EL NIDO PALAWAN 2014 - DAY 1

This is my El Nido Palawan 2014 travel blog. It was really an awesome experience to witness the beauty of this paradise and see it personally for the very first time.

DAY 1 -

Our flight schedule was at 06:30 PM, November 07, 2014 via Air Asia Zest flight no. Z2 420. It was quite a bit of a worry since we were stuck in traffic while on our way to NAIA Terminal 4. Upon arrival, I tried to self-check in using the kiosks but was not able to do so since the outbound flight from MNL - PPS is already unavailable. A staff of Air Asia Zest said that we better check in at the counter right away. As we approached, the lady said that they are almost ready to close the check in counter. Whew! Thank goodness we still made it on time! =) 

Flight Z2 420 bound for Puerto Princesa (MNL-PPS)

Air Asia Zest Airbus A320 aircraft

All aboard!!!

Evening flight it is!!!

Wazzup?!

After almost an hour of flying over the Philippine archipelago with nothing but pitch darkness outside (of course, it was an evening flight!), we finally arrived at Puerto Princesa Airport (PPS) before 08:00 PM. I must say that it was a pleasant flight with Air Asia Zest. Upon arrival, we tried to take pictures in front of the PPS airport signage but darn, it was not worth the shot since the signage is not illuminated. Well, then, we just settled taking pictures inside the airport and with the "Welcome to Palawan" signage as our background. =)

Arrival @ PPS

Welcome to Palawan!

No offense but I got a bit annoyed because upon our exit from the airport, a lot of tricycle drivers approached us making offers for a ride and some of them even trying to negotiate and repeatedly asking us about where we are going to. Well, I totally understand them since that is what they do for a living. Just make sure to smile and politely decline their offer. As we walk outside the airport premises, I was amazed at the beautiful lights decorated on the trees. They looked like stars and I somehow felt that the Holiday season is on it's way. =)

Light decors on the trees outside the airport

Wow! Christmas nah ata! =)

And one notable experience that we had is while we were walking down the road on the way to our first accommodation in Palawan, Kuya Zaldy of EJ Pension House was actually outside the airport waiting for us! As far as I remember, I didn't request for any airport shuttle service since I know that we can just walk right outside the airport to EJ Pension House. It was a nice thing that Kuya Zaldy went above and beyond by surprising us with free transportation. We arrived at EJ Pension House (which I reserved at Booking.com). The room is nice and the air conditioning is good. Hot shower is also available and the whole place is very quite and relaxing. It was exactly Php357 per person for our 1 night stay in EJ Pension House (there were 3 of us). That's already a good deal not to mention Kuya Zaldy offered us "free breakfast" the next day as for the fact that we only stayed here for just around 10 hours (since we need to leave early the next morning for our travel going to El Nido Palawan.

 

EJ Pension House

Signage at the entrance gate

Ayos!!!

Effect na! Aircon is good and the room is clean and nice... =)

No time to watch TV! Gora na sa Kinabuchs, dali!!!

Single bed inside our room

Nice accommodation for those who are not picky!

Kuya Zaldy was so nice that he also made an offer to take us to Kinabuchs after I said that we plan to have our dinner there (free shuttle service again of course!). If ever you guys plan to stay at a place near the airport, I highly recommend that you consider EJ Pension House (Kuya Zaldy is the owner of course). And so off we go to Kinabuchs! Upon arrival, I noticed that there were not a lot of guests inside. Well, the hell do I care so we took some pictures first (again with the signage on the background, lolz!). We settled on a table and gave out our orders. Damn! I am so hungry already. Got to eat right away and of course booze the night away! =)

Welcome to Kinabuchs!

My 2nd time in Kinabuchs Palawan!

The huge outdoor screen projector, im not a
fan though of what's being shown... hehehe... 

We ordered a platter of rice, a pitcher of iced tea, 1 big bowl of bulalo, a plate of laing and I myself ordered 2 bottles of booze. We didn't bother to order the local and famous cuisines since the plan is to just eat a simple meal, get some booze and head back to the hotel again to get enough rest and sleep so as to be ready for the long journey the next day. Prices are very reasonable (Php200+) and servings are good for 2-3 persons (Booze is at Php60 per bottle).

Ayos toh!!!

The menu...

Lakas ng tama!!!

Tara! Let's eat! =)

So after an hour of dining and drinking, we all settled and went back to EJ Pension House and ready ourselves for an awesome El Nido Palawan trip the next day. Well this time, we had to commute on our own, kinda weird since according to the tourism staff at the airport, the rates for tricycle rides change during the evening... (really?!). And so we opt to get a trike back to EJ Pension House and it was Php40 for the 3 of us. Well, that don't matter anymore, we need to get a good night sleep immediately.



Check out my next post of our El Nido Palawan 2014 - DAY 2! =)