"You don't need to die to reach heaven. Like me, I jumped to the 67th heaven without becoming immortal."

[PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES]► In terms of tourism, Palawan is undoubtedly one of the front runners in the Philippines. Resorts and hotels are sprouting everywhere. They are present in all directions from north, south, east to west. Unlike other places wherein resorts and hotels are concentrated in one area, Puerto Princesa's vast land has many resorts to choose from. I'm honored to have been invited to experience 67th Heaven Holiday Resort—one of the resorts located in Puerto Princesa city's quiet northeast cost. Travel blogger mode switched on.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO PUERTO PRINCESA!

Tired from our 3-day adventures and tours (jam-packed enough to give me dark skin and aching muscles), I and one of my travel buddies Kira were asked if we could extend our stay in Palawan. While my other travel buddy Edgar had the luxury of time to extend and travel all he wanted (yo' rock man!), me and Kira had to book another flight and ditch our flight the next day. In my case, there's no way I can refund that booked flight I ditched and it was like buying clothes that you never used—it felt so painful and I was painfully pained! How come I'm bitching like this?! Uh! My Ilocano trait of being kuripot (non-spender [but I say this is being a wise-spender]) suddenly ejected from my body and soul without the permission of the goddesses.

Plot twist: Actually, it was between "spend some more bucks VS drool and die in envy (while seeing my two travel friends posting #wanderlust and #travelwhore pic hashtags on FB and instagram). I thought it would be more painful to bid goodbye and go back to my regular job. So without too much ado and hullabaloo, I would extend my Palawan dream stay. Booked! + 3 days of being absent from work. What a good employee am I! Yeah, I'm a prodigal son when my physiological operating system is on a vacation mode. Besides, I've always believed that no money can buy everlasting memories and priceless experiences. Broke but happy!

Stories on the Road

As this amazing couple Heather and Third drove us to the northeast coast of Puerto Princesa city—the roadside vista showed me facepalm how huge the area of this city in the forest is—I can't help but put my index finger on my mastoid while my thumb held my chin ala Duterte and be like stoned with the high-inducing beauty of the Palawan countryside. Endorphin gushed and it's a natural high after all. I wanted more.

The trip was like endless. After 30 minutes I asked, "Where are we?"

"Still in Puerto Princesa."

Me to myself be like, 'What? Thirty minutes in my homeland is already a span of 7-10 densely populated towns depending on your velocity. First-timer conclusion be like: Ok, Puerto Princesa is mamooth—a giant fairy tale-like setting with snakes, monitor lizards and exotic wildlife on the way!

Speaking of wildlife, I literally saw monitor lizards on roadsides or a snake with the balls to cross the road. Not only snakes but sometimes these monitor lizards also dared to cross the road. What a brave soul!

67th Heaven on Earth

This is it. We've reached this resort called 67th Heaven Holiday Resort. Instead of St Peter and his crowing cock, cute dogs with different breeds welcomed us with barks. Maybe they're barking as a way to welcome us. The dogs were harmless though when we were there.

Anyway, we were first ushered to our rooms so that we can unload our travel stuff. Care to know how our room looked like?

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► OUR CONFIDENTLY BEAUTIFUL ROOM WITH A HEART.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► KEEP AWAY YOU DARN MOSQUITOES!

I love the white net idea. It was evocative of a wedding. Not really, but it reminds me of a wedding everytime. I don't know.

The room where I stayed was air-conditioned. It has two beds and each bed is good for two. So basically, this room is ideally good for four individuals.

The resort consists of a set of cottages where you can rest privately, a restaurant, an open elevated cottage for small groups and an open cottage for big groups and some other smaller huts. All of the semi-permanent and permanent structures inside the resort have identical designs.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► THIS IS THE RESORT'S RESTAURANT.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► FOR SMALL GROUP GATHERINGS

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► HAMMOCK AND PALMS

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► HEATHER'S BIG SMILE FROM AFAR

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► THIS IS A NICE WOODWORK.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► AAAAAAHHHHH! I'M ABSENT FROM WORK WHILE DOING THIS.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► PALM TREE, WHY SO TALL?

The resort premise is adorned with beautifully blooming flowers, tropical trees that host birds, some ferns and palms.

The Food

Stay here for their curry! It's the best curry I've ever tried all my life. As we reboot ourselves for our next vacation genre (because previously, all were physically demanding adventures in the scale of moderate to semi-hardcore: insert walking, trekking, snorkeling, ziplining, flirting to death [with Palawan wildlife], etc), I made my self sink into the thought bin of reality that I'm absent from work without prior notice and that I'm enjoying another vacation genre—resort hopping. Who would like to go back to work if this is the temptation? First stop: 67th Heaven Holiday Resort.

Back to the food, I would say this is their forte. Their servings are usually good for 4-5 people of regular appetite in hungry mode.

Below are photos of some of the food they served to us. I don't know the name of these dishes because I even forgot my name when I tried their curry. Kidding!

They cooked the best food for us for two days. Great thing my metabolism is fast (the healthy way) so gaining weight and fats is not an issue for me. I eat all I want without evidence after.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► CURRY, THEIR FLAGSHIP DISH!

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► 67TH HEAVEN HOLIDAY RESORT FOOD SESSION

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: HEATHER, THIRD, KIRA, TITA LYDIA VARALA, ME AND EDGAR

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► 67TH HEAVEN HOLIDAY RESORT FOOD SESSION

If I went back home this day, there will be no food sessions like this. I think I am still the winner after all.

Concepcion Beach

67th Heaven Holiday Resort is located on the coastal area of Brgy Concepcion. The beach here is called Concepcion Beach. At sunset, we enjoyed its waters. At sunrise, we enjoyed snoring. Haha.

It was a different setting. The beach was crowd-less. I didn't mind flaunting more skin because there are no other tourists when we were there. There were no strangers and watchers. I was confident to flaunt my hot yummy body to nature—the silent witness. Haha! Concepcion beach faces the Honda Bay.

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► HELLO CONCEPCION BEACH!

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► SUNRISE IN CONCEPCION BEACH

67th Heaven Holiday Resort somehow helped me reach heaven while on earth. Its heavenly curry dish and its heavenly beach sunrise were heaven for me. You don't need to die to reach heaven. Like me, I jumped to the 67th heaven without becoming immortal. | end |

11 NOVEMBER 2015: 67TH HEAVEN HOLIDAY RESORT
Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

[PUERTO PRINCESA] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO 67TH HEAVEN HOLIDAY RESORT!

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] This post is filed under the category "Resorts and Accommodations." This is a category here on my blog where I write my experiences, note down my insights and post photo essays about resorts and accommodations I've personally visited and tried then I weave them into stories. There is a section below where you can see other related posts from this category.

[2] The maps I used below as well as those appeared on tooltips are the works of Eugene Alvin Villar and Mike Gonzalez published on Wikipedia. Source: 1 | 2

[3] All photos are mine.

[4] The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you experience or see 67th Heaven Holiday Resort. Names of places and properties may also change by time.

[5] I would also like to thank the following friends in Palawan who made this stay possible. / Heather Tejada / Arles Orias / Rix Rafols / Mr and Mrs Varala (owners) / Ms Bambie (owner) / - This resort is located at KM 67 of the National Highway in Concepcion, Puerto Princesa. Take any north-bound bus from the city center and ask them to drop you at 67th Heaven Holiday Resort at KM 67, Concepcion, Puerto Princesa City.