Nothing really!! Except for some unforgettable and quite remarkable scenes in Alaminos as well as in Bolinao.
I'll start with how disappointing the transactions were with the boatmen for our island hopping tour. The tricycle driver who gave us a helping hand sent us to this establishment where we could hire a boat. We were given a list of tour packages they offer; from the size of boats to the number of islands to visit.. all of which corresponds with a certain price, which were a bit pricey in my opinion. We chose the small boat with only 3 islands to visit because that's only what we can afford (that's how small our budget was). But the guy who was in-charged told us that a small boat can not fit us all.. even if two of us were small? the kid and I? alright, fine. "We'll go with the medium-sized boat, and 3 islands" is what we told him.
He doesn't seem so happy about that. So he told us that there were no more medium-sized boats available.. he should have told us earlier, right? He then added that only large boats and small boats were available. "Are you fucking kidding me?" is what I told him in my mind. Everyone's pissed by this man's undeniably good tactics. You could imagine our faces as this scene was happening in a hot summer noon. Unsatisfied with our response, he then left going to.. I don't know, he just left.
Oh, he suggested that we go to the Municipal Office if I remember it right, and present our receipt but we might not be given the boat we want, because there was no more left he added.. we were actually ready to do that and take our chances if he just showed us where.
A few moments later, the tricyle driver who sent us to that damned place confirmed that the boat we want was not available, so we could only go for the large boat. This transaction is going nowhere good.
Another guy talked to us, he's the owner of that large boat they were forcing on us. He said this and that blah blah blah and left. The first guy returned with the same mocking face and again told us bull shit so we just agreed to their offer; this nonsense has eaten a lot of our time and we're all baked under the sun for almost an hour. Fuck it, let's just get this done, and move on.
We were escorted to our boat.. it does look big, but not big enough, so we need to confirm if that was our boat, he then said, "it's a medium-sized boat". Wow. just wow! This one is a different guy, and he's our tour guide/boat man for the rest of the day. He seems a little quiet though, very different from all the other boatmen/tour guide we had encountered. He did mention the names of the islands we passed by.. the cruise was fine, until we reached the end of our tour which was the Cuenco Island.
It did seem like we're just passing by when Vanessa immediately asked our dear boatman if we could land on that. I think he can't wait to ditch us on his fucking boat. Well at least he was kind enough to escort us to step off safely.. my arm kind of scratched from an accidental slip in Lopez Island from boarding.
Everything went well after Cuenca, and we then head back to the port to pay.. we even thought of paying the right amount indicated on their list with the boat we had. It rained hard so we gotta run! But hey, we did pay.. properly. We were soaking wet so we decided to just hit the bus going back to Bolinao.. no driver would let us get in their van in that kind of state. It took us more than an hour I think before we got to Bolinao, where "our man", the tricycle driver was patiently waiting. Now, this is not a special treatment, it's like he's owning us.. and it's not cute.
Going back to Bing's.. I think we let the air conditioner on when we left, but still, only one corner of the room was cold, the headboard. Everyone's excited to take a bath, but the first and second didn't notice that the water's gross, like eww.. but it didn't smell. There's no question of being maarte here, alright? I saw it myself when it was my turn, and I actually thought they were just over reacting, but no, the water is a bit dark, with particles in it.. something like burnt leaves from a burnt tree, if you've seen a forest fire, the sky will fall some things like that. You know what they call that in Tagalog? "alipato". That's it. So moving on..
I waited and let the water flow, but it was really dirty.. even the water coming from the sink. So there's a pail, I filled it water, dirty water, and I just waited for more minutes to let the dirt sink and those floating I scooped out.. and voilà ! next!!
The water got worse they said, so those 2 remaining went straight to the lady-in-charged.. and took a shower in the mansion. The water issue was fixed, but the aircon wasn't.. so we asked for an electric fan, but I guess they don't have one.. so. Our amusement didn't stop from all the issues Bing's had provided us; when we asked for a water pitcher and some glasses, what the lady responded was "I'm sorry, but they're all being used by other guests." What the fuck are we???
I think it all started from the discount request, but that they didn't give us.. or did they? But still, this is not right! A few moments passed, she came to us with all the things we requested (except for the electric fan) and apologized and told us that she's the only person in charged, and that they're packed that time. hooray!! Apology accepted.
Now the beach.. we were forced to stay at Bing's the next day because the budget didn't let us to go anywhere. The other guests were enjoying the water so I thought it wasn't that bad at all, but there were seaweeds aaaaaand it's too rocky.. and it's not cool. We saw some people on the far most part of the beach where they meet some nice waves, apparently that part too is shallow. I actually thought of going there but the path is too rocky and some are a bit sharp, so never mind. A few hours later, we bid our goodbyes to the lady at Bing's and promised not to be back.
..Why not? What went wrong??
I'll start with how disappointing the transactions were with the boatmen for our island hopping tour. The tricycle driver who gave us a helping hand sent us to this establishment where we could hire a boat. We were given a list of tour packages they offer; from the size of boats to the number of islands to visit.. all of which corresponds with a certain price, which were a bit pricey in my opinion. We chose the small boat with only 3 islands to visit because that's only what we can afford (that's how small our budget was). But the guy who was in-charged told us that a small boat can not fit us all.. even if two of us were small? the kid and I? alright, fine. "We'll go with the medium-sized boat, and 3 islands" is what we told him.
He doesn't seem so happy about that. So he told us that there were no more medium-sized boats available.. he should have told us earlier, right? He then added that only large boats and small boats were available. "Are you fucking kidding me?" is what I told him in my mind. Everyone's pissed by this man's undeniably good tactics. You could imagine our faces as this scene was happening in a hot summer noon. Unsatisfied with our response, he then left going to.. I don't know, he just left.
Oh, he suggested that we go to the Municipal Office if I remember it right, and present our receipt but we might not be given the boat we want, because there was no more left he added.. we were actually ready to do that and take our chances if he just showed us where.
A few moments later, the tricyle driver who sent us to that damned place confirmed that the boat we want was not available, so we could only go for the large boat. This transaction is going nowhere good.
Another guy talked to us, he's the owner of that large boat they were forcing on us. He said this and that blah blah blah and left. The first guy returned with the same mocking face and again told us bull shit so we just agreed to their offer; this nonsense has eaten a lot of our time and we're all baked under the sun for almost an hour. Fuck it, let's just get this done, and move on.
We were escorted to our boat.. it does look big, but not big enough, so we need to confirm if that was our boat, he then said, "it's a medium-sized boat". Wow. just wow! This one is a different guy, and he's our tour guide/boat man for the rest of the day. He seems a little quiet though, very different from all the other boatmen/tour guide we had encountered. He did mention the names of the islands we passed by.. the cruise was fine, until we reached the end of our tour which was the Cuenco Island.
It did seem like we're just passing by when Vanessa immediately asked our dear boatman if we could land on that. I think he can't wait to ditch us on his fucking boat. Well at least he was kind enough to escort us to step off safely.. my arm kind of scratched from an accidental slip in Lopez Island from boarding.
Everything went well after Cuenca, and we then head back to the port to pay.. we even thought of paying the right amount indicated on their list with the boat we had. It rained hard so we gotta run! But hey, we did pay.. properly. We were soaking wet so we decided to just hit the bus going back to Bolinao.. no driver would let us get in their van in that kind of state. It took us more than an hour I think before we got to Bolinao, where "our man", the tricycle driver was patiently waiting. Now, this is not a special treatment, it's like he's owning us.. and it's not cute.
Going back to Bing's.. I think we let the air conditioner on when we left, but still, only one corner of the room was cold, the headboard. Everyone's excited to take a bath, but the first and second didn't notice that the water's gross, like eww.. but it didn't smell. There's no question of being maarte here, alright? I saw it myself when it was my turn, and I actually thought they were just over reacting, but no, the water is a bit dark, with particles in it.. something like burnt leaves from a burnt tree, if you've seen a forest fire, the sky will fall some things like that. You know what they call that in Tagalog? "alipato". That's it. So moving on..
I waited and let the water flow, but it was really dirty.. even the water coming from the sink. So there's a pail, I filled it water, dirty water, and I just waited for more minutes to let the dirt sink and those floating I scooped out.. and voilà ! next!!
The water got worse they said, so those 2 remaining went straight to the lady-in-charged.. and took a shower in the mansion. The water issue was fixed, but the aircon wasn't.. so we asked for an electric fan, but I guess they don't have one.. so. Our amusement didn't stop from all the issues Bing's had provided us; when we asked for a water pitcher and some glasses, what the lady responded was "I'm sorry, but they're all being used by other guests." What the fuck are we???
I think it all started from the discount request, but that they didn't give us.. or did they? But still, this is not right! A few moments passed, she came to us with all the things we requested (except for the electric fan) and apologized and told us that she's the only person in charged, and that they're packed that time. hooray!! Apology accepted.
Now the beach.. we were forced to stay at Bing's the next day because the budget didn't let us to go anywhere. The other guests were enjoying the water so I thought it wasn't that bad at all, but there were seaweeds aaaaaand it's too rocky.. and it's not cool. We saw some people on the far most part of the beach where they meet some nice waves, apparently that part too is shallow. I actually thought of going there but the path is too rocky and some are a bit sharp, so never mind. A few hours later, we bid our goodbyes to the lady at Bing's and promised not to be back.
..Why not? What went wrong??
__________________________________
Labels: Alaminos Pangasinan, Bolinao Pangasinan, whateverr
I think I mentioned before that we hate buses, but we love buses now.. alright, it's just me, because that horrendous experience in the bus station (holy week special) was just horrible. It was the first time and hopefully the last, and I don't want that to happen ever again.. I had a broken toe nail which I noticed when we got to our friend's house, it wasn't that bad but it did hurt.. plus my nail polish was ruined. I'm not being maarte here, alright?
So we got the last trip going to Bolinao and everything went okay.. and no horrendous scenes (thankfully). I was so exhausted that I immediately fell asleep as our bus hit the road.. well, I went home from the office just to take a shower and eat and went back to road going to the bus station. There were plenty of people at the bus station going to Baguio and Alaminos and Bolinao.. we didn't expect that, but everything was fine. No zombie bus riders hungry for seats and air condition and sleep; those kind of scenes you'll just see during the holidays.
We hit the road at around 11pm and arrived in Bolinao at around 7 in the morning. After getting off the bus, there's only one thing that's on my mind.. food.
Everyone was hungry, that long trip will do nothing but make you hungry.. so where to eat? We searched for a restaurant or an eatery that could fit our budget, and we found Dora.. not the Explorer, but we didn't bother asking if the owner could speak Spanish. They offer the normal breakfast of champions; tapsilog, longsilog, tocilog, anything with log.. name it. Their coffee was in a 3in1 sachet, but they do have brewed coffee.. I had the 3in1, I loved it!
Everyone was hungry, that long trip will do nothing but make you hungry.. so where to eat? We searched for a restaurant or an eatery that could fit our budget, and we found Dora.. not the Explorer, but we didn't bother asking if the owner could speak Spanish. They offer the normal breakfast of champions; tapsilog, longsilog, tocilog, anything with log.. name it. Their coffee was in a 3in1 sachet, but they do have brewed coffee.. I had the 3in1, I loved it!
After a few, we head back to walking to find our destination, found this church and thought we must thank God for everything.
The people on the road were friendly, they told us that the place we're looking for requires a long tricycle ride (about half an hour or more) which costs Php150 per tricycle or Php30 each person.
We were 6 in the group so we had to split into 2 because their tricycles could only accommodate 5 persons. That tricycle ride was longer than we thought. And here at Bing's beach resort, we stayed over night..
We were 6 in the group so we had to split into 2 because their tricycles could only accommodate 5 persons. That tricycle ride was longer than we thought. And here at Bing's beach resort, we stayed over night..
The lady-in-charged managed to be as friendly as she could.. she even offered some help with regards to getting a ride going to our destinations.. but it was a bit more expensive than we thought. And the fact that the tricycle ride already cost us a lot (it wasn't on the budget), we had no idea that Bing is located that far from the town.
Still unsure if we're going to accept the lady's offer.. we double checked if we could afford it. No. You see, we have this budget which covers our everyday expenses; from fare to food to accommodation, but since we're caught up with this additional fare expenses, we got no choice but to let go of the other tours.
Still unsure if we're going to accept the lady's offer.. we double checked if we could afford it. No. You see, we have this budget which covers our everyday expenses; from fare to food to accommodation, but since we're caught up with this additional fare expenses, we got no choice but to let go of the other tours.
After the long session for budget talk, we then prepared to take off and head to Alaminos for our Hundred Islands tour. And that long stay in our room made me notice something.. the air conditioner only cools one part of the room; the headboard. And when we're about to go, the lock won't lock itself.. the door knob was broken.
We immediately called the lady's attention, and she doubled check if we're telling the truth because we did ask to be transferred to another room. She said it could be fixed, fast, and so she sent Mr Fix it and it was fixed, and yes, it was fast. So before we could all be gracious about the fixed door, we head out to meet to the same tricycle drivers to bring us back to the town. One of them even offered a deal -- he wants to be our man whenever we wishes to ride a tricycle.. to and from Bing's.
We immediately called the lady's attention, and she doubled check if we're telling the truth because we did ask to be transferred to another room. She said it could be fixed, fast, and so she sent Mr Fix it and it was fixed, and yes, it was fast. So before we could all be gracious about the fixed door, we head out to meet to the same tricycle drivers to bring us back to the town. One of them even offered a deal -- he wants to be our man whenever we wishes to ride a tricycle.. to and from Bing's.
From Bolinao, we can take a van or a bus going to Alaminos which costs Php50 and around Php45 for the bus. We chose the van because it was really hot, but it didn't help because the air conditioner was broken.
Arriving at Alaminos.. some tricycle drivers immediately offered us a ride to the port going to the Hundred Islands. He managed to fit us all in his tricycle even if its capacity is only up to 5 people.. imagine how it happened. He dropped us to this house where the boat transactions happen. So they gave us this list to choose from what kind of boat we like or the size of boat we could occupy, to the number of islands we could visit, all depends on the price, all of which were listed in this some kind of menu. This transaction lasted for about an hour or two because these people were doing the best they can to take advantage of the situation.. and they won.
The islands were very close to each other, we managed to get to one island to the other in a few minutes. But with all honesty, I could never compare it with Palawan.. but then again, I haven't, we haven't seen much of what Hundred Islands could really offer. So I do think that we must go back, and hopefully to transact with better people.. who knows better.
Long story short, we still enjoyed our island hopping tour. Hundred Islands is special in its own way, and hopefully the people would be responsible enough to take good care of it.
We didn't bring extra clothes, so we took the bus going back to Bolinao because our asses would probably get the van's seats wet. It took almost an hour or more when we got to Bolinao, then we dropped off to a nice place to eat. It was past 8 already when we went back to Bing's. Oh, I forgot to mention, the tricycle driver, our so-called man, was waiting to pick us up. He was eagerly waiting at the bus station like a mommy waiting for his babies and carry them before some hawk take them away.
And yes, there were a lot of hawks eyeing on us. They're all so friendly to give us a ride.. but not for free.
Fast forward to Manaog, where we also brought our souvenirs and have them blessed.. ate dinner, and immediately went to the bus stop, but we lost the last trip. We were advised to go to Urdaneta which was again for another tricycle ride, same price, and all of us together in one. Finally, we found our bus, and few moments passed, which was 6 or 7 hours, we're back to Manila. At 1:30 in the morning, I was back in my room.
Is it too detailed?
Labels: Alaminos Pangasinan, Bolinao Pangasinan, road trip
I was really excited, we were excited about this trip, but at some point, our expectations weren't met. Maybe because it wasn't planned thoroughly, or maybe we chose the wrong time.. it's summer and every islands were packed. There were only 6 islands to visit and some of them were really small people covered them all. I can't even start with how disappointing the boatmen were about our transactions on hiring their boats.
I know they're just trying to make money, but they're not helping the economy. If you're planning to visit the Hundred Islands in Alaminos Pangasinan, go directly to their Municipal office, at least there you can trust the people.
The islands were pretty, they're worth checking out, some of them has got bars and restaurants installed, some has man-made diving areas and some curved by nature; an island with a hole going down the water. We saw some tourists enjoying the spot, but I wasn't able to take a good shot of their diving hole.. instead, I got this.
We just passed by it because our boatman said it was deep and Loloy and his donut weren't there, he added.. and he's got a lot more things to do. We've got to hurry, that's what he's trying to say. He can't wait to ditch us out of his fucking boat. We haven't felt so unwelcome.. it's the first time we experience this kind of shit. It's such a shame because Hundred Islands is so famous, and the people who are taking advantage of it don't even know how to take good care of it.
We landed on 4 islands; the Governor's Island, the Lopez Island, the Cuenco, and the Quezon Island, but we did pass by 7 islands; the other 3 were Monkeys Island, the Marcos Island and the Bat Island. That one particularly I was very amused of, we all were.
The Governor's Island.. it has a 100 steps going to the view deck. We climbed with an ice cream vendor.. his selling price though was 5 times higher than the original.. "osya, pabili nga manong!" He took our trash because he's responsible like that, and that's nice, but there's a trash bag just in case you've got more trash with you.. up there!
The PBB house though.., it doesn't look appealing in the island. They should have just taken it down when the show was done with it.. some tourists don't even believe that the PBB housemates were brought there. I knew because I saw it (that episode). It's where Kimerald was formed! Isn't that lovely?
Everything they used were still there, the beds, the cabinets, the towels, even their toothbrushes..
Moving on..
We landed on the Lopez Island to take a swim.. and we joined a group of Koreans who were just staying on the shade. I don't know why they don't want to get out of the sun. Isn't that the reason why you go island hopping? Come on you guys, you look so pale! hihi
Our next stop was the Quezon Island..
There were no corners of the island that is not packed with people. I think they're constructing too much in this island, it's no longer pleasing to the eye. We were not able to explore and just left the island after an hour of shooting.
We almost just passed by Cuenco Island, thankfully one of us was quick enough to ask our dear boatman if we could land on that. You'll pass through a tunnel going to this restaurant with a diving spot; a man-made diving spot, and a classic rock playlist.
Cuenco was our last stop, but I haven't shown you the Bat Island; the most special of them all. Look at these pretties..
Some of them are flying around the island. Maybe they felt our presence, distured from a good night sleep.. morning.
I'm going to give this one another shot, sometime in the future. We must not let disappointments ruin this beautiful place's reputation. I found the Hundred Islands map though, I should have seen this before and helped them with the preparations. Well, I'll try to participate for out next trip, I heard Caramoan is our next target. But as for me, I'm going to Baguio next week for our team building! oh yeah.
I know they're just trying to make money, but they're not helping the economy. If you're planning to visit the Hundred Islands in Alaminos Pangasinan, go directly to their Municipal office, at least there you can trust the people.
The islands were pretty, they're worth checking out, some of them has got bars and restaurants installed, some has man-made diving areas and some curved by nature; an island with a hole going down the water. We saw some tourists enjoying the spot, but I wasn't able to take a good shot of their diving hole.. instead, I got this.
We just passed by it because our boatman said it was deep and Loloy and his donut weren't there, he added.. and he's got a lot more things to do. We've got to hurry, that's what he's trying to say. He can't wait to ditch us out of his fucking boat. We haven't felt so unwelcome.. it's the first time we experience this kind of shit. It's such a shame because Hundred Islands is so famous, and the people who are taking advantage of it don't even know how to take good care of it.
We landed on 4 islands; the Governor's Island, the Lopez Island, the Cuenco, and the Quezon Island, but we did pass by 7 islands; the other 3 were Monkeys Island, the Marcos Island and the Bat Island. That one particularly I was very amused of, we all were.
The Governor's Island.. it has a 100 steps going to the view deck. We climbed with an ice cream vendor.. his selling price though was 5 times higher than the original.. "osya, pabili nga manong!" He took our trash because he's responsible like that, and that's nice, but there's a trash bag just in case you've got more trash with you.. up there!
The PBB house though.., it doesn't look appealing in the island. They should have just taken it down when the show was done with it.. some tourists don't even believe that the PBB housemates were brought there. I knew because I saw it (that episode). It's where Kimerald was formed! Isn't that lovely?
Everything they used were still there, the beds, the cabinets, the towels, even their toothbrushes..
Moving on..
We landed on the Lopez Island to take a swim.. and we joined a group of Koreans who were just staying on the shade. I don't know why they don't want to get out of the sun. Isn't that the reason why you go island hopping? Come on you guys, you look so pale! hihi
Our next stop was the Quezon Island..
There were no corners of the island that is not packed with people. I think they're constructing too much in this island, it's no longer pleasing to the eye. We were not able to explore and just left the island after an hour of shooting.
We almost just passed by Cuenco Island, thankfully one of us was quick enough to ask our dear boatman if we could land on that. You'll pass through a tunnel going to this restaurant with a diving spot; a man-made diving spot, and a classic rock playlist.
Cuenco was our last stop, but I haven't shown you the Bat Island; the most special of them all. Look at these pretties..
They look like huge black fruits from afar, but as you look closer..
Some of them are flying around the island. Maybe they felt our presence, distured from a good night sleep.. morning.
I'm going to give this one another shot, sometime in the future. We must not let disappointments ruin this beautiful place's reputation. I found the Hundred Islands map though, I should have seen this before and helped them with the preparations. Well, I'll try to participate for out next trip, I heard Caramoan is our next target. But as for me, I'm going to Baguio next week for our team building! oh yeah.
Labels: Alaminos Pangasinan, Hundred Islands, island hopping