Category: Philippines

If you’ve been to Boracay a couple of times, you’ll notice several masseuses offering their services in the open area of the beach.  I’ve tried those during my previous visits.

During my weekend Boracay getaway two weeks ago, I was lucky enough that part of our itinerary was to try out the famous Mandarin Spa in Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel.  I knew then that, this time around, I’d be super pampered.  Since I was not feeling well and I still pushed through with the trip, I knew that it might help ease my condition.

I was excited to try out one of Mandarin Spa’s signature treatments.  I was torn between choosing these three as I knew they were the most popular ones in Mandarin Spa:

• Traditional Filipino Massage “Hilot” (Php 1,800++)

• Mandarin Aroma Hot Stone Therapy (Php 2,500++)

• Mango Butter Body Scrub (Php 2,000++)

Once you’ve chosen your spa treatment, you’ll be asked to choose your massage oil: Ylang-Ylang, Rose, Lemongrass or Chamomile.  I was still undecided so the staff escorted me inside giving me more time to make up my mind 😛

I was escorted into a room where lockers are available for guests to put their things.  There’s also the sauna and shower for guests to freshen up before the treatment.  It was there that I felt I was just not up for a massage.  I really wasn’t feeling well.  That made me very sad as Mandarin Spa had good ambiance, excellent service and I knew that each guest will get their money’s worth considering the therapists received full training in the art of spa treatments.

Unfortunately, I was really, really sick and I looked so weak that the friendly Mandarin Spa staff recommended that I get a Mandarin Tropical Fruit Facial (Php 1,500++) instead.  I knew it was the right thing to do.

We went upstairs where they did the facial treatments…

I was greeted with an area equipped with leather loungers, soothing music and most of all, an AWESOME view of Boracay!  How cool was that?  It’s funny though that since I was gonna have a facial, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the view while the treatment was ongoing.  This is also the same area where foot spas are being done.

Mandarin Tropical Fruit Facial (Php 1,500++)

Indulge the luxury and rich freshness of our very own unique signature facial treatment as it uses nature’s gentle properties to work in the delicate area of your face, through gentle and careful stroke, it cleanses and nourishes your skin and helps rejuvenate your face and regain its radiant and youthful glow.  You will definitely enjoy the favors of your choice.  1 hour.

I might not get the whole body massage I was hoping for but I was sure I’d be getting my much-needed pampering for my face.  The therapist’s hands were so gentle, I enjoyed the facial..

I let Mandarin Spa do their work and I let myself go and slept….

The Mandarin Spa therapist also massaged my hands at the end of the session.  After they took the facial off, I felt very refreshed.  I went into the treatment feeling awful, since I was sick, remember?  But at the end of it, with my face feeling so clean and pure, I felt much improved.  Can you imagine how much better I would have felt if I’d gotten the full massage?

Every Mandarin Spa session in Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel ends with a cup of Salabat (ginger tea).  Boy, was the tea delicious!  Imagine me asking for it with every meal throughout the rest of our Boracay weekend.

A visit to the beach (especially Boracay) won’t be complete without a soothing massage.  In the beautiful paradise, Boracay, Mandarin Spa is definitely one of the best places to get your spa fix.  Wellness, relaxation, peace and pleasure, those 4 are something you’ll surely expect.  While I wasn’t completely well when I tried it out, I was certainly impressed.

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Mandarin Spa
Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel, Beach Front Station 2, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines
+63 (36) 288-4999
spa@boracaymandarin.com
http://www.boracaymandarin.com/spa.php

My first trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan was great!  I had such a great time!  I would like to thank AirPhil Express for this opportunity.  I hope I was able to finish all of my posts earlier but here I am, finally completing my long list of Puerta Princesa posts.

I lost my Huawei Wireless Modem E585 in this trip but I decided to just let it go.  The awesome experience just doesn’t compare to a single gadget.  I must say that I’m truly enjoying exploring the Philippines.  Our country is really beautiful!  There are so many places to go to.

If you are planning on a Puerto Princesa trip, allow me to share with you our whole itinerary.  This might help you 🙂  Enjoy Puerto Princesa!

AirPhil Express Puerto Princesa Adventours

Marianne Home Inn

Food at Marianne Home Inn

Honda Bay Island Hopping

Buffet Lunch at Honda Bay

Iwahig Firefly Watching

Viet Ville

Buenavista Viewdeck

Underground River

Taraw Vista Lodge & Restaurant

Thanh-Tam Chaolong Haus

Puerto Princesa Baywalk

Plaza Cuartel

Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral

Tiangge Tiangge Pasalubong and Souvenir Center

Mitra’s Ranch

Baker’s Hill

Binuatan Creations

The last place we went to in Puerto Princesa, Palawan before going back to Manila is Binuatan Creations.  Binuatan Creations is a well-known handicraft shop that manufactures handloom woven products utilizing Palawan’s indigenous fibers.

The goal of the company is to transform field grasses and fibers that can be found in Palawan into useful and functional products.

Seeing the people in action makes me really appreciate what they are doing.  As expected, Binuatan Creations is very successful that they get their products exported to other countries like the U.S.A.

Weaving Area

Visitors of Binuatan Creations can observe and even experience how the products were made.  The personnel were more than kind to answer all our questions.  They shared with us the process and showed us what the raw materials were.

The grasses and fibers that are being used in creating the beautiful hand loom woven products are the ff.: field grasses, amumuting, buri (palm tree), buntal fibers, buri sticks, coconut ginit, tikog grass, vetiver grass, arena grass, banana, daninel grass, florida grass and isay grass.

The process in making the products:

1. grasses being dyed into desired color.
2. drying.
3. dyed buntal fibers.
4. warping of threads to be used for weaving.
5. harvesting of threads from warping frame.
6. setting in of threads into the looms.
7. drawing of threads through heddle wires and reeds.
8. weaving.
9. finishing and cutting of woven materials.
10. packaging.

Judging from the list of tasks to be done.  It seems that each product are made at least 2-3 days.    I came out of Binuatan Creations so appreciative of the products that are being manufactured there.

The Shop

Then, we went inside the shop where the products are being sold.  There are so many products on display.  Every item is so nice to look at.  The prices might be on the expensive side but how it was created and the long process explained why it is so.  The hand loom woven products are surely made of high quality too.  We saw how it was made ourselves.

Every item you buy in this shop is truly world-class.  You get your money’s worth.

Binuatan Creations Handloom Weaving products include: placemats, table runners, wall finishing & window blinds, key chains, bags, handy bags, notepads, wallets, coin purse, hats, curtains, split curtain, arranged grass flowers and slippers.

What a nice way to end my trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  It surely leaves me with so much good memories.

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Binuatan Creations Handloom Weaving
Pajara, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
(048) 433-7630

I initially thought that Baker’s Hill is just a popular place in Puerto Princesa City that sells baked goods.  I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Baker’s Hill Palawan and discovered how much more the place has to offer.

Baker’s Hill Palawan as the name implies is a place on top of a hill where bakers cook delicious baked products for visitors.  It’s a theme park that reminds me of Disneyland.  As I walk through the area, I felt like a kid again!  I had to take pictures with bugs bunny, donald duck, marilyn monroe and other tons of statues all over Baker’s Hill.  Kids and adults-alike would love this beautiful park!

As I continued to stroll around, I saw the beautiful themed houses.  I remember Disneyland has those kinds of stuff too so it really brought back a lot of memories.

Look at this house (picture below), there was a pirate hanging around!  Aha!  Shall we run now?  😛

Baker’s Hill Palawan sells delicious home-made breads and baked goodies.  The most popular item on sale is the hopia.  A lot of tourists go all the way to Baker’s Hill just to buy a box or two of Baker’s Hill Hopia.

There are different flavors of hopia on sale.  There’s hopiang mongo, hopiang ube, hopiang pineapple, hopiang hapon and original flavored hopia.  Yes, people don’t buy Baker’s Hill hopia by piece, they buy by box.

Look at the number of boxes my travel companions bought!

I love their counter!  See the voluptuous sexy woman manning the cashiers.  Sooooo cute!

Other food items that are pretty popular among visitors are mamon, crinkles, brownies, choco slice, choco droplets, tostadong mammon and pianono.  The food are so inexpensive and to think they are so yummy!  Buying baked goodies is a must!  You can’t leave Baker’s Hill Palawan without doing so.

Aside from the bakery, there were food stalls that sells stuff like specialty drinks and souvenir items.

If you want a full meal, Baker’s Hill has restaurants inside.  I’m sure guests will still drop by the bakery before they leave the park to buy some hopia.

Baker’s Hill Palawan is huge!  While my friends were busy buying stuff at the bakery, I took the time to finish touring the theme park.  There’s just so much to see and so much to appreciate.

I especially love the awesome landscaping of plants and flowers.  You can even buy some as they have an area full of plants you can purchase and bring home.

A playground is made for kids to play around while they await for their parents to buy baked goodies.  Of course, the disney characters are there to keep the kids company.

For animal-lovers out there, Baker’s Hill do have some animals under their care.  I saw peacocks and birds.

Baker’s Hill Palawan is very near Mitra’s Ranch.  It’s on the way to a lot of Puerto Princesa’s tourist spots so this has always been part of everyone’s itinerary when touring the city.

Admission is free, by the way 🙂

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Baker’s Hill Palawan
Baker’s Hill Mitra Road Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines
(048)433-3414

Rancho Sta. Monica, popularly known as Mitra’s Ranch is one of the popular tourist spots in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.  This was one of the destinations in our Puerto Princesa City tour.

The big ranch is owned by the family of late house speaker Ramon Mitra & son, Baham Mitra.  I feel it’s a bit generous of the Mitra family to open their personal property to the public.  Entrance fee is free!  We are free to hang out and roam around the place but the house is off-limits.

Mitra’s Ranch is open daily from 6am to 6pm.  Once you see this signage (picture below), you would already know that you’re entering the beautiful ranch.

There are tons of activity you can do in Mitra’s Ranch.  You can do hiking, horseback riding, zip lining and sight-seeing.

There are tables and chairs available for you to have picnic at the garden.  We were there for a few minutes so we toured around and took some pictures.

On March 2011, Mitra’s Ranch started its Palawan Rancho Zipline Adventure.  For only Php500 per person, you can enjoy not just one zipline but three!  Rancho Sta. Monica’s Zipline is composed of 3 zip lines where you can transfer from one zipline to another on tree tops.  First zip line is 300 meters long while the 2nd and 3rd zip lines are 150 meters long each.  After riding the 3 zip lines, you will then do a short hike to go back to the jump-off area.

The triangular-shaped mansion is built on a hill thus providing such a great view of Palawan.  While we enjoy the beauty of Mitra’s Ranch, we took pictures as well.  We had pictures at the picnic grounds and even at the walkway.

I really love the view that we can see from Mitra’s Ranch particularly the Honda Bay Islands.  The beauty of nature indeed!  Ganda ng Pilipinas (Philippines is so beautiful!)!! 🙂

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Mitra’s Ranch
Mitra Road, Santa Monica Heights, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines