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The Poor Traveler
TRAVELING AT ANY COST.FROM PHILIPPINES
Top 12 Long Weekend Destinations from Manila
Being a full-time employee in Manila is no joke. Every single morning, stress (in the form of horrendous traffic) greets you even before you step into the office. Then you spend at least nine hours of your day working your butt off. You end the day enduring another hour or two stuck in a sea of cars. When you get home, you just collapse into your bed because you’re too tired to do anything else. The next day, you repeat the same routine all over again. No wonder we have an undying love for weekends.
But you know what we love more? Long weekends. When a non-working holiday falls just around a weekend, we know it means more time to relax, pamper ourselves, and do the things that we love. One of these: travel.
The best thing about Metro Manila is that no matter how stressful it can be, it is surrounded by countless wonderful provinces. Previously, we wrote about 15 cheap but awesome destinations near Manila. The list covers places that can be reached through a 5-hour drive from the capital, perfect for a regular weekend getaway.
This time, we’re expanding the coverage. Long weekend means more time, and more time means more options. We asked Filipino travel bloggers for recommendations, and here are their top picks. (Not in any particular order.)
SPIN Designer Hostel El Nido: Our Best Hostel Experience in the Philippines
They found me at the common area, playing bingo. Yes, bingo.
“We’ve been waiting for you downstairs,” my new friends said. “We thought you were in your room.”
Alas I was not. I was in the company of fun-loving backpackers from around the world, each of us meticulously arranging our piles of tiny pebbles that would be my markers on the two cards that bore random numbers. The next round was just about to start. Friday nights are Bingo nights at SPIN El Nido.
Hostels are some of my favorite things about traveling. Sure, I sometimes choose to splurge and sashay my way into a hotel room, or be more immersive and bond with locals at a homestay, but hostels would always be my top choice, especially when traveling alone. It is this delightful atmosphere of community that got me hooked. Nothing beats meeting like-minded people and discovering destinations together for the first time.
If a random stranger asks for recommendations on the best places in the Philippines, El Nido (if not the entire Palawan province) would make it to the top five. El Nido has tons of natural wonders and a dash of nightlife. Given my constant thirst for anything alcoholic — yep, it’s true, just ask my humongous tummy — it is something that is always a consideration for me. But before this trip, none of the rooms I tried had given me any outstanding experience. They were all just alright, not much to remember. That is why SPIN was such a surprise.
You’re My Boss: 10 Filming Locations in Batanes
Batanes isn’t new to the local movie scene. Filmmakers attempting to capture its sheer and undeniably cinematic beauty have used the country’s northernmost province as setting for their treasured stories. The most notable of these are Hihintayin Kita sa Langit and Batanes, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan.
The newest addition: Star Cinema’s summer offering “You’re My Boss.” While the majority of the sequences were set in the corporate world, the latter part was shot in Batanes, with its mesmerizing landscapes giving a stark contrast to the usual office setting. Starring Coco Martin and Toni Gonzaga, the film used Batan and Sabtang Islands as the places where the characters’ budding romance fully blossomed.
Disclosure: I co-wrote the film with its director, Antoinette Jadaone, so of course, I am promoting it. There are a few spoilers below so read at your own risk.
Anyway, here are the 10 destinations in Batanes where “You’re My Boss” was shot.
6 Tips to Enjoy a Leisurely Walk in Manila
Walking is that one thing I have never given up. Whenever I travel, I always make it a point to take the long, scenic route on foot, especially that walking is the only form of exercise I get these days. Even when I’m not traveling, walking has been my therapy. Manila may not be the most walkable city on the planet, but there are a lot of things to see, find, and discover.
If you’re Manila-bound, here are tips for an enjoyable bounce around the city!
Corregidor: 12 Historical Sites to Visit on a Day Tour
They were in Manila for business. Saritha was from Bahrain and Scott from the United States. How I ended up in their company was the result of a friend’s blackmail spirited persuasion. My friend Grace wanted to show them around as it was their first time in Manila. With Scott serving in the military in the past, Corregidor was an easy pick. But Grace thought that me tagging along would make the trip more insightful. Silly her, it was my first time in Corregidor, too!
I have lived in Manila for almost a decade now, but I had never left footprints on Corregidor Island. It was one of those plans that I often overlooked because of proximity. (I always had an excuse along the lines of I-can-visit-it-anytime-anyway.) It just won’t happen. But with a friend constantly bugging me, it finally did.
Corregidor was officially called Fort Mills during the American era but was also commonly referred to as “The Rock” for its terrain and fortifications, and “Gibraltar of the East” for its resemblance to Mediterranean Sea’s peninsular fortress. Strategically located at the mouth of Manila Bay, it is the biggest of the heavily fortified islands that make up the harbor defenses of the capital.
It played a pivotal role during the Pacific War, with its fall signaling Japanese victory and the start of their occupation of the Philippines (1942-45). We all know how horrible that turned out to be.
The Budget Travel Guide to BATANES, Philippines
What is it about Batanes really? Is it the elusiveness? After all, she’s the northernmost province in the country, even closer to Taiwan than Luzon. Is it the way she stands out? Not only is she the smallest and least populated, she is very in touch with her past and shows off the quirky sides to her personality. Is it the quietness? She may be surrounded by the most violent seas, but she enjoys virtually zero crime rate. Is it the physique? Everyone has heard of her natural beauty, the kind that effortlessly makes you feel insignificant.
It takes more than drive to get to Batanes. She’s distant and has one hell of a temper. You’ll be facing the biggest storms if your timing is not right. But if you know your way around her, it can be quite easy to get on her good side.
A word of caution: When the time comes that you have to leave Batanes, she will break your heart.
Sabtang Island, Batanes: 6 Awesome Places to Visit on a Day Tour
They say I should look forward to the journey from Batan Island to Sabtang. They say it is unforgettable. The waters between Batan and Sabtang Islands have a reputation of being rough, turbulent, frightening. This is where the currents of the vast West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and the even bigger Pacific Ocean clash. Sabtang is accessible via a 30-minute ride aboard the faluwa, the bigger traditional Ivatan boat. Like the tataya, the Ivatan dory, they do not have outriggers (katig), either. They say every ride is quite an experience.
I slept through it. Dang it! Blame the weather.
The 3 Lighthouses of Batanes: Basco, Tayid, and Sabtang
There’s a lot to be envied about lighthouses. They exude a kind of charm and enigma just by standing still. They command attention without even trying. And they always have the best view.
There’s even more to be envied about those that stand proud in the hills of Batanes. They are relatively new and well-maintained. They are never lonely, sought by rabid tourists, and photographed by those who wish to immortalize their moments with them. And as sentinels of the northernmost province, they face no existential dilemmas for no one can deny their importance.
10 Curious Things About BATANES and Why You Shouldn’t Eat Coconut Crabs
If the Philippines were a big dysfunctional family and each province were a person, you’ll find Batanes to be the oddest in the group. At that big family reunion, she’s that one kid not joining the party or the ruckus or whatever the hell is happening at the main table. Manila and her sisters may be flaunting another promotion, Davao remains cool and makes sure things are in order, Palawan effortlessly draws attention for her natural beauty, but Batanes remains unbothered. She stands by the window, probably talking to herself again.
Batanes is the one everyone is so curious about and intrigued by, but is just too elusive. When you do find her and sit down with her, she tells you strange tales about unbelievable things. “What do you mean crabs that can open coconuts? What do you mean ‘a store with no staff’? What the hell is zero crime rate?” Yet even when you don’t totally buy her absurd stories, you still can’t get enough of them because she’s quite a charmer.
But when you join her, you’ll see that her wanderings are not a flight of fancy.
Marlboro Country: Racuh a Payaman, Batanes
Either the wind wanted me naked or it just hated that shade of pink on me. The latter, if the wind were friends with the band of alpha male tourists that stood just a couple of yards from me. My pink polo stood out in a sea of greens, prompting them to quip “confirmed” when they thought I could not hear them. It must have been their first time to see another man in pink. Poor souls.
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