If you happen to be in Puerto Princesa then don't miss the Vietnamese Village. Located at Sta. Lourdes, the place has been home to over a thousand Vietnamese refugees who have sought asylum during the Vietnam war in the '70s.
We passed by this village while on our way to Sabang for the underground river tour. Although not part of the itinerary, we were able to convinced the tour guide to drop us off here after the Ugong Rock Cave Adventure.
My companions in this group tour mainly wanted to drop by here to taste the Vietnamese food. While I'd also thought of trying authentic Vietnamese delicacy, I still couldn't get over the experience that I had at Bona's (spicy chaolong + garlic bread which made me quite dizzy after the meal). So while they're chilling out in this Viet Ville restaurant, I went around the village in the hope of finding some interesting spots.
The village has turned out to be some sort of a 'ghost town' as the original settlers here have migrated to the US where they have been granted free entry. Some of them went back to Vietnam while there are also those who have found home somewhere else in Palawan.
The place is a fusion of the settlers' native and adopted culture. I found this adoration hall a few meters away from the restaurant. The caretaker noticed me when I went inside and encouraged me to light an incense stick (which I did).
What to do in Vietnamese Village:
*Taste authentic Vietnamese dishes
*Study the lives of the Vietnamese refugees (there's this bulletin board where you can read some interesting news clips)
*Enjoy the quaint atmosphere
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