Travel: Puerto Princesa
After a 5 hour journey from El Nido, we reached Puerto Princesa at around 6PM already (at last!). We were relieved when we got to our hotel for the night since we were already tired.
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| Canvas Boutique Hotel Pool |
Canvas is one of the newer hotels in the city and when I saw pictures and the reviews in Agoda, I was sold. Plus I wanted a little bit of luxury after sleeping in modest accommodations for the past few days in El Nido.
Good thing I already made a reservation via Agoda and the check-in process was easy. I asked if we can have a late check-out since our flight was still late in the afternoon and they agreed (yassssss).
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| Canvas Boutique Hotel at night |
Our room was situated on the 2nd floor near the balcony, which gives you a nice view of their big open lobby. I particularly like the artistic ceiling decorations, definitely an eye catcher.
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| View from the balcony |
I was surprised on how big the room was, seriously. Also, I liked that it was quircky chic, it did have touches that were definitely artsy, definitely lives up to their bouqtique asthetic.
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| Our room |
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| Our room |
We wanted to doze off already but we were still hungry which made us stand back up and head to Kinabuch. Kinabuch is a popular restaurant and bar in the city. There was a lot of people for a weekday and luckily we were able to get seats easily. Downside is that its right beside the parking area (I can almost touch the car parked beside since its an open air restaurant). I would have wanted to take pictures but with poor lighting and the fact that we already ate our food once it was served, hahaha.
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| Kinabuch Bar & Grill |
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| Good morning |
I was excited for the day and wanted to lounge all morning in the pool. Plus I also wanted to take as much pictures because we weren't able to do so last night.
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| View of the spacious lobby |
Set menu breakfast came with our reservation and it did not disappoint (well I ordered bacon so ofcourse it didn't disappoint!).
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| Breakfast of champions |
Their restaurant is called The Painted Table, I guess that is because of this long table with a mural painted on it.
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| Painted long table |
Just like the lobby, the restaurant was open and airy and the interiors very stylish.
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| The Painted Table |
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| I like the ornate chairs |
After breakfast, I wanted some R&R so I took out my spa essentials and just relaxed in my bed. Who needs a spa when you can DIY.
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| DIY Spa |
Ofcourse I can't lie in bed all day when we have a gorgeous pool outside. Best part was that it was empty so I can relax and have it to myself.
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| Poolside essentials |
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| Pool time at Canvas Boutique Hotel |
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| Pool time at Canvas Boutique Hotel |
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| Pool time at Canvas Boutique Hotel |
The pool area was very relaxing, the quiet atmosphere is just being broken by the chirping birds. We were so relaxed that we literally started to doze off or even dozed off for 5 - 15 minutes. We were just chilling by the pool until noon time (good thing we requested for a late check-out).
The hotel is eclectic chic (as I would call it), and before checking out, we needed to take as much pictures as we can for social media purposes. Every nook and cranny is IG worthy and good thing I packed extra clothes just for the occasion. :)
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| Poolside |
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| Hotel Entrance |
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| Canvas Boutique Hotel |
Early in the day, I got a notification that our flight that day was cancelled, but I was able to rebook it for the next day. I didn't really mind since its an opportunity for us to stay a day more in Puerto Princesa. The downside, we didn't budget for another night at Canvas (which is not cheap), so we transferred to JLC Hostel.
JLC Hostel is a family run business, and the reviews were right. Pleasant family running the place, its clean and good thing they had a room with its own bathroom. After settling in out stuff, we went out and explored the city - meaning we went to a mall to grab lunch and coffee, hahaha.
Like any other upcoming provincial city in the Philippines, its likely that they will have a Robinsons Mall (already open) and an SM (as of this writing, its already under construction).
The city can be navigated wither by jeepney or via tricycle and everything seems to be a short ride away.
After lunch, we went around the mall, got my mom a pearl necklace and bracelet, and looked for a place to have coffee. There's no Starbucks or Coffee Bean or Seattle's Coffee yet (as of this writing), which I thought was good because I want to try the local cafe's the city has to offer. And that's what we did, we tried Palawan Café which was nice coffee place at Robinsons Place.
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| Palawan Cafe |
The café seems very popular with the locals as there were a lot of people hanging out (on a weekday) and enjoying a cup with friends and family. I liked the cozy ambience, its not as noisy or crowded or as hectic like here in Manila.
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| Palawan Cafe |
After lounging ( and charging my phone, hahaha), we decided to catch the sunset at the city's Baywalk.
Baywalk seems like a popular place with the locals. You can see friends and family going their just sitting and chatting, you can also rent bikes and bike around the small park. There's a dragon boat team practicing and at night the streets are illuminated by rows of dampa (a place where you choose fresh meat, fish and veggies and tell them how to cook it) where you can have dinner.
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| Puerto Princesa Baywalk |
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| Beautiful sunset |
It was a cloudy day and from a distance you can see rain clouds coming in, regardless, we wre still treated to a beautiful sunset. It was already evening so we decided to grab dinner in one of the damps stalls there.
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| Dampa stalls by the baywalk |
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| Fresh seafood |
We got a set meal worth Php 300 (not bad) which has meat, fish, crab and shrimp. Ending, we were both full after the meal (and we had some to spare with a stray cat that was begging for food).
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| Grill time |
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| Time for dinner |
The next day, we woke up late since we didn't really have anything to do but go to the airport. It was a nice touch that the hostel provided pandesal (local bread) and coffee for free, very much appreciated. It was a nice lite breakfast together with nice conversation with the owner.
Before heading out to the airport, we asked if there was a nearby place we can grab lunch (because going to the mall will be out of the way already). Around the corner, there was Xiao Chi Canteen. At first we thought it was expensive because it was at Grande Visat hotel. However when we saw their tarpaulin with the prices, we were sold. Little did we know that we will taste on of the best dumplings in town (or probably ever).
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Definitely best Chinese food in the city
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The place may not look like it but they serve really good and authentic Chinese food. The menu is very simple, just a few items, but who needs a wide variety when the simple offerings were delicious. We were so hungry (since we only had bread and coffee for breakfast) so we didn't take pictures already. We had the chance to take a picture of the pancit canton, which was equally delicious, because it came later. We regretted not knowing the place soon (we could have eaten there for lunch and dinner yesterday), but we'll definitely come back when we go to Puerto Princesa again.
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| Pancit canton |
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| Relaxing after brunch |
Things I liked about the stay:
1. Canvas Boutique Hotel - definitely a chic option for a luxe stay in the city. Every part of the hotel is Instagram worthy.
2. JLC Hostel - for budget conscious travelers, this is a god base to explore the city.
3. Xiao Chi Canteen - best Chinese food in town, period.
We'll definitely be back in Palawan to explore Port Barton and San Vicente. You'll definitely read about it here!
Follow me on Instagram at @thisischristianjohn
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