Tag Archives: beach

Accommodation, Activities and Itineraries, Backpacking, Leisure Trip, Provinces, Transportation

Waves and Melodies of the Sun Surf Strum Festival 2014

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Four weekends ago, amidst the threat of Super Typhoon Ruby (international name Hagupit), my friend Silia and I headed to Sitio Liwliwa in Zambales for the SSSF 14 weekend. SSSF, short for Sun Surf Strum Festival, is a yearly event organized by Ukulele Manila together with partners and sponsors.

Clear skies and the ash-filled riverbed
Clear skies, majestic mountains and the ash-filled riverbed on the way to Liwliwa

True to its name, the Sun Surf Strum Festival lived up to the expectations of festival patrons — bright and sunny days, awesome waves and chillax music!

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#100days, Accommodation, Activities and Itineraries, Backpacking, Budget, CouchSurfing, Leisure Trip, Provinces, Transportation, Travel Groups and Forums

#100Days Photo 36: Fortune Island, Batangas, Philippines

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Roughly 4-5 hours from Manila lies Fortune Island, a semi-isolated-used-to-be-super-private island off Nasugbu, Batangas. They say this is as close to Greek’s ancient ruins as could be possible, with the clear blue waters as your backdrop! Who would have thought that the typhoon destruction to an uber exclusive island paradise would result to a steadily becoming popular destination for beach bums and island campers? Known for its picturesque rows of Athens-like pillars and half-destroyed half-gorgeous statues, Fortune Island gives each traveler a nice reward for climbing atop the stairway-lined hill that leads to it’s “viewpoint ruins” and, as my friends saw and experienced, cliffs and caves. To reach Fortune Island, take the San Agustin Bus line at Coastal Mall in Pasay, going to Nasugbu (3-4 hours, PhP 200-220 AC (about $5), PhP 130-150 (about $3.5) non-AC). From there, take a 15-minute tricycle ride to Fortune Resort Dive Center (pre-booking necessary with caretakers Mang Dante 09394895292 or Chris 09087225628 is necessary) which is the jump-off point to Fortune Island. The 45-minute 10 pax-max boat ride costs around PhP 6000/$135, plus PhP 400/$9 island entry fee (overnight price, negotiable; day trip is cheaper). With upper limit calculations, that’s about PhP 1250/$28. Add in food, booze and other expenses, a beach camping (yep, no rooms) weekend at Fortune Island would be about PhP 1700/$38 which, I must say, is quite cheap to “experience” Greece and of course, enjoy the Philippines’ endless summer with the company of family and friends under the sun and stars. [Special thanks to Hazelle for organizing this CouchSurfing trip back in May and providing all these info I’ve already forgotten.]

#100days, Activities and Itineraries, Leisure Trip, Provinces, Transportation

#100Days Photo 34: Daranak Falls, Taytay, Rizal, Philippines

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Who would’ve thought that a mere 2, ok, 2.5 hours public transport commute from Manila, you can already enjoy an awesome waterfalls retreat, more so that of Daranak Falls?! It was a fine Saturday morning when we trooped to Daranak Falls for a fun day trip. Armed with nothing but knowledge from other blogger’s post and personally, some worries from colleague-resident’s caution that Daranak Falls is no longer as clean and beautiful as it was before, we braved the zigzaggy road with nice mountain landscape (Sierra Madre?) scenes of Rizal and were not disappointed with what waited for us. The Daranak Falls was super impressive that day — full of water and full of life, from the people swimming and from the nature that’s inviting. For a moment, I stood in awe at the wonder before our eyes then, took a deep breath as I jumped from the small cliff into it’s cold waters. The swimming pool of Daranak Falls was not super clear that day but still, it kept us treading and playing in its waters for a while — even challenging ourselves to climb further up where the water falls and to take a plunge once more!

Accommodation, FotoFolio, Leisure Trip, Provinces

FotoFolio: Rock View Beach Resort, Bolinao, Pangasinan

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Since, I was able to resurrect my Banana phone’s* memory card, it gave me a chance to check out the pictures I thought will no longer see the light of day — these pictures of Rock View Beach Resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan are some of them. And, before they get threatened to once again fall into oblivion, let me share these with you.

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#100Days Photo 32: Scout Island, Hundred Islands National Park, Pangasinan, Philippines

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The sun slowly setting, the wind mildly blowing, and the ukulele songs that keep on playing — if only we can freeze time at Scout Island, we probably would. ‘Twas a really charming Saturday afternoon at the Hundred Islands National Park as we set camp on the “undeveloped” Scout Island (read: no structures or facilities) where we spent the night. After a full day of bus travel (about 5-6 hours from Manila to Alaminos, Pangasinan), snorkeling, swimming and island hopping, the quiet, rustic and peaceful vibe of Scout Island gave us the solace that we were looking for. Though devoid of material comforts, choosing Scout Island turned out to be an awesome choice — white sand beach for our bed, magic planktons (green phosporescent aka Life of Pi aka The Avatar) for our entertainment, and an entire island to ourselves!