I Turned 25 This Year

And this is where I spent my birthday.

Pandan Island, Palawan. Philippines

The overcast sky prevented the afternoon from being too hot. The whole time I was there, all I could think of was: "I'm really here! I'm really here!"

The day before, I ate some exotic food.

Tamilok is "shipworm" in English according to Wikipedia.

That's the tamilok on the right.

 We ate it raw and dipped in a mixture of vinegar, onion, garlic, and spices. It tasted like raw oysters without the fishy smell and taste. I actually really enjoyed it.

Although I do have a picture of myself eating it, I won't post it here. It is on my personal Facebook page though.

The morning before that I spent with my mom and one of my closest ate's touring the Underground River.

This is just on the way in. I didn't take any pictures of the inside of the cave. It felt wrong, somehow.

One down, six more of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World to go.

Our tour guide told us that the tours to the Underground River were canceled for several days before we got there because of the bad weather. The tours had just resumed the day before ours was scheduled to take place.

Overall, our vacation was well timed. God blessed us with fine weather all the time we were in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It only actually started to turn during take-off on our way back to Manila.

I know, I know. They tell you to turn off all gadgets during take-off. This was taken after. All right?

Thank God for delicious food, good weather, and great company. If there was one thing that would have made it better, it would be having my best friends there.

We didn't actually stay at this hotel. And I think we made the right choice.