Hundred Islands and Bolinao, Pangasinan

Our 3-month plan to go to Calaguas was cancelled on the day itself because Travel Factor said that the waves were big and it won't be safe. So we needed to think of a Plan B stat. Because the majority of us applied for vacation leaves and it would be so painful to just spend it at home. So after looking for some travel sites online, I stumbled upon Discover Asia International Travel and Tours and booked their Bolinao-Hundred Islands Package in a span of 4 hours. Good thing that their travel officer was very fast in replying to my e-mails and we settled our down payment right before the bank closed.

So at 1AM the next day, we found ourselves waiting in McDonald's El Pueblo in Ortigas for our van driver. He arrived in a green Toyota Hi Ace Van that can comfortably seat 12 people. It was just 9 of us so we had a lot of space for our bags. It was a quiet and sleepy ride to Bolinao as the big moon shone over us until we accidentally hit a dog. The driver was driving really fast and he said that the dog just suddenly crossed the road. When we stopped on a gas station for a nature break, we saw a big dent in the van's bumper and can't help but feel sad for the poor dog. (Okay, so how do I proceed from here? Let me just create a new paragraph.)

We arrived in Bolinao an hour earlier so we waited for Jollibee (fast food restaurant) to open. And waiting equals cam whoring so here are the pictures.

didn't get the name of this church

So after breakfast, we went to Bolinao Falls which is located 20 minutes from the town. The road that led to the falls was a little rocky and we had to go down a flight of broken stairs to see it.

 

my friend KC here, channeling a beauty pageant contestant :D

Our mindsets are all set for bumming in Calaguas so we were all itching to go the beach and just lounge. We asked our driver if he can just directly bring us there to spend the day. So we went first to the market to buy ingredients for our lunch and the driver said that the people at the resort can cook them for us. We passed by St. James the Great Parish for our last stop and proceeded to Patar White Beach.

Patar White Beach

hot and sunny day!

 

While waiting for our  food to be ready we just sat around and catched up since we haven't seen each other since our Bohol trip. It was extra hot that day and it wore Janet out so she spent the day sleeping after we had lunch. KC, who's a total camwhore prepped and put on make up for a mini shoot. Imagine us laughing as her make up was melting under the sun haha! But in all fairness she did projected well. Here are some of my shots:

 Finally, (after two hours) the food arrived!

all of this for just P100 per head :)

Patar White Beach is beautiful in a sense that it has crystal clear blue waters (but rocky in some parts), white sands though not so fine and the waves are gentle enough for you to wade in them. It is the best place for family weekend picnics and hangouts for friends. There are a lot of huts or cottages where you can stay and comfort and shower rooms with strong water pressure. There are little stores where you can buy beer and loads of ice too. We all took a nap after eating and played the card game Jackass after. After the sunset, we left for Alaminos where our "hotel" is located.

Mond and Ixie

Lame sunset shot :(

We arrived in Villa Antolin Hotel and Restaurant a little past 8 in the evening. Our dinner was just ordinary enough to not take pictures of it and just settled into our rooms right after. We were divided into 2 groups - 4 and 5 in one room. The rooms are well equipped with a TV, hot and cold shower and big beds with comfy pillows. There is absolutely no night life in that part of the world too so we really had a good night's sleep after all the traveling and swimming.

reception area

restaurant

 

We woke up early the next day to another sunny morning and after a quick breakfast, we just walked our way to the dock where our boat is. First stop was Governor Island where you need to climb a flight of stairs - and I mean a whole flight to get to the viewing deck where you can see a 360-degree view of everything. It was so beautiful up there. The island is mainly for taking pictures and you can't swim here because it doesn't have a shore.

 

The Crazies - as Janet puts it :D

prepare for the steep climb

 

obligatory pageant-like shot

Our next stop was supposed to be the Children's Islands but we opted not to get off the boat since we're just gonna take pictures again. We just went ahead to Quezon Island to lounge again. This is where a lot people go for swimming and picnics because of the fine sand, clear waters and availability of cottages around the island.

We didn't swim at all because we were just in the mood for taking more pictures and just relax. By around 10:30 AM we decided to go back to the hotel to take a shower and pack for Manila. We stopped by CSI Mall and had lunch in Shakey's. The trip back home was super fun as we all sang in chorus to Bon Jovi's songs and kept laughing because of KC. I tell you, there won't be a single hour where you'll get bored if you are with her or any of your gay friends for that matter. We arrived in Manila at 7PM and out of the blue, we decided to watch a movie so we asked our driver to drop us at The Podium. It turned out to be a really good idea because the movie we saw (World Invasion Battle Los Angeles) was really great. Suspense/action/drama/comedy all in one! We all released a huge amount of endorphins that after the movie, we didn't want to go home yet and that was already an hour before midnight. We all went to Metrowalk for a late dinner at Oyster Boy.

At Starbucks Podium while waiting for our movie to start

Me and Meng w/ the boss at the back getting his dose of news

interesting interiors of Oyster Boy

last stop of the night!

We finally called it a night at around 1AM and went on our different ways back home. Despite the high hopes of finally seeing Calaguas, the totality of this trip made up for it. All the spontaneity of it all and not being familiar with the place summed up to all my expectations of a perfect beach - weekend getaway. I guess what they say is really true - unplanned trips are better than planned ones! :)

Hasta luego! :)