Batanes Weekend Cast Away

Batanes has always been a part of my bucket list eversince I started traveling. Despite news of having several flights cancelled, a number of tourists stranded, and business travellers complaining about poor internet connection, the idea of being cast away from all of the stress in the city and the thought of having to enjoy the cold breeze of mountain living while hearing the gust of ocean wind made me decide to spend a weekend getaway with bbeyb in this small island at the northern part of the archipelago.

Most of the travel bloggers recommend a minimum of 5 days of stay to explore everything in the province, but since we don’t have that amount of time for a short getaway, we settled for the North, South and Sabtang Island package that Bisumi Travel Agency had offered. We dropped the Itbayat island from our itinerary, as that will require another one whole day  to explore.

Among the many stops in Batan Island (more than 20

of them), here’s a dozen of my favorite picturesque spots:

1. Paderes View Point

2. Mahatao Shelter Port

3. San Carlos Borromeo Church

4. White Beach and Blue lagoon

5. Alapad Hill and Rock Formation

6. San Jose El Obrero Church

7. House of Dakay

8. Racuh a Payaman (Marlboro Country)

9. Tayid Lighthouse

10. Mt. Carmel Chapel

11. Valugan Boulder Beach

12. Basco Lighthouse, Naidi Hills Complex and Rolling Hills

Due to the strong Amihan wind, we were not able to take drone shots. Our Sabtang trip was also cancelled due to the strong waves. Some flights were cancelled. Some were delayed. We were only able to explore the northern and southern parts of the mainland, Batan. 

The news about a real cast away experience is not a myth. There’s no internet connection. The tours usually end before sunset. There’s no night life. The light posts are not so bright for tourists. The tricycles are not abundant at night. There are no restaurants after 8 in the evening. Some Ivatan delicacies need to be ordered in advance, as they are not always available. If you don’t place advance orders, you’ll end up with the normal carinderia type of viands. My favorite combo is called Batanes’ Flavors (caliente, liempo, Ivatan tapa and kilawin) partnered with Ivatan salad. This can be experienced in Pension Ivatan, close to the airport.

Coconut crabs used to be popular too, but is no longer being served to tourists.

Stone houses are everywhere. These are made of stones and lime stones, and are built to withstand strong typhoons.

Though we only spent a few days  in the island, the long nights with the extremely cold weather condition made us feel like we stayed for a week. 

We’ll definitely be back to explore the Itbayat and Sabtang Islands.

Until our next cast away trip. 😎

Weekend in Laiya

Of all the beach resorts in Laiya that I have been to, Acuatico is the best so far.

Laiya is approximately 3 hours away from Manila via Star Tollway. We rented a private van, as we all want to enjoy and avoid the hassle of assigning drivers or commuting. 

We went with the SDC management team, and our accommodation was sponsored by our big boss, my beyboss.

They have buffet lunch for 620 php per head and buffet dinner for 720 php per head. Breakfast is free.

The pool is warm and is good for day and night swimming.



They also allowed us to fly our drone within the beach area.

[Photos below taken using DJi Spark]

We also played billiards and ping pong during our free time.

The beach is the usual white Batangas sand - not so powdery, but clean enough for beach volleyball.

Their infinity pool is more picturesque at daytime, as the gradual transition of the pool to the beach to the ocean, highlights the blue surroundings.



The pool bar also offers variety of fruit juices and alcoholic beverages.





We stayed at the Terraza, and we occupied two  poolside rooms. 

The views are relaxing both day and night.

Our stay was short but full of fun. 

Until our next trip. 😎

Laid Back-Boracay Getaway with Bbeyb

While the rest of the globe is enjoying autumn or early winter, it’s never too wrong to stay away from the large crowd, and still enjoy summer - one of the perks of living in a tropical country. And speaking of perks, working for a US company has always been vacation-friendly. It includes having the option to be on holiday on their holidays, and having the option of not to work on Philippine Holidays, or else, you’ll earn another holiday off, which means, another holiday. Cool deal? Oh, yeah! But what’s more awesome is when a special event in your life falls within those holidays, which translates to happiness to my traveling feet. 

So, where am I today? I am in Boracay, celebrating US Thanksgiving day and my Bbeyb’s annual birthday trip. 

There she is [photo below] enjoying the fresh salty breeze of the blue Boracay sea and the powdery white Boracay sand at Shangri-La Boracay’s Punta Bunga Beach.

As I have been mentioning in my last few travel write ups, I have less activities on my trips and I have been focusing more on spending hours in a laid back setting, lying down the beach, having a cup of coffee in the balcony, browsing the net, capturing instagrammable spots, watching the sunset, counting the cricket sounds and bird chirps, gazing at the moon and the stars and checking if some of the bluish white stars and constellation taught during grade school still exist.

If you are on your third or fourth decade of life and you want to do the same here in Boracay, I have a dozen tips here for you:

1. Book a flight to MPH. 

Though there are two airports in Aklan, I prefer to skip the van transfer from Kalibo to Caticlan Jetty Port. If you want to go for a more convenient trip, check out helicopter services that will bring you straight to your hotel from NAIA.

2. Choose a hotel that offers shuttle transfers.

Rubbing elbows with other commuters would be not be a good idea if your goal is to relax and unwind. 

3. Settle for a beachfront room at Station 1.

You will never go wrong with Station 1’s sand quality. If your goal is to relax and escape from the busy crowd and still enjoy the powdery white sand of Boracay, Station 1 is the place to be. If the room has a loft and a balcony, that’s a plus.

3. Select a hotel that is accessible to Station 2. Station 2 is where the night life is. Dinner over some cocktails or few bottles of beer would be better with a live band or a dancing crowd.

It’s also fun to walk or jog from Station 1 to 2 in the morning. 

4. Stay for a night or two away from white beach. Boracay is not all about the stretch of white sand. For a more secluded get away, try the other side of Boracay. Below is photo taken at Shangri-La Boracay’s Banyugan Beach.

5. Capture the sunset. Boracay has a very distinctive sunset. Whether you are at your hotel’s balcony or at the beach, as long as you are facing west, you can hardly miss this beautiful experience.

[Photo below at Shangri-La Boracay’s Deluxe Room with sea view]

[Photo below at Station 1 across Villa Kaloo]

6. Get a hotel with a pool. At some point when you feel like your body needs to let go of the salty feeling, a cold dip is a must. When you get an infinity pool, with a view of the beach, with very minimal or no photobombers, then you’re lucky. [Photos below were taken from Shangri-La’s infinity pool.]

7. Enjoy fresh catch of crabs, lobsters and prawns at the D’Talipapa area. It’s Dampa-style of dining. [Photo below was taken at Sugba in Station 3.]

8. Do not skip your hotel’s buffet breakfast.

If you are having too much seafood diet, this will serve as your neutralizer. Shangri La serves the best selection of gastronomic dishes, including goat cheese with ashes.

9. Check the locations of your favorite fruit shake, frappe or ice blended drink in advance. A trip to the beach won’t be complete without your favorite cold drink. 

10. Plan your trip to the ocean. An overcrowded body of water isn’t the best place to swim on.

11. Have a massage. Aromatherapy swedish massage at Chi Spa has the most number of  positive reviews.

12. Lastly, be with your favorite travel buddy. At the end of the day, it’s who you travel with that makes the trip worthwhile.

We all have our favorite holidays, and the best holidays are those spent with the people you love, at your favorite season of the year. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our US friends and colleagues, and Happy birthday to my bbeyb in advance. 😘

Until our next trip. 😎