AWEFULL

To change the mood of this blog (coz I know most of you are dying to read something positive/good in this blog.. sorry, didn’t mean to make you “cry” in my recent posts), I’ve decided to write something about my last trip which is Ilocos.

I love traveling. I love the Philippines coz this is a beautiful country. One of my ultimate dreams is to visit all the beautiful places here in the country. However, being a Novo Ecijano that I am (meaning: born and grew up in Nueva Ecija), Northern Luzon was never included in my list of dream destinations  coz I have been to several provinces there especially when I was young.

Everytime my friends and I would go out of town, we go to the southern part of the country coz of the beautiful beaches there (coz I think I was a mermaid in my past life). So far, the one that amazed me the most is Malcapuya Island in Palawan).

Anyhoo, since my bestfriend and I had a long weekend last June, we decided to go somewhere. Visayas and Mindanao were never an option coz we kinda planned impulsively. Had we decided to go there, the airfare would eat up all our budget (wasn’t able to avail the airline promo), hence, we opted to go to the north.

Ilocos is one perfect place if you decide to go bitchin’, este swimming/beach bumming pala coz they have Pagudpud (Ilocos Norte), one of the beautiful beaches in Northern Luzon. Pictures below were taken in Blue Lagoon.

ganda noh? (yung view, hindi ako.. LOL)

kaya ko pa tumalon.. bleh

ligaw na bulaklak

emo

Other must-see places/wonders in Ilocos Norte include:

Baluarte (kung mahilig kayo sa animals.. pero ako di na pumasok jan, sawa na ko sa hayop e. )

Patapat Viaduct

Bangui Windmills

Paoay Church

Another reason why I love Ilocos is because it’s picturesque, especially Vigan. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood to take beautiful pictures then, I just wanted to travel. And pose for the camera. That’s it.

chubby cheeks!

watchuwant?

Che & the horsey

cute nya noh?

horsey horsey

The Heritage at her back

im tired....

..and cute... nyahahaha!

The stuff there are really nice, especially the crafts and food. I bought some bags and basi (wine) for my alcoholic friend (oo, hindi ako ang alcoholic.. yung friend ko.. haha! ) We tried their famous empanada (longaniza yung nasa loob). I also brought home longaniza, chichacorn, bagnet (a bit pricey, though.. kuripot ako e.. nyahaha!), etc.

Oh, and before I forget.. we stayed here in Java Hotel (Laoag)

facade

the bar & resto

beds

bathroom

view from our balcony

Okay na okay yung balcony (coz I am a smoker, I admit ). Another thing that’s awesome about this hotel are the facilities. They have a tennis court (or badminton yata, di ko masyado sure haha!) at the back as well as a small swimming pool. Not bad for a provincial hotel, right?

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.

—————————————-

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.

————————————

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.

—————————————-

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.

—————————–
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.