Detailed Sugar Customized Cake

Kwebang Lampas 2015

Travel Date : Jan 30, 2015 (Friday)

I guess this is the easiest  and maybe the cheapest way  to get to Kwebang Lampas if you are traveling as group (15pax or more) and you don’t have your own ride or you don’t plan to rent a ride to get all the way here. Our group is composed of a senior, 2 kids, 6 girls and 6 boys, 90% of us are first time beach camper/ backpacker. Since we have a senior and 2 kids(5yrs old) in the group, as much as possible we wanted this to be a walk-free adventure.

At 4:30 am we took an AB Liner bus bound to Calauag, Quezon at Starmall Alabang Terminal. During regular hour, the terminal is at South Station.  Bus fare to Pagbilao, Quezon is around 160php-180php. We just made sure to remind the driver to drop us off to Pagbilao town Proper ( near church), this saved us from another jeep ride from Lucena Grand Terminal to Pagbilao  (which costs another 12php).

 Of course there are a lot of other ways on how to get here, you can refer to other blogs about Kwebang Lampas, but if Alabang is the nearest terminal from your location, read on, this is for you.

 In front of the church where the bus drop us off

At 9am, bus dropped us off in front of Pagbilao church. One of us looked for a “for hire” jeep that will take us to Brgy. Ibabang Polo. We’re able to get a jeep that agreed to take us not only to Power Plant but all the way to jump off point for 900php ( around 60php per head ), which was for me was “sulit na” because it really saved us from spending more time and money for couple of tricycle rides and kilometers of walking and walking to get us to the next ride. It took us almost an hour to get to the jump off point.

Jeep we rented fpr 900php that took us from Pagbilao church to jump off point

For those who are traveling in a smaller group, instead of renting a jeep, you can opt to commute at Pagbilao terminal, fare is around 35php (based on the other blogs). But to get to the terminal, from Pagbilao church you’ll have to walk or ride a tricycle. Remember that jeep going to Brgy. Polo will only leave once full, so expect that you may need to wait up to an hour here. According to Manong Driver, the drop off point from a commuter's jeep is at the entrance of Capascapas Power Plant.

To get to the jump off point, you can either walk beside the power plant (20-30mins) or ride another tricycle(20-30php per head). Our group is not a fan of walking or trekking, so we believed that renting a jeep saved us. Anyway, the total expense for fare is almost the same.

At the jump off point, there’s a small lake surrounded by mangroves. According to the boatman, the water is just waist-deep even at the middle of the lake. I'm not sure if it's true though.  We took a 5-minute  boat ride that brought us to the other side of the lake.

Don’t get excited because after reaching the end of the lake ,which at first, I thought  was the beach already and I was wrong, there’s a 15 to 20 mins trek to get to the back gate of the property. We're lucky that it was not raining when we got there or else it would be very difficult for us to keep up with the muddy trail. 

Finally, we reached the back gate entrance. I've seen this on the other blogs about Kwebang Lampas so I was not surprised if it didn't turned out to be a grand gate after all. 

You can easily forget about the stressful back entrance once you set your feet on the beach. We're welcomed by clean, cold and refreshing turquoise water, white sand and surprisingly clean surrounding. 

At the right end of the cove, you can see the cave called Kwebang Lampas. The cave is like a rocky tunnel, just be very careful exploring the inside of the cave because the rocks can be really slippery and you wouldn't want to risk hitting your head at any of the hard rock everywhere. You can exit at the other end though you may need to swim in a few meters deep water to get back to the shore. 

We paid 160php per head for entrance fee (overnight), 25php each boat ride( back and forth), extra 100 php boat ride (back and forth)  for all the baggage we brought ( camping gears, drinking water and  food supplies) and 350php for the cottage.

Not like in Borawan, there's no fee for setting up tents here at Kwebang Lampas so that's a good news. Just bring your own tents or you can also rent one from the caretakers (200-300php).

                         

The caretakers are also lenient about how many hours you can stay at the beach. We stayed for more than 24 hours without an extra charge. So if you would like to be smart enough to arrive really early (like 6am ) and stay until next the day up to 6pm, as long as you'll not camp for another night, I believe they will only charge you for 1 day. We stayed there from 10:30 am Friday until 3pm the following day, no additional charge, and our 2 kids are free of charge. (Disclaimer: this is just based on our experience)

One thing they're strict about is any activity concerning their white sand. Bonfire is definitely not allowed and you can only grill at designated grilling areas. 

It is also true that the water here is so expensive, 50php per container (water from Nawasa) and you definitely have to bring own drinking water.  

Shower rooms doesn't have a shower and don't expect too much about it. There are signage about minimal fees every time you use the comfort rooms though I didn't see anyone keeping track on everyone's usage of these un-maintained facilities so basically no one charged us for using it. You just have to buy a container of water from them and carry it yourself to the CR for your shower. (Tip: Make sure to bring a boyfriend or husband or a guy friend who's helpful enough to carry the water containers for you)

Once it's dark, expect bunch of mosquitoes under the table so make sure you have enough mosquito repellent lotion, citronella oil and katol. 

From what we've experienced, citronella oil (from lamp) generously applied like baby oil on our legs was unbelievably effective.

Our kids our already inside the tent and sleeping as early as 6pm so they're one less worry for us. 

Aside from the issues of water scarcity and hungry mosquitoes, I could say that's its a good place for beach camping not only for barkada but also for the whole family. Beautiful water and relaxing atmosphere, perfect for beach bumming. 

You can even upload your pics from your whole day adventure anytime since they do have sufficient signal for Globe and Smart. Amazing right?! But don't get too happy, they don't have electricity so make sure to charged up your phones and gadgets before going here and definitely bring power banks. 

We do have wifi at Kwebang Lampas!

Just make sure to bring everything you will need so you don't have to buy anything from the caretaker's store. It's expected that everything they sell are way expensive, sometimes ridiculously expensive.

It's wise to have a well-stocked first-aid kit just in case someone get hurt or get sick.

We enjoyed our food-trip and we're very happy to bring more than enough food to keep everyone fed at all times. 

The night that we stayed was a Friday and we're only 3 groups who stayed overnight but before we leave that afternoon, there were already more than 10 groups camping all over. 

At 3pm we left the beach which is now slowly being crowded by weekend beach campers.  

We rented the same jeep on our way back to Lucena Grand Terminal for 1000php worth of hassle-free transfer. 

Along the way, Manong Driver let us  grab as many Rodillas Yema Cake as we can afford for our pasalubong. It's cheaper to buy pasalubong elsewhere rather than buying it at the terminal. 

At 5pm,  we found ourselves settled in an aircon bus bound to Alabang. We didn't even noticed the traffic because all of us    were dead asleep and the next thing we knew, we' re back in Alabang. 

Overall, we definitely enjoyed Kwebang Lampas!

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http://travelandetceterabykeisih.blogspot.com/2015/02/borawan-2013.html

Borawan 2013

Travel Date: November 30, 2013

Yeah I know it was definitely a late post. Well it was 432 days ago from this Borawan Trip but I would like to believe, it's better late than never! I always wanted to write something about our Borawan adventure but between my full time work and a time consuming business, I just couldn't find enough time to finally vent out all the thoughts I have in mind.

Then one day, I had undergone a surgery concerning one of my ovaries and I was given 60 days paid leave. This mean I can take all the rest I needed and I have plenty of idle time to do things I can't  do during my very busy schedule. And that includes writing about some of our backpacking adventure. 

After completing my blow-by-blow account of our Kwebang Lampas Backpacking Adventure, I decided I also wanted to share our experience in Borawan. We decided to camp in Borawan and not avail the island hopping package primarily because we just wanted a place where we can set up our tent, grill some food and be a beach bum the whole day. For some, it's boring but for me and my boyfriend, it's a way to chill and we love it. 

It was a planned vacation and our leaves were plotted weeks before our trip, unfortunately it had been raining and storming the whole month of November 2013. It was the month when Yolanda, an extremely catastrophic super typhoon hit the Philippines and after November 8, 2013, none of my friends, who were originally part of this escapade, wanted to go with us for beach camping. And of course, I understood their fears. However, we're crazy enough to push through with it. 

From Alabang South Station Terminal, we took a Dela Rosa Bus bound to Lucena Grand Terminal, it was 180php back then. It was raining from San Pablo to Lucena but we didn't lose hope. We kept our fingers crossed and prayed hard hoping that a better weather was somehow ahead of us. 

From the terminal, we took another bus to Unisan. The fare was around 35-40php and the travel time was 1 and 1/2 hours, unfortunately the buses here were old and not air-conditioned.

Inside the minibus..

We asked the driver to drop us off at Basiao junction. We waited for our contact to arrive at the waiting shed nearby. You'll see a signage showing Basiao Beach is only 200 meters away. 

Basiao Junction

After few minutes, we met the wife of Kuya Allan, we texted him back in Manila so we can arrange a boat ride to Borawan. They helped us get our supply from a sari-sari store and they provided some cooking wares. They're very kind and would even let us borrow an ice chest but since we'll only be staying for a night, we just borrowed the cooking wares we needed.

We rented a tricycle for 35php to take us to Aplaya. 

Tricycle on our way to Aplaya

Boat ride cost 1800php and this includes island hopping to Puting Buhangin and  Dampalitan but just like what I mentioned a while ago, we preferred to stay at the island. Anyway the weather that day was very discouraging. They charged us for 800 for boat transfer from Aplaya  to Borawan. It only took us less than 10 minutes to get to Borawan Island. It was a pretty short trip.

Boat ride to Borawan Island

We're very lucky that the sun started to shine on our arrival at the island. We took this chance to capture good photos, enjoy the beach and prepare food.

                               

 I won't forget that during this camping experience, cooking had been a real challenge for us since we don't have portable stove back then. The designated grilling area was wet, a sign that it had been raining before we got there, making it very difficult to start a fire for cooking. After hours of laborous cooking, we produced half-cooked,half-burnt pork kebabs and grilled turned fried lemon chicken. Nonetheless, as far as I remembered, we super enjoyed the food. Everything tastes gourmet when you're starving. We cooked enough rice good for the whole stay and swore to buy a portable stove next time.

  

Once we've finished all the cooking and we've secured our tummy's wellness, we started enjoying the beautiful beach that was awaiting in front of us.

 I've seen a lot of negative reviews about Borawan but I must say this beach has it's own beauty. I know that because of it's name Borawan (Boracay+Palawan) people tend to get a very high expectation towards the beach. I agree, the sand is not as white as Boracay's sand and the rock formations is not as breathtaking as those they have in Palawan but at least  what they have here is a bit of each.This place is indeed one of the best beach in Quezon. And maybe if it was named differently, this hidden paradise in Padre Burgos, Quezon would have less online basher. 

                     
This place is perfect for beach bums like us, if you're expecting for water activities or anything else other that staring at the sea, consider looking for another beach, there's nothing much to do here. It just so happened that that's our favorite past time. Doing nothing at the beach, staring at the sky, the sea, the stars at night, away from the busy noisy city, that's what we traveled for. 

                                    

Crystal clear water of Borawan 

                                                     
Compared to other neighboring beaches in Quezon ( Dampalitan, Kwebang Lampas , Puting Buhangin) Borawan has the best facilities so far. Of course it's way far from hotel-like facilities but what they offer here is definitely BETTER than rest of the beaches I've mentioned. They have newly built CR , better grilling areas and considerably nice cottages. Unfortunately, better facilities means everything here is more expensive. This is the reason why this beach has some haters.

Since it has been over a year since we visited Borawan, I decided to get a more up to date information from none other than Kuya Allan. We're not close so I'm afraid he won't answer my queries if I told him I was just fishing information for my blog so I decided to pretend like a guest wanting to avail their boat ride package. I apologize for doing this but here's the info I gathered .

Boat ride to Borawan 800php,                            

Entrance Fee, 190php overnight

 (unli-CR and unli-shower included)

200php for pitching the tent you brought

500 for tent rental and space

1100php (overnight) for a small cottage,

1300php for a bigger cottage, 

Though it's a bit pricey here, what I liked the most about Borawan is it's friendly and accommodating  people. I remember that they helped us start the fire for cooking. Lend us cooking wares for FREE and even offered their ice chest. Some helped us set up the tent. They do reply back on every text queries you have.They are also polite and sound professional. 

(This part made me feel guilty for pretending to be a guest.). 

                           

Pouring rain woke us up in the middle of the night and I panicked not for our safety but because my ( non- waterproof) DSLR bag was dripping wet! Luckily, the camera inside was perfectly safe.

 It was raining all night and since we're only few meters away from the shore I worried for a possible rise of water. We're surprised that after all, we're still able to sleep safe and sound inside the tent and next thing we knew, a beautiful sunrise is peeking up.

                                     

We enjoyed the rest of the day and we're very satisfied with our stay in Borawan. Now that I have experienced camping at Kwebang Lampas, I could say if you're looking for a place for beach bumming and if you're after for a more convenient stay, choose Borawan (vs Kwebang Lampas). You may need to spend more but at least you somehow get what you paid for.

                              

As of February 05, 2015 these numbers are still working.

Metrodeal Villa Fernandez Puerto Galera Getaway : Scam?

Travel Date: March 2013

 Villa Fernandez Resort is located at Palangan, Puerto Galera, which if you are not familiar

 with Puerto Galera geo, you might just overlooked it and regret doing such afterwards. The place

 is too far from everything you will need to have an enjoyable Puerto Galera Trip. Far from the 

beach itself, though it's in front of the water, it is something you can't really swim at. The view 

is good, but I guess every resort in Puerto Galera has the same breathtaking view anyway.

         After more than 4 hours of trip from Manila, the first problem we encountered  when we 

got there was the place to dine in. Which of course, decent places to eat are too far away from the 

resort, leaving us no choice but to dine at the resort. Our lunch, which we waited for 

almost an hour, costs P230 for a simple sinigang, P20 for every extra rice plus 10% service 

charge. 

          The front desk lady insistently offered us other activities (para mag-enjoy naman daw kami) 

and from her own words, later on, I realized that it was so true. We will not enjoy staying 

at this place so we have to go somewhere else. While we're still trying to decide on what to do, we 

experienced power outage. No air-con aside from the fact that water supply will resume at 

2pm. It's unimaginable, a lodge with no-water and no-electricity leaving us again NO CHOICE but to 

pay extra for other activities. P1200 for the 2 of us, unlimited time of Island hopping and 

snorkeling. 

          We're expecting that since they know that their lodge is crappy, they will be a bit nicer to offer 

us cheaper, if not FREE transfer to White Beach or other places where we can forget that the 

accommodation we got was such a joke. Transfer packages they offered were also too expensive. 

And since we don't want to spoil our vacation, we're forced to become extra patient and 

appreciative. After island hopping and snorkeling, we decided to spend the remaining hours of 

the day in White Beach. It means,we have to pay again for our transfer from Muelle to White Beach then back to Villa Fernandez, it will cost 400php if it will be arranged from 

Villa Fernandez and 350php from any tricycle driver in Muelle.

          I also advised everyone not to be too EXCITED for the FREE breakfast included on the package. It actually means 1 small hotdog(not even purefoods) a sunny side up egg and a so-called fried rice. No free coffee. I pitied ourselves for our meager breakfast in Puerto Galera so I decided I will PAY for extra hotdogs. The servers were good enough to give us 4 more hotdogs and an extra rice for FREE, I dont know if it's supposed to be a secret that they gave it to us for free. I commend the servers for being really nice, afterall it's not really their fault that they're working for a mismanaged resort/lodge. And I pity them as well for having to fetch pails of water for all the guests (rooms are located at 2nd floor and up and their getting the water from ground floor) because water supply at the hotel has a 2pm schedule everyday. This will really make you conserve water or decide not to bathe at all!

        And lastly, the FREE transfer back to Muelle port? You have to ride a motorcycle! Without them letting you know that this is the free transfer that they're talking about. It's not a big deal for me and my boyfriend to actually ride a motorcycle at almost 12 noon for a 15-20 minutes ride without helmet whatsoever, we AGAIN forced ourselves to just enjoy the experience.

        Overall , I will not recommend Villa Fernandez. With all the transfer expenses, crappy lodge facilities, expensive food really not worth it, the Metrodeal discount is not a good deal anymore.