AWEFULL

Just got back this morning from Bicol and I’m super tired (left Naga at 9 o’clock last night and arrived here in Manila at almost 7 in the morning.. went home to Pasig just to take a bath and went straight to the office.. ) but I’m excited to post our pictures and share a little story about this trip.

One of our destinations in Bicol is Calaguas Island. I’ve been to Bicol (particularly Camarines Norte) several times already but I haven’t been to Calaguas (but I’ve been to another island called Apuao a few years back) so I was really excited to go here.

Calaguas is part of the town of Vinzons, a few minutes away from Camarines Norte’s capital which is Daet.

We left Manila last Friday at 10PM, arrived in Daet at around 6 in the morning. We took the bus (yeah, it was a looooong travel by land, but it’s okay.. I’m used to it anyway). We went home to my friend’s home in Daet to have our breakfast and leave our baggage. Come 8AM, we were all ready to hit the beach, thus, we headed off to Vinzons via a jeepney (like I said, it’s just a few minutes away from Daet)

From Vinzons, we took a boat to Calaguas. It wasn’t grueling at all (even if I hate riding small boats, I had no choice.. hehe) coz the sea was calm and the weather was fine.

After 2 hours of traveling.. here is what we saw..

gorgeous, isn't it?

We took a rest at a cottage, set up our tent then had our lunch at the other side of the island..

Then we hit the beach. Weeeeeeeee!!!!!

Tapos pahinga ng konti para maghalo-halo.. (yung halo-halo kulay yellow, tapos may maliliit na marshmallows)

Then watched the sunset while doing our jumpshot (my favorite.. weeee!!!!)

May nag-”prenup” din..

At pagdating ng gabi.. inuman na!!! (pero sa totoo lang tulog na ko nyan, tinulugan ko sila kase sakit ng katawan ko e.. kaya sila nagpicture nito )

Tapos nagising ako para mangulit (kase nakarecharge na ko) pero asar na asar na sila sa kin kase ang gulo ko e yun pala inaantok na sila.. wahahhaa!

The experience was awesome. I enjoyed the beach, the booze and the neverending kwentuhan. It was my first time to sleep inside a tent (I was never a girl scout.. sa pagkakatanda ko.. hehe), my first as well to go camping.

But it wasn’t entirely a “camping” in its truest sense coz we got a tour package for PHP1800/head. That’s inclusive of tent, food (coz we were so lazy to prepare our own food) and the boat ride. Sulit na din.

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TIP: If you’re an “alcoholic” and sunog baga like me, better bring liquor and cigs as they were nowhere to find there. We went to a “sari-sari store” along the shore pero wala sila tinda. Bawal yata bisyo dun. Hahaha! Buti na lang may dala kameng konting bisyo.

It’s my first summer with my current company and I was very excited to go on an outing with my colleagues. So when one of them asked if we want to go out of town (beach, of course), I immediately said yes. Aside from being my first summer with them, it’s a fact that I love going to the beach. And so, our trip was planned.

When we were brainstorming about our destination, I suggested Acuatico in San Juan, Batangas. I saw my friend’s photos when she went there and the place is really gorgeous especially their infinity pool. My colleagues also fell in love at the sight of Acuatico. Unfortunately, the resort was fully booked. Perhaps, because our planned date was a holiday. Sigh.

We really wanted to go to a resort with a tranquil environment, not those resorts in Batangas where all you can see is flocks of people swimming and dirt floating. Talk about dagat ng basura. I really believe that San Juan is the nicest spot in Batangas. I know most of you won’t argue with me on this. So we went on finding a nice resort in San Juan for our outing until one of my colleagues suggested Palm Beach Resort.

Upon seeing the pictures online, we immediately decided to reserve some rooms there. Like I said, the date of our outing was a holiday so most of the resorts were fully booked. So, after talking to the representatives of the resort over the phone, we decided to get 2 rooms. 1 for the girls and 1 for the boys. We were required to deposit PHP4,500 as our reservation fee for the rooms.

We left Manila on April 9 at around 8 in the morning (we were supposed to leave by 6am but latecomers rock!!! ). We arrived at San Juan proper before 12 noon then headed off immediately to the beach resorts area. Palm Beach Resort is located right after La Luz Beach Resort, one of those well-known resorts in San Juan. Our travel to Palm Beach was terrible. Apart from being too steep, the road was under construction. On our way up, there were 2 cars ahead of us that stopped without even warning us, thus, caused our van to move downhill a bit.

Traffic

Then the 1st car (a Civic) decided to just go back to where it came from and no longer pursue going to Palm Beach (or wherever it was heading). Our vehicle was in a delicate position so we just got off and started walking. It was a tiring, filthy way to start our Laiya experience.

Nakuha pa nila magpose

Ang init

Nakuha pa nya talaga magsmile

After a long walk, we stopped by the entrance of the resort. We were told by the staff to wait coz the resort’s service shall pick us up and bring us to the resort proper (we had to alight the van coz the road, again, was too sheer and narrow, might be dangerous for all of us)

Madulas sya pramis hirap maglakad pababa

Entrance

Directions

After a grueling travel and upon seeing the resort, I began to feel good. The place is almost an eye candy (I can’t say that Palm Beach is magnificent coz I kept on thinking about Acuatico.. hahaha..)

Ang cabana at ang group picture

View from our terrace

Tambay sa cabana.. sarap hangin..

A cabana by night

Each room (I think we got the DeLuxe Room) has 2 double beds and a daybed. Good enough for 5 people. This costs around PHP4,500-5,500.

This building is where our rooms were located

Facade of the casita

Sorry, I have no picture of the room.. so eto na lang..

Tsaka eto

There's a terrace, pang-hapi-hapi.. hehehe..

As for the food, they serve buffet meals for PHP1,000++ per person (1 lunch, 1 meryenda, 1 dinner then the breakfast the next day). The food is great and there was a wide array of varieties to choose from (some resorts that I already experienced staying in only offer maximum of 3 viands). They served from appetizers, main dish, desserts and drinks. Another thing that I liked about this resort is that they were generous enough to regularly fill in the food containers (di katulad ng iba na pag may naghanap lang tsaka lang irerefill)

Di naman ako masyado mukang harassed noh? Right after our "Alay Lakad"

This dining area is a wi-fi zone, only it was difficult to connect.

Pavilion/dining hall

The sand is not that white and fine, but much better than what you see in some other parts of Batangas. Like I said, San Juan offers the most decent beach resorts in Batangas.

Ako at ang aking mga alipores (ang manlait ng katawan ko tataba sinlaki ni Dabiana)

Some of the activities that you can enjoy while staying at Palm Beach are kayaking, jetskiing and riding a banana boat.

If you don’t want the beach anymore, you may take a dip in the infinity pool.

Or try the jacuzzi…

Our bodyguards

Palm Beach is good enough for me coz the place is serene and not that crowded even if it was a holiday. If you are the type of a traveler who doesn’t care much about the cost, this is great for you. The cost is worth it (not as classy as Acuatico, though). However, if you are on a tight budget, I guess this place is not for you. There are much cheaper but good resorts in San Juan.

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Palm Beach Resort is located in Bo. Hugom, just after Bo. Laiya, in San Juan, Batangas.

I love sunrise/sunset. In fact I posted some of my mediocre shots here probably last year along with a poem from Emily Dickinson.

I prefer sunset than sunrise, though. I love the colors of the horizon whenever the sun is going down. It’s just so beautiful.

On our way back to Coron town proper from Malcapuya, I took several shots of the sunset. Forgive me if this is a little skewed. It’s hard to take pictures if you’re riding the “Anchor’s Away”.

I just wonder why sunset is more beautiful than sunrise when in fact it signifies the end of the day, thus, commences darkness. Does it mean endings can also mean beautiful things?

Sorry, naglaro na naman po ang aking makulit na pag-iisip.

This is what I consider as the highlight of our trip, aside from the fact that this is where we spent one whole day, the island has a beautiful beach.

This is Malcapuya Island, located about an hour and a half away from Coron port.

When I booked for our Coron trip, we were given the option whether to go to either Banana Island or Malcapuya Island. We were not decided until our 3rd day in Coron. Initially we planned to go to Malcapuya first then head off to Banana Island after  Malcapuya (we will just add a certain amount). According to our tour guide, Banana Island is also one of the most beautiful beaches there in Coron. However, we were already stuck in Malcapuya, bumming around and swimming in booze (hehehe.. joke lang! ) that we decided to just let go of our plans of going to Banana. Now I wonder how that Banana looks like…

Before we started our Malcapuya adventure, we first went to the Market to get some food to cook. The meal that we got from the resort were just adobong pusit and beef steak so we decided to have ihaw-ihaw at the beach. We bought liempo, squid, fish (I forgot the name), salted eggs, green mangoes and bagoong, etc.

palengke queen

As soon as we finished shopping, we headed to the port (a few steps away from the market).

.. then the travel began.

The weather was fine, the sun was up and shining but the waves were a bit big. It was as if we were riding Anchor’s Away, the one in Enchanted Kingdom. That was one of the most frightening trips I had in my life. You see, I have this fear of waves. That’s why I don’t surf. Wakeboarding will do, but surfing? Errrr….

Okay, enough of the drama. After a grueling hour and a half, we finally reached the place..

We had to get off the boat at the back part of the beach, Manong Bangkero told us the waves in front were huge. So we had to walk for a few minutes before getting to the beach..

I was at awe when I finally saw the beach…

And so I did my jumpshot…

Another one with my friends…

Dipped a lot and enjoyed the sun, sand and the sea..

the hut…

… and of course, the food…

… and the BOOZE.

This beach is really beautiful (the sand is powdery and the water is so clean, not even a piece of trash was in sight) that we didn’t want to go home. We almost stayed there overnight, however, we didn’t bring extra clothes. But there are lodges there. According to our guide, a room costs approximately 700-900 pesos per night (he’s not sure though, basta hindi aabot ng 1000 pesos).

Since our guides were not sure of the rates, I tried googling it for those of you who might be interested in going to Malcapuya Island. Here is what I found out:

Malcapuya Island Package – PHP3,500per person per night, minimum of 6pax. The package includes:

• Round trip boat transfer to Malcapuya Island
• Full board meals inclusive of non-alcoholic drinks
• Accommodation at Malcapuya Island
• Entrance Fee to Malcapuya
• Coron Island tours (entrance fees not included)

For more info about the package, email them at: malcapuyaisland@yahoo.com

On the other hand, if you availed of a Coron tour package and Malcapuya is not part of your itinerary, ask your tour guide/boatmen if you can add a trip to this island. Just be sure to allot one whole day for this. You have to leave Coron town proper early in the morning so you can stay longer at the island (you have to leave Malcapuya by 4:30 or 5PM so you can get back to Coron proper before 7PM).

I asked our boatmen of the boat rates (since we initially planned to transfer to Banana Island), they said it’s PHP 1,800.. I think the same goes if you requested for a Malcapuya island tour that’s not included in your package.

Hmmmm… what else did I miss telling you about this island….

Bring mp3 player with speakers. Or charge your cellphone fully. You will need some music for relaxation.

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PS:

You know what I hate about this trip?

I realized that I’ve grown so much. And by “grown” I meant “became fat” that I can no longer wear skimpy bikini. Nyahahah! Dream on! I’m getting old, metabolism slows down (hehe.. excuses, excuses.. )

I did one of my favorite poses then compared my latest shot with an old one…

PENGENG APPLE.

We were supposed to trek Mt. Tapyas first thing in the morning (target time was 5:30AM) but i failed to wake up early (along with my 2 friends) because of our drinking session the night before our scheduled Mt. Tapyas hike. Our 3 other friends, however, were prompt and eager enough to get up and climb.

They said it was too high (more than 700 steps high) and it would be difficult for me to climb (since I had exhausting experience in Kayangan Lake prior to this), but the view on top of the mountain is really breathtaking, as they say. Too bad, I wasn’t able to see the beauty that they were talking about.

So if you have plans of going to Coron, better include Mt. Tapyas in your itinerary. I’ve heard so much positive comments on this area of Coron.

We had 3 target destinations on our 2nd day: Calomboyan Island, Coral Garden and World War II shipwreck.

Snorkeling at the gunboat..

I already mentioned in my previous entry that I’m not much of a snorkeling/diving person, hence, what I really enjoyed was our stay at Calomboyan Island.

An hour of boat ride and we were already at Calomboyan Island. It is a beautiful beach with mangroves resting along its shores, coconut trees, a hut and a couple of wooden tables and chairs used by guests as dining area.

Also present were hammocks hanging in some parts of the island… just perfect for relaxation and sight-seeing.

There were several foreigners… errr.. cougars (I think they’re French, I heard them talking) when we arrived. I had fun taking photos of them enjoying the beach… and their PALE PILSEN. Nyahaha!

Of course, there were also Filipinos.. GORGEOUS Filipinas.

One thing that I didn’t like about this beach is its strong current. So this is really just for relaxation, and not for swimming. We only stayed near the shore…

And got contented with kulitan blues… And neverending photoshoots.

Ain’t this place gorgeous?

Oh, and by the way, even if this is an island, you can buy souvenirs here. Hahaha!

Before heading back to the lodge, we dropped by the coral garden, snorkle some more and had fish feeding activities…

Too bad we didn’t bring an underwater camera that’s why I couldn’t give you a glimpse of the beauty down there.

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If you have plans of going to Coron, bring an underwater camera to capture the beauty of the corals and fish under the sea.

Oh, and don’t forget to bring food for the fish, too.

Sorry, I’m not in the mood to bring out the OC-ness in me when it comes to writing. I’m too sleepy and tired but I wanted to post something about my recent trip so I’ll just post our pictures and a little details. Forgive me for the lack of information, just PM me in case you have plans of going here.

We arrived at Busuanga Airport in Palawan at around past 10 in the morning.

Nababaliw si Hannah

STRAIGHT po kame pareho. Pramis.

We got tour/accommodation package so we had someone to pick us up from the airport.

Kapogi lang ni Kuya. Umextra pa yung isa sa likod. Harhar!

We checked in at Coron Village Lodge (I’ll do a separate review on this lodge later) and had our lunch…

CVL

Welcome!!!

After our lunch we headed off to our island tour. We rode a trike from the lodge then traveled for a few minutes before finally reaching the port..

Abben, Loraine, Karen, Ryan, Hannah.. and SEXY me (ang kumontra tataba)

Then off to the islands!!!

The boat is sinking.. ang bibigat nyo! Jooooke!

1st Stop. Kayangan Lake.

Demure ako pramis.

Kayangan Lake, sometimes called the Blue Lagoon is located at Coron Island, Northern Palawan and is said to be the cleanest lake in the Phillippines.

Ernie Baron Wannabe

Before you get to this lake, you have to endure first the “pain” of walking up a mountain trail. Too steep. Too high. Too bad I came from a series of “paglalagari” (my boyfriend’s Mom’s wake, gigs, work, etc.), thus, restless that I got tired easily after hiking and wasn’t able to swim at the lake anymore. And now my friends call me “Flanax”

Paakyat (kelangan daw talaga may lifevest kase may mga coast guard na pagala-gala)

Sya naman nagpipicture

Hmmmm... Sumisilip na sya..

After an exhausting hike… this is what you’re going to see….

Ahhhhhh.......

Ahhhhhh.......

At isa pang Ahhhhh.....

At walang humpay na Ahhhhh.....

Panalong view (not me, the place.LOL)

2nd Stop. Atuwayan Beach.

Atuwayan Beach is just a small strip of beach in Coron. The sand is white and fine, the water is so clear that you can actually encounter school of small fish swimming with you even at the shallow part of the sea. What I liked about this place is that it’s secluded, quiet but not that far from other tourist spots like the ship wreck and Kayangan Lake (just a few minute boat ride — it kills me everytime I go on a verrrrry long boat ride, I swear. It doesn’t show but I hate the feeling of riding a small boat. )

Next Stop. Twin Lagoon, Siete Pecados.

I’m not much of a diving/snorkeling person. I’m more into bumming around and enjoying the sight of the sun, sand and sea. I prefer staying at a beautiful beach than playing with the fish under the sea.

Aside from the aforementioned fact about me, I got exhausted from our trekking at Kayangan Lake that’s why after dipping a little, I decided to just stay at the boat and take photos of my friends enjoying under the sea and at the lagoon..

Napopossess???

After snorkeling at Siete Pecados, we headed back in town then went straight to Maquinit Hotspring via a tricycle, the last leg of our tour for the day.

Dipping in Mt. Maquinit Hot Spring for me is the best way to end a day full of tedious activities. The place offers pools of warm water, perfect for a soothing dip (I heard the temperature’s around 39-40 degrees celsius). I even felt that it washed off fatigue and provided even more relaxation for my body.

After that calming hot spring bathe, we went back to the lodge, had our dinner and had “fellowship” over bottles of Red Horse. Hehehe.

Golden Sunset Resort
Calatagan, Batangas
September 19-20, 2009

Dahil sa ako ay hindi na nakakasama sa aking mga Hayskul barkada (lalo na twing may trips sila), naisipan nilang maglamyerda maski sa malapit lang at ako ay kanilang kinaladkad. Naisip ko, ayos na din maski sa malapit lang.. makapagrelax man lang. Dahil wala din ako masyado trips this year.

Pero potek.. hindi sya malapit. As in. Sabi kase sa website 2.5 hours lang daw ang travel, pero josko inabot kame ng 4 na oras. Ang saket sa pwet. Huhu. Pero mas masaklap pa rin sa kanila kase galing pa silang Nueva Ecija, halos doble ng ibinyahe ko.

Pero okay lang, worth it naman eh. Nakakarelax ang place and affordable naman. The loft costs only PHP4,050 (max of 6pax.. pero sa laki nya, more than 6 it can accommodate) The only thing that I didn’t like about this resort is that you can’t swim at the beach kase napakadumi nya at ang panget. But I appreciate that they put this info on their website. Para less expectations sa guests.

We just enjoyed the waterpark.. there’s a jacuzzi infront of our loft and lots of swimming pools of different types. There’s also a spa and some other attractions.

And best of all… wala masyado tao at malayo sa kabihasnan ang lugar kaya maeenjoy mo ang serenity.

Welcome to Mother Ricky's Paradise

The Loft

Jacuzzi

Minolestya nila ang jacuzzi

Ang taas (na walang natulog)

Ang baba (na siksikan kame)

Aloha!

Ang taong bato

Lake yata ito

Lake nga ba?

Dumbooooo!!!

Ganito ang pose ng Miss Earth beauties.. feelingera sya.

Hindi bagay ang matabang duck

Solo namin ang mundo

Ang slide na magaspang

Ang contortionist

Wag nyo akong hipuan.. lalake ang gusto ko. Hahaha!

Heto akooo basang-basa sa ewan..

May cultural show pa sa gabi

Libre hipo.. este picture sa mga seksi

Museum na walang laman

To the right, to the right

To the left, to the left

Pinagtaguan ako ng mga paru-paro

Nakakamiss ang swing

At ang playground

May jeep pa

At ako pa ang konduktora

Bye bye!