Pinoy Wandering Boy

In Japar, We Slept Under the Stars

Wednesday, December 28, 2011Ryan Mach

Even though I was told that the trip wouldn't take more than 20 minutes, I was still scared as hell. I'm never comfortable riding on small boats for the main reason that the boat is small. A large wave could easily upturn it. My anxiety got worse when I learned that we'd be travelling in the dark. With only a small flashlight and millions of stars to guide us. Okay, that sounded poetic so I didn't rally against the idea.

It's past 7 in the evening and we were huddled inside a small hut beside the road. There was only one boat to take us to Japar, a minute island east of Tabogon, an obscure village in Tabogon, Sta. Fe, Tablas, Romblon.

I was part of the first group to leave. We had to wade through the knee deep water near the mangroves to get to the boat. It was eerily silent. Except for the soft murmur of waves and gentle gush of evening breeze, we could hear nothing. It was dark too.

The sea was unrealistically calm, I couldn't believe it myself. It was like that scene in the Titanic movie in which the ship had completely submerged and all that remained on the sea were lifeless bodies. It was creepy but at the same time, the tranquility of the water was completely captivating. You could see the reflection of the stars in the water, that's how calm it was.

I forgot about my fears. Next thing I knew, we were hopping off the boat excitedly. After all, we would be alone on an island without electricity. We'd drown ourselves in booze, do crazy stuff, watch the stars. Pretty exciting, right? The island is owned by one of my friends' grandfather (Sila na ang may sariling isla!). He lives in the island himself with dogs as his friends and company. He's not completely isolated because he still goes to the main land every now and then to get his supplies. That night he wasn't in his house.

We didn't want to intrude his privacy so we decided to camp out near the vacant spot in front of the house and a few yards from the breakwater. We only had one tent but we had a lot of booze and food to last the night. Setting up the bonfire was fun. We were able to find huge chunks of woods from a nearby mini-forest. We built huge fire but as the night wore out, we toned the flame down.

We drank, shared anecdotes, laughed and stared at the vast horizon dotted with million stars.

In a far, far away land called Japar, I slept under a million stars.

[Friends preparing to sleep under the stars]

[Daybreak]

[Friends doing an early morning jog]

[Pre-nup]

[Feeling lost]

Pagudpud Getaway

Thursday, December 22, 2011Ryan Mach

There are lots of places to go and see in Ilocos Region. In Ilocos Norte alone, you can find old churches, white-sand beaches, waterfalls, century-old structures, bell towers and windmills. It'll take you a couple of days to fully experience what this province has to offer. Travel time from Manila via land normally takes about 8-10 hours. The last bus bound for Laoag (10pm) in Dapitan (Farinas Transit) or Cubao (Partas) seems like the best option if you want a fast trip. The roads are almost empty during the dead hours of the night so you can get to your destination in a much earlier schedule.

Paoay Church

Our journey to the North one pre-summer night was smooth and comfy. We were in Laoag before sunrise. From Laoag, we hopped on a bus bound for Pagudpud, which is a two-hour trip. It's such a visual feast to see vast verdant fields in a distance.

There are several transient houses along Saud Beach in Pagudpud (if you're on a tight budget). The rooms are not fancy but you get to have the whole house by yourselves. There's a comfort room, which is what matters most because you don't really stay in the house during the day. There aren't many cafes or restaurants around the area, but I guess we didn't try harder to find a good place to eat. We made do of an obscure eatery beside the road.

If you don't have your own car, you can rent a van that will tour you to notable spots around Pagudpud. A day's rent can cost you almost 2K but if you're travelling with friends, you can split the fee. Be sure to build rapport with the van driver as he also serves as your guide. They're familiar with every place in Pagudpud but they may not recommend one unless you ask. It'll help if you have devised an itinerary.

Patapat Bridge

Our first stop was Patapat Bridge. If you've lots of time to spare, sundown's the ideal time of the day to go to this place. It's like standing in an open veranda with the ocean in front of you. No mountains to block the view in the west so you can have a full panorama of the horizon, with the sky awash in orange and yellow. A few kilometers down west, you can drop by at Paraiso ni Anton (a mystical spring reputed to have healing powers) and Agua Resort where you can hop on rocks and dip your feet down the river with surprisingly ice-cold water.

Cooling it off at Agua Resort

They say that Pagudpud is the Boracay of the North. Not entirely an accurate description in my opinion. Well, maybe, there are far more stunning beaches than Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud, I don't really know. What Blue Lagoon has that's akin to Boracay is its white sand. Not too fine like Boracay's but still white and clean. After seeing the long stretch of white sand, I excitedly ran without slippers. Next thing I knew, I was jumping up and down, cursing, my feet burning. The waves were unfriendly too. At first, it was fun to glide along the current but when I swallowed a considerable amount of seawater, I gave up and never swam again.

Trek to the falls

Next stop was Kabigan Falls. We were told that the trek to the falls wouldn't take that long. About a kilometer, the tour guide, a teenager who wore a T-shirt that bore the name of the place, assured us. So we began to walk past the electric-green fields, crossed puddles and rivulets. It was swell at first mainly because we got to hear the sound of the gushing water from a nearby stream while birds chirped in the distance. Poetic eh? But after what felt like hours, my legs began to ache from fatigue.

"Malayo pa ba?" we asked the guide who seemed to be operating on a tight schedule. He kept on motioning us to hurry and the look on his face as we stopped to take photos was unmistakable. He was impatient. "Malapit na," he told us. I didn't believe him, of course.

It was worth the trouble and distance, really. Kabigan Falls is an enchanting falls located at the eastern part of Balaoi. It's an 80-feet waterfall surrounded by thick forest which reminded me of Mt. Makiling. The waterdrop can hit you real hard and it's quite a challenge to swim toward the center where the downward current's strongest. Strangely enough, the water's not too cold despite the damp atmosphere.

You may need to shout to be heard because the sound of the falling water is just overpowering. Surprisingly the trek back is rather quick. I didn't understand it myself.

Saud Beach

We were back at the transient house before dusk, just in time to watch the sun set in Saud Beach, where beach combers frolicked in the water.

Kuwebang Lampas Quezon Province

Kuwebang Lampas - Discovering a Nice Beach in Quezon

Thursday, December 22, 2011Ryan Mach

[Approaching Kuwebang Lampas]

The primary purpose of our trip in Candelaria, Quezon one sunny day in April 2011 was to attend a friend's wedding. Friends talked about plans of spending the night on a beach so I made sure I packed some extra clothes. The hotel we stayed at had a huge pool but it had some funny smell so we weren't really enticed to take a dip. It was a good thing that we had a friend who knew a few beaches in Quezon, or rather a friend who's friends with people who know a lot of beaches in Quezon.

[Hotel in Candelaria]

With a few choices given to us, we went for Kuwebang Lampas (or Kwebang Lampas). It sounded interesting. How far it is from here, we asked. One to two hours. Not bad. Do we spend the night there? No, we leave before dusk. A few chatter and we called it a night. The next morning ignoring our grumbling stomach, we left the hotel and boarded a bus bound for Bicol.

All buses en route to Bicol pass by the town of Pagbilao so we didn't have to worry about getting lost. Being hungry was a far more pressing concern. In Pagbilao, we bought some food at the nearest grocery store. It's already past 9 when we got on a jeepney bound for the town of Iba. We asked our fellow passengers how to get to Kuwebang Lampas. They told us to ask the jeepney driver if he could take us there. After some negotiation, the driver agreed.

[Nice little swamp]

He dropped us off in Brgy. Bantigue, where we hopped on a small boat which crossed a very peaceful swamp, transferring us to a rocky beach front. We played around and took photos while waiting for another boat to take us to Kwebang Lampas.

The boat was too small it couldn't accommodate all of us so some of our peers decided to trek to the beach. I wasn't in the mood to hike so I stayed on the tiny boat.

Kuwebang Lampas is known for its cove with beautiful limestone rock formation. Being a beach lover that I am, I was more enthralled to see the white sand beach, which was arguably the most scenic I've seen so far.

It's just about a kilometer stretch of white sand but my golly, it's a paradise for every beach lover. A little undiscovered paradise that is hidden by limestone cliffs at both ends. Never mind if there was a large swarm of people frolicking on the beach. Never mind if we vied for space to camp and eat.

There were a number of small cottages that lined the beach. (Rental fee was around Php400 to Php500. Access to the beach was Php50 per person.) Some people had tents, others sprawled on the grass-carpeted ground. There's a small toilet at the far end where you can change although be prepared for the highly revolting smell.

We asked the caretaker, a kind man in his early 50s, if they allowed overnight stays. They didn't. "Well, except for family friends and visitors," he told us. We learned that the beach is privately owned by some Chinese business man who's based in Lucena City. That explained the barbed-wire that surrounded the beach. The gate made of old rusty seams was kept locked and those who wish to enter had to holler really hard to be heard.

Getting there

Take a bus bound for Lucena (Buendia or Cubao) then get off at the terminal in Lucena. Go to Pagbilao Market Terminal and ride a jeepney en route to Brgy. Polo. Ask the driver to drop you off at the terminal and rent a trike to Puting Buhangin.

Alternatively, you can rent a boat in Brgy. Mantigue or at the Pagbilao Wharf. With lots of routes to Puting Buhangin, you'll never get lost.

Couchsurfing Travel Tips

Couchsurfing - More than a Social Networking Site for Travelers

Wednesday, December 21, 2011Ryan Mach

Travel Tips

Travel Tip | How to Ease Flight Anxiety

Tuesday, December 20, 2011Ryan Mach

Some people are afraid to fly. I am among those people.

[Boracay-bound aboard an ATR]

I haven't really realized that I'm afraid to fly (okay, that sounds exactly like a line of a song) until I experienced my first plane ride. I thought the anxiety that made me fidget while waiting for boarding was just a result of too much excitement. You see, I had always dreamed of touching the clouds with my bare hands. I wanted to see how it felt up there. It was a dream come true, I couldn't quite contain my excitement. However, as the plane took off, my heart started to beat frantically. This went on until our smooth landing in Silay Airport in Bacolod.

I've flown numerous times after that nerve-wracking flight experience. I should have gotten used to it by now. But every time I board the plane, I still find myself nervous. It's not as worse as the first time though. With a few tricks I learned and observed, I'm able to alleviate my fear of flying.

If you're one of those people who suffer from similar anxiety, these tips might help to ease your fear:

1. Get Used to It

By making yourself familiar with the sights and sounds of flying, you'll eventually feel that flying is just as normal as, say, riding an air-conditioned bus, only you're travelling in high altitude. Be aware that airplanes have bumps and movements so you won't find yourself freaking out every time you feel your seat shudder or see the wing of the plane tilt.

Turbulence can scare the wits out of you if you didn't have any idea that this is a normal occurrence up in the air.

2. Don't be a Wuss, Flying is Safe!

[Planes are one of the safest modes of transportation]

“You're 62 times more likely to get injured or killed in a land vehicle accident than in a plane crash” goes a friend's comforting comment on my Facebook note entry about my first flight experience.

Ironically, there is truth in this. Even statistics can show you that an individual is 500-1000 times more likely to encounter a mishap on the highway. Are you convinced yet that flying is safe? I'm not because let's face it, accidents can happen.

Another friend (I'm talking about you, Dani Joel) who's working in a travel agency assured me that all planes scheduled to fly are thoroughly checked. In other words, the airline industry is the most carefully monitored, regulated and scrutinized transport system in the world and commercial planes are flown by people with thousands of hours of training. That's comforting, right? Also, consider the fact that the number of plane accidents in the country over the last few years is almost close to zero.

These assurances may not make you feel completely comfortable but they should at least give you hope that you can actually get to your destination safe and sound.

3. Find out which part of the plane makes you feel comfortable

Some people do find themselves feel safe when they sit on the wing or near the window. There is a general consensus that sitting over the wing of the plane provides the most stability so turbulence can hardly be felt. This doesn't work for me. The scenery below makes me dizzy and nervous. I prefer the aisle seat because it gives me the feeling that I'm riding on a bus.

[I'm personally not fond of window seats]

And oh, pretending that you're on a bus might actually help. Sounds too easy to do, doesn't it. Simply close your eyes, stuff your ears with headphones and listen to your favorite music (playing songs with very suggestive titles like Heaven or Fallen can ruin concentration). Pretend as if you're on Victory Liner or Partas going north. Think of turbulence as the result of a bumpy road.

Also, try to stay away from the seat near the exit too.

4. Keep yourself busy by watching a movie on your tablet or notebook.

If you're a nervous wreck, an hour flight can feel like a lifetime. But if you do something beside checking your watch, you'll barely notice the time. Next thing you know you've already arrived in your destination.

My last flight from Cebu felt very short because I kept myself busy by watching "Tangled" on my friend's laptop.

[Puerto Princesa bound aboard CebuPacific]

Having an interesting discussion with friends is a good distraction. Just keep your voice low so as not to disrupt sleeping passengers near you.

5. If all else fails, ask a doctor's prescription for sedatives

This last option is for losers. Kidding. Apart from the possibility of getting mocked by your peers, there's nothing wrong with making an appointment to your doctor and ask for a prescription of sedatives.

I haven't tried this yet but according to my research, common sedatives provided by physicians are Xanax (brand name) or Alprazolam. Taking one or two of these pills will make you a little less tense. If you're ashamed to go to the doctor, a half-bottle of alcohol might help you decrease your apprehensions. But don't take too much, just enough to calm your nerves.

[View above the clouds]

How about you, how did you conquer your fear of flying?

Travel Articles Travel Tips

Common Travel Sins

Monday, December 19, 2011Ryan Mach

Backpacking is a dream that a lot of people want to indulge yet only few actually act on. (I've travelled to several places around the country this year, so yehey, I can call myself a backpacker!) We backpackers are among the few who choose to embrace life and see the world from different perspective (I'm taking this literally) - and that's an amazing step. We get to see things we've never seen before, experience culture we never knew existed and eat food that are too weird for our taste. And the best part is, we come home with tons of pasalubong and memories that we can forever cherish (yikes, that sounds mushy!). Seriously though, travelling helps us get a better understanding of the world.

Having a unique and adventure-filled trip is what we ultimately want at the end of the day. So it's essential that we stay away from backpacker blunders that can rob us of the unique experience we're looking for. We call them travel sins - travel mistakes that can somehow ruin our travel experience.

Let me pretend like I have all figured it out and share some of the blunders I know and are guilty of.

1. Choosing Fastfood Restos Over Local Cuisines

During my Bacolod trip, I asked my travel buddy to buy a cup of Sundae at McDonald's along Lacson Avenue. The reaction I got was worse than getting scolded by an adult. "You travelled all the way to Bacolod just to eat Sundae at McDonald's?!!?" Whoa, easy buddy, I don't mean any harm. I just want to eat Sundae at McDonald's. Sheesh, is that a sin already?

McDo, seriously?

In the backpackers' world, yes it is. But my retort was rather compelling (I thought it was anyway) - you don't get to eat at McDonald's Bacolod everyday, do you? And with that argument, we ended up having one cup of Sundae each at McDonald's.

But really, eating at fastfood restos like Jollibee or McDonald's when you're on the road is a bit lame. You can do that in Manila. So in my next trips, I made sure that I stay away from those fastfood chains (they're all over the country!) and try the local restaurants instead. Still the no-fastfood rule can be broken sometimes. That's inevitable. Cebu trip - guilty. CDO trip - guilty.

2. Sticking to Tourist Attractions

This is easily the biggest travel mistake that a backpacker can commit. Going 'mainstream' is not necessarily a bad thing but you risk making your experience sort of boxed in. Just because everyone has gone there doesn't mean you also have to. While these places can be fun and they offer a taste of a place that you can call unique, there are various attractions around that you can discover.

Hey, I'm not saying no to experiencing famous activities/attractions of a certain place - water-rafting in Cagayan de Oro, eating Lechon in Cebu, visiting the Sunken Cemetery in Camiguin, surfing in La Union. They're all fun. But for backpackers who maintain a travel blog, such are a cliche. You can make a mark in the travel blog universe by introducing a place that no one has gone before.

3. Expecting everyone in the province to speak Tagalog

Filipino or Tagalog is a language born out of too much politics. This item is really self-explanatory.

4. Scheduling trip on rainy months

CDO-bound on a rainy afternoon

Every Filipino knows that there are only two seasons in the country. When it rains, it really pours hard. I almost backed out from our CDO trip last August because of the imminent typhoon (which caused massive destruction in some parts of Luzon). My flight was scheduled in the afternoon and the earlier part of the day was promising - sun's up, no rain. But came boarding time, the sky turned gloomy and rainshower began to tall. The flight was full of bumps and I considered it the worst to date.

CDO and Camiguin weren't affected by the typhoon though. Still, I have learned a valuable lesson - I'll try not to schedule trips during the typhoon months. But then again, typhoons are a typical occurence in the country so you really never know the best month to schedule your trip.

I'm sure there are other travel taboos but these are the ones I can think of. Care to share yours?

Travel Tips

A Guide for Beginning Travel Writers - Like Me

Monday, December 19, 2011Ryan Mach

Creating a travel blog is easy.

Yes, it is. There are lots of travel blogs out there offering various travel tips and sharing countless travel guides. Just Google them, you'll find heaps.

No, it's not. Anyone can create a travel blog, but with hundreds of travel blogs in the blogosphere, it's difficult to make yours stand out. You definitely don't want your travel blog to be just 'another travel blog', do you?

What makes a travel blog unique? Is it the design? The photos? Or the travel journal? Safest answer would be all of them. Each one contributes to the overall personality and voice of your blog. But the bread and butter of a good travel blog is the write-up. Readers are looking for helpful information. If your blog gives the readers what they want and makes them inspired and crave for more entries, then you can be sure that your stats will shoot up in no time.

Here are some of the tips that we, as a travel writer, can use to help our writing better, or let's say more like a travel writing instead of a diary. I'm guilty myself of some of the boring travel journals but then again, I'm an amateur travel writer wanna-be.

1. Craft stories like our experiences non-linearly.

We know it's so much easy to tell a story like a diary entry with a title like "How I Spent my Vacation in Boracay."

We boarded the plane at 8am. We left at 9. We arrived in the airport at 10. Blah blah blah.

Nothing seems wrong with this type of writing, except that it can be a painfully boring read. A mark of a good travel writer is his/her ability to write a compelling story without so much details. As a travel writer, we must learn to choose details that are relevant to our point and at the same time, relevant to the reader. These details may not necessarily be the same. The trick is to make the narrative interesting and write them non-linearly.

2. Stay away from mainstream adjectives or value judgments.

One of the tricks I learned from a writing workshop back in college is if you want your piece to be descriptive, try to use action words instead of adjectives. Example, to describe the heat, you can say something like this - 'The pavement sizzles under direct mid-day sun light.' Works better than 'The sun is sizzling hot' right?

Mainstream or flat adjectives can often value judgement which can make the piece ordinary. There are alternatives to commonly-used descriptions such as 'amazing, 'great' or 'perfect'.

3. It's not always the best.

'It's the best experience ever!' Sure, this statement can be catchy but if you declare each experience the most perfect and the best, isn't that a little over the top? The last thing we want is to make our experiences a hard-sell. Instead, we make our readers decide if the trip was really the best by creating a story that's fascinating and a little flawed.

I've read in a travel essay that it takes time to learn how to develop the right words to convey our experiences of a place in a voice that’s both faithful to our experience and true to our own voices. Taking that time, though, is critical to developing your craft as a writer, not just a travel writer.

Cagayan de Oro

Ways to Help Sendong Victims

Sunday, December 18, 2011Ryan Mach

la union Surfing Travel Guide

Surfing in La Union, Anyone?

Sunday, December 18, 2011Ryan Mach

The obvious challenge with Normi2's, the beach resort we stayed at in San Juan, was the name itself. We had problems pronouncing it. Is it Normitos or Normi-normis? It was essential that we had the name right otherwise Manong Konduktor of Farinas Busline wouldn't be able to drop us off there. We went for Normi-normis. He thought for a moment and said that he's not familiar with the place. Normitos then? Negative. I panicked a little. What if we got lost? 4am wasn't an ideal time to get lost in a place we barely knew. Granted, I had travelled to the North twice before but I had never really set foot in La Union.

"Did you print the map?" I asked my companion, Phoebe, who was busy digging some bills inside her bag. It was pay time. We had just got past Bulacan. There was hardly any traffic. Travelling late at night seemed to be the perfect option.

We studied the map. I made sure that Surf Camp was there, since staying there was the original plan. But my travel buddies who were already in Normi2's had different plans. I remembered Ariane, a friend who frequents in San Juan for her surf fix. She should know the place too well. In a text message, she told me that Normi2's was just a few kilometers from Surf Camp. Yes, we got it this time. Normi2's then! No more Normi-Normis. "Maybe it's Normi to the 2nd power?" Phoebe joked. Funny.

Turned out, Normi2's wasn't really hard to find. It's not exactly off the beaten path. The tricycle driver knew where it was. Because it was still closed (we got there at 5am), we decided to check out the place and take photos. We could hear the soft murmur of the waves from afar.

At 6am Phoebe and I found ourselves at Surf Camp Resort to inquire if they had available rooms for 8 people. We were looking for alternatives because the room our friends got at Normi2s was good for only 6 people. "All rooms are already taken," the caretaker at Surf Camp told us. "And no one's checking out later?" We tried pushing our luck. He shook his head. We could have booked online, I told Phoebe who was getting impatient. We were tired and hungry. "Let's go back to Normi2's," I decided.

The staff at Normi2's were friendly and courteous. The one assigned at the reception area was particularly cordial. She was assigned to take and deliver order. She was quick and attentive too. I forgot her name, but she's really nice. The amicability of the staff is one thing that's charming about this place.

With rates that range from 1,200 for fan rooms and 2,000 up for air-conditioned, Normi2's is a good deal. They have free wifi, they serve free breakfast and there's no corkage fee. They also have swimming pools (one for the kids, and the other for adults), Surf Camp doesn't have one. The beach lines in San Juan are not ideal for swimming so having an amenity like this is a plus for people who want to swim before or after surfing.

Of course, the highlight of our La Union getaway was the surfing experience. Seeing big waves near the resort made us anxious. Especially Phoebe who doesn't know how to swim. 'Don't be silly,' I told her in a falsely comforting tone, 'You don't need to be a swimmer in order to surf.' And that's true. The required skill in surfing is balance and agility. Swimming skills only come second. At 3pm, we were all geared up for the kill. Me, wearing the same shirt from the trip.

For 400php, you can experience basic surfing for an hour. 200 for the training/lesson/tutorial and 200 for the board. Before riding the waves, a personal instructor will teach you the basic how-to's - how to paddle, how to properly cling on board, how to stand and how to fall.

"Can we surf by ourselves once you've taught us everything?" Marvin asked one of the instructors.

"No, you can't. It's too risky."

That's a fair statement. The waves can really be nasty. Although the surf spot that the instructors chose for us had small waves, it was still hard to maneuver the board in the water. The real challenge, at least for me, was not riding on board, but braving the strong waves. It's not only the waves that you need to watch out for, you really have to pay attention to other surfers going your way as well.

The last thing you'd want is to get bumped by several approaching surfboards.

Normi2's is located at 9-10 Seaside, Taboc, San Juan, La Union, Philippines. They can be contacted at (072) 720-0519, 0927-4496934, 0928-4231-476.

Getting There:

Take a bus (Farinas, Genesis, Partas, Dominion, Viron) bound to Vigan, Abra or Laoag. Tell the driver to drop you off at San Juan. Normi2's is right beside the McArthur highway, but it's not too popular among the drivers. You can instead get off at the Municipal Hall of San Juan then take a trike to Normi2's. Travel time is around 5-6 hours.