Alegre Guitar Factory Store in Mactan, Cebu

Last Friday morning upon arrival at Mactan airport, my colleagues and I visited the Alegre guitar factory near the airport as part of our city tour.

Various body plates and guitar parts will greet the visitors upon arrival.

Mangrove Boat Tour & Buenavista Viewdeck

After our Underground River tour, my 3 kids and I took the Mangrove Paddle Tour, about 1.5-km north walk from Sabang wharf. Along the way, we passed restaurants and resorts like Sheridan and Daluyon with nice-looking octagonal cottages. On our way back, we also combed part of the Sabang beach.

Tour fee is Php 150/adult and Php 100 for kids 12 years old and below. Like in Underground River, they also provide life jackets. The tourism kiosk officer asked us to register before we boarded the paddle boat.

Underground River at Puerto Princesa 2011

The other weekend was my second time to see the Puerto Princesa's Underground River, but it was the kids' first time who are with us on this family trip. For Php 3,000 whole day rental, I hired a van to bring us to Sabang wharf, the takeoff point of the boats going to the Underground River. 

The van's owner also got the Underground River tour permit for us prior to our arrival, at Php 150/adult and Php 30 for my kids aged 6-12 years old. My youngest son at 3 years old has waived permit fee, as well as in boat fare, if 5 years old and below.

 

It took us less than 1.5 hours to get to Sabang this time, unlike our 2009 trip on the same place here, which took us almost 3 hours via a public jeepney from San Jose New market. The road condition is also much better now, since the city government expects more tourists to see the subterranean river due to ongoing votes for New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Food Trip in Puerto Princesa

Our first dinner in Puerto Princesa is at Balinsasayaw Restaurant in Rizal Avenue. This well-lighted branch is more accessible than their original branch in Manalo St. We tried their clam specialty "renge renge" at Php 85/serving. Its good especially with beer, but the portion size is small.

Pancit canton and lumpiang shanghai were ordered for the kids. Sinigang na lapu-lapu (soured garoupa soup) is also good at Php 190/portion.

Island Hopping at Honda Bay

As post-summer getaway of our second day in Palawan last weekend, I took the whole family to an island hopping tour at Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa. Good thing that the weather had cooperated, without any rain the whole daytime we were in the area.

We arranged for Mang Dudz' van to pick us from the pension house at 8:00 am last Sunday. We passed by the Iwahig handicraft store along the way to rent snorkel sets (Php 100/set) and a native mat for Php 150. Then, we bought freshly-cooked rice from a carinderia, before proceeding to San Jose New Market to buy a kilo of suran triggerfish at Php 180/kg, half kilo of suahe shrimp at Php 115, and sliced porkloin at Php 170/kg, all to be cooked at the islands. We also bought tomatoes, soy sauce, calamansi, charcoal, and disposable plates and utensils for our island picnic lunch.

Unusual Sea Creature - Horseshoe Crab

Last Sunday afternoon while resting at Pandan Island beach within Honda Bay in Palawan, I spotted this mysterious sea creature being examined by tourists and used for photo ops. I think I have seen it on NatGeo or Discovery Channel before, but I don't know its name. Considered as a living fossil, its one of those sea creatures which have survived since the post-Jurassic period, and had barely evolved after more than 250 million years. It was quite surprising that its fairly common to see on Palawan islands, but not on the rest of the country.

E-Pass Tag: Blessing or a Curse?

Last February 2011, Wife bought an E-Pass tag for me, since she knows that I'm quite impatient in dealing with long lines on the toll gates. Despite my reluctance to use the e-pass tag due to horror stories I read from other users, I used it after it was activated by Skyway Corporation.

Its really more convenient to use the e-pass tag, as it was now a breeze to pass the SLEX toll gates. However, when I reviewed my e-pass tag statements for February and March this year, that is when the months of disappointments and helplessness began.

I live in Binan, Laguna using the Carmona/Binan Exit whenever we enter SLEX. Out of 11 supposedly Carmona entry points, I was surprised to see 7 cases of Calamba as my entry point, 5 on February and 2 on March statements. At Php 46 overcharge for every case, I asked the Skyway Corporation to credit back to me the total amount of Php 322 last 04 April 2011 through an email. 

I also told them to fix their e-pass sensor in Carmona, for me and for other motorists as well. The following day, Ms. Ronette Rojas of Skyway Corp. replied that they will credit back any adjustment to my account. I responded with my thanks and a follow up question if they have tested or fixed the e-pass tag sensor in Carmona Exit, but I have not gotten any reply.