Puerto Princesa

At 210,670 hectares, Puerto Princesa is the second largest city in the Philippines after Davao, in terms of area. Even rural Sabang and the St. Paul Subterraneal National Park, 50 km north of the city centre, belong administratively to the city. It is a relativlely new city with about 70,000 inhabitans in the urban area itself and total population of around 150, 000. Although new constructions are going up all the time, you can still find beautiful buildings there in the traditional style, the main ones being the cathedral and the Provincial Capitol. At the waterfront there are fishermen's hunts built right up to and into the water.

The city is remarkable for its cleanliness, something the Mayor Edwin Hagedorn is deservedly praised for. He managed to enthuse the locals with the idea of keeping their city clean. Refuse disposal and street cleaning both function immaculately, and many tricycles even have an ashray with them (throwing away cigarette butts on the street incurs a fine of P200). The latest distinctions garnered by Puerto Princesa are the 1993 Eath Day Award and the 1994 Macliing Dulag Environment Award.

The scene on the wharf at sunset is very fun. Puerto Princesa Bay also has some interesting places for diving. For about P600 you can hire an outrigger for a few hours and sail, swim, dive and fish in the bay. Nasin-Aw white beach is on the southern edge of town; admission P5. Watch out for sea urchins when you're swimming. It's best to wear shoes for protection. You can get to the Nasin-Aw White Beach by tricycle.