Blogs

Valentine’s Day has passed but it is still a love month. So I guess, it isn’t too late for me to share my love story, a story that isn’t all about what you are thinking. It is a love affair that hopeless romantics could not get an inspiration with – but, I wish, globetrotters do. Unlike any other tales, it wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, it started bitter. Her name is Travel and I don’t like her at first. It wasn’t because of her weird attitude, her peculiar character, or her not-so-ordinary look but because of my unusual ... Read more

From El Nido, I planned to take the 10PM bus bound for Puerto Princesa for me to catch my 11:55AM flight the following day. However, the plan changed. I thought that I must take a good rest before going home since I still have to report to the office few hours after my arrival in Manila. I looked for a cheap yet comfortable place to stay in Puerto Princesa through Agoda. Then I found Centris Inn which offers the best rate. My requirement was just a place to stay – I don’t need the other perks. I immediately booked the ... Read more

Here is the itinerary and the expenses we had during our Minalungao-Baler Tour. Excluded in the expenses are personal add-on expenses, pasalubong, and booze. The third column indicates individual contributions already. [custom_table style=”1″] Day Time and Activities Fees/pax Day 1: Side Trip to Minalungao 07:00AM – Take Five Star Bus to Gapan, Nueva, Ecija ₱160 11:00AM – Arrival in Gapan, Lunch ₱100 12:00PM – Jeep to Papaya (Gen Tinio), Nueva Ecija Option: Trike ₱200/3pax ₱27 12:45PM – Arrival in Papaya, Neva Ecija Trike to Minalungao Natural Park (Rountrip: ₱500/5pax) ₱100 01:45PM – Arrival in Minalungao = Entry Fee: ₱20 ₱20 01:30PM ... Read more

Breakfast at Baler’s rolling storeWe extended our contract with Kuya Erwin and Bernie and paid ₱100 less, as a discount. Since we had an awesome day 1 with them, we hired their services again, anticipating for another great tour. Technically, our day 2 in Baler is the Day 3 of our Minalungao-Baler tour series. The two joiners, Jo Anne and Francis, who accompanied us in the second half of our first day in Baler insisted on taking a breakfast at the rolling store after hearing that we had a delicious breakfast the day before. They also wanted to try the ... Read more

One Monday morning, I suddenly thought of travelling to Baler. I considered going alone but upon thinking of the expenses, I became reluctant. I did some research and presented the itinerary with the corresponding expenses to my office mates. I also included a day side trip to Minalungao National Park in the list of the things to do. Five of them confirmed to join me, while two others promised to follow on the second day. After spending most of our Day 1 in the road and in Minalungao, we headed to Baler by boarding a van in Cabanatuan City. We paid ... Read more

Playing alone or as a group has banished boredom forever Thanks to better roads and faster vehicles, traveling from Manila to Baguio doesn’t take as long anymore. With the recent completion of the The Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway, taking the trip can be as short as four hours when traffic is light. And while the amount of travel time has been cut down drastically, people still have to deal with travel boredom. Back in the old days, a game of I Spy would have been enough of a distraction, but today’s travelers want something different, engaging, and exciting. To satisfy all ... Read more

Smack in the middle of the town of Baler stands the birthplace of the Philippines’ First Lady during the commonwealth government (1935 to 1944), Doña Aurora Aragon-Quezon. The house had undergone some major restoration but the original details and design were not altered. It retained its “bahay kubo” look featuring fine hardwood walls and nipa (Palmer’s grass) roof. Below are the photos inside and around the famed ancestral house in Baler. The balcony [one_half] The ladies looking out of the window. Waiting for serenading suitors? [/one_half] [one_half_last] The ancestral house’s gallery [/one_half_last] The in-house library One EMO moment Another EMO ... Read more

The two Diguisit Falls are only two of the four falls to check in Baler and its neighboring towns. Yes – Diguisit falls has two versions and both are comprised of more than three contiguous cascades breaking through the large boulders. The only difference is the volume of the flow wherein the smaller one has significantly thinner down-flow. The distance between the two falls is just few hundred meters. When we were at the larger falls, say Diguisit uno, we were busy taking photos at first, but after sometime, we started frolicking in the waterfall like kids on the loose. ... Read more

Aside from surfing, people visit Baler to see other natural attractions. One of them is the Ditumabo Falls which sits on a hill in San Luis, a neighboring municipality. Ditumabo Falls is popularly known as Mother Falls because it is the biggest of the four falls around Baler. The other three are: Caunayan, Diguisit, and another Diguisit falls, which is smaller. Other geographical notes indicate that it is the province’s largest. However, seeing this spectacle is not as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. You have to endure 20 – 30 minutes of bumpy and shaky tricycle ride in a rutty, ... Read more