Almost everyone in my high school barkada is already working in Metro Manila, and yet we rarely see each other. Rare, as in once a year rare. Leave it to a good ol' Palawan vacation to make everyone catch up with each other, cramming in beach trips, spontaneous road trips and house parties at Larry's.

Here's the partial post-trip video I managed to stitch together while laughing 70% of the time I was editing it.


Bakasyon from Jennever Pelaez on Vimeo.

After being awake for 27 hours (excluding a 1-hr power nap), I went home from Fairview to Makati in a cab. Before flagging a taxi down, Jhuna consulted MMDA Interaksyon to see if C5 or EDSA was the route I should take considering the traffic southbound. While EDSA had many RED (heavy traffic) and YELLOW (moderate traffic) points, C5 was all GREEN (light traffic).

*cue music* Josh Verdes' original song Home; The iPhone case named Zee on his first adventure.

Whenever I'm coming home to Palawan, I have made it my tradition to listen to and sing this song on the way to the airport, and sometimes on the plane. It makes me reminiscent and somewhat tells my mind to let go of the stress.

Old airport facade as seen from the runway/plane drop-off. I forgot the target date of completion is for the new one.

I have been away from home waaaaaaay too long, even the tricycle drivers outside the airport thought I was a tourist and kept on hustling us in trike fare. Like any other local would do, without a ride waiting that is, we went outside the airport premises and flagged a trike right there. But then the tricycle driver asked how much I'd pay and there I was, clueless. It has been three years! Who could've guessed how much a regular trike fare would cost? So there I was, frantically calling my mother, trying to ask how much I should pay the driver to take us home.

Note: TL;DR

It's been three years since I went back to my most favorite place on Earth, my hometown Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. There are moments when I'll just cry of homesickness but because my corporate life has taken over me, I just waited and waited for that perfect time to go home, until it became three years since my last visit. But hey, another life lesson, which is... er, okay my train of thought ended here. Enough of the sob story.

Sooo I'll be there for only five days. It might seem a bit longer than usual for the occasional bakasyonistas but hey, I do have free accommodations so I don't have to worry about the money for that. It even feels short for me but since I won't be travelling alone, I have to consider everyone's schedule. Next time, I'll utilize the weekends so it would be nine days, schedules be damned!

It's set three weeks from now but I have not yet finished the itinerary. There are still slots that need to be filled. One day, I have reserved for my high school barkada, but things are still not set in stone. I still have to get permits for the Underground River courtesy of friends that I could ask for help locally, since my parents are currently in Iloilo so they can't help prepare. Logically, for two people travelling, it might be better to join tours since the super tipid trips are usually those with more people in the group but being the cheapskate that I am, I've managed to make an outline of the DIY tours that are still a tad cheaper than tour packages that you can easily see online.

This is still pure talk but after the trip, I'll post an expense report and try to make it as detailed as possible to help future travelers who want to visit Puerto Princesa.

Trivia: Until now, I'm still charmed with the folklore behind the name of my city. It was only told to me as a child so this might not be accurate: There were lovers, a beautiful princess and her majestic handsome prince, who truly love each other but because of circumstances I cannot remember, had to go on separate ways temporarily. The prince promised to come back for her princess so they made a pact that the princess would wait for her prince at the port (di pa uso ang air travel non). So every night, the princess would go to the port, look out to the sea and wait. She did this every night. Months passed and still no prince. This went on and on until she died.

Sidenote: Haha okay, so I just realized that the plot was a lot like Hachiko! Parehong sad ending. However, I do get a sense of nostalgia every time I hear the city's name. Parang nagfa-flashback yung pagka-kwento sakin nyan. Although, I can't remember who told me the story.

Let’s make the Puerto Princesa Underground River one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

Boto tayo Pilipinas! WUNDER GROUND UNITED.

-RA Rivera