Day 284: Batangas & Sabang

Similar to Japan and Indonesia/Malaysia, the Philippines are a volcanic archipelago made up of little islands along the Pacific plate. When people visit, they are encouraged to go to multiple islands and see the beautiful white sand beaches and warm water in places like Cebu and Palawan. These generally require flights or 11 hour ferry rides and we just don’t want to spend the money or time.

We decided to visit the island Mindoro which is a two hour bus ride from Manila and an hour long ferry away! It’s also a very popular spot among locals.

Finding and getting on the bus was hectic because you had to print out the ticket and we had no printer. After circling the building, a security guard called out to Kieran and asked him what he was doing. Told him we are looking for Ceres Bus. Directs us to the group and we tell them the paper isn’t printed; the guy proceeds to take us to a little
printing shop across the street which is also an Internet cafe. 1 PHP for every minute. There is a line to get things printed and we start to sweat it out.

Luckily the bus was 20 minutes late so we got the paper printed in time and ran across the street. The local bus group laughed and waved us onto the bus. We enjoyed the two hour ride down to Batangas as it showed us the different sides of Luzon. There would be skyscrapers and billboards with luxury watches or make up. And then it would be 10-15 minutes of slums and houses stacked on top of each other. Then you would see farms and mountain sides and more nice neighborhoods and more slums. Everything is in English due to our involvement in WWII.

We arrive at Batangas and are greeted with market stalls and shop owners trying to sell us last minute food before the ferry ride. The terminal is huge and had little food shops to pick from as well.

We rode a tuktuk up to Sabang and it was so much fun! We loved the little wagon and how the gears needed to shift going up these crazy hills and windy roads! Motorbikes and other tuktuks would pass us on the way.

Sabang itself is an interesting little village; it attracts scuba diving and snorkeling lovers. As you walked around, people would ask if you needed accommodation, haircuts, pedicures, motorbikes, or food. We make our way to our apartment and followed little signs that say “Blue Pagong this way!”

The complex is hidden a few rows behind the shoreline and there are chickens, lizards, and stray cats / dogs crawling everywhere. We spend the evening walking the shoreline, grabbing delicious burritos and watermelon/mango shakes, and enjoying the sea view.

Food:
Soumai
Mister Donut Donuts
Hot Pot Dumplings
Burritos

Spots:
Batangas
Sabang Czytaj więcej