Philippine Travel Notes

Boarding time Boarding call came at exactly 2:42AM! Upon the boarding announcement via a low-grade P.A. System – which was even hard to understand, people in various levels of sleepiness rushed to the gate like bees to a hive – or even like dogs in a mad scramble for a piece of meat! We wondered why, but just as well, we joined in that mad scramble, shoving and pushing our way to be able to present our tickets to the gate steward like everyone else! Here was an orderly boarding sequence where there were probably nine lines that approached the gate-keeper! Oh gracious! Emerging from the gate – which actually means being out of the building and on to the pier’s pavement, we excitedly took pictures here and there, took video shoots in the dark and just enjoyed the leisurely walk towards the boat. It was about a hundred meter or so walk. Probably even more! As we approached the boat (and another steward of Montenegro Shipping Lines who checked our tickets) an old lady came up to me to ask ...

Not wont to ruin our trip, we tried to find things to amuse us as we waited for the next boat to Abra De Ilog – scheduled at 3AM! Yes, 3:00 o’clock in the morning. And we were standing at this godforsaken pier about 3-hours too early because of... this ! After buying our tickets for the 3AM ride, we went out of the pier to grab something to eat. And we saw that many of the little eateries (carinderias) lined outside the pier were open. Some had their karaoke machines blaring voices from drivers, pier employees, hawkers and vendors in varying degrees of “acceptability” and/or “abhorability”! We picked a small carinderia fronting the main path that leads to the pier’s building which fortunately was at least some distance to the karaoke singers lest we puke at the din torturing our ears. We tried “dinner” with longsilog, sinigang and dasilog. We capped the meal with three each of bananas and I couldn’t make all the momentous events from the past 5 hours without grabbing a can of SanMigLig...

Together with the friend who introduced me to the idea of going to Pandan Island, and another of our common friends, we took an 8pm bus from that devil-infested bus company with a station in EDSA (between Timog and Kamuning) that is the JAM/Tritran bus liner. Now my blood is starting to boil upon writing that sentence! [New Edit: If you have not yet done so, check-out my other story here and you will know the reason why.] Anyway, we wanted to catch the 1AM midnight ferry from the noisy-hot Batangas Pier to Abra De Ilog (a port town in northern Occidental Mindoro). This would have allowed us a 4AM “less-dusty” dawn-time bus ride to Sablayan where we could have caught the fresh sea produce at the market by 7AM. No thanks to the JAM/Tritran bus, this did not happen. We arrived at the Batangas pier about 30 minutes before 1AM (almost a 5-hour ride from EDSA). We ran as fast as we could to the check-in counter for the midnight boat to Abra De Ilog wondering as we breezed through why the us...

The most interesting thing about setting out to Pandan Island is that there are too many discoveries that await the visitor on the way there and coming back! This is the truest “adventure” where all your senses and emotions will be put to work at one time or another! Where on earth is that? Pandan Island, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. That is the exact address! Well, not too many Filipinos, therefore even foreigners, are quite familiar with this paradise amongst this 7,107 islands. Not that it is yet to be discovered; in fact many a foreigner has had a great time in this place. Call it greedy, but I do wish it will remain the way it is today - unassuming, unnoticed, un-hyped-up, un-crazy heaven on earth! Of course it will fizzle out of the vacation/resort market if loads of foreigners don't get to visit the island! That's precisely why I said... I wish it will remain unnoticed… Anyway, to exist, Pandan Island has to be noticed. So, while not too many yet are noticing the charm ...

This place is an inevitable headache that one must endure on the way to Calapan, Puerto Galera or the western Mindoro destinations. Expect these: Upon getting off the bus or whatever kind of land transportation you come in, you’ll be accosted by a crowd of hawkers who will pester you with their wares – generally foodstuffs that they themselves advertise as “pasalubong”. How the hell can you be looking for pasalubong when you are just on your way to your vacation? Bad trip! And mind you, they do not just yell at you for their various kakanin but they will thrust those, right to about a few centimeters of your nose or eyes. And they will follow you wherever you go – even into the comfort rooms – literally! One would think it a relief that the Batangas government or whoever is in charge in that place have fenced off their newly built building that will soon serve as a “grand” port. So, those noisy vendors will drop from your ears when you enter the fenced off area going towards the check-...

Readers should all be aware of this when going to Puerto Galera or any of the destinations en route to Batangas City! There is an anomaly that the bus company (or probably just their employees and without the management’s knowledge) has been perpetrating. Last February 25, 2005, being a holiday, I, together with three of my friends decided to go to Puerto Galera for a much needed weekend break. We decided to take a JAM/Tritran bus by reason of its station being conveniently located at EDSA near Kamuning which happens to be nearest our residences. This decision to take Tritran ruined our weekend! We were at the bus station as early as 5:30AM so we can take the 6AM trip. We happily rode on bus number 727, a yellow JAM liner. The aircon was great – even too cold and the bus was clean. It got readily full to capacity so we left by just about 5 minutes past 6AM. Upon departure, the “conduktor” distributed tickets without asking for our money yet. After he has given tickets to everyone, he c...