Puerto Princesa-Carefree Capital of Palawan

Quality, yet inexpensive food (see additional entry) is a feature of the Puerto, as well as inexpensive yet comfortable accommodation. Enjoy the cacophony of the local market, and do not forget to buy and try the Seaweed, which is seriously delicious with lemon juice (a vegetarian's dream taste). Try the skills of the local masseuses, and do not miss the artistic enviroment of Kamarikutan cafe.

Plan your excursions comfortably and carefully and lace the daylight hours with trips to Honda Bay (see my journal: "Islands of Honda Bay-The Secret Heaven").

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

From Puerto Princesa, you can fly to El Nido (northwestern Palawan) or Sandoval airport (northeastern Palawan) or YKR Airport on Busuanga Island, or of course Manilla (quite regularly, several daily flights).

Jeepneys link Puerto with all other villages and towns on Palawan, but I would strongly recommend speding time and bargaining skills for an air-conditioned 4X4 van if you wish to cross the Palawan roads without all your joints aching for the next few days.

The restaurant has no-nonsense, quality food, and for very reasonable prices. The view from the front tables is fantastic (see my photo-taken after sunset) and the dining area is built on stilts. A famous royal guest once (with photos on the restaurant's wall from his visit) was Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom.

In my humble view, Kamaricutan Cafe and Galeri is definitely the most artistic place in the whole of the Philippines (not just in Palawan). The place combines a cafeteria with the widest possible variety of coffees and an art galeri, both blending together in a quiet corner off Rizal Avenue, shaded by trees and the most tastefully built and decorated Nippa construction.

Kamaricutan is also a galeri for a local artist with impressive paintings (all depicting the Palawan-Calamian culture and life) and equally impressive sculpture and artwork. Anything and everything in Kamaricutan has art embedded in it, and I took the liberty to take a photo of the men's WC door, which depicts the word man in a local dialect. The toilets inside are work of art themselves.

One evening that our company of four were enjoying our drinks and music in Kamaricutan, my eyes fell on a Polynesian didgeridoo (the long bamboo-made aboriginal musical instrument), which was so beautifully decorated that I felt a compelling desire to buy it. Being about 5'5" long and having to travel across the rest of Palawan, as well as taking numerous flights (Palawan-Manilla, Manilla-Athens via Dubai, Athens-Manchester, where it now rests eventually intact) my wife cursed me for weeks on end. But I am the proud owner of a piece of art from the most impressive Palawan artist!