By Fung Yu
Contributor

Author’s Note: This article uses Adobe Flash in providing an immersive experience by means of virtual reality technology. Flash 9.0 and above is required to view the 360-degree VRs. Average VR size is 2.5Mb each. Yellow ‘hotspots’ are clickable.

AFTER hearing so much about Coron from friends who have gone there and always wanting to go but without presence of opportunity, it was only last May that I finally set foot on Palawan, often called the Philippines’ last frontier.

The Palawan group of islands, voted by Conde Nast Traveler magazine for its beaches, coves, and islets as the tourist destination with the best beaches in Asia; rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007; and underwater explorer Jacques Costeau, inventor of the modern scuba, has described the province as having one of the most beautiful seascapes in the world.

Our overnight trip onboard the Superferry was a pleasant one. We departed the port of Manila around 5 p.m. and docked at the port of Coron almost 6 a.m. the next day. As the end of May is almost into the rainy season, nonetheless the weather was still hot with occasional light rain showers in the late afternoon and evening.

After a hearty breakfast and a change of clothes at our place of lodging, our group proceeded to the itinerary of the day — a tour of some of Coron’s major attractions.

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By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THERE are lots of places to eat in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. In fact, almost every corner of the semi-rural atmosphere has one food stall or restaurant ranging from the familiar fastfood joints to the small local restaurants and the occasional coffee shops and bars. But if there is one place in Puerto Princesa that is worth every penny to go to, it’s KaLui.

Ask every tricycle driver in Puerto Princesa to take you to KaLui and they’ll gladly give you a little history of the famed restaurant. As it is, KaLui is already 20 years old and is one of the city’s oldest icons. It is only matched by another famed bistro, the Badjao Seafront.

However, KaLui is more accessible, located along Rizal Avenue, which is a major thoroughfare traversing the entire length of the city. Many tricycles and jeeps go through here. Drivers will willingly drop you off close to the KaLui with a simple request.

KaLui itself does not look striking at all; there are no large parking lots for cars and the walls are actually made up of wooden fences. The entrance, with a hanging signage of KaLui, is also made of light wooden panels. The restaurant looks like a large Bahay Kubo (thatched house) with extended roofed terrace where diners will be sitting. Upon entering the small “lobby,” guests are requested to remove their shoes, socks and sandals; as everyone eats barefoot.
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By Joey Alarilla
INQUIRER.net

INQUIRER.NET reporter Lawrence Casiraya interviewed El Nido Resorts chef Rey de la Cruz and sampled the exotic delicacy known as tamilok.

While it looks like a worm, the tamilok is actually a mollusk that burrows inside the trees in Palawan’s mangrove areas. It’s supposed to be an aphrodisiac, hehe

Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Alex Villafania at Miniloc island on Nov. 17.

For more videos from our Palawan adventure, check out my earlier post. And go to iVDO on Yahoo! for more videos from INQUIRER.net and our partners.

By Joey Alarilla
INQUIRER.net

UPDATE: Added a video.

WE went to Miniloc island in El Nido Resorts, Palawan last week to cover the annual Synergy information and communications technology forum jointly organized by Intel Philippines and Hewlett-Packard Philippines. This year’s Synergy was special because this was its 10th anniversary.

Of course, since we were in paradise, we not only covered the ICT forum itself but also shot videos for iVDO on Yahoo! and Tales for the Nomad, as well as producing content for different sites under INQUIRER.net. We wanted to show multimedia journalism in action, meaning the coverage provided by the INQUIRER.net team that attended (we’re informally known as the INQuboys, heh) not only included breaking news and Infotech articles, but also blog posts, podcast interviews and video. Because that’s how we are over at INQUIRER.net — we work hard and play hard, and we have fun while doing our jobs well.

Here’s an underwater video that INQUIRER.net reporter Lawrence Casiraya took with the waterproof Olympus mju 790SW digital camera that Axis Global lent us as a demo unit. We’re evaluating different digital cameras for our Editorial team, and this baby has really caught our attention.

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By Alex Vergara
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Of all the exotic locales Denis Brogniart and his collaborators have shot in, the host of the top-rated French reality TV show “Koh Lanta,” a Survivor-like hit show, cited Palawan and New Caledonia as “two of the best.”

Brogniart went on to heap praises on Palawan, particularly El Nido resort, where he stayed, as the most beautiful location they’ve come across in seven years.

“It’s incredible to see a place like this where you can be totally lost,” he said. “It has everything, from lush forest to transparent waters full of fish and corals of various shapes and colors.”

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By Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines–Tour operators here are offering a splashy treat in time for the holiday season–a close encounter with wild, frolicking dolphins in the open sea.

Expecting a sharp increase in tourist arrivals toward Christmas the city is turning to the playful creatures to add more fun to its already rich fare of ecotourism attractions.

Mayor Edward Hagedorn, who on Wednesday led the launching of the new tours, was joined by over a hundred guests on an outrigger boat in the waters off Puerto Princesa. Over a hundred bottle-nosed dolphins made sure they would not be disappointed, bobbing in and out of the water.

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