Hubby and Wifey's Blog

It was June 2009 we visit Puerto galera. Puerto Galera is a soothing vision of shimmering seas surrounded by lush mountains. It is considered one of the most beautiful and developed beach resort community in the country. Starting from "backyard tourism" wherein local residents accept local and foreign tourist as stay-in guest, Puerto Galera tourism has flourished. In the course of time, several hotels, resorts, inns and restaurants have mushroomed within the area. Upon arrival, visitors board any of the waiting bancas (outrigger boat) that ferry passengers across the surrounding waters and into the various resorts dotting the coastline. Jeepneys to the inland hamlets of Sabang, Small and Big La Laguna, White Beach and Talipanan Point likewise traverse hilly, tree-lined routes that offer a sweeping view of the island’s less aquatic, but equally tropical side.

    Actually we don’t have idea about this place. Luckily we have a new technology that surrounds us. We gather information on the Internet on How to go there. We pick Sabang because according to the information Sabang is liveliest from the places in Puerto Galera. We book online for our hotels because we don’t have any idea how to get a room when we arrived there. All are pack and ready and we ride bus from LRT Gil puyat station going to Batangas Port. In batangas port there are people will approach you for boats going to Puerto Galera. We observe the people who are riding a boat. All of them are going to white beach Puerto Galera. I was alarmed on the situation because according to information in the Internet and to my wife sabang is the liveliest place on the island. When we ride the boat going to sabang the boat are not full of passengers. The boat going to White beach are full and every minute’s boat are leaving to port going to white beach. I’m starting too worried on what I observed but what can we do it’s a trial and error to go there because we only gather information. Approximate 5 miles away from the shore I already see the island. Look nice and there are many boat parks on the shore. I notice that there’s no one playing and swimming on the shoreline. When we arrived at the shore and now we know that our gathered information’s was wrong because the area is a divers place. Even we got busted on the information we still proceed to our hotel that we’ve reserve online. When we arrive on the hotel its looks nice because our room is on the top. Nice view up there but its hard to go up with a stare because it’s very high. After we put our things to our room we go down and eat for lunch. Food is very expensive on the hotel. For 300 pesos you only have 1 plate for 1 person. After we eat we go outside to look something what is the best area when at night. We saw some ihaw-ihaw like balunbalunan just like what are selling in street of manila. We saw mineral water station for our drinking water. Some people approach us and offering us to go on there tourist spot but its expensive so we didn’t agree but we ask some bystanders like selling baluts or ihaw-ihaw where is this place, how to get there, what is the cheapest transportation like they pay for the transportation when they are going to that place. We ask about the white beach and going there it will take 30 minutes by jeep, which cost 30 pesos each person. A ride to tricycle 100 pesos from bayan to white beach, all on all its 160 pesos going to white beach but the person who offer us going there they told us about 500 to 700 one way.

            It’s almost 5pm and we are now hunting for food outside the hotel. We choose to have 4 isaw and 4 balunbalunan for 60 pesos, 4 cups of rice which coast 5 pesos each and a 1.5 liter coca cola which coast 50 pesos. We eat at the balcony for a nice view while eating. Seeing lights form the house and very small light from another island and I think that is batangas. We will be staying here for 5 days and it’s a very peaceful and solemn place. We wait for the clock strikes 12 midnights because we want to see their bars outside. Yes! They have plenty bars outside the hotel for nightlife but it’s not a kind of bar that we are looking for. We want a bar that for couple not a bar for a man who will hunt a lady to take out for a night. We just go back to hotel and use the swimming pool inside hotel. Its almost 1am in the morning and then we shift to swimming gears. We got to the pool and some foreigners using the pool. We were just sitting on the cottage and the security guard approach us. He told us sir by the way the pool would be close when the foreigner finishes there swimming. I told the guard ahhh ok so it will be close huh?! But actually were costumers here and we are staying on room number 1. Then the guard replied yes sir I know that but this pool is for foreigners only and they are the only one who is allowed to use this by this time. When they leave the pool it will be close. I told the guard how about us? We are not foreigner but we are costumers and we are staying here for 5 days and we pay online just like your guest foreigner swimming in front of us. The guard just scratches his head and leave.

            I really don’t like our experience on that Hotel. Approaching us neatly but telling us that when the foreigners finish using the pool, the pool will be close. How about us?! I know that our skins are not white but color brown. But even our color are brown we still pay the hotel to stay and to have a night swimming. Brown skins pay online and stay for 5 days and we cannot use the pool when the foreigner finishes using it. Even our skin is brown we still pay like the foreigners pay online. How the foreigner stays there we stay there but we stay much longer.

            I don’t know what’s happening to our kabayan. When they saw a white skin people and a brown skin people they much more pay attention to white skin people even the brown skins pay what the white did. When a brown skin visits a place which is a tourist spot and stay for a couple of days it means this brown skin can pay like the white skin in short madatung din ang pinoy. In any part of the world there’s still discrimination and I really hate it.