Puerto Galera was a blast! But getting there was such a pain. Pfft. For everyone who wants to go to the beach this summer, specifically at Puerto Galera, here are some tips.

Travel Tips for “Puerto Galera”:

1. Your budget must at least be Php2000 plus emergency cash.
2. Book a place to stay at least 3 weeks ahead to avoid getting overpriced rooms with a manager who takes advantage of the season and billing everything that could be free. LIKE DRINKING WATER!
3. Speaking of water, you must bring enough drinking water because you will truly get dehydrated. Soft drinks cost too much. 1.5L of Coke is priced at Php60 which should only be Php36. While bottled water is at Php40 which should only be Php25.
4. If from Manila, go ride Alps buses that pass along EDSA. They can take you to Batangas pier an hour faster.
5. Do not ride M/V Brian to Puerto Galera. Their vessel was late for an hour and a half! To make matters worse, the vessel we rode isn’t even theirs, both to and from Puerto Galera. Argh..
6. Bring your own breakfast. Yep, food costs too much as well. We brought our own breakfast. Easy to cook hotdogs, eggs and canned goods; bread, mayo and cheese. Your budget for lunch and dinner must at least be Php100/meal.
7. Travel light if it’s just an overnighter. 1 bag should fit all!

Like I said, getting there was a nightmare! We rode a bus at Jam Transit at 8am on Saturday, April 14. We expected to be at the pier by 10:30am at the most, but we arrived at 11:15am, not bad, really. We were stuck in traffic for a little while, and it felt like the driver was driving really slow.

When we got to the pier, a lot of locals will offer you a ride to Mindoro. We wanted to get to a boat as early as possible because we’re all hungry and it’s lunchtime already. A man from M/V Brian told us that most of the boats are fully booked and their earliest available trip is for 12nn. We actually bought two-way tickets from them. By 11:45am, we were all anxious to board the boat, but the man by the door said that M/V Brian hasn’t arrived yet and they will announce if it has arrived.

At 12nn, we were all wondering what’s taking so long, so Kat and Ian went to the ticketing booth so many times to get an update, until we finally heard the announcement that our trip was delayed for 15 minutes, and it’s already 12:30pm! We finally boarded the boat by 1pm, yep, our trip was delayed for an hour! I noticed that the vessel wasn’t even Brian’s, it was M/V Willem. But I didn’t care since I just wanted to get to Puerto Galera and eat lunch!

When we arrived at White Beach Puerto Galera, we were welcomed by Edna, the agent I contacted to find us a place to stay. I was expecting to stay at HSL Beach Resort, but since they prioritize the clients who book their resort, we were placed at Sheryll’s Inn. Man! Was it a nightmare?! She charges extra for everything! Well, the place is clean and the rooms are nice. But it was way expensive for Php3,500/night. The extra mattress they offered for free on the phone cost Php500 when we arrived! WTF?! Oh, the mattress never came. Ugh. If you want to extend your stay, they charge Php300/hr. Ohmymy… So I told the lady that the extra Php500 for the mattress that never came will be used for the 3hr extension we had. If only we booked a place 3 weeks earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.

But basically, the 2 days at the beach was great. It’s fun to be around friends, and it’s refreshing to dip in the cold water under the super hot sun. When we went snorkeling, I was jellyfished (there such a word?). Right now, I have lots of red marks on my legs. It’s very itchy. We also had fun riding the Banana boat, though it left me a sore head from the fall…

The 1 night was also great. ETC’s Sexiest event was held there, together with Infinit’s launch of their new margarita drinks. So on both ends of the beach, there were things to watch. We settled near the Infinit’s event, since there was a loud club chill out music. There was a live DJ and some girl dancers who performed a short production number. Then after dinner, we just sat by the shore and swapped stories and enjoyed the cold air plus sand on our feet.

Continue Reading >>

I got home last night by 9pm. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at Baguio, and it was amazing! Ian and I met up at the mall by 12nn, Thursday, we had lunch and window shopped. By 2:30pm, we met up with Juwan, and then headed to the bus station. Our bus left by 4pm, and it takes an approximate of 6 to 8 hours before we get there. I was seated across Juwan and Ian, because the bus can only seat 2 together. We swapped stories along the way. It was quite traffic at North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), and we got hungry, luckily, there were food vendors who’d get on the bus. Our first stopover was by 7:23pm in Tarlac. I did my business while Ian and Juwan got food. The three of us fell asleep after that. At 9:34pm, we were already on the second stopover at Sison. I text messaged Kat to inform her that we were there already so she could already go to the bus terminal. By 10:45pm, we are already at the bus terminal, and Kat and her dad were already waiting for us. It is at least 20 minutes drive from the bus terminal to Kat’s house. When we got there and entered their house, I was amazed by its beauty. The house was built in 1986, an American-styled house with a fireplace, living room, dining room and kitchen, when you open the door; a bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a storage room on the first landing; and another bedroom on the 2nd landing. Downstairs, there is another part of the house that has another bedroom, bathroom and a living room. It was very cold there, and even at night, you can see the fog surrounding the house. All of us just ate dinner when we got there. Kat prepared a 3 course meal, with 2 vegetables and meat. After that, we watched a bit of TV, went to the boy’s room to swap stories, and then I decided I will get ready for bed. By 2am, we were already sleeping. Well, some of us. I had a different experience.

In bed, I felt like I was floating. My eyes were closed but I couldn’t catch a snooze. I don’t know what time it was when I heard the dog’s neighbor barking really loud, and then I heard a man’s voice yelling really loud as well. It was like the dog and the man were communicating. It gave me the chills! I hid between the sheets and dared not to open my eyes. By 5am, I heard Kat’s family preparing to go to work and school. By then, I was able to sleep until 8am.

We ate breakfast and then prepared for the day. I had on a pajama-styled pants and green shirt. Fortunately, I also wore a wife beater underneath to fight the cold. We headed to Ukay-Ukay (thrift stores) first and scouted for best bargains. Juwan, Ian and I were able to score good quality sweaters and jackets; Kat and I found funky hats; and Juwan found a vintage shirt. We also went to the market to look for Baguio goodies and souvenirs. I bought 5 body bags for Kuya Norman, trinkets for my friends, and peanut brittle, strawberry jam and pili nuts for home.

By 5pm, we went to Kat’s Dad’s office to put all our good finds on their car. Her dad drove us to Camp John Hay. We had a long stroll there and took lots of pictures. We also made a stop at Starbucks Coffee, and we made sure we drank hot coffee. Juwan and I settled for Toffee Nut Latte, while Kat settled for Coffee Jelly, and Ian had none. We stayed there for a good 45 minutes, and then we headed to SM Baguio. We stayed at the very to floor to see an overview of Baguio at night. Then the sky was filled with bright colors of yellow, blue, purple, red and white. Somewhere from the town set up a fireworks display. It was really beautiful. After which, we headed to Session Road and looked for a bar where we can sit in and talk. We found a little bar called “La Fondue”. It’s located at an old building called, “La Azotea” (The Balcony). That night there were 2 acoustic soloists that played sentimental songs. We were able to talk about a lot of things, including why I really resigned from my job; we also had one beer each. By 9pm, we headed to The Nevada, which is the hottest night spot in Baguio. It a place where different bars are alongside each other and there were so many to choose from. We settled for the bar with a live band. The band’s vocalist was Kat’s drum’s instructor. The band is called “Sprikitik”, which is a show band. Although they are a show band, they sing a lot of alternative music, which is good. We stayed there for 2 hours. After that, we went to another bar in Prince Plaza, called “Cactus Bar”. The band that we caught playing is a rock band. They were amazing. The drummer caught my attention because he is really good. The beats of the drum were solid, and his bass was fast. When they sang “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath, I was so stunned by how amazing the vocalist’s voice was. The second band was pretty lame, though. The vocalists reminded us of a local artist Vhong Navarro, and our colleague, Ricky. Their first song was “Easy”, they sang it well, but the next songs were so lame that we had to get out of there!

By 12:30am, we headed back to Session Road and bought food from Chowking. We got home by 1:15am. Ian already prepared for bed while the three of us ate in front of the fireplace. We watched TV for a bit, and then the three of us got ready for bed.

Our last day was a bit rushed. After breakfast, we headed to the bus terminal to buy tickets for 1:30pm. Then we headed to “The Mansion”, the home of the president when she’s in Baguio. We also passed through the former president, Marcos’, house; Wright Park; the White House, which is a haunted house; and the last stop was Mine’s View Park, where we took lots of pictures with the beautiful view, and the dog, Big Bernard.

We headed to the bus terminal, we thanked Kat’s dad for the wonderful weekend and then rode the bus by 1:20pm. All of us felt like the vacation was really short. We planned to go to Puerto Galera by January, but I don’t know if I will go. We got back to Manila by 8:30pm, and I got home by 10pm.

My last note would be, this was my very long awaited vacation!

* Pictures and videos will be uploaded soon!