El Nido | June 2016

It was supposedly a budget trip/backpacking trip to El Nido with 2 of my WFM friends but turned out otherwise. Surely, it's definitely worth it. :)

Our flight schedule was in the afternoon. We arrived at PPS 5PM. Oh did I mention that we should be a total of 5 friends traveling together? For some reasons, at the last hour of flight, 2 of them didn't make it for personal reasons.

Upon arrival at PPS, we headed to La Terrasse Restaurant. Everything we ordered was superb! It was a bit pricey.

From PPs to El Nido, we had to travel 6 hours via Bus. We arrived 4AM at Novie's Inn. It's along the highway and you can ask the bus driver to drop you off in front of the hotel. We had our day planned. We dropped off our things, changed clothes, and head on to have breakfast at Art Cafe. Art Cafe's price range is not far from other restaurants. Food is pricey in El Nido. Of course, there are options like tapsihan, barbecuehan for budgetarians but we opted to splurge a little on our food.

Our first stop after breakfast is THE Nacpan Beach, hailed as the world's most beautiful beach on some blogsites (lol!). We rented a tricycle going to Nacpan. It costs twelve hundreds for 3 people. You can actually get it at a lower price but please mind that tourism is the livelihood of the locals in El Nido so please be considerate in haggling. The beach was very nice, a chill place. I enjoyed swimming because the beach didn't have a lot of rocks. The fine sand felt so good under my feet and the water was not cold. We're supposed to go to Las Cabanas but we were very satisfied and relaxed at Nacpan Beach that we didn't bother leaving. We stayed there the whole afternoon. We walked and hike a little for us to see the Twin Beach.

We availed of  combined Tour A and B Package on the second day. The popular is Tour A and C but because we wanted the snake island we pushed for Tour B. If you are a first timer in El Nido, Tour A is a must! You'll be going to different lagoons in Tour A. The small lagoon can be crowded at times. You have to be very careful if you'll be swimming instead of renting a kayak because the corals are very sharp. We headed to several islands. Our arrival in 7th Commando Beach was very timely because it was not crowded. It's our first stop. It's just us on the island so we were able to ran a quick photo shoot! Lol

I Loved El Nido. Everything was just chill and relaxing. I will definitely go back!

Notes: Per Pax

Tour Package A and B - Php 1,500

Contact Tour Guide - Ansley - 09209792871

Environmental Fee - Php 200

Novies Inn - Php 1,220 (for 4 days booked via Agoda)

Trike fare to Bus Station - Php 50

Bus to El Nido - Php 500 (Cherry bus Night Trip)

Bus Fare back to PPS - Php 350 (Non-Air-conditioned)

Art Café - Php 250 (rough estimate)

National Election, National Shame!

2016 National Election was probably the most chaotic and most controversial I have participated in. On the bright side, It was satisfying that people were more involved on politics.

The campaign period and the national election brought shame not just to the politicians but to most of the people on social media. "Keyboard Warriors" were formed during the campaign season to create memes and trolls. It is very disappointing that for some people, truth is based on what is mainstream. The lack of effort to research for facts, was very evident.

Post-election, the country remains divided by personal interests caused by each one's bigotry.

BTW, I judge people based on political views and work ethics. SMH.

Baler | February 2016

After a busy season at work, I was able to get a 5-day vacation leave. Yey!

I spent 3 days in Baler, Aurora. This trip to Baler had been long overdue. It was first scheduled last October of 2015 but didn't push through due to work conflict then rescheduled to November of 2015 but still a no go due to a family emergency. I, actually, wanted to just forget about it and think that several cancellations were bad omen. Lol!

I'd been googling and reading about it on blogs and travel groups. Baler is known to be a surfing spot in the Philippines. I'm a fan of beaches but not really surfing since I do not know how to swim. Do not expect a white sandy beach cause Baler is not it. Waves were also strong and high. You can see a lot of "tambay" foreigners. Haha!

You have 2 options going to baler, via land and air travel. I chose the first option cause flights to Baler are a bit expensive. There are the usual air conditioned buses with 8-hour travel time and there are coach buses with approximately 6-hour travel time. Coach buses do not have stop-overs so the travel time is shorter but fare costs more. I rode the 2:30AM coach bus, Joybus, from Cubao to Baler. I also utilized http://iwantseats.com.ph/ for Joybus online reservation. You really don't have to reserve a seat specially if it's not surfing season or there's no surf camp. We were only 10 passengers in the bus! Joybus' published travel time is 6 hours but from my experience it was just around 4 hours. It was a comfortable travel. Blanket and snacks were provided.


There are variety of places to stay in Baler, from fan room to air conditioned, inns to hotels. I stayed in Bayler View Hotel. It's a beachfront hotel. The hotel's room was spacious because the room that I booked was good for 4 pax. Remember that this trip was cancelled for several times? That's the only vacant room last February. :( I already paid the down payment for this hotel back in October and it's not refundable so I decided to just stick with it. My Bayler experience was satisfying. They provided a good customer service. First, they were very responsive to inquiries. I was able to book and rebook the hotel via SMS. They even empathized with me when I rebooked the room last November due to an emergency. Second, we arrived early, 6AM. Check-in was at 2PM but we were allowed for an early check-in at no additional cost. Will I consider this hotel for my next Baler visit? Yes.

My colleague recommended a person to contact for a day tour in Baler. I had a 40-minute trek to Mother Falls. The water is so cold! Brrr! I also visited, Baler Church, Museo de Baler, Dona Aurora's House, Ermita Hill, Millennium Tree, and Islets.

I spent most of my nights at Yellow Fin Bar. They offer grilled foods. I just spent hours having pilsen session in that bar. It's just across my hotel so that's a plus. Cost of beer and food was so-so, okay. You must try Angela's Café. They have a very conservative menu, kinds of pizza and pasta. I ordered pepperoni and cheese pizza, spaghetti, and spicy tuna carbonara. You can taste the herbs in their pasta dishes. Price was okay. 

Joybus - Fare - Php 700 (one way)

Iwantsseats reservation fee - Php 25 (fare + fee was paid through BPI Fund Transfer)

http://iwantseats.com.ph/

Bayler View Hotel - Php 3000 per day for 4 persons  (w/ plated breakfast)

Tour - Php 800 (Tricycle - tour fee can be divided if you have companion)

Pictures at: https://www.facebook.com/paRomazoo/media_set?set=a.10155861238528647.1073741849.619058646&type=3