The Great Palawan Escape

Posted by pat on May 3, 2010 in Travel | 12 comments

Welcome to Palawan (taken at the Tabon Caves)

Seven Days in Palawan…

…was not enough to really experience everything that this beautiful island has to offer. One will need to stay about a month and a half or two. There is a whole myriad of things to see and experience – rich forests (some remain unexplored), high mountains, clean flowing rivers and waterfalls, placid lakes, enormous caves, endangered wildlife conservation, bursting marine life, and of course, absolutely beautiful beaches whatever part of Palawan you’re in. If want to go nature tripping, adventure seeking, get a taste of some geological history, and have an out-of-the-box experience…go to Palawan.

“The Great Palawan Escape”, that’s what I call it because it really felt like one. We were away from the city, sometimes without cellphone signal, sometimes without electricity, practically no internet during the whole stay and only a few people knew where I was going off to (I liked the idea of “disappearing” for a while). For seven days my family and I went on an adventure and travelled to different points in Palawan. Being lovers of the road less-travelled, we decided not to go to two of most popular destinations in Palawan - El Nido and Coron. Both are undoubtly very beautiful places and are definitely on my list of spots to travel to, but on this trip, we went elsewhere..(be jealous). Along the way, we made some awesome discoveries, had some cool out-of-the-box experiences and met people with interesting stories to tell about how Palawan is evolving into a place where people are very keen on Sustainable Development (I loved this very much but we’ll talk about that some other time).

Our itinerary was not for the dainty or fussy. My mom, the one behind it all, made sure it would unforgettable for the whole family. When she said, “Make sure your bags are easy to carry around. I prefer you use a backpack if you have one. Bring comfy clothes and rubber shoes”, and wouldn’t tell us the exact itinerary, I knew we were in for something. And “SOMETHING” it was – 7 beaches, 6 islands, 2 (well.. more than) caves, 2 rivers, 1 waterfall, sleeping in a run-down three walled bahay kubo, turbulent seas, mountains, forests, rocky unpaved dirt roads, boat rides.. we hopped from the east side to the west side… in seven days. She kept us constantly wondering about what was coming next.

It was a really awesome trip. There was a lot that we saw, experienced, and definitely a lot learned (not to mention, we had SO MUCH FUN). I shall tell the stories little by little, by destination. For now, I’ll share with you the itinerary…

The Palawan Itinerary

The Itinerary
(Please stay “tuned” for the upcoming posts)

1) Quezon Town : 27 March – 29 March
Highlights : Tabon Cave, Tamlangon Island

2) Kalatagbak : 29 March – 30 March
Highlights : A beautiful spot on the top of the mountains called Balugo, Bagong Pag-asa Foundation, The Bristol family

3) Narra : 30 March – 31 March
Highlights : Crystal Paradise, Rasa Island

*Road to Sabang – 31 March
Highlight : Estrella Falls

4) Sabang : 31 March – 1 April
The Underground River, The Mangrove Forest, Taraw Resort

5) WWF Boat : 1 April – 3 April
Honda Bay, Snake Island, Starfish Island, Pandan Island (we wanted to go to Turtle Bay the seas would not permit).

If you want to go trip like this, don’t forget…

- Bring lots of Sunblock
- (!) Citronella Oil to ward off the mosquitoes and prevent Malaria.
(You can choose to use Off lotion or drink Malaria Prophilaxis, both of which I don’t prefer)
- Acapulco ointment (for insect bites, particularly Nik Nik a.k.a. sand mites)

You’ll need : a trusty driver and rent a van service.

We hired Kuya Joel. He’s a really fun, cool, and quirky guy who loves cracking jokes, telling stories, and joining in on the adventures. Beyond merely knowing how to get to one place to the other, he knows a lot about Palawan…Not to mention he has friends almost everywhere we went (very helpful when you need little extra help from other people)

Name : Joel Danelles
Number: Please contact me if you want to get it.

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Facing the Fear

Posted by pat on Apr 27, 2010 in Life and Stuff | 1 comment

(This post is dedicated to people who have held back on decisions involving the things they really want)
Many of us (if not all) like talking about what we want to do with our lives. We talk about our dream jobs, the places we want to go to, hobbies we want to take up, etc. Some have that perennial urge to paint, dance, sing or act while some have ambitions of owning a business. The list goes on. There are a handful of people who have been able to decide to venture out and make their wants and dreams happen while many of us, at the end of the day, find that we never leave the point of dreaming. I do recognize that sometimes these aspirations that we loosely call “dreams” are merely whims. But what about those dreams which much more than mere fancy? Those dreams that deep down, we know really want but have been holding back on? What been stopping us?
Holding Back
I have been holding back on something I know I really want. When I discovered that the existence of this “thing”, I felt a jolt. Its something I’ve always hoped to find. (When I was in high school, I wondered what I could do in the future that could help me create a living. “Living” – earning well while creating real value for others.). I got excited and elated knowing that its possible and real. I started to envision making it happen. To take things a step further, I decided to take action. I wanted to measure up. Everything I felt needed to be learned, I tried studying. I’ve been trying my best since.
However as I went on, I found myself hesitating. Before I knew it, I unconsciously created one hundred and one reasons for me not to proceed… at least not yet. Some of the reasons are valid since there were things that were needed to be taken care of before I could freely give this dream a chance of materializing. Yet as the days passed, the reasons began turning into excuses. I’ve told myself “I’ll do it today” over and over. But its been months since I’ve actually moved forward.
Its absurd isn’t it. I know there are others out there who can relate. What stops a person from deciding to take the leap?
Fear.
Fear that it may not happen. Fear of failure. Fear of mistakes. Fear of many other intangible uncertainties. Should we let these fears stop us? The reality is, it has stopped many people when it shouldn’t (that includes me). Thanks to a recent wake up call and a random eureka moment, I’ve been able to finally painfully admit to myself that I’m actually afraid. It was at that point that the central reason for my reluctance became clear to me (its something very personal which I shall not discuss here). It was only after accepting the fear that I was able to see exactly what was happening to me.
In my search for finding ways to deal with this, I picked up a book which my grandfather has repeatedly asked me to read. Its one of his favorites – “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Dale Carnegie. It is , practical, real, simple, straight to the point, brilliant…and it really helped me put things in perspective.
Dealing with Fear
According to Dale Carnegie, in dealing with worry and fear, there is a simple yet powerful formula that we can use.
1)      Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?”
My version : In this situation, what is it that you are afraid of the most? What’s the worst that may come out of that thing you fear if it does happen?

2)      Prepare to accept it if you have to.
My version: Accept it. Accept that yes, it could definitely be a possibility. Come to terms with this. Don’t fight it.
3)      Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst
My version : So, if it happens, what are the possibilities beyond it? Or what about the good things that can happen despite this happening? It’s not the end of the world right?

Some fears are irrational while some are some fears are valid. Whatever the case, focusing on the fear will always hinder you from taking action towards your goal. (I guess thats what happened to me). Face the fear by acknowledge it, not nurturing it. I believe that what makes a man brave is not in being fearless (there is no such things as fearless anyway), but in being able to face the fear and overcome it. Overcome it by accepting it. There’s liberation in acceptance.
After you’ve recognized the worst case scenario, do the opposite and paint the ideal picture in your head – The picture of what you want, how you want it, and how good it can be and will be. It helps balance self- preparation with your hoped outcome. When I did this, I felt a calm which I haven’t felt in a long time. This is one process I’ll always remember and apply to my life
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.
After this, the uncertainty doesn’t seem so daunting anymore.
I’m going for it.

My hope is that this post is found by people who, as I have, are experiencing uncertainty and fear about a certain decisions. May this brief post at least inspire them to seriously face their fears, get rid of worry, take action, and take the risk.

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