Thursday, May 07, 2009

real, quezon province


we left manila around 6 in the morning, hoping that everything would be okay, despite the typhoon that we're hearing from the news. we decided to take the other route to quezon province via antipolo city, which i've never taken before. i wasn't really expecting that i would be excited, but i did.
although i was very upset that we left manila too late, i felt better after seeing all the nice views along the way. we took the sumulong highway from marikina city, passed by antipolo city, then to the provinces of teresa, morong, tanay, and laguna. the feeling of being in an unfamiliar territory left me feeling thrilled, forgetting about the dismay that i had earlier. i looked out the window of our van and saw only greens. green fields, green trees, green plants, greens, greens, and more greens. three hours later, we've reached our destination, long beach resort, real, quezon province.

the resort was very simple. they only have huts with tables basically for eating, nothing fancy. they have no place to take a nap, or lie down. the only thing that I've noticed was that there were dogs everywhere. at first, i liked it that there were so many dogs, that we didn't have to throw away our food's leftovers, that we only had to throw them to the dogs and have them eat it. soon, i've realized that they would cause such uneasiness, as they all watched us as we ate our brunch. they were under our tables, our chairs, even near the beach. i hope that the management would do something to make them go away.

the good side of this trip was that there was no sun. no worries of getting a sunburn. it was actually kind of cloudy, with a little strong wind, which i didn't mind at all. i was so excited to see the beach, that i ran to the shore as soon as i finished my food. when i looked at the ocean, all i see was debris: plastic, leaves, woods, you name it, it's all in there. the water was so unclean, i was actually expecting to see a dead chicken floating in the water. i do remember seeing a measuring tape in the water. i know, i might sound too harsh, but i am telling you, all i saw was dirt.

the waves were really powerful and at times, fearsome. it kind of reminds me of the beach we went to during a trip of my family to la union province, several years ago. despite the killer waves, we all jumped into the water, thinking that it wouldn't hurt us, or at least kill us. besides, the only reason i came here was for the sea water, which i heard was very good for the skin. so not-swimming would never be an option. i really had to swim.

without the waves, our swimming trip would be such a bore. it made us quite busy with running, swimming, diving, and even smashing through it. i couldn't count the numbers of times that it hit my back so hard, my face almost hit the bottom of the water. i even remember it was so hard, it nearly broke my leg. hurtful as it may sound, but it was actually fun. lunch was served around 1pm. we've had seafood, shrimp with soup and pork adobo. we're not really scared to get swine flu. personally, i wasn't really happy with the food.

i was not so inspired to take photos that day. nothing much to take pictures of, aside from my family. maybe we just came at a bad time, and we saw the place in such a bad state. there were trash everywhere. i don't remember seeing a lifeguard around the beach. it was raining, so i couldn't take lots of photos.

despite my thousand complaints, the trip was enjoyable. i got to be with my family, take pictures of them, enjoy the filthy water, eat not so good food, and just hang out with them. maybe that's what i've learned from this trip. that no matter how things get worse, there would always be a good side to it, especially when your family is with you.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many, many years ago me + 2 buddies went on a bisnis venture in Quezon. We were 3yr col students. It was a long trip from QC. We took turns drvng my friends van. Tiring as it was I kinda liked the long trip, esp as we got closer to the sea - getting glimpses of the ocean from the road.

Pts. of interest:

went out to sea where they have fish traps. They had some areas fenced - the fishermen standing on top of tall pole fences pulling fish nets. Kinda cool!

went to my friends fish farm(bangus) and had huge crabs for lunch. No gourmet cooking - the farmers don't know cuisine cooking. They just boiled the darn thing. I thought it was a waste.

Had a few drinks by the saltwater river(catching fish for sumsuman) not too great neither. the fish I mean - too bony.

btw: my other friend got hit by a flying fish on our way over there on a pump boat.

Great bonding experience for us. Kinda exhausting, but now the memory and experince is priceless.

We just broke even - only because my friends father did not charge us for the use of his van. He was quite happy about our venture.

Filamboy

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

too much trash in the beach? that doesn't sound good. even if the typhoon has "cleaned" it up, they'll show up in another beach somewhere. haay naku!

Oman said...

amen to that.

actually, ngayon ko lang din nadiscover ang mga magagandang lugar sa quezon like pagbilao and cagbalete. dati kasi hanggang lucena lang ako.

i am glad nag-enjoy ka kahit filthy ang water at not so good yung food (hehehe) basta kasama ang pamilya ok na rin di ba?

Engrande said...

beautiful rendition! very nostalgic!!

biyahengpinoy said...

filamboy, thank you so much for sharing your experience. we may have different stories to tell, but whether its a good or a bad story, we had to admit, we somehow enjoyed our stay in quezon province. :)

nomadic pinoy, in fairness to quezon province, i think that it is a wonderful province. maybe in that particular resort, and in a particular day, we just saw it in its worse condition.

lawstude, minsan bisitahin natin uli ang quezon. i'm open for any good suggestion. basta mura o kaya, libre. hehe.

engrande, thank you for that wonderful comment. hope you'll visit my blog more often.

Depya (a.k.a Ishie) said...

Dogs watching you while you eat your brunch, no sun (so depressing!), without waves and unclean water? Ewww! My golly, you must be really disappointed!

What's wrong with the food? Seafoods and adobo are scrumptious. Lovee it!

Nevertheless, you still had a great time not because of the place but because of your family!

At least you have learned something valuable from the experience.

May the force be with you.

Mishel said...

I share the same views. Liked your blog very much.

AJ said...

the spectacular view, taken by your eye' all worth it!

sana marami kang shots ng Real, Q.

Anonymous said...

hello... hapi blogging... have a nice day! just visiting here....

Dennis Villegas said...

This is one of the things I love about life: road trip! Ibang ruta nga ang binaybay nyo, ito yung sa opposite nung route sa Tagaytay.

Bobbie said...

That last paragraph of this blog said it all! It was so profound! "No matter how things get worst, there will always be a good side to it, when your family is with you." That statement couldn't have meant anything without how you were interpreting your experience for sure. You are awesome. This is Elder Lauret's mom. Thank you for keeping us posted here in Utah, U.S.!

biyahengpinoy said...

Ishie, I like seafood and adobe. It's just the way that they were cooked, wasn't really very appetizing. :)

Mishel, I'm glad that someone actually liked my blog. Haha.

AJ, I took some family fotos of our trip in Quezon. I just thought that they're a little too personal to post here. I'll try to post more photos in the future.

Mrs Lauret, Wow, haven't heard from you for a long time. I hope things are doing well with your family. This is so cool, you've read my post. :)

Anonymous said...

mp.. im from real quezon... actually nsa brgy. Capalong ka cgro... dpat pumunta ka sa Balute island.. the sea water there was so clean. there are also rooms for rent that you can use for resting... at the back of the beach was pacific ocean. you should go to BALUTE ISLAND next time you'll visit real quezon...

foods?... cno nagluto nun? kung nanay konagluto nun for sure ayaw moh na umalis ng real quezon. haha... yun kc ung cnbi ng mga classmates ko sa INFORMATICS EASTWOOD nung pmunta ca d2 smin. they stay here for almost four days. honestly.. ayaw na nila umalis ng quezon, paampon na lng daw cla smin.. haha...

mron din kmi mga falls.... for sure mag enjoy ka if all you want was nature triping...

Quezon Business Directory and Travel Guide said...

thanks for featuring one of quezon province most visited tourist destination :)

Anonymous said...

tama ka kabayan..sana sa muli nilang pagbisita sa mahal nating Bayan BALUTE island ang puntahan nila at kung natural Falls naman ang trip nila Check-in sila sa Puerto Real Resort sa Brgy.Cawayan malapit don ang "Talon Falls" or we called it "Seven Falls"..hanngang sa muli nyong pagbisita...

Anonymous said...

hello, second to the motion about the BALUTE ISLAND marami n rin ako napuntahan na beach and i say balute is a very good one. of course kelangan mong sumakay sa pump boat , 100 pesos / per head balikan it includes entrance fee, this pump boat was only offered by the balute resort mgt. the only disadvantages is medyo may kamahalan ang kanilang cottage also mga bilihin and drinking water so bring lots of it. last na punta namin this was a month ago mas okay na yung shower room kasi malaki na yung tank nila to stock fresh water to used for washing and showering. Next time punta kau. Have a nice trip