A Great Stay At The Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake!

I really like this hotel! I stayed here from 22 June to 28 June 2014. Very business-like ambience, quiet atmosphere, clean place. They have a very accommodating staff and they speak English, I did not even have to unearth my very poor, very basic Mandarin... They made my stay in Qingpu, Shanghai very comfortable.

I had a nice view of the Xiayang lake on my first 3 nights, however, I transferred to the other side (same floor, on the 8th) because someone was smoking in the room beside mine. I can't take the stench. Crowne Plaza immediately transferred mo to another room.

A glass of wine and cake of the day before I head back to my room!

I like how complete the room is with toiletries. As my luggage arrived very late (the airline had a mishap with my luggage: http://kenoshasays.blogspot.com/2014/07/philippine-air-lines-delays-my-luggage.html), I had to rely on the supplies inside the room. Much to my surprise, everything was very reliable!

The hotel is also very near Carrefour so that I can buy things I need form there, or have my favorite xiao long bao from one of the food kiosks. KFC is also near, as well as Pizza Hut (By the way, KFC Shanghai serves Portuguese Egg Tarts).

 Xiao Long Bao at a store within Carrefour compound

I went back to this store 2 nights in a row because not only is it across the hotel but they also serve very yummy Xiao Long Bao

 Xiao Long Bao at a store within Carrefour compound

About 10 minutes away by cab, I frequented Dong Fang Shang Sha which is a mall where I bought clothes and a pair of formal shoes to get me by in the absence of my luggage. I also had a nice dinner of xiao long bao there.

View from my room during the first 3 nights

View from my room during the first 3 nights

Restaurant in Dong Fang Shang Sha where I had my first Xiao Long Bao in Qingpu

Restaurant in Dong Fang Shang Sha where I had my first Xiao Long Bao in Qingpu

Restaurant in Dong Fang Shang Sha where I had my first Xiao Long Bao in Qingpu

My first Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai

My first Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai

Addicted to this coconut milk. It has added sugar though.

The view from my room after I transferred. 8th Floor.

Same view but on a rainy night

Xiayang Lake

Xiayang Lake area

Carrefour in Qingpu

 Thanks to Crowne Plaza Xiayang for making my stay wonderful!

Philippine Air Lines Delays my Luggage Big Time!

With all my travels, it never occurred to me that stuff like this can ever happen to someone like me. I check in really early, always at least 2 hours in advance. During my business trip to Shanghai, China, I did not only made a web check-in, I was in the airport for more than 3 hours in advance. You might say I was quite an early bird, and also because leaving on a Sunday, I figured, it is best to have a hassle-free trip before the entire business engagement begins. It is for an entire week and I was preparing myself for the grind by having a laid back flight. I was wrong.

I waited and waited at the conveyor. Just when everybody has taken their bags, and all that are left behind are bags that are not in any way the same as my black american tourister luggage (no not even the color), I quickly went to the luggage information counter. The lady told me to write everything down in the paper report then she told me that I will be notified at my hotel. She told me to proceed to my hotel and they will arrange for delivery.

My hotel is 90 minutes away form the airport. I quickly connected with my sister from Manila and asked her if she can arrange with PAL from Manila to locate my bag. As I did not connect my mobile phone to roaming, I quickly realized that I can connect with my sister through viber and whatsapp, but no google (all sorts of google) and no facebook. Instagram is possible though, but quite limiting to talk by way of pics :-P

So to cut it short, my sister finds out that PAL sent my luggage to Riyadh. Somehow they threw it in the conveyor going to Riyadh while I was checked in for the flight to Shanghai. Wow.

The following day, PAL Riyadh forgot to place my luggage for the flight back to Manila. Then the next day, it does arrive in Manila, but only to have missed another day because every wednesdays, there is no flight from Manila to Shanghai. Thursday my luggage arrives to Shanghai Airport. And it stays there for an entire day because PAL Manila thinks they have already done their part (what?)... Okay so my hotel (oh don't get me wrong, the hotel I stayed in was awesome and really really offers tremendous service! Shout out to you Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake -- your staff and the hotel are really awesome!!!!!) is 90 minutes away from Pudong Shanghai Airport, and as PAL Shanghai said they will send it to my hotel, why did they not even bother to tell me that hey you need to go get it yourself? Okay so Friday, PAL Shanghai tells me they are arranging for my luggage to be sent to my hotel. Saturday 3AM my luggage is sent to my room. I requested the front desk to wake me up in case my one and only little luggage arrives.

For all this, PAL decides to give me PhP12,000. Actually they were thinking of handing me only USD100. I mean what? This lady manager of the baggage department says they are only following Philippine laws by handing me at most PhP12,000. I mean, fine, follow the laws, but do you really need to be inefficient that it took Sunday to Saturday to send me my luggage? And so no one takes ownership for this mistake? I mean... imagine how cool was it that it was a business trip, I entered our Shanghai office on a Monday wearing my chuck taylors. Hahahaha thanks Philippine Airlines. Thank you so much.

El Nido and Puerto Princesa Snorkeling Trip

Just as the waters of Coron in September 2013 made me realize that snorkeling is a wonderful (and cheaper) way to hit the deep waters of the Philippines, I booked a flight to Puerto Princesa so I can check out what the fuss is all about in El Nido.

My verdict: I loved it! It has that combination of the night life of Boracay and the snorkeling tours of Coron, Palawan, Philippines, that despite the fact that it takes you 5 to 6 hours by land trip to get there from the airport, it is just so worth it!

Hey I am not the type who would recommend long road trips (I love long road trips with friends sure, but I do not recommend them for other people because the liking varies). I like places that are easily accessible from the airports, at a maximum of 2 hours drive (this is why Coron is very famous, you can get there in an hour and comfortably!). My van ride from Puerto Princesa airport to El Nido was comfortable, don't get me wrong, but it almost takes forever to get there...

I booked my flight in February, a promo flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa. A couple of days before my flight in 10 July 2014, I booked a van who will pick me up from Puerto Princesa Airport (Fortwally Shuttle: Evelyn +639172762875 or email fortwallytransport@yahoo.com, PhP500 if you book directly with Evelyn). I connected with them by email first and I got the mobile number in response. The van was quick to pick me up from the airport, however, the promised 10AM departure became 11:30AM, so expect delays. Internet searches will tell you their departure is indeed scheduled at 11AM, yet during the phone conversation before leaving Manila, Evelyn told me that the van will leave puerto princesa by 10AM. I was so glad to know that because I was arriving at 9:30AM in Puerto Princesa, and a 30-minute wait for my luggage is more than enough. I expected an early arrival to El Nido, but I was wrong. As mentioned, delays delays delays - be prepared for them.

I arrived approximately 5PM in El Nido. I was able to get a very cheap room in a place called Arkitel (Carissa +639351575943, this girl is very accommodating and very very nice). This is a newly built, 2 month-old dorm-type place, with shared bathroom --which I totally did not mind because it was low season. Apart from the place itself being clean, the bed is also new and I never suffered any bedbug bites at all. The room was airconditioned and has ample closet space for your stuff. The only problem could be that the windows are not fully sealed so the airconditioning does not reach a good cold temperature. Also, the door can only be locked by the knob - not too secure. In any case, I never left any valuables in the room. I always brought my snorkel gear, my camera, my phone, and all my cash with me. They charge PhP 700 per night --I have no complaints!

Speaking of cash, make no mistake: bring as much as you can. While El Nido is a tourist area, it does not have automatic teller machines, and credit cards are rarely accepted. I had to make sure I paid everything in advance or else I will run out of cash for the more important things!

What are the important things for me?
Snorkel Tours - I don't really go for beach tours because my intention was to snorkel
Dinner - A high-activity day deserves a full dinner!
Breakfast - Start your day right!
Room Payment - I wouldn't want to be sleeping in the beach
Drinks at night - Why not?

If you take any tours, just bring a small bottle of water. The tour guides will be feeding you with some awesome lunch anyways and they also bring (safe) drinking water. No need to bring snacks or any type of food.

After I have checked in at Arkitel, I quickly found nice places to check out. Arkitel is just a 3-minute walk to the beach shore, and upon seeing a deck, I quickly pulled out my camera and took a photo of the water.. Unfortunately, there are no sunset views in El Nido beach during that month. I also heard that if ever there would be sunset views, it will be during summer (April-May) and you have to visit a different beach resort to see it. Anyways, here is the view on my first night:

View from the Mezzanine Restaurant, El Nido Beach
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Thai Chicken at the Mezzanine Restaurant and Bar

Night life at the beach front

Awesome margarita served at Og's Resto Bar along the beach front

Okay who would say a glass of red wine along the beach front is not awesome? This shot was taken at Atmosphere Bar along the El Nido beach front.

Carissa of Arkitel arranged for my Tour A (PhP1,200) the following day. This is a snorkel tour with the final island being a beach. I still snorkeled in that beach though :-P Check out the lunch spread that was served for us!

LUNCH!!!!

Hello lover!
Final destination for Tour A: Seven Commando Beach

Not a beer drinker but the beach is just the best place to drink beer...

So since the Mezzanine offers a very relaxing ambience and the view of the beach is also perfect, I came back here for dinner. I was rushing so I can take advantage of their happy hour which runs from 4PM-6PM. During this period, the cocktails are offered at buy 1 take 1 for PhP200. Awesome! I tried many combinations!

The following day, I did Tour C (PhP1,400), and the views were even more awesome!!!

Helicopter Island, I love this shot. No filter, no special effects. Just my Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5

Docking at the Helicopter Island

Lunch!!!

Probably the best view in the tours: Matinloc Shrine

You guessed it! Drinks again before the happy hour ends at the Mezzanine!

Try the PhP99 choco banana crepes near the beach front of El Nido. 

Also, try the PhP 99 breakfast buffet at Austria's Place. Pancakes all you can. No complaints for that price!

The following day was a very early shuttle ride back to Puerto Princesa. This time I took the van services of Eulen Joy. Arkitel arranged it for me for PhP600. Now I do not know if they are indeed more on time than FortWally because I mentioned with the Eulen Joy driver that I am timing them. We left at PhP530AM, even if I arrived at 4:45AM, again delays are normal in this part of the world.

I arrived at Puerto Princesa by 11AM. The drop off point is at the airport but since I checked googlemaps and I saw that Tres Pension House is very near the North Road, I asked to be dropped off at an ATM station along North Road. Yes, running outta cash! From there, the tricycle ride to Tres Pension, aided by google maps, is only PhP30 maximum. Check in time at Tres Pension is at 12noon so I left my stufdf and had lunch at Robinsons Mall first.

Tres Pension House is a really nice place. It was pretty rainy in El Nido so I thought of taking a much cheaper fan room from Tres Pension (PhP800 per night) than an aircon room (PhP1,200/night) and see for myself if the fan room is acceptable. Yes it was! I took photos of the place because not only is it affordable, the rooms are spacious and clean, has its own bathroom, the place has its own restaurant, serves breakfast, and also has its own bar. Done and done!

This is where they served my breakfast before I left Puerto Princesa. Tres Pension offers free transportation going to Puerto Princesa Airport.

Here's my half day city tour of Puerto Princesa:

Cotton Candies...

Definitely going back to Puerto Princesa to try their own snorkel tour! In my experience, the underwater colors in Coron were more vibrant, but there is just something with El Nido's happy night life that charms me! Coron was pretty much silent come night time...but more accessible from the airport. In the end, it is all about how willing you are to travel by land and how much time you have for the trip. I will always find time for a snorkel tour, and if that is the only intention, easy peasy decision will be to visit Coron. But if I have the luxury of time and I want the chance to be able to have fun after the day tours, I will visit El Nido of course.