese diver who died in there long time ago.

(Snorkeling at Shimizu Island)

(My snorkeling buddies)

(Lots of different fishes at Shimizu Island, EL NIDO, Palawan Philippines)

One of the nearest islands in the town of El Nido is the Dilumacad Island, also known as The Helicopter Island.

It is one of my favorite islands in El Nido because of its beautiful underwater landscape and corals; there are also lots of different fishes that you can see here.

It's a wonderful site, perfect for snorkeling. I really enjoyed our stay in this island, the underwater view is EPIC!

(Helicopter Island--May 2013)

The Maoyon River Cruise and Rafting is one of the new attractions in the City of Puerto Princesa. It is a 45-minute river cruise which includes a scrumptious Lunch and a stopover at a century old giant tree.
This new tourist attraction is a Community-Based Sustainable Tourism (CBST) Project, which aims to give livelihood opportunities to the residents of baranggay Maoyon.

Baranggay Maoyon is more or less an hour away from the city proper of Puerto Princesa. If you have a trip going to the northern part of Palawan, why not consider a side trip to the Maoyon River Cruise? :)

(The kids at Maoyon who will welcome you with a nice dance.)

(Welcome to Maoyon River Cruise)

The Maoyon River Cruise is actually based from the Loboc River Cruise in Bohol.

One of my favorite sea foods is the sea grapes.

Locally known as Lato, this type of seaweeds is a common food found on the tables of most Palawenyo families. This plant is named sea grapes because, one it looks like small grapes, and two it's found in the sea, so when you put 'em together you'll get SEA GRAPES! :) Lato is long and plump, and it's also very slimy.

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Looks awful right? But don't be deceived by your sight, 'cause this thing here... tastes wonderful!




These are Sea Urchins! Yes, they're edible and DELICIOUS! :)




Inside these scary shells hide a gastronomic surprise! You need to crack it open to be able to get the edible part.

It’s funny to recall how the three of us (me, and two of my friends Joana and Fudgee) got to an epic place. Let me narrate to you the story of how JAFUJO came to discover an unfrequented resto in Batangas.

After our finals exam last school year, we went to Batangas with some of our classmates for an outing (it’s something like a sembreak starter escapade which I’ll blog about next time), we planned for an overnight stay in Batangas but after the outing, our so-called overnight stay was extended and extended ‘till we’ve been there for one week.  Our Batangas escapade was extended due to the bad weather and also because we wanted to explore Batangas more. Bitin kaya kung overnight lang. Even though I asked permission for just an overnight stay, when I asked my parents again if I could stay there for like 3 more days , they said yes.. Yay!! 

We stayed in one of my best bud’s house in Liyan Batangas...  Ever since we arrived, I’ve been bugging my friend Joana to take me to the location of the taping of Kristine Series somewhere in Batangas. She said that she’ll ask her dad about it, but sadly they didn’t know where the location was.  One afternoon, a day before we go back to Manila, we became bored. So we went out of the house, rode a jeep (was that a jeep? I don’t have any idea on what to call it basta it’s a vehicle, jeepney like hehe) and then the next thing i knew is that we’re off to another municipality in Batangas. Yay!  Joana took us to a beach.  We  went to the seashore, took a lot of photos and just sat there and enjoyed the sea breeze.  Joana then recalled that one of her friends had his photo taken with Rafael Rosell, so she texted her friend to ask where the location was. Her friend immediately replied that it’s in Zabarte Farm, a place which is not that far from where we were. So me, the so-called “mastermind” in the search for the shooting location of where my baby (haha) Rafael Rosell is at, initiated that we go to Zabarte Farm immediately. So off we go!

It’s a long ride going there. But it’s okay because we get to enjoy the beauty of the sugarcane fields and the breath of fresh air. After that long ride, finally we arrived in ZABARTE FAAARM! I was toooo anxious and nervous at the same time with the thought in my mind that finaaaallly, the long wait is ooover I now have the chance to see Rafael Rosell in person yay!! (inlababo girl mode)... on our way in the farm, we saw a mini chapel... and  a little more walk and we saw a cottage and an old house, since there’s no one around we decided to go inside the cottage to ask about the shooting. To our surprise the cottage was a resto/café pala! Cool huh? I was so amazed with what we’ve discovered.  But wait, we also discovered that the shooting there was long over and it took place for just a day. Me and my friends were expecting that the Zabarte farm is  (if you watched Kristine) the Villa Kristine where the mansion of the Fortalejo’s is located, but noooo there’s no mansion to be found, hindi pala un. Eeeek wrong location... L sad! Pero okay lang at least productive naman ang araw na yun dahil may nadiscover kaming cute na resto. Paglabas namin ng establishment nakita namin ung sign na La Tienda de Tuy,  yun pala ang name ng resto. 

                                                    (photo grabbed from fb page of La Tienda de Tuy)

Last August 13, Saturday, me and my friend Dana checked out a cute resto located in the so-called Maginhawa strip in QC.

(My friend Dana and  I. photo taken: August 13, 2011)

To those of you who's planning to visit Palawan any time soon, this chart of our transportation rates (which came from the official website of the provincial government of Palawan) might be of great use to you, specially to the first time visitors of the province.. :)

http://www.palawan.gov.ph/docs/PDF/palawan/PDF_v3/TRANSPORTATION_RATES.pdf

(just click on the link to view the chart) 

"La Estrella Del Norte", or "The star of the North" when translated in English, aptly describes the Municipality of Taytay. 

La Estrella del Norte signage embedded at the fence of the town's municipal hall

It is one of the twenty three (23) municipalities of Palawan. Aside from being one of the province’s oldest municipalities, Taytay is also the first ever capital city of the province.

(The hollywood-like signage of the Municipality as viewed from the Fuerza de Sta. Isabel Plaza)

Taytay is to be found in the northern part of Palawan. It has gained its title as "The Star of the North", since it is the first capital city of the province of Palawan. This town is rich in historical, cultural and environmental value. It was founded in the year 1623 during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. The word Taytay means bridge in the local dialect. Its name was derived from the word "Talaytayan", a native word for a few pieces of bamboo or wood arranged together to form a bridge.

The Map of Taytay