Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Puting Buhangin Summary Expenses



Here are the Summary of our travel expenses (for 2 pax) Fare

Quezon Ave – Quiapo- 40.00 FX

Quiapo – Lawton -17.00 PUJ

Lawton- Buendia – 24.00 (PUJ)

Note: this fare cannot be happen if only we knew that Park N Ride in Lawton has no Buses bound for Lucena.

Buendia – Lucena- 420.00 (210.00 each)

Lucena Grand Terminal – Pagbilao Market – 24.00 (12.00 each)

Pagbilao Market- Bgy Polo – 40.00 x 2= 80.00

Bgy Polo – Parking Lot – 100.00

Parking Lot – Puting Buhangin -20 x 2= 40 (Back and Forth)

Parking Lot- Don Enrico Resort – 150.00 Tricycles

Don Enrico- SM Lucena – 40 x 2 = 80.00

SM Lucena – LRT Buendia – 209.50 x 2 = 419.00

Total Transpo: 1,394.00


FOOD: (2 pax)

Siopao – 25.00 x 2 = 50.00

Lugaw – 40.00

Taho- 10 + 5 = 15.00

Coffee: 15.00 (For Mariang Lagalag)

Cooked Food – 87.00 +50.00 + 50.00

Grocery + miscellaneous- 194

Pancit Chami early dinner – 75.00


Total Food: 576.00

Others: 2 pax

C.R Fee Grand Terminal 15.00

Puting Buhangin Entrance Fee- 100

Tip Boat – 50.00

Entrance Fee Don Enrico- 140.00

Pasalubong – 300.00


Others: Fees

605.00


Total 2,575.00, Our Budget allotted is 3,000, and we still have a change to put on our lagalag funds.

For Php 3,000 pesos less, we enjoyed a day in Puting Buhangin (3)



Bicolanang Lakwastera haggled for Kuya Tricycle driver to bring us to the nearest resort they know. They recommend Don Enrico’s Bar and Resort. This so called nearest resort took us about 20 minutes travel and Php 150.00 pesos fare. Discounted.





We knock at the gate and thought that the resort is closed. There is a construction truck inside and looks like they are renovating the resort. Good thing that the owner opened the gate and allowed us to enter. We are the only guest at that time, and the swimming pool is all by ourselves. It is like that we have rented the entire resort.







The owner is so accommodating and we only paid 140.00 for the two of us as entrance fee. The swimming pool is so tempting and we swam like children. We took pictures of the nice view. Fronting the swimming pool is a mountain that gives the resort a cool green and refreshing ambiance.



After taking some photos, Kuya pointed to us a nipa cottage wherein we can take shower and change clothes. It is an enclosed private Nipa Hut. Flowing water is what I need. We took a bath and I was satisfied with the shower bath I had.

Don Enrico Resort is a private resort owned by a former seaman and decided to put up a resort bar inside ---- His plans is to make the resort a transient hotel that can accommodate guests who needs accommodation inside Pagbilao, for a cheaper price.



Currently, the rates for day swimming is Php 70.00 pesos, and overnight stay cottages ranging from 500- 1000 depending on the size and type of nipa hut. Their main source of income is the resto bar who serves good food for a cheaper and affordable price.






Before 5pm, we prepared our things to catch a PUJ for Lucena. Kuya’s assistant waited for a PUJ that passes by in front of the resort. It took him 30 minutes before he called up inside and said that PUJ is waiting outside. It’s kind of like a taxi call.



We arrived Lucena City hungry. We entered Naisa Eatery and ordered Chami. I heard it is their pansit delicacy as pancit habhab in Lucban. We also bought Apas and espasol as pasalubongs.





We ride JAC Liner infront SM Lucena City that will return us to LRT Buendia. We arrived Manila at around 11:30pm. I got home at 12 midnight of May 1st 2012. I was late at work, arrived office at 9am the following day... Our time in is 8am. Being late is not good. But I feel good because of Puting Buhangin. I miss puting Buhangin already. I miss Quezon province. I heart U Quezon!









For Php 3,000 pesos less, we enjoyed a day in Puting Buhangin (2)



Overnight ba kayo? Asked ate Gemma. Tao kami di kami overnight sa loob loob ko .Joke. We said no. We will be here for a day visit only. We do not have a plan to stay overnight because our work will resume on May 2. After paying 190.00 Pesos , for the two of us, (50.00 pesos per pax entrance fee, 20 pesos /pax for boat crossing the lake vice versa, and 50.00 pesos for Totoy as our way of saying thank you for allowing us to ride in his boat, saved us for trekking by land for 15 mins.



We arrived at Lukang Beach around past 9am. First step we did is to lay our mat. Renting cottage is not practical, since we are only two and we will stay there for few hours. We learned that beyond 5pm, public transports in Bgy Polo are like invisibles, meaning, and no way to get out from Lukang Beach. Scary heh! Kidding aside, tricycles from Lukang Beach to Bgy Polo are only up to 5pm.



Bicolanang Lakwatsera really wants to take pictures of the pristine beach. The sand is not that as white and powdery as Boracay, but it is so fine. The water is calm and the entire beach is a perfect subject for a post card photograph. Right side of the beach is the Kwebang Lampas. You can get there by swimming or walking thru the rocks. When I get inside there, I remember the folklore about mermaids. If they are true, perhaps Kwebang Lampas is their favorite hiding place, a place wherein they can lay their heads on the rocks while the waves continues to kiss their face. I did it. I imagined I am a mermaid inside Kwebang Lampas.

We swam and took pictures. The beautiful scenery around us makes our solo pictures made perfect.





After a tiring swimming and picture taking, we ate our lunch. We had dinuguan, batchoy, itlog na maalat, rice, banana, pansit, puto, and bread. That is all that we had bought from Pagbilao Market.


We decided to leave early. But I was a bit discouraged when I saw lots of people lining up to take shower. I asked one caretaker where in I can get potable water. He answered back he will give us for only 30.00 pesos per pail. It is okay with me and I understand that in an Island like this, potable water is a golden treasure. It is not easy to transport gallons of water from the mainland. But upon seeing how much water I can use, and I know that a pail of water is not enough for me, I talked to my friend that we should look for any resorts wherein we can take a bath with flowing water.

We left Kwebang Lampas around 2pm and we trek for 15 minutes to the lake, wherein the boat is waiting to cross us to parking lot.



Same thing as we arrived, we again saw Ate Gemma at the parking lot. We said goodbye for now and I told her that we will come back soon because I am planning to bring my son along, and I just hope that Puting Buhangin or Lukang Beach modernization and improvement plan will materialize. If this happens, going in and going out from this beautiful place will be much easier and convenient.



For Php 3,000 pesos less, we enjoyed a day in Puting Buhangin (1)



BBL Trans is located at Pasay Taft near Cor Buendia. Starting point of our Pagbilao Quezon trip. We told the Bus Conductor to drop us at Lucena Grand Terminal wherein we can ride a Bus going to Pagbilao. The trip took almost 4 hours. We left Buendia at 7:20pm and arrived in Lucena at past 11pm.

We plan to look for an accommodation but decided to stay overnight in Grand Terminal. It’s not wise to take a risk to travel in the middle of the night and to catch a last trip going to Pagbilao, for there is no assurance that we can find a cheap accommodation there.

Lucena Central Grand Terminal is a nice Bus Terminal that I have seen. It is clean and very organized. The chairs are nice to sit in wherein we took a nap. The Comfort Rooms, though has an entrance fee (Php5.00) are clean, added that there are a lot of Food Stalls in the area that serves good and delicious budget meals. Lugaw Goto is my favorite, sprinkled with lots of fried garlic, and Princess Lugaw is highly recommended for their delicious congees.


At 5am, we hop in an ordinary Bus going to Pagbilao. We paid 12.00 pesos each. And again, our best companion while travelling first time is “Magta”. Magtanong or ask locals about what to ride and where to ride for your particular destination. Upon reaching Pagbilao, we walked from the highway to Pagbilao Market. The Puj terminal for Bgy Polo is there. We bought some foods and groceries, for our one day stay. PUJ bound to Bgy Polo starts at 7 AM, we arrived there around 5:30 am. No choice but to wait till 7am.

From Pagbilao Market to Bgy Polo took almost an hour travel. Manong PUJ Driver talked to one Manong Tricycle Driver (Kuya Lupe) to take us to Puting Buhangin. The locals there called it as Lukang Beach. We paid Kuya Lupe P100 pesos for a special ride. It is a good catch since travelling from Bgy Polo crossing to Lukang Beach Parking lot took almost 20-25 mins added that we are travelling in a very rough road.

From Lukang Beach parking lot, we rode a boat crossing the lake to Lukang Beach. At the shore, we met Ate Gemma, the new care taker. Good thing that they are going too to Lukang Beach proper. The shore that I am talking is not yet the Lukang Beach. After crossing the lake, you need to trek for 15 mins by land. Or if by boat, there are additional fee. But since ate Gemma and her teen age bangkero will go there too to deliver some goods, we hop in and gave Totoy, (the teenage boy) a tip for P 50.00.

Entrance fee for Lukang Beach is 50.00 pesos for a day visit and 150.00 for overnight stay. There are no class A accommodation there but if you plan to stay overnight, it is advisable to bring your own tent. There are cottages for P350.00 but are open cottages. Fresh water for bathing costs 30.00 pesos per container. There are only 2 shower rooms, or I may say Buhos rooms, not comfort rooms.

Bringing your own food and drinking water is a good and best thing to do, for there are no available stores there.Puting Buhangin is a place wherein you can go back to basics. If you really want to unwind and to commune with nature, not far from Manila, go there like we did.

MARIANG LAGALAG AND BICOLANANG LAKWATSERA’S DAY OUT



I am very blessed to have a friend who shares the same passion as mine. The passion to explore and to travel. We love our own native land, the Philippines, and here we want to start our journeys. We want to travel around the Philippines and explore its beauty. We want to show the World that truly, it’s more FUN in the Philippines.

We are inspired by the famous travel bloggers like Sole Sisters, Journeying James, Chyng Reyes, Ironwulf, and many others who have the heart to live their life at its own best. They live their life to the fullest. They explore things, they travel and they are HAPPY.




My friend Judith A.K.A Bicolang Lakwatsera has been into many places. She went to places as tourist and started her blogs. I encouraged her to travel together if time and budget permits. And we agreed to set a fund for our escapades, by putting aside a little amount to this fund every payday.

There are a lot of plans, and we hope that we can do it. Alone or together as a team.

So, Pagbilao in Quezon Province is our ice breaker. We visited Puting Buhangin at Kwebang Lampas A.K.A Lukang Beach. Thank you for a one day holiday of May 1. It’s labors day. So it is our day!

After a whole at the office (it’s the Last day of April,) we excitedly walked to Quezon Ave. to hail a PUJ bound to Quiapo and from there, we rode another PUJ to Lawton. We thought that Park N Ride terminal has Buses going to Lucena or Quezon Provinces, but the Bus Conductor loitering around told us that Buses to Lucena are in Buendia Pasay City. So, we hop in another PUJ for Buendia. We didn’t notice the traffic. I think our excitement to smell the sea breeze of Puting BUhanging conquers all the tiredness and sleepiness that we feel.

Siopao Bola-Bola is our dinner/snack while the BBL Bus started its engine. Yes! See you Puting Buhangin!









Mariang Lagalag



I knew from the very start that I have an itchy sole. I love nature. I love God’s creations. I love adventures and I love doing even the hardest and difficult things called challenges. But some life’s obligations hinder me doing the things that I love, especially when I became a mother at the age of 23. I need to focus myself raising my son, by working hard and setting aside my dreams and passion.

But, now, I am nearly reaching the age of 37, I think and believe that it is not too late for me to follow my heart’s desires. This is the reason why I started my blog Mariang Lagalag.

I chose this name because my real name has Maria in it, and Lagalag describes being a traveler.

I would like to thank my favorite travel bloggers (you don’t know me personally) but I know you thru reading your blogs. You didn’t know how much you inspired me to get out from my shell. I love reading your blogs, and it teaches me a lot. You gave me ideas:

Lakwatsera de Primera

We are Sole Sisters

Journeying James

No Spam No Virus No Kidding

Ironwulf

Poor Traveler

Pinay Solo Backpacker

I am not good at writing. I am not good in taking photographs. But I know that practice makes perfect. So, please allow me to enter your world. It’s not too late for me, do you agree?





Ayala Triangle @ Night