Laiya, San Juan, Batangas

Woke up early yesterday as my family were to spend a day at a resort in San Juan, Batangas. It’s a usual trip we take whenever we have a free day, and one of the best reasons to live in Lipa City.

The trip to the beach is a comfortable 2-hour drive (give or take 3 to 3 1/2 hours from Manila) through small towns and countryside. The scenery is a stark contrast to the urban palette of gray sky and drab concrete, and is often quite picturesque: long stretches of green fields, mango trees in uniform shapes that look like enlarged bonsai plants, and the occasional poblacion, which consists of houses, big and small, old and new, that line the sides of the main road.

A right turn from the San Juan poblacion leads one to the San Juan tourism zone, and at once it’s evident: you’re in a place a long way away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I put on Jason Mraz’s “No Stopping Us” on my iPod and enjoy the landscape: roads lined on both sides with plants bearing lovely pale pink flowers; even longer stretches of fields alternating with plantations of coconut trees. Occasionally there are houses and the traditional sari-sari store, and some weird signs. A rather out-of-place wooden sign that says “Fabulous Farm” always cracks me up when we pass by it.

The bicycle and the horse seem to be the usual mode of transportation – otherwise people travel on foot. Even the jeepney is a rare sight in this area. After a while the concrete road ends and the trip must continue through rough road – a sign that the beach is close at hand.

The resort we frequent has a separate white sand beach a few minutes drive from the main resort. It’s an empty stretch of beach with only two large huts, and most of the time we have the place to ourselves. An empty beach is my idea of tranquility, so it’s no surprise I enjoy it there. At around noon I would read a book and afterwards sleep under the sampaloc tree listening to Jack Johnson (“Better Together” is a beach favorite). Later into the day we’d sometimes hire a boat to take us out into the snorkeling area; otherwise I’d take a swim or just float around in the water and watch the sky. Before we leave the place I’d take a walk along the shore (Chungking’s “Following” on my iPod). There’s a spot along the beach where the sea meets the river – an estuary, is it? – and there I would sit by the shore and snap some pictures. After a while, it’d be time to go home.

The drive home is a moving exhibit of beautiful imagery – I’d put on Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On” to accompany the sights. The landscape would be bathing under an orange-yellow sky, and around this time, the sleepy towns we passed by in the morning would come alive, as their residents would come out of their houses to congregate and socialize. They would sit on the wooden benches in front of their houses or hang around in the neighborhood sari-sari store; children would be riding their bikes; men from work would be walking home. Especially during summer, the fields would begin to look like a sea of pale orange, as the crops become ready to be harvested. The song ends and another one begins to play – this time, “Insomnio”, by Café Tacuba.

For a day I would fall in love with the simple life. There’s something to be admired about the sleepy towns in San Juan - they don’t possess the complexities and dangers of city life, and instead reflect a striking tranquility and effortless contentment. It makes me wonder why we have to pine for so much, why we have to force ourselves into already congested and highly polluted cities, why we feel the need to gather ridiculous amounts of wealth, and for what? To pay for the medical bills for when we get ill from all the smog.

One of these days I might just grab a backpack, take a bus, and leave everything behind.

The Beach - Alex Garland

There isn't always time and opportunity to jet set to exotic and faraway destinations. Fortunately, there's a great alternative to actual travelling - reading. And for the first armchair travel entry on this blog, I'm going to feature an excerpt from one of my favorite books.

As you read Alex Garland's The Beach, you're bound to eventually realize that it's more about a paradise gone wrong than the perfect, pristine beach utopia. Yet one part of the book is innocent, optimistic, and isolated from the chaos and darkness of the rest of the story - the part which is perhaps one of the main reasons why I have gained such a romantic notion when it comes to sleeping under a blanket of stars on the beach. Read on and see what I mean.


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"All These Things"
Excerpt from The Beach, Alex Garland

[Richard talking to Francoise]

"Do you want me to tell you something funny?"

"What about?"

"Infinity. But it isn't that complicated. I mean, you don't need a degree in-"
Francoise waved a hand in the air, tracing a red pattern with the tip of her cigarette.

"Is that a yes?" I whispered.

"Yes."

"Okay." I coughed quietly. "If you accept that the universe is infinite, then that means there's an infinite amount of chances for things to happen, right?"
She nodded and sucked on the red coal floating by her fingertips.

"Well, if there's an infinite amount of chances for something to happen, then eventually it will happen - no matter how small the likelihood."

"Ah."

"That means somewhere in space there's another planet that, by an incredible series of coincidences, developed exactly the same way as ours. Right down to the smallest detail."

"Is there?"

"Definitely. And there's another which is exactly the same, except that palm tree over there is two feet to the right. And there's another where the tree is two feet to the left. In fact, there're infinite planets with infinite variations on that tree alone..."

Silence. I wondered if she was asleep. "So how about that?" I prompted.

"Interesting," she whispered. "In these planets, everything that can happen will happen."

"Exactly."

"Then in one planet, maybe I am a movie star."

"There's no maybe about it. You live in Beverly Hills and swept last year's Oscars."

"That's good."

"Yeah, but don't forget, somewhere else your film was a flop."

"Oh?"

"It bombed. The critics turned on you, the studio lost a fortune, and you got into booze and Valium. It was pretty ugly."

Francoise rolled on to her side and looked at me. "Tell me about some other worlds," she whispered. In the moonlight her teeth flashed silver as she smiled.

"Well," I replied. "That's a lot to tell."

Etienne stirred and turned over again.

I leaned over and kissed Francoise. She pulled away, or laughed, or shook her head, or closed her eyes and kissed me back. Etienne woke, clasping his mouth in disbelief. Etienne slept. I slept while Francoise kissed Etienne.

Light-years above our garbage bag beds and the steady rush of the surf, all these things happened.

Talipanan Beach, Puerto Galera

Talipanan Beach is the quiet and little-known neighbor of the popular beaches along Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental. Located to the west of White Beach and nearby Aninuan Beach, it’s an ideal alternative to the party-at-the-beach scene if you’re looking for a little peace and quiet.

My trip to Talipanan Beach was one of those spur-of-the-moment kind of things which, based from experience, are usually the ones that push through more often. It was so spontaneous that the extent of my planning consisted of the following: (a) I made reservations by texting the resort where I planned to stay; (b) I bought a cheap and lousy backpack because I left my decent one at our other house; And (c) I checked the weather forecast about a day prior to my trip. Afterwards, I literally packed my bags (actually, only one bag) and just left.

I left Manila on a Saturday morning by riding a bus headed to Batangas Pier. The trip took over two hours and cost PhP 140.00. Upon arriving at Batangas pier, the chaos at the ticket terminal was a bit overwhelming, but I managed to get to the booth to buy a one-way ticket for a 1 ½ hour boat ride to Talipanan Beach.

Not a lot of boats dock at Talipanan Beach – most dock at White Beach, which isn’t really a problem, because you could easily get a tricycle to take you from White Beach to Talipanan. But on my trip I was lucky that the boat I rode from Batangas pier had another group of passengers who were also headed for Talipanan Beach, so it took us there after a stopover in White Beach without any additional charge.

Upon arriving at Talipanan Beach I was welcomed by Ate Margie (09204032173), whose family owned Mengie’s Resort, one of the very few resorts in Talipanan. Her family actually lived at Talipanan beach and has done so for generations, so the accommodations their resort offered were homey and simple, as if the cottages and rooms were extensions of their home. I was given a key to a room for one where I was to stay for the night. The room was clean enough, the bathroom fairly decent. I figured I was only going to stay there to sleep anyway so it was not a problem.

I got a lot of peace and quiet on my stay at Talipanan Beach. I read"Atlas Shrugged" but didn't finish it. I ate halo-halo and sat around by the beach. I went swimming. I saw a rainbow. When dusk came I walked and walked and listened to my iPod. The next morning, I woke up early and again took a long walk by the shore, where I saw a number of unfinished and abandoned structures, probably the beginning stages of various plans to put up resorts, plans that obviously never pushed through. I also befriended a nice middle-aged couple who had lived at Talipanan beach their whole lives - we talked real estate. My only regret is that I wasn't able to try the pizza made by the Italian guy who lived in the house at the farthest end of the beach.

By Sunday afternoon I was ready to go home. From Talipanan Beach, I had to go back to White Beach, where I was to ride a boat headed back to Batangas pier. There isn’t a lot of transportation available at Talipanan Beach, so for the first part of my trip home, I had to walk. A lot. I took the road behind Talipanan Beach that led straight to White Beach. I walked and walked, probably for about an hour, and took pictures of what I saw. I walked behind an old man and his grandchildren, who probably walked through that road everyday. I passed by what I think was a Mangyan village. From the road I could see the shore of Talipanan beach, which looked beautiful and serene. I walked under huge trees – sunlight seeped through their branches, which made for some beautiful pictures. I had walked a long way before I got to ride a jeepney that took me the rest of the way to White Beach. It was the most unexpected part of my trip, which turned out to be the most memorable too.

The trip to Talipanan beach was the first one I took alone - my first ever solitary trip, which is why I rather fondly look back at it as a coming-of-age of sorts. And through it I realized that going on solitary trips does have its charms, although of course, going with friends can be just as fun, if not more enjoyable.And while there isn’t much to do in Talipanan Beach, such is not necessarily a bad thing – that, along with the fact that Talipanan beach is so close to Manila, make it the perfect destination if you suddenly feel the need to make a quick escape from the city to relax, take a break and forget the many stresses of urban living.

SanFo Treats Caramel Apples

I was in Glorietta yesterday and passed by a new stall at the Activity Center that was selling a unique treat: caramel apples (or as my kid brother calls them, candy apples). I think it's a pretty common treat in the States but I don't think I've ever seen them sold here, so I was very curious and wanted to try one. I almost didn't, however, because the caramel-dipped, chocolate-covered apples were huge, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish one on my own. My curiosity got the better of me, however, and pretty soon I was heading home with a Cosmo Caramel Apple and a Caramel Smores Popper (forgive the food shots, I've never really taken pictures of food and haven't a clue how to make them look good).

The Caramel Smores Popper is basically a carmel-dipped, chocolate and icing-covered marshmallow with an Oreo cookie on a stick. The caramel and the marshmallow made for a very gooey and delicious treat, which tasted great with the cookie. And because it was a relatively small serving compared to the caramel apple, I didn't have any trouble finishing the entire thing. It was very affordable as well at PhP 20.00.

Now to the major event: the caramel apple. I couldn't choose among the different flavors so I asked the kind saleslady which of them was the bestseller, and she told me it was the Cosmo, which was basically a chocolate-covered caramel apple. At PhP 80.00 the Cosmo cost a bit more than the other caramel apples (most of which cost PhP 50.00), but it looked too good to pass up so I went ahead and bought one. I didn't know how to eat it at first - I didn't want to take a huge bite for fear of making a mess (and it probably also has to do with the fact that I once had braces and biting into stuff like apples was a major no-no). Eventually, however, I forgot about everything and just took a huge bite into the damn thing - and boy was I glad I did! The caramel apple was gooey, crunchy, juicy, sweet (but not too sweet because of the apple), and every bite was a delicious treat.

So the verdict? Although I don't think I'll be eating SanFo Treats' caramel apples on a regular basis, it's great if you suddenly feel the need to satisfy your sweet tooth, or if you want to treat yourself after a job well done or a long hard day at work. And like doing the cannonball in a pool and riding a bike, the best part about enjoying a caramel apple is how it makes you feel like a kid all over again.

SanFo Treats: The Original Caramel Apple
6282993, 09274637248
Branches:
The Fun Ranch (beside Tiendesitas)
Glorietta (fronting Tag Heuer)
Megamall (fronting Toy Kingdom)

Bantayan Island, Cebu, Part 1 (Apr. 10-15,'07)

Situated north-west of Cebu province is Bantayan Island, whose charm lies in its friendly locals and serene white sand beaches. The island has yet to become an extremely popular tourist destination, so its beauty, simplicity and tranquility are wonderfully preserved.

How We Got There

From Cebu City’s Northern Bus Terminal, my friends and I rode an air-conditioned bus to Hagnaya Port for PhP88.00 - the trip took around three and a half hours, but was fairly comfortable as the bus was clean and well-maintained. The scenery on the way to the port was mostly of small towns, sprawling mountainside, and every so often we got a glimpse of coastline.

From Hagnaya Port, we rode a ferry to Santa Fe, Bantayan Island. The hour-long ride cost us about PhP130.00/head.

Where We Stayed

Numerous resorts line the shores of Santa Fe, and as suggested by our friend’s brother (who had been to the island a number of times prior), we made reservations at Kota Beach, a resort that was a few minutes’ ride from the Santa Fe port. Along with some other guests, we rode a van sent by Kota Beach to pick us up at the port, and after a few minutes we arrived at the resort.

Kota Beach (Tel. no. 438-9042)

We rented (and actually haggled for) a cottage that cost us around PhP 1,400.00 a night, to be shared by six people. The cottage was air-conditioned and had one bathroom, 1 double bed and 1 single bed (we requested for two additional foam beds). It also had a little terrace in front with comfortable wooden chairs and a clothesline (very important, as six people living in one cottage for four days meant that there would be at least six wet swimsuits that needed drying for the most part of our stay).

The beach at Kota was beautiful. Besides the fine white sand, the best part about it was the huge sandbar right in front of the resort. Various portions of it would sink and rise depending on the time of the day. From talking to the locals, my friend found out that prior to a big storm that hit the island a few months back, the sandbar extended to the other resorts, but during our visit only the portion in front of Kota Beach remained. Also, the water was a beautiful blue, and we couldn’t wait to jump in when we first arrived.

Food! Food!

One thing’s for sure at Bantayan island: you won’t go hungry. For the most part, we ate a lot of grilled stuff, from chicken to fish to pork. The seafood, however, was amazing – not to mention, extremely affordable.

For our first meal we decided to try the food at the resort restaurant. We ordered mostly grilled stuff, which was delicious, but fairly expensive compared to the meals we would be having afterwards. That’s because my Cebuano friend (who was also our host for the trip) met one of the locals, Remy (cellphone 09063578703), who was basically an all-around man, i.e. whatever you wanted, he could get for you, pretty much. My friend would ask Remy to shop for fresh seafood and meat at the public market, which his wife would cook for us. We would have grand dinners of delicious fish, shellfish, pork and chicken every night, and only for PhP 150.00/head or less.

Behind Kota Beach was a small town that was a ten-minute walk (pedicabs were also available for PhP 10.00) from the resort, and we would often visit to buy ice, water, toiletries, etc. We also got to try the grilled chicken and chorizo sold from a barbecue stand on a street corner. Apart from being totally affordable, eating at the stand made for an authentic Bantayan experience.

For breakfast we also had the nice lady at the meat shop cook for us, for which we spent less than PhP 50 for a huge pot of adobo, rice and bananas.

Now I’m not a soda fan, but one discovery at Bantayan Island might just change all of that: it’s called Sparkle, and it costs PhP 7 a bottle. Fondly pronounced “Sparcol”, it’s like Mountain Dew or Lift but with a lot of fizz. And maybe it was also the summer heat and the whole beach atmosphere, but Sparkle now stands as my favorite softdrink, and probably one of the things I will miss the most about Bantayan Island.

Read Part 2: What Happens in Bantayan, Stays in Bantayan...