Saving our Bacon in Palawan: Lunar New Year Travels

I'm usually on top of lunar new year travel plans by late autumn, but this year, I really procrastinated. Last year we didn't even bother to go anywhere, our first time in Taiwan during Chinese New Year. I suppose our countryside home and having dogs makes us quite content on the domestic front. Even so, for this year of the Pig, I mustered up enough resources to snatch up cheap flights to El Nido.

It was my daughter's first time to Palawan, and my second time, having been there nineteen years ago. We flew into Puerto Princessa and booked tours through our hotel and eventually took a shared van to El Nido.

The food was extreme; the sweets were very sweet, the sour soup was very sour, and everything was extremely salty. I was big into ube (purple potato) everything, usually baked sweets, sticky rice sweets. All of our hotels had complimentary breakfasts and island hopping tours, or diving usually included buffets on the beach or boats. In PP, we ate cheap lunches at the traditional markets, delicious and authentic. At dinner we splurged, at a Japanese restaurant recommended by my Manilan coworker for example or at a nicer hotel. In El Nido, I just had to make sure we were back on our balcony with a beer for the sunset.

 

Airport transport to PP city: Our hotel picked us up for free, but travelers can also catch a tricycle on the main road for a fare of 50 pesos per tricycle (2016). Take note that there are airport tricycles and regular tricycles.  Airport tricycles usually charge PHP 50 (USD 1/ EURO .86/ SGD 1.35/ MYR 4.23) to get to Puerto Princesa city center.  Regular tricycle fare is PHP 10 (USD .20 / EURO .17/ SGD .27/ MYR .85)

Puerto Pension Inn   (3 nights) 2917 TWD/ ₱ 4,963.62

35 Malvar Street, Palawan, 5300 Puerto Princesa City, Philippines +63 917 836 6316

Tours:

1. PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER - PHP 2200 PER PERSON (1,294 TWD)

2. HONDA BAY TOUR ---PHP 1300.00 PER PERSON (764 TWD)

3. CITY TOUR - PHP 600.00 PER PERSON (353 TWD)

Sabang

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park - more commonly known as the Underground River. At over 8 kilometers in length, is reputably the longest underground river in the world. With its crystalline waters and spectacular cave formations, the Underground River is possibly Puerto Princesa's most popular attraction. The site was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The winding path of the river is navigable via small pumpboats that depart from Sabang Beach. Travel time from PP city to Sabang is about 1.5 hours. Nineteen years ago, I met up with two German backpackers and we just winged it ourselves. I was a little shocked how developed and crowded Sabang was now.

If you are prone to car sickness you should consider using some motion sickness pills because the road is very curvy and some drivers tend to drive quite fast (or very fast). My kid was sure to take one when we started our trip.

Walking to the zipline in Sabang waiting for my daughter.

From Puerto Princesa, take a trike or jump in a minibus going to the "New Market" jeepney Terminal in San Jose. It takes about 10 minutes. Trike fare is about P80 and the minibus about P12. Four trips from the San Jose Terminal to Sabang run daily between 7AM and 2PM. The bus/jeepneys both cost 150pesos and the trip takes about 3 hours.

There's a shuttle that can take you directly from the airport.

Any tour agent in Puerto Princesa will sell you a day trip package for 1750-2200 (1,300TW) pesos where you are transported to Sabang in a minivan and includes a tour to the Underground River and lunch buffet at a beach resort. We booked through our hotel and shared a van of eight other Chinese tourists and a Filipino-American couple.

Note. A permit is now necessary to visit the underground river and only available in Puerto Princesa, though an online system is in construction. Beware that like any other hardworking government office they finish their day at 4pm, so a permit for next day needs to be arranged before that. Travel agents normally can arrange it for you.

The cave was impressive, even if for the second time, and waiting in lines for a boat. We had a guide with a motorboat, helmets, life vest, far from the days we canoed ourselves and swam in the empty lagoon.

Honda Bay - consisting of several islets with beautiful beaches, Honda Bay is the place to go to for swimming, snorkeling as well as beach and island hopping. Of course, you can also just join a packaged tour if you want to just relax and not deal with these transfers and fees on your own. Honda Bay Tour rates are usually between P1400 (826 NT) and P1500 (885NT).

Island #2, with a fun fiving board on this cabana

While in PP, we didn't have time to dive, but if we did, my plan was to dive with:

Diving https://www.sharkdivingpalawan.com/fundives

Morning 2 Dives Package: Php 3,300/ 2,000NT

1 days: 3 Dives Package: Php 4,700/2,772NT

Afternoon 1 Dive Package: Php 2,000/1180 NT

CITY TOURS

Tour operators’ price tag on this tour is at P600 per person but you can hire a tricycle instead for P600 per tricycle. My daughter wanted us to hire a tricycle, but I went for a group van. At first, I thought maybe she was right, as our group was older, slower, but later I was relieved because PP was noise and had noticeable air pollution.

Mitra's Ranch with views to the ocean and grazing horses

Iwahig Penal Colony - I regret not checking out prison farming community. Unfortunately, our tour skipped this site, but if I had one more day I'd check this out. Inmates often live with their families and are allowed to earn a living farming or carving out mahogany handicrafts for tourists. The colony is about 35 minutes from the city center.

Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center formerly the Crocodile Farming Institute, and still referred to by locals as the "Crocodile Farm," is both a tourist attraction and a national research institute devoted to crocodiles. We were a bit shocked that they sold croc meat in the cafe at the end of the tour cafe, as we thought it was a conservation center. They also sell meat from this place in the airport, so I suppose it's more of a croc farm. About 30 to 40 minutes from the city center, the Croc Farm also has a mini-zoo, which features some of Palawan's endemic species of wildlife. Croc Farm Tickets cost 40p for adults and 20 for kids. You start with a guided tour of the crocs which last about 15 minutes.

Quartel Square

Baker's Hill. In Santa Monica, a few kilometers before the Crocodile Farm. A weak and small imitation of Disneyland, with things like a Shrek treehouse. Has a bakery where you can buy things like hopia for reasonable prices. To get here, drop in Santa Monica, then take a tricycle up the road for P10 per person (or walk the 2km or so).

Mitra's Ranch. About another km north of Baker's Hill, along the same road. Has some horses, a cafe, and also very nice views.

Butterfly Garden

See native Palawan butterflies located about half way to the Croc Farm (above) and along the same road. Open 7 days a week from 8 to 5. Entry is 50 pesos.

Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. A very beautiful church that is decorated in blue and white. The jewelry sellers/beggers were intense here, so be prepared. Across from the church is a historical square that was a Japanese prisoner of war camp which burned 150 American POWs were burned alive.

El Nido

Sunset View from our balcony, Columbus Inn

Transport/ van to El Nido Fort Wally Travel & Tours 8am
Contact No.: +63 917 276 2875

El Nido Columbus Inn (PAID) confirmation # 1922.912.346    PIN code8428 Sitio Lugadia, Barangay Corong Corong, Palawan, 5313 El Nido, Philippines+63 939 632 1454

El Nido is quite different from the simple stretch of huts on the beach from nineteen years ago. It's best to stay outside the noisy center, like in Corung Corung. Since I booked everything last minute, I was lucky to get a double bed with a view. Had I been more proactive, I'd have booked rooms in Corung Corung on the beach, near Tabanka Divers, who we dove with, rather than on the hill.

After checking in, we walked 5 minutes to the closest beach (Marimegmeh) for a swim, which was gorgeous, and made our way slowly to the other side for dinner.

Nacpan Beach, 40 km north of El Nido

One day we rented a scooter and feeling free found ourselves in the stunning and almost empty white sand beach of Nacpan. Then it being too hot, we went for lunch at Nagkalit village with a waterfall and hired a local guide after we ate to take us for a dip. It was about a 40minute walk uphill starting at pretty pastureland with a coconut grove into a clay path jungle trail. We were lucky and had the falls all to ourselves for a quiet twenty minutes before another couple came, then another and so we left.

 

Another day we went island hopping, and it was so crowded waiting on the beach in El Nido proper, we got on the wrong boat and had to switch at island one. It wasn't a big deal. We did some relaxing snorkeling, rented kayaks at the gorgeous small lagoon and were treated to a beach buffet for lunch. The other tourists on our boat were nice, our boatmen worked hard, made an amazing lunch from the back of the boat and I tipped them well.

We went diving with Tabanka Divers, just across the road from our Columbus Inn. They were fully booked, but travelers were fighting off a stomach bug that was going around and so we were able to join some fun dives. One of the divers was an American chiropractor, now working in Vietnam and he was happily busy nursing everyone's issues, including mine, back at Tabanka's. 3 Dives 1 day (4400p/2600 NT).

Last dinner El Nido, some sour tamarind chicken soup- delicious!

We took a shared van back to PP and stayed our last night at a different hotel Blue Lagoon Suites (TW 1,1000/₱ 1,875) with a pool, practically free airport transfer and an excellent restaurant. My kid might have picked up that stomach bug going around El Nido and didn't have much an appetite, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the pool. At the airport, I bought my landlady a massive bottle of rum for watching my dogs and some dehydrated squid for her mother.

We returned back to Yilan on the new direct airport bus, and a had few days to laze about the homefront before the end of lunar new year holidays.

Trying fresh urchin

BUDGET:
There are no direct flights from Taipei, you have to transit in Manilla. The cheapest flights are through Cebu Pacific.

If you have more time, using local transport is the cheapest way to travel (instead of shared vans).

Activity	Pesos	NT
PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER	PHP 2200 PER PERSONx2 =4400	1,294 TWD
HONDA BAY TOUR	PHP 1300.00 PER PERSON x2=	764 TWD
CITY TOUR	PHP 600.00 PER PERSON	353 TWD
Food 150 pesos p/meal	Php 150 x 2 x 3 = PHP 900 (531NT)	531 NT p/day
El Nido Tour A	PHP 1,200 (USD 24)
El Nido Land Tour
Diving El Nido		10,000 NT
TOTAL

Women's Day Weekend Reunion on Dihua Street Street

The whole month of March is Women's History Month and International Women's Day was Friday, March 8th. That night, my daughter and I watched the award-winning Netflix documentary, "Period: End of Sentence".

The next day we went to Taipei for a much long overdue reunion with one of my oldest Taiwanese friends Alisse and her niece Angela. Alisse was dating my then-roommate 19 years ago when I was living in Tamsui. When I got pregnant in the UK 5 years later, she came out to visit me and support me in the early, turbulent months when I was in grad school and breaking up with my kid's father. It was wonderful to have an old friend for support. She's a deep lady, and also well traveled.




So, on Saturday after big hugs, we walked to the Ama Museum, which has been on my list since it recently opened. I did not want to miss their Anne Frank exhibit from Amsterdam, as it left last weekend. My daughter recently read her famous diary, so it was educational too. The exhibit really was thoughtful and Alisse and I were amazed by how mature Anne was for a 13-year-old, such acute observations of herself and the world. Anne Frank knew herself better than most adults do today.

After the museum, we were walking around looking for someplace to eat and sat at an open-air cafe behind the market. We ate a huge plate of Taiwanese appetizers, stewed tofus, intestine, hard-boiled eggs and a small boat of rice with a pork ball. Next was finding a tea house. I had wanted to check out some of the older, more popular ones, but we stumbled into pleasant enough one. 

We were all peckish after our lunch, as the rice bowl was small, so stopped at a gourmet Imagawayaki stand (known as wheel cakes 車輪餅 in Taiwan). Alisse and I took sweet potato, Angela took tarot. In the shop behind were crystals and jewelry in a historical building built in 1925, and originally a rice mill, with an inner plaza with a new teahouse, The Ivy Palace behind it.  The whole building is not only beautiful, but a functional shared arts space. The Ivy Palace was cofounded by a curry chef was mentioned recently in the Taipei Times.

 In the adjacent hall between the front shop and tea house was an art exhibit on the waste from fast fashion made from 2nd hand recycles, discarded shoes and jeans. The artist made masks attached to skateboards as well as puppets. I appreciated it.



We spent the rest of the rainy afternoon drinking tea, and laughing a lot. As we were walking back to the MRT, we passed a traditional medicine shop, and bought my daughter a treatment for growing taller. It would take the herbalist half an hour to make so we window shopped. I bought some goji berries and had to exercise self-control in not buying all the cool teas and nuts. Some of the shops tragically sold weird animal parts, like deer testicles, horns, sea-horses. The shop we bought my kid's herbs, didn't have anything that funkythankfully. It cost 1,200NT  for 3 large packets of herbs to make 3 large pots about 4 bowls of chicken soup each. We made one batch last week and will do another this weekend.

Resources:
Comfort Women Ama Museum (阿嬤家-和平與女性人權館) Daqiaotou Station
opens 10am, Dihua Street Daqiaotou Station (Orange Line), exit 1. Cross Minquan West Rd. and west four blocks to the north end of Dihua St. or Take MRT to MRT Shuanglian
Station(捷運雙連站). From exit number 2, walk west down Minsheng W. Road(民生西路)
15mins to reach

Some Tea Houses in the Dihua area on my list:
Xia Hai CChen ,
Wey Teahouse (臻味茶苑)
ASW Tea House.
City God Temple

Ending 2018 with a Splash: Return to XLC

It was very last minute, but for the four day New Years weekend, I thought we ought to go somewhere
and enjoy a change of scene. I wanted to stay in Taiwan and save funds for a Lunar New Year trip
(also last minute) later in January. I'm usually securing accommodation/travel details months in advance, so it was no surprise to me that train seats were all booked.

I decided on returning to XLC, "Little Okinawa" which is a small coral island off of Kaoshiung on the
opposite end of the island. The first and only time we went, my daughter was four. When I say "we"
I mean my friend, former coworker, also from Denver. She was my daughter's kindergarten teacher.
It was an opportunity to reconnect and make some new memories.

We took a bus from Yilan to Taipei, then a bus to Taichung, where we stayed the night at my friend's
house. Since our moving to Yilan, she has opened a successful buxibam in Taichung which was impressive.

The next day we took a train to Kaohsiung and then we took an hour taxi to Dongang harbor.
There are two ferry companies that I found and I bought our tickets online a week before.

Ferry to Dong Gang Online Booking  (08) 832-5806, (08) 833-8722 fax: (08) 833-2413   

As for hotels, the whole island was sold out. Having three adults worked out as we could get a "family room "(4 queen beds) but even then I had three places to chose from and chose the cheapest. The room was fine, the location was away from the harbor but in walking distance of places to eat. They had scooters waiting for us at the ferry dock.
Family Room Price

Explore XLQ island

We pretty much took two days to hit all of these in an anticlockwise order: Vase Rock, Beauty Cave.
Seaview Pavilion, Duozaiping, Sanfu Eco Park Trail, Gebanwan (beach), Black Dwarf Cave,
Sunset Galley, SE part of island: Mouse Rock, Lighthouses, NE: Lobster Cave, ChungAu Beach,

Middle of Island: Wetland Park,山豬溝 Shanzhuguo Forest Trail, Secret Beach

The Black Dwark Cave disappointing, We stood in line for over twenty minutes and crawling
through the tiny unimpressive cave took just a few moments. I think the obese Russain gentleman in
front of us got stuck and that's why it took him so long. There ought to be some warning sign as it is a
tight squeeze in some sections.

Turtle we saw whilesnorkeling

I was planning on going scuba diving, and was in contact with one of the diving shops but the weather
was cool and I was lazy and didn't want to be cold. We went snorkeling instead via my hostel's contact.
Snorkeling with a Taiwanese company is in itself an experience. Our guy yelled at me for swimming on
my own for a closer look at a friendly turtle, as we were required to hold onto a floaty.

We went snorkeling years before in Kenting with my Taiwanese friend (and my kid's swimming teacher)
and her daughter in Kenting, and of course it was very carefree and leisurely snorkeling. I guess its a
liability for the companies, but when we returned it took them less than my shower time to have burned
me a CD with photos.

Turtles in the shallow harbor

New Year's Eve, the only thing my daughter wanted to do was fish. The owner of a fishing gear shop, was of course out fishing, and when he finally returned, we went to the most southern harbor right before sunset.

To our surprise, there were 5 large turtles just hanging out in the shallow thigh-high water. It was tempting not to jump in with them there. Obviously, my kid didn't throw her line in those particular waters. Hooking a turtle, and a protected turtle would be a horrid way to end 2018.

My friend's partner is quite the fisherwoman herself, and helped my kid many times with her line, with no luck. However, it was more fun trying, as well as a quiet, relaxing medium to ring in the new year.

Resources:

Diving /Snorkeling

小琉球綠蠵龜潛水住宿 LiouCiou Green Sea Turtle Diving Camp; Hostels

Accommodation: Home Sweet Beach Hotel TWD 9,720 including breakfast vouchers for 2 nights

TCM and Incense: A Cornucopia of Chinese Herbs

Handmade, all-natural incense

I might as well take advantage of the amazing national health care system in Taiwan, which includes traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). We aren't sick, but my kid wants to grow taller and I want my hair thicker or at least return to the state before I had a kid when my hair was at its healthiest.

On the left: giant bowls of powdered incense. On the right: my TCM herbs

We went to the TCM Dr right before his lunch break. It cost 140NT each including a week's worth of herbs (powdered to be taken with water 3x a day). On the way back we stopped at this family-owned incense making shop. It smells like heaven driving by on the scooter. They have been using the same methods since time memorial, no synthetic toxins and only make sandalwood or "Chinese medicine." Incidentally, the incense in its powdered form looks exactly like the Chinese medicine prescribed to us that come in little packets (washed down with a big gulp of water.) I bought a pack of sandalwood for 200NT and Chinese medicine for 100NT. Looks like 100 sticks in a packet, sure to last a long time.

She is her mother's daughter, and my kid was quickly using my phone to look up the herbs she would be taking to help boost a growth spurt. I had her try and find the English translations for me. Here is a comprehensive list of TCM herbs and another glossary of herbs.

12 Year Old Girl's Herbs for Growing Taller:
1.Shenling Baizhu San (Mix) Nourishes the spleen and enhances the absorption of nutrients
A proprietary blend of:

Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae Sclerotium Poriae Cocos Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma Dioscoreae Oppositae (Mt. Potato) Semen Lablab Album Semen Nelumbinis Nuciferae Semen Coicis Lachryma-Jobi Fructus Amomi Radix Platycodi Grandiflori Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis (Licorice root)

2. 4 Plant Soup The formula consists of four Chinese herbs, Ginseng or Codonopsis, Atractylodes, Poria, and Licorice.

3. Mt.Potato/ Chinese Yam/ "Mountain Medicine" (Dioscorea) Is a tonic for the kidneys and spleen and nourishes Yin. This slimy, starchy tuber is commonly found in the morning markets in Taiwan, although I have never cooked it before. It often is included in tonic packets, in a dried form, to be included in chicken herb soups, which I have cooked before. Maybe I should try it in a stirfry as it has antiaging properties and supports a healthy immune system. It also is used in most Asian cuisines and can be eaten raw.

4. Glossy Privet Fruit  Used for premature menopause and aging. Chinese privet has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 1,000 years. The fruit is antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-tumour, cardiotonic, diuretic and tonic. It is taken internally in the treatment of complaints associated with weak kidney and liver energy such as menopausal problems (especially premature menopause), blurred vision, cataracts, tinnitus, rheumatic pains, palpitations, backache and insomnia. Modern research has shown that the plant increases the white blood cell count and is of value when used to prevent bone marrow loss in cancer chemotherapy patients, it also has potential in the treatment of AIDS.  Good results have also been achieved when the fruit has been used in treating respiratory tract infections, hypertension, Parkinson's disease and hepatitis.

• Enrich the blood and invigorate the circulation of blood.
• Fight against oxidation and scavenge free radicals.

5. Xuduan (Teasal Root) Tones liver, kidneys, sinew and bones and helps lower back or knee pain. It stimulates new bone growth and regulates menstruation.
6. Glossar ?

43Year Old Mom's Improving Blood/Chi Circulation for Hair:
1.Gui Pi Tang/"Return to Spleen" (11 plant soup stock) Nourishes the blood and chi to the spleen and offsets stress, being overworked and turning off the busy mind at night. Being a working single mom, I can attest to overthinking and worrying which aggravate imbalances in heart blood and spleen chi.  Symptoms of such an imbalance are forgetfulness and insomnia. Well, I don't have insomnia, I just stall going to bed. Gui Pi Wan improves sleep, mental clarity during the day and digestion. (Check out Mental Tranquility)

2. Zuo Gui Pian (8 herbs including arugula, honey and dried dates) A classic Ming dynasty formula used to treat infertility and kidney yin deficiencies. A proprietary blend of:

Radix Rehmanniae Preparata Rhizoma Dioscoreae Oppositae Fructus Corni Officinalis Colla Cornus Cervi Colla Carapacis Et Plastri Testudinis Fructus Lycii Chinensis Semen Cuscutae Chinensis Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae

3. Shen Chang
4. He Shou Wu/Fleeceflower Root/ Fo Ti (radix polygni multiflora) The herb of intuition and longevity, it is rich in iron and zinc which nourishes blood deficiency, premature greying, hair growth, boosts the libido, and repairs DNA. There's a tincture on Amazon ($20).   The herb was found in ancient Taoist texts, written about in AD 800 when a frail old man named He reportedly fell asleep next to this vine. He felt inclined to dig up the root, consumed regularly for a week and his youthful vigor returned. Even his hair color returned, giving it the Chinese name" "He's Black Hair". Fo Ti is traditionally prepared in a "secret" method involving a black bean sauce. Interestingly, its one of 3 herbs said to expand the consciousness, the other two being Reishi (mushrooms) and Tulsi/Holy Basil according to this article.

5. Chai Hu (purple yam)/ Bupleurum Traditionaly used for blood disorders and liver diseases it is anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer.

6. Dan Shen/Salvia Miltiorhiza (red sage)/Chinese sage/ The root and rhizome are used to nourish the blood and calm the spirit and balance the circulatory system. Its very powerful in treating heart disease and agina and many other benefits.

Our TCM Dr. recommended  that I get a sonograph (ultrasound) of my thyroid as I had a thyroid problem post-partum (12 years ago.) So I went to the new University hospital by the train station and had them take 6 vials of blood to test. I'm going back in 2 weeks to discuss the results. Until then its powdered TCM herbs with water 3x a day.