In typical Filipino fashion, the flight resembled a variety show, with extremely outgoing stewardesses playing guessing games with prizes to be won by the passengers. Being the lazy bones I am, I dozed off instead of participating and woke up in a new place waiting to be discovered.
Upon collecting our baggage, an extremely alert immigration official noticed that an Aussie in our group had an expired visa. It’s refreshing to notice that capable people in Palawan seem to be doing their jobs and are totally on point. No funny business here; we took a trip to the immigration bureau to sort out our friend’s visa issue with efficiency and which took the whole of two minutes. It pleased me to see that there are foreigners who enjoy our tropical paradise and unexpectedly wind up extending their stays. From there, we took a 25-minute van ride to the Santa Lourdes Wharf to catch the speedboat to Dos Palmas, one of 16 islands in Honda Bay, about an hour’s boat ride through crystal clear waters northeast of Puerto Princesa. Dos Palmas was named after two giant 80-foot palm trees, only one of which remains standing today and towers over all the other trees.
As the boat made its way to the reception deck, our group was greeted with a welcome song of beating drums (made from the other namesake palm tree that had fallen), friendly smiles and delicious melon shakes. The staff was attentive and pleasantly showed us to our rooms. On this 20-hectare jewel of an island lie bay cottages on permanent stilts directly planted in the water and larger garden cottages slightly further in on the island, roomy enough to sleep five to six adults comfortably. All cottages come fully equipped with air conditioning, full baths with hot and cold running water, mini-bar (absolutely key!) and phones. I nearly freaked when I did not find a television in the room but was consoled when I looked out the window and gazed at the breathtaking sea.
By the time we arrived we were famished and a lovely buffet was spread out before us. You have to love buffets – you never have to wait for your food to arrive – the food waits for you! After chowing down on fresh seafood and delicious cheese sticks, we decided to hit the beach and kick back a few drinks. It’s never too early to begin when you’ve flipped on beach mode. Soaking up the sun’s glorious rays while sipping cocktails proved to be tiring and so it was decided that a relaxing night was ahead for our group.
By retiring early, we woke up to a full day of beach activities. First up, awesome snorkeling that I find impossible to rival. We found Nemo and his entire clan along with some rare and endangered species of corals with the help of a master diver and a marine biologist on staff. Other water sports are available: intro diving and full PADI courses for those who wish to take advantage of the rich marine life. Kayaking, wind surfing, fishing and island hopping are other options for water enthusiasts.
Lunch that day was served on Puting Buhangin, a nearby island with a sandbar exactly like the one featured in Madonna’s Cherish video. We feasted on steamed crabs, kimchi, grilled fish, squid and chicken and sashayed down the sandbar to aid digestion. An exciting boat ride back to the main island was reminiscent of The Perfect Storm which provided tons of laughs and jokes. Once back on shore, we elected to have aromatherapy massages, true loungers and die hard sloths that we are. Snubbing all the sports the island has to offer (so many to choose from: tennis, badminton, basketball and beach volleyball), we vegged out at the spa. Pure bliss! I was totally relaxed and at ease after the massage and especially when I spotted the hardcore security enforcers on the island. Abu who?
An al fresco dinner, complete with a Mongolian barbecue topped off our lovely day. We had a surprise in store for us – a native show with audience participation that held great entertainment value especially when one of our brave friends did the tinikling in front of us and a Korean-heavy audience. A recreation center housing billiards, darts, table tennis and ever faithful karaoke was beckoning us but we opted for drinks in a casita overlooking the water. We were so sorry to leave the island paradise the next morning but were so glad to have discovered this gem.