Batangas: Fun!

As I sit here in my temporary cube in Concord, California (more on that later...), contemplating the fact that I am once again about to leave a place I just got accustomed to, I tried to recall the significant events that happened during the course of my life starting on early April 2007 up until this point. Trying to put them up here before I lose steam and the stories become more like entries without any passion inside them. Just see my Baguio entry, I believe I could make that one better, but before my memories fail me (and before it gets overwritten by newer, more memorable ones here in California), I decided to quickly write it up and get it over with. The result was okay (see for yourself), but still I pretty much believe that it could have been better if I got it done soon after the trip rather than two and half months later.

Anyhow, what's done is done (and the fact that I still could edit it should any old memories surfaced puts me more at ease). Now, another quite memorable event needs to be written down. Sometime in mid April, the gang decided to go to one of the beaches near Manila (near being around 2-3 hours drive). Having nothing better to do during the weekend (which is usually the case there in Manila during weekends), I signed up without thinking twice.

There was supposed to be more people coming with us, but some of them cancelled during the last minute. That didn't matter though, those who did go was a fun bunch anyways (there was Do, Put, Yang, Win, Mul, Ro and myself). The journey took us about 3 hours and we stopped a couple of times to stock up on food supplies and gas.

The first thing that we did when we got there was to find the best spot to have some sea-side fun in the sun (oh yeah, the sun was shining pretty bright that time of the year). The first place that we got to offered us a pretty steep fee for a beach side package (a bungalow, buffet meal that we don't really need since we got our own food, and to add to the insult, the place wasn't really that nice either). So, we went away a bit disgusted but still keeping our hopes up high to look for a better place with a more reasonable price.

What's this? No white sandy beach? Boo...

Which we finally did. At first, we were a bit disappointed with the place. Why, you asked? Going to a seaside resort WITHOUT a strip of white sandy beach is pretty much like NOT going to the beach at all. And this is the Philippines for crying out loud! There were only concrete tables to have (not much of) a picnic, and right next to it is just plain sea water where a bunch of families swim and just plain have some wet seaside fun. But no sandy beach. Bummer. Luckily, one of the guides there pointed out that he could arrange for a small boat to take us to a place with good view and a strip of white sandy beach for us to play with. And guess what, the price was just right! Not THAT cheap, but still reasonably cheap.

Doesn't the sight of water just calms you down...?

The boat whisked us away from that mediocre picnic place with its jet engine, and along the way, the guide told us that we could stop by where the water was clear and we could see tons of fish underwater. Mul, our happy-go-lucky friend, is one that can not resist the charm of the water being a boy who grew up near a beach. In no time, he jumped down into the water and just go a-swimmin' along with the fishes (no, I'm not talking metaphorically, you crazy Italian mafia). Infected by his cheerful manner and complete abandon when it comes to watery fun, we joined him in the water soon after. True to what the guide told us, the water was quite clear and if you equip yourself with a goggle you could see them clearly. We spent about half an hour or so in that spot, just soaking in the water, having fun under the sun (yes, that rhymes and I love it), swimming along with the fishes and just enjoy the feeling of floating in the water.

No concrete table in sight!

After we had enough of watery fun with the fishes, the boat finally took us to our destination: a white sandy beach. It was located not too far from where we had set off, but the difference was quite obvious. Nice, white sandy beach; beautiful palm trees skirting the beach; and small cliffs marking the borders between one small sandy beach haven from another. A nice little paradise (with no concrete picnic tables in sight!).

The beach, the cliff, and the sea

Soon after we cast ashore, Do and Put started putting together a sand castle, others started to play beach volley. Mul was practically everywhere. I guess he missed his home town in Bangka. The white sand was dastardly hot, so I stayed in the water most of the time, enjoying the warm sea water and taking in the beautiful view around me. Took a bit of photo snaps here and there, as always, while keeping in mind that my digital camera is not water-proof. After we all had our fun on the sand, we went to the water to just play around or float around and enjoy the day while the sun was still up.

Sailing away...

It's one of those days where you wished that it wouldn't end. But that's no fun, right? So, as the sun was beginning to set, we thought that it was time to wrap things up and go back to Manila. The small boat took us once again to where we were. We took a shower at the many shower stalls you'd find in beach resorts, get ourself dressed up properly again, and finally set off for Manila. As always, we made a couple of stops again on the way, one of them for dinner.

We got back to our apartment to find Pil waiting outside. He just came back from his flyback to Jakarta. It would've been great if he were there in Batangas. All in all, the trip was a lot of fun, especially since it had been quite awhile since I last had a blast on a white sandy beach.

Back to reality here in Concord office. Time to adorn this post with resized photos. I'm going back to Manila soon enough. Hope there will be more white sandy beaches.