CROSSING BORDERS

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL

It was an unplanned travel to the newest wonder of nature in the world, the Underground Cave in Palawan in sunny Philippines. The Lord knows how, after how many years, have I wished to see it for myself and appreciate nature at its finest, sans the traffic, the noise and the rowdy crowd of the urban zones, best of all I was alone.

From Manila, I took an evening flight to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan and before I could even set foot on the city, as the plane readies for its descent, I could see the islands scattered like stars in the open sea. A bit of worry set in when I was in the airport as it was already late and I do not have a place to stay, and I was alone. But the Tourism people manning the arrival area were very accommodaing and showed me options where I could get a low budget, safe and accessible bed and breakfast.

The next day started early as the the underground river was calling and I saw it for the first time, awed with all its spendor. What drives me most is how the local government consciously kept the wonder clean and environmentally safe. Bins were everywhere, reminders for people to be disciplines with their rubbish, the animals around were free and safe, an applause would be an understatement.

If only all countries could just keep their tourism potentials earth friendly, it would have been better as many countries have developed much and yet did not take into consideration the effects of their proud developments to Mother Earth.

I should travel more, learn more and finally, teach and share to people what could be done to preserve and conserve nature while enjoying the laudable deed.