One of my dream destinations ever is Palawan. In fact, it was one of our choices for our honeymoon when Junfer and I were still planning for our wedding and it is a part of my 100 things to do/visit before turning 35 Faith didn’t allow us to visit this beautiful paradise until last Thursday, 15th of May 2008. Junfer and I together with our friends Dennis and Hyen towed our bags across the Centennial Airport bright and early in the morning with our eyes still puffy from the previous night’s lack of sleep due to the anticipation and excitement for that day. We boarded the Philippine Airline flight bound for Puerto Princesa and we took off at approximately 9:30 am and we arrived at 10:30 in the morning. From the Puerto Princesa Airport, the resort where we booked our 3 days/2 nights stay, Dos Palmas, has arranged for a 30-minute bus ride to take us to the port where we took an hour boat ride to the Island. It was quite a rough boat ride since the weather was not so good (which will turn out to be an understatement).
Upon arrival at the resort our boat was met by a jovial group riding kayaks and throwing flowers at us, it was lovely, although the strong winds diminished the effects of such attempt. Anyway the resort still receives my thumbs up for their effort. There was also a group of musicians playing a native drum and kulintang that welcomed us as we stepped foot on the resort. As we walked further, another group welcomed us with a refreshing drink and gifted us with native necklaces that were all so pretty as well.
We decided drop off our bags inside our beach cottage before having our lunch. The beach cottages were quite impressive, spacious, well lit and functional and I really liked the simplicity and elegance of the room. The view of the beach right in front of the terrace and the peaceful sound of the waves only add to the room’s charm. Only thing that I would have wanted to be added in the room is a television (I will elaborate later).
After examining our rooms and securing our luggage, we headed off to the restaurant and feasted on the buffet lunch that were all so sumptuous which we later on discovered would be true for all the meals that we had on our 3 day-stay. Dos Palmas offers a wide variety of food that can satisfy every craving. Not once in our stay did we taste the same kind of viand from their buffet. What I particularly liked about their set up was the on the spot cooking for pasta, crepes, calamari, ebi tempura and others. Each of these foods was sizzling hot when we take them to our own table.
When we had our stomach full, we changed to our swimming gears and went to Dos Palmas’ Marina Center where we asked their crew to assist us on our attempt to snorkel. They were very helpful and provided us with the proper gears, arranged for a speedboat to take us to the snorkel site and even took pictures of us as we float around the clear blue water. Dos Palmas’ offers one of the best services I have ever experienced in any resort or hotel that I have stayed at. I even remember Hyen saying, “The crew here are so motivated, they’re always wearing a smile and are so enthusiastic to help us, maybe the management compensates them well”.
I don’t know about compensation but I sure do agree with Hyen. The staff and crew in Dos Palmas are very helpful and offer a service over and above one’s expectations, mine’s at least.
Unfortunately, our dream escape turned into a dull vacation thanks to the crappy weather that persisted the entire time that we were there. We were able to snorkel on the first day but only for a very short while because it started to rain so hard and the wind blew so strong that the waves came crashing at us. We made attempts to kayak the following day but we had to abruptly end our sorry attempt again because of the strong winds. We also tried to arrange for tours on the under ground cave or other famous islands that can be found in Palawan but we were discouraged by staff in the resort owing again to the bad weather. We had to make the most with the activities offered within the resort like billiards, a single videoke room, infinity pool, film showing, spa and table tennis (which I have only learned to play during this stay in Dos Palmas, thanks to my patient honey and friends). Since May is supposed to be a peak season, there were quite a few guests in the resort as well. We all had to share in the limited indoor activities that were available thus, there were times when we ended up with nothing to do but wait for our turn to use a facility and not having a television in your room doesn’t help.
I also realized that even if we had a good weather, some activities are only done during the day thus limited activities are available at night. Well I guess this place is not for the head banging, party people, this place is suitable for those who wants to get away from the hustles and bustles of city life.
Our first visit in Palawan was quite a disappointment for us, I have always pictured myself seeing the many scenic spots is this paradise. Before we left Junfer was asking me if I’d give Palawan another try. I definitely will, I would also like to stay at Dos Palmas again, I’ll just pray hard that the next time, we’ll be blessed with a better weather.
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