On The Way To Honda Bay
I toured Palawan before, but latest was exactly a decade ago! Puerto Princesa, though already one of the most well-established tourist destinations in the country was still such a quiet city. That time, only the NCCC Mall was the "go to" place for many people, in terms of what we can call "urban amenities"!
This time, the northern portion of Lacao St. is already lined with high rises, while back then, 'twas only Hotel Fleuris (where we stayed at) that was considered a tall building at just 3 levels! And where there was supposed to be a dead-end is now the SM City connecting to a now very wide Malvar Road. Wow!
Anyway, my PPC fascination got me to taking pics of places and things along our way to Honda Bay!
Note: that distance is only about 15kms, but it should take an hour or more until you are able to ride a boat due to traffic, choosing of snorkeling gears, and registering/paying for the Honda Bay Tour itself!
Here was the first eye-catcher that commanded my attention..,
At first I thought it was a sales branch of THE famous Royal Carribean Cruises! But on second look, it is but a clothes shop (boutique) probably also doubling as a local travel and tours company. I wonder if such use of an international business brand and logo is not censured by our local authorities? Aliw!
Then, it was the first time I saw this: "A&A Plaza Hotel and Convention Center". New and big ha?!
But me and my companions got more attracted to these other establishment names..,
Just reading these signs already made me smile. "Chow Na" is obviously a restaurant. In Tagalog, that means "kain na". In English, that would be nearest to "Eat Already" hehe! "Lucky Huan" is an aberration of "Lucky Juan" (meaning Lucky Filipino) which itself is also a fun 'bastardization' of [the] "Lucky One"!
Then we zoomed by the Puerto Princesa Freedom Park and City Coliseum
Our tour guide told me that "Barakalan" means "market encounter" or trade fair (tabo or tabo-an). That event (banner on foreground) is a combination of 'trade fair', 'night market' and/or a 'weekend market'.
It would have been nice to visit that trade fair, but our schedules were too tight.
Hey, that City Coliseum is a big thing in Puerto Princesa. It is the most sought after venue not only for basketball or volleyball (it can sit 6,500 spectators for sporting events), but even also for conventions, pop concerts or religious events with a maximum seating capacity of up to 10,000 participants. Woa!
Not to mention that the said coliseum is surrounded by hotels like A&A above and this one..,
Hotel Centro and A&A Plaza Hotel were both considered when looking for our 'next' hotel after Purple Fountain Courtyard Inn, but something else (also nearby) prevailed - that, you'll see in my next stories!
Another few hundred meters and we passed by Robinson's (of course still closed at about 8AM)..,
Good that we left early, for if this was already open at the time we zoomed by.., hah, there's no telling.., my companions would probably have requested that we drop by.., and they could have lasted here the whole day hopping from shop to shop eatery to eatery, and we could have forgotten about Honda Bay!
At the edge of Robinson's Place expansive parking area is their Puerto Princesa version of GoHotels,
I took this picture of the road because of those wonderful-looking big trees with red-orange flowers.
Are they "fire trees"? At this stage of the trip, I was telling my younger companions that ten years ago, this road was narrow.., the pavement was bad.., there was nothing much in this area other than farms!
Nowadays, this part of the city, stretching from the mall and hotels around the city coliseum, seem to be the Central Business District of PPC. There's even a Landbank Branch at right (not seen in the pic).
By the way, that kid seated behind the tricycle driver, was still half asleep. Delikado!
Look, there is even this new and wide complex called Palawan 168 Shopping Center!
That part facing the road is just about 50 meters, but going inwards, it is about 200 meters long. Big! I take that (from the name alone) as this must be a Divisoria-like place or selling Divisoria-grade things!
Ahh, the fruit stands that dot the highway are still around. There are actually more of them now!
That's our tour guide at left, sampling some of the melons and watermelons (he was there buying for my companions). But OMG, I had to get off the van for a closer look at that BIG red slice of 'pakwan'!
It looked so deliciously red, and I couldn't believe the humungous size I needed to touch and smell it!
Hesumalusep, buset, walanghiya, nadale ako! Yes I was had big time! It's a throw-pillow made of foam lang pala. The tindera told me these "slices" can be bought at the many stores in Baclaran or Divisoria. No wonder the tourguides and most of my companions were like grinning as I approached that "slice"!
Made In China, of course! Anything that can be faked will be faked by China. Fun and funny anyway!
About a kilometer (or less?) before the Sta. Lourdes Wharf (a jump-off point for Honda Bay tours), we stopped at this place, described by our tour guide as almost already a "mandatory stop" these days!
It's a rental shop - not just for snorkels or masks, but even also for underwater shoes and other gears. I asked why he said "almost already a mandatory stop". His reply was, there's always at least one who starts looking for these such things when the island-hopping-boat is already about to leave the wharf!
See them? Pardon the spelling, it sounds the same anyway! Shelves and shelves of gears "for rent"!
I admirably saw evidence in what the tour guide said ("there's at least 1 who starts looking for these"). Maybe it is the "power of suggestion" or "inggit" (envy), that people who did not bring their own gears from home start looking to rent them! Exactly the case of my group: when our van stopped here, ALL (including those who don't even know how to swim) jumped out to rent snorkels, goggles, shoes, etc!
This takes too much time that your exasperated tour guide can't do anything about! Why? Because the choosing, comparing, the barrage of questions/comments just won't easily stop! "Does this look good on me?", "Does the color match my swimsuit?", "How do I know the right fit?", "Aray, it pulls my hair!", "I want pink!", "Do I really have to bite on the mouthpiece?", "Is this clean?", "I wonder how they clean this snorkel!", "I wonder who last used this!", "Yuck, the previous user of this footwear may have alipunga!"
And so on, and on, and on.., but eventually, everyone comes out renting a thing or two. Gino-o ko!
The shop is located just across a Chinese Temple (as I said, still about a kilometer from the wharf).
Conveniently, the road shoulder by the wall of that temple becomes a parking area for your tour vans!
Hey I asked our tour guide about that temple. He said anyone can have a look (or pray) inside, but it is not usually a part of their offered tour itineraries (yet). When I asked if I could go in, he said we had no more time, because we already spent 20mins in that snorkeling shop, until we finally rented our gears!
I saw this at a corner: PHILIPPINE NAN HAI XINLUOJI ASHAN FA YI TEMPLE - whatever that means!
Anyway, two or three minutes forward, we reached the Sta. Lourdes Wharf area..,
But reaching this place does not mean you can/will automatically board the Honda Bay Tour boats. It still takes some time of waiting for things to be done by (usually) your tour guide or otherwise, by you!
Let's talk about that in my next story!
This time, the northern portion of Lacao St. is already lined with high rises, while back then, 'twas only Hotel Fleuris (where we stayed at) that was considered a tall building at just 3 levels! And where there was supposed to be a dead-end is now the SM City connecting to a now very wide Malvar Road. Wow!
Anyway, my PPC fascination got me to taking pics of places and things along our way to Honda Bay!
Here was the first eye-catcher that commanded my attention..,
Then, it was the first time I saw this: "A&A Plaza Hotel and Convention Center". New and big ha?!
But me and my companions got more attracted to these other establishment names..,
Then we zoomed by the Puerto Princesa Freedom Park and City Coliseum
It would have been nice to visit that trade fair, but our schedules were too tight.
Hey, that City Coliseum is a big thing in Puerto Princesa. It is the most sought after venue not only for basketball or volleyball (it can sit 6,500 spectators for sporting events), but even also for conventions, pop concerts or religious events with a maximum seating capacity of up to 10,000 participants. Woa!
Not to mention that the said coliseum is surrounded by hotels like A&A above and this one..,
Another few hundred meters and we passed by Robinson's (of course still closed at about 8AM)..,
At the edge of Robinson's Place expansive parking area is their Puerto Princesa version of GoHotels,
We of course wondered why they did not just attach that to the mall as they did in Tacloban. It is only abut 500 or 600 meters away, but when it rains or when the sun shines at its ultimate noontime heat, walking to/from the mall (which is the only nearby edifice of significance) will be very uncomfortable.
I took this picture of the road because of those wonderful-looking big trees with red-orange flowers.
Nowadays, this part of the city, stretching from the mall and hotels around the city coliseum, seem to be the Central Business District of PPC. There's even a Landbank Branch at right (not seen in the pic).
By the way, that kid seated behind the tricycle driver, was still half asleep. Delikado!
Look, there is even this new and wide complex called Palawan 168 Shopping Center!
Ahh, the fruit stands that dot the highway are still around. There are actually more of them now!
It looked so deliciously red, and I couldn't believe the humungous size I needed to touch and smell it!
Made In China, of course! Anything that can be faked will be faked by China. Fun and funny anyway!
About a kilometer (or less?) before the Sta. Lourdes Wharf (a jump-off point for Honda Bay tours), we stopped at this place, described by our tour guide as almost already a "mandatory stop" these days!
See them? Pardon the spelling, it sounds the same anyway! Shelves and shelves of gears "for rent"!
This takes too much time that your exasperated tour guide can't do anything about! Why? Because the choosing, comparing, the barrage of questions/comments just won't easily stop! "Does this look good on me?", "Does the color match my swimsuit?", "How do I know the right fit?", "Aray, it pulls my hair!", "I want pink!", "Do I really have to bite on the mouthpiece?", "Is this clean?", "I wonder how they clean this snorkel!", "I wonder who last used this!", "Yuck, the previous user of this footwear may have alipunga!"
And so on, and on, and on.., but eventually, everyone comes out renting a thing or two. Gino-o ko!
The shop is located just across a Chinese Temple (as I said, still about a kilometer from the wharf).
Hey I asked our tour guide about that temple. He said anyone can have a look (or pray) inside, but it is not usually a part of their offered tour itineraries (yet). When I asked if I could go in, he said we had no more time, because we already spent 20mins in that snorkeling shop, until we finally rented our gears!
I saw this at a corner: PHILIPPINE NAN HAI XINLUOJI ASHAN FA YI TEMPLE - whatever that means!
Anyway, two or three minutes forward, we reached the Sta. Lourdes Wharf area..,
But reaching this place does not mean you can/will automatically board the Honda Bay Tour boats. It still takes some time of waiting for things to be done by (usually) your tour guide or otherwise, by you!
Let's talk about that in my next story!
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