SILANGANG NAYON: A CHARCUTERIE HIDING IN SECLUSION IN THE MANGROVES OF PAGBILAO

Welcome friends to the province of Quezon! Hometown and named after our first President of the Philippine Commonwealth, Manual Luis Quezon.  This is our next stop for another journey of recovery for the Dr. of Fun & Adventure.  The trip also coincides with the culmination of the schoolyear ender of our department and summer vacation.  One of the highlights of this trip is a visit to the secluded Silangang Nayon Restaurant where we will be having a hearty lunch of our favorite Filipino dishes.

But first we made a stopover to buy one of the most delicious fruits in the country, the lanzones.  This fruit strikes a memorable experience to anyone who gets to savor the juicy flesh of this delectable fruit and no one can deny that one the best places to but this exotic fruit is in Alaminos, Laguna where fruit stands dot the highway in every direction in the Laguna province.

 The journey to Silangang Nayon is a long one.  You have to take the Bicol route passing through some towns in Laguna right after you leave the South Luzon Expressway. You can either exit via Calamba or proceed further to the Star Tollway where you can exit in Tanauan, Batangas.  You'll be passing by Sto. Tomas, Alaminos and San Pablo where you can buy lanzones along the way.  Buying lanzones is best done in the morning because come late afternonn these fruits will be difficult to come by. 

Next part of the journey is when you enter Tiaong which is the first town of Quezon you'll be passong by.  The Quezon part is still a long until you finally reach Pagbilao.  Right after crossing over the boundary of Lucena the right turn to Pagbilao is not far and as soon as you turn right, the distance is still a long way off into the peninsula until you reach your destination on the right side.  Finally, welcome to Silangang Nayon!  Join me as we tour this interesting restaurant on stilts jutting out of Pagbilao Bay.

Silangang Nayon is a restaurant on stilts.  I have no idea of its history because my discovery of the place was accidental.  i was actually looking for a place to hold our schoolyear-end summer outing for our department and Pagbilao was the chosen venue. An ocular visit to a nearby resort revealed the existence of this restaurant.  It is open to the public and serves ad variety of dishes with Filipino cuisine as its main menu.  The feeling of being in this place is very special because of the romantic ambiance that it gives to visitors.  The revitalizing fresh sea air adds to the excitement of dining in this exotic restaurant as well.  They also offer boat services to the neighboring islands but we didn't avail of it at the moment.  Pardon me if I will not post pictures of the food that was served when we dined in this restaurant.  I would like to maintain this site as a travel for health site rather than a food and culinary site.  The feeling that one gets to visit this unique restaurant is something I would put more emphasis on rather than the experience of eating the food.  However, in fairness to the chef the food is delicious indeed.  No doubt about it!

ZOOCOBIA - CLARK'S ANSWER TO SUBIC'S ZOOBIC SAFARI

Nestled in the remote Sacobia Valley  within the fringes of Clarkfield, Pampanga is a new attraction called ZOOCOBIA.  It is a 30 hectare theme park consisting of a mixture of a zoo and amusement rides.  The first time I heard of Sacobia Valley was when my late mother had a rehabilitation housing project for Aetas spearheaded by a late general.  It was right after the Pinatubo eruption where I had a first hand glimpse of Clark Airforce Base as a sprawling ghost town when the Americans left it.  I had the scary opportunity of driving through the empty streets of the once restricted US Base fearing that I might be flagged down by security patrols or bandits that were rampantly ransacking empty buildings when they see an opportunity.  Luckily I did not encounter such group otherwise I might have figured in a precarious situation.  Anyway my mom left the project after the project hit a snag and after learning that it funding for the project figured in a controversy.  That was way back then.  Sacobia Valley has long recovered from the devastation and luckily due to the efforts of concerned people in helping improve the welfare of the indigenous people in the area, Zoocobia was developed to promote ecotourism and drive the place to a more progressive and sustainable future.

Our journey started all the way from Subic, Zamabales which was out first stop in an educational field trip of our school.  We checked out of the Subic International Hotel which was a fine hotel for the busy traveler after we had concluded our visit to the Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure.  It was a fine day for traveling.  The weather was perfect and the ride was comfortable.  We will be going to Sacobia Valley via the SCTEX which is short for Subic-Clark Toll Expressway which had just recently opened paving the way for easy access to areas nearer the summit of Mt. Pinatubo and other remote areas that were once inaccessible.

Travelling thru the SCTEX is a far cry from the usual Gapan-Olongapo Road which was a little congested due the the volume of traffic going in and out of Zambales and Bataan.  The SCTEX also provided a more picturesque view of the countryside and Mt. Pinatubo that will make you wonder if such powerful eruption did took place because the beauty that you are witnessing now doesn't suggest it ever happened.  Travel time was also cut very significantly although what really made this travel memorable is the price of the toll fee that you have to pay in order to reach Subic.  It will make you feel that the SCTEX is one place you will figuratively say highway robbery.  I learned recently though that a portion of this highway collapsed due to rains brought about by Habagat halfway this year.

When we turned left towards Sacobia Valley, we had to cross this bridge in order to reach our destination.  This is just a newly constructed bridge therefore access to the place was very difficult when the SCTEX was not yet in existence.  But as you will see, the place had indeed recovered and a significant sign of succession had indeed taken place as evidenced from the growth of the trees.  I read from research that the man who developed the Zoocobia started with only 3 trees because of severe deforestation in the area and now the place is on its way to a more sustainable endeavor with the establishment of this Zoocobia together with the Paradise Ranch.

We finally arrived in our destination.  The place is located in Barangay Calumpang which I found out to be part of Mabalacat City.  We had to enter a dirt road going to the left and travel inland for about 1 kilometer before arriving in the actual site.  Zoocobia and Paradise Ranch were both located in the same place so people plannignto go there won't need to travel from one place to another because all these come as a 2-in-1 pacakge.

 So here we are friends! The Zoobia Fun Zoo.  Join me inside as we enjoy the latest attraction of Clarkfield Pampanga!

STILTS - FORMERLY ROSEGOLD RESORT THEN RESIDENCE INN ARE CALATAGAN'S BEACH HOUSES STANDING OUT AT SEA

We departed Matabungkay and proceeded south towards Calatagan where our next destination, STILTS will be.  The picturesque view of Matabungkay fades away from our eyes as the day started gloomy with the impending arrival of Typhoon Odette.  The sea was calm but windy.  The "balsa" lay empty in the frolicking waters and people just started coming out of their abodes to start their day anew.

The journey to Calatagan was met with heavy rains but eventually dissipated as we finally arrive in Calatagan.  We passed by Punta Baluarte, a sprawling ranch owned by the Zobel and Ayalas.  When we finally arrived in Stilts, I discovered that there had been a lot of changes since I last went there several years back.  The place was previously called Rosegold Resort which was eventually changed to Residence Inn.  There were still a Tiger Safari being conducted for tourists during that time but they are long gone now after having changed ownership and the tigers transferred to Subic Safari up to the present.  Its new name now is "Stilts" which is the definition for poles where it serves as the foundation of beach houses set our at sea.

We visited Stilts on a day tour.  Staying overnight will require you to make reservations because the resort does not accept walk-in guests who intend to stay overnight.  Rates are more affordable for the high-end vacationer.  I think the strategy here is keeping the guests at a lower number by prescribing high prices.  This in turn will prevent the place from deteriorating fast because number of guests are kept within the carrying capacity of the place.

This is the Calatagan Resort Restaurant that caters to the food and refreshments of resort guests.  The resort charges corkage fees for food and drinks brought in from the outside.  So all guests are pretty much required to dine-in and pay for the food they eat.  Well, the resort probably wants to maintain the cleanliness of the resort by preventing picnickers from indiscriminately littering the place with picnic trash from food brought in from the outside.

    There are 2 types of accommodation one can avail in the resort.  One would be the houses on stilts and the other one the beach side cottages.  Rates for the different rooms will vary depending on the size, number of people and location. Overall, guests will enjoy a significant amount of privacy while enjoying the different beach activities and swimming in style in both the swimming pool and beach.

The swimming pool hasn't changed since I last took a dip here several years back.  It has been maintained clean through the years.  This is the type of vacation that I usually prefer.  I love resorts that have both swimming pool and beach at the same time because you get to experience the best of both worlds at the same time.

KAYBIANG TUNNEL - THE LONGEST UNDERGROUND HIGHWAY TUNNEL IN THE PHILIPPINES - LONGEST TO BUILD

If you are planning your next trip to the northwest towns of Batangas, you can consider taking a new route via the newly opened 300 meter Kaybiang Tunnel in Mt. Palay-Palay.  When it opened last July 1, 2013, it now came to be known as "The Longest Underground Highway Tunnel in the Philippines !"This new route will cut your travel time significantly and the trip will offer breathtaking views of the Mt.Palay-Palay Protected Areas as well as the spectacular land and seascapes of the Nasugbu Cove.  There are no public utility transport plying this route for the moment so only private vehicles have the opportunity to pass this route.  Our journey begins in Mt. Palay-Palay where we had just concluded a tree planting activity in the area.

 First part of the journey is an uphill climb to Mt. Palay-Palay passing by Puerto Azul Beach Resort and the Magnetic Hill.  You will also see an open pit quarry on the left side.  After passing by the DENR station on the left proceed further uphill towards Caylabne Bay until you encounter a road sign leading to Kaybiang Tunnel and Nasugbu. Just drive leisurely so you can still enjoy the scenery of the rugged vegetation of Mt. Palay-Palay.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the place,  Mts. Palay-Palay / Mataas na Gulod national Park is a combined forest and marine ecosystem declared as a Protected Landscape by virtue of Proclamation No. 1594 on October 1976 under NIPAS, located in Ternate, Cavite.  The vegetation type of this forest ecosystem is already a seconday growth forest but as you can see the density of the vegetation behind me has reached its climax already, meaning that that the succession process in this forest has been achieved. 

This ecosystem however, still has its share of continuing threats from illegal logging and hunting activities of the locals and the land grabbing acts of the surrounding resorts.  There is still a need to educate the people living in this area on how fragile their ecosystem is and if they don't contribute to its conservation then they will also be the one to suffer its tragic consequences.

I was actually with a large group of students from De La Salle University-Dasmarinas whom I am accompanying on their Ecology field trip. I saw this as an opportunity to include this expedition in my blog considering also that this is the first time I will be passing through Kaybiang Tunnel.  Everyone is actually excited because most of them will also be passing the tunnel for the first time as well.  

 So here we are at the intersection which used to be a turnpike going to a Marine Military Base.  The road is now open to the public going to the tunnel.  Sometimes I envy soldiers who once train in these areas because they have the firsthand experience of enjoying the rugged beauty of the landscape.  I sure hope that none of the surrounding lands had not been grabbed by colonels and generals who always get the upper hand in unjustly owning lands using military logistics in surveying potential real estate.  This is still one area of corruption that needs to be eradicated together with the porl barrel.  But that's another story.

Reaching the tunnel will require traveling through zigzag and hairpin loops, uphill and downhill drive and bridges.  Overall, the entire road is in tip-top condition with one or two portions that collapsed in a landslide probably caused by the torrential rains.  Despite of the dizzying travel, you will be treated with a picturesque view of trees, sea, birds, insects, flowers, monkeys and the occasional backpackers.  All these make up for one truly, exciting adventure indeed!  

Finally, we reached the Kaybiang Tunnel.  As we begin to enter the tunnel, a thought crossed my mind about any trivial information about the tunnel that is worth mentioning.  I did some research and to my surprise, I found the information to be very amusing.  Allow me to gleefully share it with you. According to SEG Rockworks and Engineering, together with SANVIL Blasting Services that built the tunnel, the project started March of 2009.  It's been 4 years now and the there are still finishing works being done.

To make things more interesting, let's make some comparison with other similar tunnels.   The longest road tunnel in the world is Laerdal Tunnel in Norway at 24,510 meters (that’s exactly how long EDSA is) and took 5.5 years to complete. The Menora Tunnel in Malaysia is 800 meters long and took 3 years to complete. So fitting to say, not only is it the longest tunnel in the Philippines at 300 meters, it is also the tunnel that took the longest to build at 4 years and still counting! What a feat! Only in the Philippines!

As we begin to exit on the other side of the longest tunnel in the Philippines, we were greeted by the majestic seascape of Nasugbu, Batangas although the tunnel is still part of Cavite.

The view on the other side of the tunnel was simply spectacular!  There was a vast expanse of ocean on the right and an island fort of Corregidor can be seen in the distant right.  The travel from here to Nasugbu is still a long one and it took us around 45 minutes to reach the town center of Nasugbu. 

 In the middle of the picture lies Caraballo Island, which is one of the fortified islands of Manila Bay that serves as the supporting defenses that complements Corregidor which is situated in the far background.  The island is off limits to the public at the present because it serves as the training base for the Philippine Navy.

As we proceeded  downhill, a part of the many peninsula of Nasugbu jutted out into the sea while Limbones island looms from afar.  Actually I was expecting that we will be traversing the coastal road leading to Munting Buhangin, Kayangan Cove and Punta Fuego, but to my surprise the bus went further inland away from the coast and the next thing we knew we were already in the town center of Nasugbu. 

Finally, we were at sea level in Nasugbu, we passed by many small barangays that I think these are the remote sitios in Nasugbu because during the entire downhill trip from the tunnel we did not encounter any public utility jeep, bus or even tricycle.  Trips to these places probably occurs once or twice daily, so life in these remote places is quite simple.  We even crossed a dilapidated pontoon bridge that I was afraid might collapsed when five of our buses crossed it.  Luckily it did not and lastly we passed a sunken part of the pavement which made it treacherous for the bus to cross.  But we all made it in one piece and we continued our journey towards Matabungkay which is our next destination. 

 That's it friends! I hope you enjoyed reading my story for today.  It was indeed an educational experience to know something about Kaybiang Tunnel and the fame it will bring to the province of Cavite.  Until the next blog, let us be inspired in the beauty of the Philippines!  and to all bucket list adventurers out there, let us continue to make the list longer as long as we are still living to tell the story!  Keep healthy! Travel and Tell!

DocFun & the TAAL VOLCANO, Talisay on the eve of Typhoon Odette

My Taal Volcano adventure was a physically challengingexperience.  The journey started in Matabungkay Beach Resort where we concluded our Calatagan expedition.  The journey was a circumnavigation of the Taal Lake where it took the entire morning to reach our destination in Talisay, Batangas.  We passed by many interesting towns where I plan on visiting in my next adventures.

When we finally had to stopover for a bathroom break, the bus incidentally stopped at a gas station right beside the Mabini Shrine. So with my trusted Nikon camera, I alighted the bus and paid homage to a hero of the Philippine Revolution and took some photographs of the place.  This is where Apolinario Mabini. the "Sublime Paralytic" and a hero of our fight against Spanish colonizers was laid to rest in his homewtown.  I also plan on visiting this shrine again together with my next visit in the Tanauan ruins.

The circumnavigation of the Taal Lake was filled with mishaps that fortunately we all arrived safely in our destination.  The bus almost figured in a collision with a long truck in one of the hairpin loops in the Cuenca highlands and another one in Talisay where the left sideview mirror was hit by an oncoming truck.  Our bus driver must have miscalculated the width of the road where I presumed was too narrow for two big vehicles.  Talisay is a coastal town which was declared as a protected area in helping protect the ecosystem of the Taal Lake.  This is also where most of the jump-off for the crossing across the lake takes place.  Boat rides across the lake is regulated by the tourism authority of  the town.

Passenger embarkation in the boats is strictly controlled by a dispatcher.  A group of seven is the required and safe capacity of each boat.  No one is allowed to get on the boat without having your name listed in the passenger manifest.  The boat was equipped with a 4-cylinder manual transmission gasoline engine that glides smoothly over the water surface at a fast speed.  Speed is necessary to navigate the high waves of the lake and avoid being capsized.  The lake crossing was an exciting trip which was both scary for some but excitng and thrilling for other.  Our boat was jumping over the waves and we were soaked wet to our underwear as water splashes into the boat everytime we hit the waves.  Some waves are higher than the boat which elicited a lot of shrieks and screams from the female passengers.  My immediate concern at the moment was not getting my camera wet inside the bag because water was splashing literally everywhere and not even myu hidden bag was spared.  Luckily the camera was still dry when we reached the other side.

I almost forgot to tell the most exciting part of this story.  We went to this island on the eve of Typhoon Odette's arrival.  So we were met by tall, rugged waves, strong rains, gusty winds, slippery mud and horse crap-laden trail.  There was danger all around but we just view all these as challenges.  The highlight and ultimate objective of the trip of course is reaching the summit or edge of the crater.  At first I was reluctant in proceeding because of my condition.  However, I just asked myself "If not now, when?" and as simple as the question entered my mind, I immediately started the trek towards the top.  The trek was really challenging but I was not going to falter, nor was I disappointed as I got the first glimpse of the landscape from at least 3 kilometers uphill from the basecamp.