Day 341 - Changing Hotels and Exploring Downtown Puerto Princesa
Thursday, June 13th, 2019
Today we had to wake up early because the hotel only serves breakfast from 6:00 to 8:00am! We were not excited to have eggs with tuna fish and rice. Luckily they made our eggs without the tuna but the whole place smelled like fish! Daniel was not happy. Afterward, the kids went back to the room and Gregory and I went for a walk to the Baywalk, where Sunshine and I went yesterday. It is a beautiful and clean port. The cruise ship we saw yesterday was gone. Today, every single food store was closed and it was so hot that we had to run from one tree shadow to another. Our walk was short.
When we got back to the hotel, I went to the front desk to ask the lady to call our next hotel (awkward) to see if they could pick us up for free. I would have never thought about doing that but Gregory’s idea worked. First, our hotel offered to take us for 300 pesos (about US$6) but the new hotel offered a free airport shuttle. I said, just pretend you're picking us up at the airport! Half an hour later, the hotel van was picking us up.
We arrived at our new hotel, which is not super fancy but the vegetation is beautiful. There are two huge Acacia trees that I can’t stop looking at. It was a gorgeous day but really sunny and hot so we stayed in our rooms for a while, then we went swimming in the pool. We enjoyed 20 minutes and then the weather just changed dramatically and it started to rain. Daniel got out of the pool immediately and said that it was a Boy Scout rule. Sunshine and I swam in the rain, which it didn’t last long. We met some American Filipinos who promised to give us the phone number of a tour company that could give us good prices for the places that we want to visit. On the other hand, we are not so sure because of the rain.
After a shower, we took a trike to downtown where we ate at a well-known restaurant called Balinsasayaw. It was OK, but pricey (for here) and the service took forever! We walked around downtown, nothing to see. Many small fast food style restaurants, many pharmacy/grocery stores. We got snacks for the next days and then we got another trike to take us back to our hotel. Again, there's no Grab here, so you are at the mercy of the drivers. The tricycle drivers always overcharge and never want to bargain. Gregory finally got the 3rd driver to take us the 2km for 70 pesos, which is about $1.20. I feel wealthy here!
Today we had to wake up early because the hotel only serves breakfast from 6:00 to 8:00am! We were not excited to have eggs with tuna fish and rice. Luckily they made our eggs without the tuna but the whole place smelled like fish! Daniel was not happy. Afterward, the kids went back to the room and Gregory and I went for a walk to the Baywalk, where Sunshine and I went yesterday. It is a beautiful and clean port. The cruise ship we saw yesterday was gone. Today, every single food store was closed and it was so hot that we had to run from one tree shadow to another. Our walk was short.
When we got back to the hotel, I went to the front desk to ask the lady to call our next hotel (awkward) to see if they could pick us up for free. I would have never thought about doing that but Gregory’s idea worked. First, our hotel offered to take us for 300 pesos (about US$6) but the new hotel offered a free airport shuttle. I said, just pretend you're picking us up at the airport! Half an hour later, the hotel van was picking us up.
We arrived at our new hotel, which is not super fancy but the vegetation is beautiful. There are two huge Acacia trees that I can’t stop looking at. It was a gorgeous day but really sunny and hot so we stayed in our rooms for a while, then we went swimming in the pool. We enjoyed 20 minutes and then the weather just changed dramatically and it started to rain. Daniel got out of the pool immediately and said that it was a Boy Scout rule. Sunshine and I swam in the rain, which it didn’t last long. We met some American Filipinos who promised to give us the phone number of a tour company that could give us good prices for the places that we want to visit. On the other hand, we are not so sure because of the rain.
After a shower, we took a trike to downtown where we ate at a well-known restaurant called Balinsasayaw. It was OK, but pricey (for here) and the service took forever! We walked around downtown, nothing to see. Many small fast food style restaurants, many pharmacy/grocery stores. We got snacks for the next days and then we got another trike to take us back to our hotel. Again, there's no Grab here, so you are at the mercy of the drivers. The tricycle drivers always overcharge and never want to bargain. Gregory finally got the 3rd driver to take us the 2km for 70 pesos, which is about $1.20. I feel wealthy here!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HbrquwGbNEpnYdsG6
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