While everyone was enjoying their dates, chocolates and bouquet of flowers last Valentine's day,  Radney and I were re-discovering a very important part of our Philippine history. We've visited Corregidor Island, also known as "The Rock" and sometimes referred to as the country's "Fortress of Freedom". It played an important role during World War II, being the military base of American and Filipino soldiers before and during Japanese invasion. In the Lorcha Dock was where Gen.Douglas MacArthur had escaped for Australia and in one of his speeches said the famous line, 'I Shall Return' to Filipinos. I've also read that relative to the island's size, is the most bombed place on Earth. The fortifications built by the Americans on the island before the war, surprisingly are still there and well-preserved for historic purpose and as tourist destination. By riding a tranvia, we've reached the batteries (Battery Way and Battery Geary), the bomb craters, ruined barracks and hospitals, tunnels, and bomb-proof shelters that were left after the war. The adventure part of the tour was the lateral tunnel night tour, inside the Malinta Tunnel. With our hard hats and flashlights on, by passing through the air passages we've learned how the main tunnel and around 60 lateral tunnels are interconnected. The whole Corregidor tour, aside from being so educational, proves that you can go for an amazing vacation without spending too much on plane tickets and accomodation. Some of the historic monuments found here are the Pacific War Memorial, Malinta Tunnel, Filipino Heroes Memorial, Japanese Garden of Peace and the Corregidor Lighthouse. By the way, I thought that Corregidor is part of Bataan province, I just knew that although close to Bataan peninsula, it is actually under the territorial jurisdiction of Cavite. Located only at the entrance of Manila Bay, it is a 2-hour ferry ride from Manila via Sun Cruises.

           Yiheeee.. Who aren't fearful about the idea of entering a horror house or a zombie apocalypse? Well, I haven't been inside a horror house ever since and the idea of zombies? I just remembered the movie "Warm Bodies" where a zombie became mortal when he fell in love with a girl after eating her boyfriend's brain. However, all the fear can turn into fun here in Manila since the new horror theme park, 'Scream Park' opened last December. It is located near World Trade Center and will be open to terrify Filipinos, even foreign visitors, only until the end of March 2014. There are three attractions as of now, first is the Vigan-inspired street with a lot of zombies wearing Filipinia costumes. The main attraction is the horror house maze that will last around 15-20 minutes. Even though you're tough, I'm sure this maze will make you scream and shout, so better prepare your heart. Then, the last maze is outdoors which is the cemetery maze. Also a reminder that no taking of picture is allowed in the three mazes. By the way, all the zombies are good performers as well and they'll do a dance number for all the visitors inside the bar.

          The Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour was not originally part of our itinerary, however, on our last day in Palawan, when we still have some hours to spare, we've decided to give this a try. Surprisingly, this became one of my favorite tours. It was like boating in the brackish waters of the Amazon River. The boatman/tour guide was sharing facts about the mangrove forest and how mangroves (locally known as 'bakawan')  maintain the balance in our ecosystem. I have seen a lot of mangroves before but not as tall and abundant as what can be seen here in Palawan. It was nice to know that the main role of the mangroves is to protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surges and even tsunamis. They have very strong roots compared to other plants/trees. 'Tamilok', the wood worm that can be found inside the trunk of old mangroves is an exotic delicacy in the province and is eaten raw by local and foreign tourists.