Blogs from Zambales, Luzon, Philippines, Asia

It was time to leave Manila, and after breakfast we said goodbye to Michael and Chris, and took a taxi to the bus station. Bus travel has an extra element of challenge to it here because there is no central terminal, and each bus company operates their own terminals, and each company has terminals scattered across the city, with each one serving different destinations. There are a few main areas where there is a high concentration of bus companies, so you head there based on which city your trying to get to. And have I mentioned the traffic in Manila? I have? Well, I'm going to mention it again. It's bad. Even in midday, it probably took the bus two hours just to get out of Manila. Traffic really is incredible here. And Manila is also ... read more

One of the sites we surveyed that will be getting not only a facelift but also two additional classrooms built is an elementary school in Barangay Rabanes, Zambales. I have said it many times, but the most enjoyment I get out of traveling with my job is the opportunities I get to interact with many different people, and in particular the children. This series of photos attached to this entry was taken when we visited the school, and as you can see, the kids love the camera and getting thier pictures taken. Although these people in most cases have far less than we have, and these children aren't as blessed with much of the things our own children take for granted, they always have smiles on thier faces.... read more

Zambales, Philippines -- Punta de Uian (yu-yan or u-yan) Resort. Punta is a spanish term for "a point of land extending into a body of water" and Uian is a local term for "cradle." The resort is located near Capones Island and Anawangin Cove and about 4-hour drive from Manila. The resort was nice being located at one of the most beautiful coastlines in the Philippines. There are also swimming pools and sports and water activities such as lawn bowling, beach volleyball, banana boat rides, kayak, scuba diving, jetski and many others. Although some parts of the resort are still under construction. They also offer boat ride to Capones Island and Anawangin Cove and other nearby islands. There is also a part of the beach where people are not allowed because the sea had taken much ... read more

My third birthday journal in Travelblog. I have about five drafted travel stories waiting to be finished, I had to oblige myself to finish this one. It's the second consecutive year that I have been spending birthdays in the province of Zambales, camping and trying to find that 'peace and quiet' that I'm always in search of. I spent the day in a beautiful Island called Magalawa, fifteen minutes boat ride from the Oslet Armada Fishdealer Compound in Brgy. Luan, Palauig Zambales. The first part of the journey was the four hours coach ride through the Iba Zambales route; we arrived at Iba Bus Terminal around three in the morning, an hour early than planned. We then had to wait for another hour for our transport to Brgy. Luan, which was another thirty minutes drive from ... read more

It took the bus four hours to get to San Antonio where we met our guide/boatman Kuya Mike. The last time we went to Pundaquit for camping, it only took us three hours by bus leaving at midnight – this time we missed the 04:00AM bus and had to wait until 05:00AM for the next one. Coming straight from work, I was groggy from having not slept and with the bus doing long stops, it wasn’t a very pleasant ride. It was a busy season seven months ago when we went camping at Anawangin so this time we were hoping that we’d have our ‘peace and quiet’ in another remote cove, Nagsasa. Unlike Anawangin which is just about 30 minutes boat ride from the Pundaquit beach, Nagsasa Cove is one and a half hours away. Though ... read more