JustWandering by Nina Fuentes | Travel blogging from Manila, wandering through the Philippines Asia and Australia
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I didn’t really know what to expect of Krystal Lodge. For one thing, when we went there last June, there were hardly any information about this place online. No pictures even. Still, I trusted Ferdz‘ judgement. Besides, Coron is filling up because it was a long weekend, so we don’t really have much choice. When the jeep from Busuanga airport dropped us in front of an alley, my mind went into overdrive. What exactly are we getting ourselves into?

We walked through a narrow alley, finally emerging on a wooden platform, then on to a wooden bridge, passing the mangrove and jutting out into the sea. Welcome to Krystal Lodge.

Path to our house on stilts

Next to Ponce Suites, this is the most interesting places I’ve stayed in this year. Krystal Lodge is a series of huts on stilts over the sea. There’s a main house, that has the caretaker’s quarters, some rooms, the kitchen, and a common area, then further out are three more huts. Mhye welcomes us and shows us our rooms. Gail and Marc gets a room in the main hut, while Eric, Ferdz and I share the hut furthest out to sea. The hut was surprisingly roomy and quite breezy. We are amazed at the facilities of our little shack on stilts: one bedroom, a bar, a small dining area, a kitchenette, a loft and yes, it has a functioning toilet and shower! Outside, we have a small porch, a hammock and a smaller hut with seats and a table.

Beds

Eric and I shared the downstairs bedroom, while Ferdz had the loft to himself. the bedroom was quite roomy — there are two beds, and a huge shelf for our things. There’s also two tables, a fan and access to a changing area. And if you’re wondering, yes, there’s electricity too!

Of course, you can’t have an accommodation like this without its quirks. First, there’s the toilet and the shower. The toilet and the shower area are separate, but is right beside each other. Though the toilet had a door that locks, the shower only had a very thin curtain that blows out whenever there’s a slight breeze. Also, the wall that separates the two was a piece of translucent roofing… you know, the ones they use for skylights. Another thing about the toilet was this diamond hole in the wall at crotch level. When you’re sitting down in the toilet, it lets you look out into the sea and the island across.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 08

Though there’s running water in the hut, it can sometimes be a problem when it slows down to a trickle. It was especially bothersome when the electricity went out on some parts of Coron and Krystal Lodge was affected. Not only do we have to navigate through the alley and the rickety bridge in the dark, we arrive at our hut, exhausted and sticky from island hopping, only to find the water’s out too. Though it was already midnight, Mhye did everything she could to have the water and electricity restored in our hut.

Krystal Lodge is rustic, rugged and certainly not for the high maintenance traveler. However, it’s these very same things that makes it charming.

Krystal Lodge
Coron Town, Busuanga, Palawan
Phone: (02) 4536343
Mobile: 09284108074
E-mail: mhye_310@yahoo.com.ph

Popularity: 24% [?]

Finally, the super delayed continuation of my Coron adventures post!

Everybody was nodding off as we putter from the Siete Pecados to the Maquinit Hot Springs. As the boat docked, Gail and I were only concerned about finding the toilets. We hurried through the wooden brige that winds though the mangroves and into the Hot Springs’s only two toilets.

Afterwards, we settled into a hut. The day’s exertions in the sea left us famished, and our dilemma was that we haven’t any food. Ferdz and Marc made their way to the concessionair stand, and came back with a couple of bags of chips and a bottle of soda — the only things that the store sells. Once the chips and soda were gone, Marc, Eric and I went off to dip in the hot springs. And boy, was it HOT! I’m used to soaking on heated pools, but at the spa, it’s advised to go gradually — first taking a dip in the 36 degrees Celsius pool, then the 38C, and finally, the 40C. In Maquinit, however, there’s only one temperature, and nothing to prepare you for the near 40 degrees Celsius water. That’s why we were adviced to go here during the evenings!

The heat of the pool certainly woke us up. As the sun set, we made our way to the entrance. Roge, our boatman, promised to send his brother-in-law who owns a tricycle to pick us up at 7:30 pm. As we were walking, the lights went out. Perfect! To makes matters worse, the tricycle wasn’t there, and we’ve no way of contacting Roge!

The way tricycles work in Maquinit, is that you hire one at the town to take you there, wait for you, and take you back to the town. Since we went there by boat, we didn’t really have any arrangements, save for the tricycle Roge promised to pick us up. Luckily, Roge sent two — but only one arrived. We waited for a couple more minutes, and as hunger and made its presence felt, we managed to convince one of the drivers to drive us to town while waiting for his passengers.

La Sirenetta Restaurant Coron
My camera’s battery died on me, and we were pretty tired to take any more photos, so this is the only one I have.

 
Since we were fairly dry and utterly starved, we decided to have the trikes drop us off at a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at La Sirenetta, a fancy restaurant out in the water, which is a short walk from Kystal Lodge. Revived by the thought of food, we eagerly studied the menu, not really caring that the prices is going to blow our budget. Hey, we deserved a treat! Excitement, however, soon became annoyance as our orders took a lot of time to come to the table. After close to an hour, we were finally served the dishes we ordered. The food was quite good, making it somehow worth the price and the wait. But as much as we enjoyed our pasta, chicken, fish and pizza, it was hard to fully appreciate the service.

With our hunger satiated, we made our way to Krystal Lodge. Seeing houses with the lights on left us with hope that we had electricity in our lodgings. However, it seems only a portion of the town has electricity, and unfortunately, Cyrstal Lodge wasn’t one of them. Slowly, we made our way through the narrow alley and unto the rickety wooden bridge to our accomodation, with Ferdz’ headlamp the only thing ligthing our way. We finally made it to our little shack on the sea. We were all exhausted, but we just had to shower before heading to bed. I gathered my bath things and went to the bathroom. I turned on the tap and was welcomed by a very weak trickle of water. Uh oh. I left the faucet on and went out to fix my things as I wait for the bucket to fill with water. Thirty minutes after, the bucket was less than a half full. This isn’t good.

With three of us needing to use the bathroom, this wouldn’t do. It was almost midnight. Ferdz went to wake up Mhai, the resort manager. The power outage somehow affected the water pump in our room. It couldn’t be repaired until the morning, so in the meantime, Mhai let us use the bathroom of the other hut that was recently vacated. I used Unit 9’s bathroom, while Eric used the bathroom inside Gail & Marc’s room. It was almost 2 am when we finally finished. What a day!

Popularity: 23% [?]

This trip to Coron was certainly one of the cheapest trips I’ve ever had. Of course, it helps that we got to fly for free with Seair, but living in the island is surprisingly cheap. The expensive part of the trip are the island hopping expenses. Apart from the cost of the boat rental for the day (which is actually quite a bargain, since the boatman also acts as your guide and they can even cook your lunch for you), you also have to pay for each of the places in your itinerary.

The cheapest part about this Coron trip was the food. Coron town is pretty small, and there’s plenty of cheap dining options. If you’re not to picky, there’s plenty of carinderia near the market that serves pretty good food at affordable prices. If you love fresh seafood, head on to the market to buy shrimp for as low as Php 180 for a kilo, and a huge lapu-lapu for Php 140. We treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at La Sirenetta after a long day of island hopping. While the food was great, the service was disappointingly slow. This dinner was our most expensive at Php 380 per person.

All in all, Coron was worth every peso. If you’re in a tight budget, it’s best that you travel with a group who can share your expenses. There are places in the island hopping circuit that doesn’t charge for admission: I hear the CYC island is free, and the Twin Lagoons is included in the Kayangan Lake entrance (there are probably more, but I’m too tired to Google. Go research in Owen’s Coron site). My personal favorites among the places we visited were Banol Beach and Kayangan Lake. To further lessen your costs, pitch a tent instead of staying at hotels and resorts.

For the most amazing three days with such a fabulous group of people (not to mention the most spectacular photos), Php 4,593.00 is a bargain.
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Popularity: 47% [?]

Jun
16

Island Hopping in Coron

Posted by nina under Palawan, Philippines

We woke up early, though not without hitting the snooze button several times. After our morning ablutions, we walked to the carinderia (small eatery) where we had lunch the previous day for breakfast. Seems like tapsilog (tapa or cured beef, singangag (fried rice) and itlog (sunny side up eggs) was the group’s favorite, save for Gail, who ordered a plate of spaghetti and a hamburger. In the end, it was she who was most happy with her order; our tapa was a big disappointment.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 11
A sight I’d love to wake up to everyday

 
Completely rejouvenated and energized, we set off to the market to buy additional things we needed for the day. At the bakery, we were able to buy pan de sal, pan de coco and Spanish bread for snacks and for feeding the fish. At Php 2.00 each, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the bread are double the size of the ones we get in the neighborhood bakeries in Manila. Also, unlike their Manila counterparts, you can actually taste the bread and the fillings. Stocking up on water to keep us hydrated, we made our way back to Krystal Lodge where our boat will pick us up (ah, the advantages of living by water).

Armed with our snorkeling gears, underwater cameras and picnic stuff, we boarded our boat for the day. We set off for Coron Island, the Skeleton Wreck our first stop. We had the option to anchor in the middle of the sea or dock in the nearby Mawowoy beach. We opted to dock, since Gail wasn’t too hot about the idea of seeing sunken ships. I was curious and hesitant at the same time. From the shore, the wreck is within swimming distance. The wreck hasn’t sunk in too deep water, so you can see it even if you’re just snorkelling. I swam about 10 meters from the shore and quickly turned back — for some reason, I don’t think I can do it. Gail and I stayed beside the boat in the water and while we were chatting, a mother and her child came paddling through the water. They turned out to be the native Tagbanua caretaker of this particular piece of land. The Tagbanua tribe have ancestral claim on the waters surrounding Coron, and the admission fees charged for the various tourist attractions in the island are for the maintenance of each.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 21
Ako and Pucchi enjoyed playing in Banol Beach

 
Eric, Marc and Ferdz swam back to shore elated — they saw the remains of the boat; the skeleton. We puttered out of the cove and into another one: Banol. We passed Banol Beach on the way to Mawowoy. We were all taken in by the peaceful aura it seem to give off. Fine white sand, crystal clear blue waters, lush vegetation, wooden huts and dramatic limestone formations, Banol is the paradise you’ve always seen in pictures, but never thought is actually real. Despite the troubling sight of jellyfishes bobbing in the water as we dock, we excitedly got off the boat and went our own way taking photos.

We had brought the fish we bought at the market yesterday to be grilled for lunch. The great thing about hiring boats in Coron is that you can ask the boatmen to grill your lunch for you. Our bankeros set off cleaning and grilling our fish, since there would be no other place to cook afterwards. It was still fairly early, so we decided to have an early lunch at Banol. We feasted on more shrimp and beautifully grilled fish, with a side of fresh tomatoes, and toyomansi (soy sauce and calamansi) dipping sauce, and the local suka (vinegar) that had a hint of sweetness.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 44
Eric’s all too willing to do crazy poses for us. That’s why most of the photos in our camera are of him.

 
After lunch, Eric and I played around with my underwater camera. Rather, I took pictures and ordered my all to willing subject. But hey, the photos turned out pretty good, right? ;) Right after some rather embarassing poses, we saw a boat approach. We moved on to the other side of the cove, and tried to drown out the noisy squeals of the new arrivals. As much as we loved to stay longer (Banol is the kind of place you wouldn’t want to leave and when you finally do, you find yourself wanting to go back), we agreed that our paradise has been contaminated; it’s time to move on.

Roge, our boatman, took us to Barracuda Lake next. There was a wooden dock waiting for us, and a set of wooden steps. Uh-oh. I thought. The climbing part is here. It turned out that the stairs is the easy part. Soon enough, the stairs ran out and we had to climb over limestone formations. I was pretty scared clambering up the jagged limestone. My feet was wet, which meant wet slippers. Though the traction of my rubber thongs on the limestone wasn’t all too bad, my wet feet on the rubber made me feel I’m going to slip at each step I take. There was even this portion where there was a pretty huge gap in the limestones, and one part had this rather narrow peak that you’d have to cross. What awaited us on the other side though was spectacular. Barracudda lake, like most lakes in Coron island, is a mix of fresh and salt water. The deep blue green water is a sight to behold. Unfortunately, once you get at the end of the “trail” there’s hardly any place to put your things or sit. Add to that the sudden drop that you can clearly see from the shallower areas.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 48
For me, the best part of Barracuda Lake is still the climb over limestone

 
The lake got its name from the Barracuda that used to live there. The barracuda was long gone, but some of its offsprings are still there. The guides (who jump from limestone to limestone, much to our amazement as we cling on the wooden banisters for dear life) warns us not to go to the center of the lake, where it’s said to be at its deepest, and where the barracudas roam. With that warning, I was content to sit at one of the more comfortable nooks among the limestones and dry my feet and slippers. The scary climb through limestone previously was now a source of excitement. After all, I was already able to climb it once, surely, I can do it again.

We set of next to Kayangan Lake. Kayangan was dubbed one of the cleanest lake in the Philippines. It’s also one of the must see places in Coron. When we got to Kayangan’s entrance, I knew right then that it really is the most visited places in Coron. The dock was clearly organized and there are space enough for several boats to be docked at once. Like Barracuda Lake, Kayangan Lake can be reached by going up and down the mountain. Unlike Barracuda Lake though, this is relatively an easier climb. The steps were carved or are huge slabs of stone. There are wooden banisters on each side, and enough space for two people to pass through at once. Once you reach the top, you are greeted by the sight of the stairs you’d have to take to go down to the lake.

Coron, Palawan - Ferdz's Cam 13
With Eric and Gail at Kayangan Lake. You can clearly see the boulders at the bottom of the lake

 
Most groups stop at the summit to take photos of the magnificent view of the cove below. There’s a huge boulder you can climb to get a better vantage point, or pose on for your Friendster, MySpace, Multiply or Facebook profile photo. Going down is definitely easier. However, the steps are uneven and can be slippery so exercise caution when going down. Kayangan Lake is even more dramatic than Barracuda lake when you see it. What’s really impressive about it is that you can actually see all the way down the bottom of the lake, even if you’re not in the water. The visibility in the lake is simply astounding. No wonder GMA chose this place to shoot Dyesebel (much to the ire of travelers who went there during their shooting date; I hear the entire lake was closed off).

Like Banol, Kayangan is the kind of place you wouldn’t want to leave. Apart from a couple of local kids playing in the water, we had the lake all to ourselves. There were fishes swimming around, though lacking in variety. They swam near the platform, which made us think that they have gotten used to having people feed them. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring the fish bread with us. Luckily, they never used their pointy things on us.

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 76
Leaving Kayangan

 
The hike back up was torture, considering we were leaving such a beautiful serene place behind. But once we have crested the peak and started going downhill, it was easier and we found ourselve looking forward to our next destination. The next stop was supposed to be the Twin Lagoon. However, since the tide was still high, we wouldn’t be able to enter through it passage. We went instead to Siete Pecados.

The Siete Pecados was named after the seven islets that surround this abundant coral reef. The reef is pulsing with life, as evident by the schools of fishes and corals that occupy the area. To prevent damaging the reef, boats are not allowed to drop anchor nor use the long bamboo poles they use to dock. Instead, they use oars to paddle and manouver, and boats are tied to bouys. The current was pretty strong, and unless we move away from the boat, we kept on bumping on the hull or the bamboo that helps keep it balanced. I pretty much gave up on snorkelling after a couple of minutes, feeling panic rising everytime I put my head down the water (which is pretty weird, I think. I’ve already swam with a huge whale shark, sans life vest even, and here I am freaking out everytime I see the water level go past 10 feet).

Coron, Palawan - Island Hopping 79
Swarming over the pan de sal

 
Finally, everybody had their fill (including the fishues). It was still fairly early, but we were running out of energy. Since we were near the Maquinit Hot Spring, we opted to go there instead. Of course, the day and the adventure doesn’t end there.

Admission fees (per person):
Mawowoy Beach – Php 100
Banol Beach – Php 100
Barracuda Lake – Php 75
Kayangan Lake – Php 200
Siete Pecados – Php 75

Popularity: 36% [?]

We check in at Krystal Lodge (some signs spell it as Crystal Lodge), then went off to settle in our hut. We have asked Mai, Krystal Lodge’s manager about boats we can use for island hopping. She refered Eran, a seasoned guide, who proceeded to tell us about the must see places for island hopping. We told Eran that before anything else, we wanted to have lunch.

Eran took us to the town center, and as we walk, none of us could really believe that we’re already in Coron. After settling in a carinderia, Eran left us to tend to his other contacts. He came back just as we were finishing, and we were off to an informal tour of Coron town. The town is quite small. You can easily walk from one place to another, though if you’re tired, you can hail a tricycle.

Sayuri with Coron Mayor Mario Reyes and half of Eric
Sayuri with Coron Mayor Marjo Reyes

 
Tricycles are the main public tranport option in the small town of Coron. There are jeepneys and busses, but they are only for traveling long distances. A ride in the tricycle costs Php 7 each around town, and I was surprised that the tricycle driver actually gave me change and didn’t overcharge. For longer distances, like to Mabentangin pool and Maquinit Hot Spring, you’d have to agree on a fee beforehand. These two places are more than 2 or 3 kilometers from town (Maquinit is about 4 kilometers away), and if you’re going there, you have to ask your driver to wait or come back for you. We paid Php 125 for a two way trip to Mabentaning, and Php 200 one way from Maquinit into town.

Be proud you are a teacher
Be proud you are a teacher. The future depends on you.

 
Walking through Coron town, we passed through the town hall. Right across it was a basketball court there Coron Mayor Marjo Reyes was playing. We were astounded that we can just walk into town and meet and have a chat with the mayor. Like any homeowners, Mayor Reyes welcomed us into Coron, his home. And like any homeowners, he apologized at how dirty the town is. We were shocked at this — less than ten minutes ago, we were all marveling at how clean and orderly Coron was. According to the mayor, Coron is already dirty; it used to be so clean and they’re working towards bringing it back to its pristine state. Dang. I wonder if Manila mayors can promise and deliver the same?

We walked into the public elementary school, where we saw a building that has been standing since the time of the Japanese occupation. There’s also some rumors going around that there’s gold underneath this building. Hmmmmm.

Fishies!
Fishies!

 
Back into the town center we go, heading this time to the market to buy dinner. Ferdz and Marc picked out a couple of fishes, and one huge lapu-lapu, and 3/4 kilo of shrimp. We also bought two kilos of rice, some tomatoes, onions and calamansi to go with the grilled fish. This trip to the market set us back around Php 550. Krystal lodge has cooking facilities, which you can use for a small fee. Eran was an all around guide; he even cooked our shrimp and rice for us. We took our seafood haul back to the lodge, and set off for Mt. Tapyas.

Where in the Philippines is Mother Boyle?
Where in the Philippines is Gert Boyle?

 
I didn’t read much about Coron prior to coming here, but I received a text from a friend who’s been there before that he climed 700+ steps to reach its summit. We walked from the lodge to the jump off point, a feat in itself quite taxing. There are several benches lining the steps should you get weary, and about four that’s covered. Gail and I stopped at the first covered rest stop and chatted about… things. We never thought we’d ever go up to the summit, but when a caucasian coupled passed us on their way up AND down, we got up and started climbing. Just a short climb from where we stopped was a picnic area. The area was built in a plateu, so it was mostly walking on flat ground and a couple of gradual steps. We passed Marc going down on the way up. He was going back to the lodge, after going up and taking photos from the summit. There wasn’t any shops selling cold drinks at the top, so it’s advisable to bring some bottled water when going up Mt. Tapyas.

Coron, Palawan - Ferdz's Cam 03
Whee! :D

 
After several rest stops, Gail and I finally reached the summit. Yay, my second mountain for the year! Who’d have thought? We made it just in time — the sun has set, the last rays of light setting off beautiful colors in the horizon. When it got dark, the cross on top of Mt. Tapyas lit up. Even with this shining beacon, majority of Coron is still uninhabited, so the stars can be clearly seen in the sky.

Cross at Mt. Tapyas
The Cross atop Mt. Tapyas

 
Leaving nothing behind but memories (heehee), we started our descent back into town. The path was lit by several lamp post, but there are areas when it gets really dark. It was lucky that I brought my flash light along. We made it all the way down without stopping, but by the time we reached the bottom, our legs has turned into jelly. Stopping for some cold drinks at the first sari-sari store we came upon, we waited for a tricycle to come along. We gingerly got in and within a minute, we were at the Krystal Lodge, where a sumptous dinner of fresh shrimp awaited. The shrimp was simply boiled, but it was the best shrimp we’ve ever tasted. Dinner was even better with great company and conversation, and after hours of talking about mangroves, coffee and rabid fanboys, we retired to our huts to get some much needed sleep. We’re island hopping tomorrow.

Popularity: 29% [?]

The thing about having other people plan for trips is that I end up not researching about the place. Sure, I’ve read about Coron in my Lonely Planet book, as well as Dive Guide in the Philippines, but other than that, I didn’t really do as much research as I did for my earlier trips. That said, I don’t have any idea what Coron would be like.

Can't get enough of the scenery
Can’t get enough of the scenery

 
I sat on an aisle seat on the flight to Busuanga, so I didn’t really see the terrain as the plane drew near the island. When we finally landed though, I was pleased to see plenty of green mountains all around me. The runway of the Francisco Reyes airport was surprisingly paved, and a bigger airport terminal was being constructed; a clear sign that there’s a huge influx of tourists lately, and that they’re obviously expecting the numbers to rise.

Mama sa jeep
Pang Friendster.

 
Inside the small airport, we were asked to fill out a form declaring our names, nationality and purpose of visit. It’s similar to filling out an embarkation card when you enter a country. There are no baggage carousels in this airport — you have to pick out your luggage from the contraption where they put in the luggage after unloading from the plane. Seair provides a jeep transport to the town. Oddly enough, the sign up top says “Club Paradise,” which is on the other side of Busuanga. Unless you have somebody picking you up, this jeep is your only ride into town. For Php150, it may seem pricey, but it’s a pretty long drive and gasoline is not cheap on the island. I asked our tricycle driver and as of last Sunday, June 8, he said gasoline is priced at Php63 per liter and rising by Php1 everyday.

Coron!
We’re in Coron!

 
Majority of the road from the YKR airport to Coron town is still unpaved. However, it wasn’t a bumpy ride. The roads are pretty flat, and is already primed for laying on concrete. In fact, the local government have already started on paving the road from the airport and into town, and you’ll see portions of concrete roads along the way. Though not bumpy, the is the dust that gets kicked up by passing vehicles on certain areas.

The rickety wooden bridge. And the mangrove. Hee.
The rickety wooden bridge. And the Mangrove. Hee.

 
The ride into town was actually quite pleasant. The jeep has huge windows so you can gape at the towering mountain ranges, and animals that roam free. Gail, Eric and I reveled that you can stick out your arm and camera and take photos, without any danger of it getting swiped or hit by a passing vehicle. The air felt so refreshing and to add to the wind streaming in through the windows, the driver of the jeep opened up the windshield.

Our neighbor
Our neighbors

 
The jeep’s last stop is at Seair’s office, but if they’re passing your resort, they can drop you off there. Knowing that we had reservations at Krystal Lodge, the jeep stopped at the path that leads to our accomodation. When I saw the small alley that marked the entrance, I began to wonder what kind of accomodation Ferdz booked for us. We walked through a narrow concrete alley, and when we stepped on the wooden walkway, I knew we were already on the water already.

Coron, Palawan - Day 3 18
View from our hut

 
The pathway turned into a rickety wooden bridge, made with several planks of wood, some more wobbly than others. Paranoid thoughts ran into overdrive. What if I trip while walking? What if I drop something and it slid through the gaps? And is that a person I see hiding in the mangrove? (heehee)

All these thoughts were pushed aside as we took in the view from our hut. We had a clear view of Coron island, and with this stunning mix of blues and greens, falling into the water (and monsters in the mangrove) is the furthest thing in my mind.

Popularity: 22% [?]

We were supposed to go to Basilan. Due to the volatile situation down south (it was really shocking to find out that Ces Drilon and her two cameramans were taken on the day we planned on going there), we decided to look for other places. Several places in Negros was suggested, even Dumaguete. I changed upon a packaged tour that looks mightly appealing (not to mention, cheap) to Puerto Princessa, and that’s how we settled on Palawan. Then Eric had an idea: why not take a Seair flight to Busuanga and visit Coron?

Dornier 328
Seair’s 32-seater Dornier 328

 
Things happened quite fast after that initial idea, and before we know it, we were holding on to a round trip ticket to Busuanga, thanks to Seair. Though as excited as I was about this trip, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant about the plane ride. It’s not that I don’t like Seair, but I have huge problems with ear pressure when flying, and the last time I flew with Seair, it was quite painful. But it seems it’s not the plane that’s the problem; it’s just my ears -_- I’m the only one in the group that felt this pain.

Coron, Palawan - Day 3 34
Seair’s 19-seater Let-410

 
Ear pressure aside, it was a pleasant flight. We took the 11:30 am flight to Busuanga, on Seair’s Dornier 328. Unlike the Let 410, which we rode before, the Dornier 328 is bigger, and can carry 32 passengers. The cabin is pressurized, the seats more comfortable, there’s a toilet on board, and the flight attendant actually stays on board for the flight.

This place actually has a flight attendant onboard
Inside the Dornier 328

 
Seair boasts of having the fastest flight to Boracay and Palawan. It’s true; our plane touched down just a few minutes past twelve. While airborne, time simply flies by. Those on window seats can look out the window and watch the terrain change as we fly over Luzon and Mindoro. Those on the aisle have Seair’s inflight magazine to pass the time. Snacks are also served on board, and Seair merchandise are available for sale. Traveling alone? You can request for a single seat. The Dornier 328 and Let 410 have a 1-2 seat configuration — no need to share space with strangers if you’re flying solo!

Coron, Palawan - Day 3 37
Bye, Busuanga!

 
The biggest novelty about flying with Seair is still the low altitude their planes fly. I remember when I first rode an airplane. I was so excited to see the city from above, but once we got to cruising altitude, all I could see were the fluffy clouds. And there’s only so much fluffy clouds I can take before I get really bored. It’s different with Seair. Because of the lower altitude, you have the most amazing view of the Philippines from above.

Coron, Palawan - Ferdz's Cam 02
Happy Independence Day!

 
Seair’s small aircraft can served airports with shorter runways and even unpaved ones. This means they can serve more destinations that other airlines can’t. Of course, this makes it convenient for those who wants to travel to far flung places, without having to spend several hours on the road or inside a ship. Considering my work schedule, flying with Seair is the perfect choice for flying to my favorite destinations.

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Popularity: 25% [?]

Nina Fuentes | Lovin' ManilaNina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.