Province of Palawan Warnings Or Dangers Tips by joiwatani

Dress up conservatively when visiting the prison

Okay, so we went to the prison in Palawan because we heard that the prisoners there are selling some of their handmade baskets, purses, belts, etc. We heard this from another traveller that we met at St. Joseph Inn. (Remember this happened 20 years ago).

I was travelling with Uta, a German girl, at that time. Uta and I planned to go to the prison in Palawan and to my scare, everybody were out to their cells, most of the prisoners were yelling and screaming at us. Either they were whistling loud or screaming boisterous Filipino words. Uta didn't understand what they were saying but I did!

Uta, by the way, was travelling with me in her shorts and sleeveless shirt. She wasn't wearing any bra at all. And, she was endowed on that area!

So, when we passed by the prisoners who have not seen women in many years, they screamed in unison at us!

Make sure to dress up conservatively when you go shop at the prison in Palawan...

Make sure to keep your backpacks and shoes

If you are reading this, I just have to let you know that my tip might probably not be applicable by now as time flew by really fast. I was in Palawan in 1989, which means that it has been twenty years ago! There might probably development or destruction of the forest already.

Twenty years ago, very few tourists go to the island. There were only two hotels in Palawan then. And there were few boats that leads to Sabang. Sometimes, the wait before was a week and if you didnt' schedule your boat ride, you might get stranded for a long time. Also, the wait for the transportation took hours and hours of wait at the bus station.

But, anyway, if it has changed, which probably did, this was my experience before...

Be careful with the monkeys. There were many groups of monkeys then while we were travelling in the underground river. Once we got to the park ranger's site, two groups of monkeys came in and they were mischievous. Some of our companions lost their pair of shoes because some of the monkeys took them and they climbed fast to the trees with their loot!

So, when there are still monkeys there, make sure to keep your valuable items with you and safely kept because these monkeys learned looting from their ancestors. They were sometimes obnoxious, too...

Beware of Measles

If you didn't have measle vaccinations yet, make sure to get immunized first before you travel to Palawan. If living in the United States, you should go to your local public health or to your travel immunization clinic.

Beware of Malaria

Three weeks before my scheduled trip to Palawan, I took some anti-malaria medicine. Make sure that you go to your travel clinic and get the necessary vaccinations, too.

Here are some information about malaria:

In the United States, please call the CDC Malaria Hotline: 770-488-7788 (M-F, 8am-4:30pm, eastern time). Emergency consultation after hours, call: 770-488-7100 and request to speak with a CDC Malaria Branch clinician.

All other countries, make sure to go to your own doctor or clinic.