Mei ManuelHi everyone! Late on the post but I have some time so lets go! (though my heart is still aching since ONE OK ROCK recently announced in their official fansite (Primal Footmark) that they will be having a concert on the 12th to 13th of September in Makuhari Messe then 29th in Chicago! WHY WHY WHY DID I BUY MY MAC ALREADY! huhuhu, please please let them have an Asian leg for 35xxxv! If they do, I’m buying a VIP ticket!)
Anyway, I don’t usually do outside trips considering my job doesn’t really need it. If I ever go around, it was just from my house to Manila and its just a short day trip. Just a few weeks back since my mom gotten back home from the US, she organized her choir’s annual trip out. As their last trip was done in Baguio (us tagging along), they opted to go this time to the sunny shores of Baler, the country’s Surf Capital. Of course, the news has pleased my little brother greatly as we haven’t been in a beach or any swimming area since my sister’s wedding almost 3 years ago.
To be honest, I haven’t been to Baler or even know how far it is from my hometown. My dad, weeks before the trip, went there and he did tell us it was a good place to bring the choir or our family should they come home from the US or some other place. Packing for a one night trip, we set off in the wee hours of the morning towards Baler.
To my amazement, Baler is actually just a 3 to 5 hour drive from my home as the fastest route (aside from Plane obviously) is through the Nueva Ecija path (someone needs to brush up on her Philippine geography). A good tip though for anyone travelling through the Pantabangan route (the route we took), there are tons of vertical paths there and some places wherein it is not smooth enough. In one point, there was this super high vertical downhill area close to the one-way bridge. If you get nauseous easily, drink meds or do anti-nausea measures because everywhere you go, cliff!
We got to Baler at 5 am (leaving our meetup point around 130 am) and boy oh boy, first impression is it is a very very quiet place and very simple too. My brother told us that aside from the food carts from known fast-food chains, there isn’t any other famous food chain there as the government wanted everything to be run locally and not by commercial fronts. There are some excellent places though we were told to check out. Check the photos and tidbits of my trip there!
After we ate a hearty breakfast, we went to Sabang Beach, Baler’s main beach and the waves there are indeed perfect for surfers. Tidbit though, always make sure you have someone watching over your stuff and pick a good place because it can get a little crowded in the beach. Stayed there until 10 before we prepped up for lunch. As we all didn’t get some decent sleep, we slept first and went on a short explore around the area. Thankfully the driver of one of the vans we rented (who technically is my elementary classmate’s dad), know the place so we did go around.
Fact: Ermita Hills is actually one of the highest viewing areas you can visit, it is also where the people of Baler can go to in case of Tsunamis
After dinner, i did get to walk around with my bro but as it was night and we didn’t have a guide, we didn’t stay out much.
The next morning, we went off to the Mother Falls, one of the known tourist spots in the area. Word of advice, you will trek like madness (another first on my end) for at least 2 kilometers (Which is made difficult by the path since you need to walk through the streams, pointy rocks, bridges and rocky paths before you reach the falls). The line to the falls is also quite long, but the place is breathtaking and heck cold! (must invest on a GoPro next time). If you are going here, wear your swim wear already and don’t bring too much stuff since it will only get in the way. also wear your slippers (or shoes you can put underwater or so) because some parts can be very dangerous (Especially in the Fall basin).
After our trip there, we fixed up and managed to buy some delicious bread in the bakery close to Jennifer’s Inn (They make excellent dulce de leche as my mum says so) and made friends with the owner of Baler Surf Shack after buying some cool Baler shirts (me and my bro bought matching designs). Once we ate some delicious lunch and prepped up (took a while to leave because some members of the choir had been hit by tummyaches and other kinds of sicknesses. So note to all, always ask the kind of water served to you wherever you go)
That wraps up my entry. Would i go back to Baler? perhaps I will since there are still places i havent been into and my brother is still annoyed we couldn’t find that cafe he wanted to go to. Come visit Baler!!!