Go Nuts in Boracay

How did we spend our 30 hours in Bataan?

How to get to Bataan

From Five Star Cubao Manila, take a bus going to Balanga and pay 200 pesos per person.

Travel time: 3- 4 hours

Our itinerary for Bataan includes St Joseph Cathedral, Plaza Mayor de Balanga, Dambana ng Kagitingan, Bagac Bay Beach Resort, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar and the famous Geno's Taro Ice cream in Balanga . We left the Five Star Bus Station around 9 am and arrived at half past twelve.

January 29, 2015 (12:30 pm)- Arrival at Balanga Bataan

How to get to St Joseph Cathedral and Plaza Mayor de Balanga

The time we set foot in Bataan, we took a tricycle to head us to St Joseph Cathedral and Plaza Mayor de Balanga. Expect to pay 10 pesos per head.

St. Joseph Cathedral

                                                                                                                                        

Plaza Mayor de Balanga

Stop and take a picture with the Capital's great Architectural designs.

Where to eat

located at Banzon St, Balanga

          it's worth the price, delicious food and big servings!

How get to Dambana ng Kagitingan

From Balanga Bataan Terminal, take a jeep going to Cabog Cabog and tell the driver to drop you off at Mt Samat. Fee is P 19.00 per person.Travel time is 10 minutes. From Mt Samat, asked the tricycle driver to bring you to the Dambana ng Kagitingan. Do not underestimate the power of the 3 wheel vehicle. These tricycles at Mt Samat defies gravity. Expect to pay P 100 per head (one way). Travel time is 15 minutes. It is kind of expensive, but they are not being opportunistic. The road to Dambana ng Kagitingan is a quite steep but well paved. If you prefer to walk, it will take 2-3 hours before you can reach the summit of Mt Samat.

                                                 

                                             Dambana ng Kagitingan                                               

We arrived at the Shrine at 3:30 pm and paid for the entrance (P 20.00 each). The guy who works in shrine told us to maximize the time remaining because the place will be closed at 5:00 pm. 

   the Cross

inside the cross

You could gain access inside the cross by means of elevator or stairs. Little we know, it was almost 5:00 pm and the museum is closed. Our tricycle driver was waiting  for us outside to take us back to the highway. We were waiting for a jeep until a tricycle driver offered us to take us back to Balanga Terminal. He offered us     P 80.00 for 3 persons. Not bad, instead of waiting around for a jeep that cost P 19.00 per head, we accepted the driver's offer. That time, we had experienced traffic in the road to the Balanga Terminal. The driver drop us off at the market. We took another tricycle again to the terminal of Balanga and paid for P 10.00 per head. Our next destination is Bagac Bay Beach Resort in Bagac. We settled on this lodge because it is closed to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. 

How to get to Bagac Bay Beach Resort from Balanga Terminal

From Balanga Terminal,  take a jeep going to Bagac, expect to pay P 47.00. 

Travel time: 45 mins to 1 hour

From Brgy Pag - Asa (the last stop of the jeep) take a tricycle going to Bagac Bay Beach Resort. P 10.00 per head

We arrived at the resort around 7:30 pm. A piece of advice, before taking a tricycle to Bagac Bay Beach Resort look a place somewhere to eat. The stores close to Bagac Bay beach Resort are just sari sari stores (convenient stores). We asked a tricycle driver to take us to the town of Bagac for a carinderia. 

comfy Pipit 

PIPIT room (airconditioned) : P 1,500 for 2pax for extra mattress (P 300)

This resort doesn't have WIFI and in our room we don't have a television. The clients that night were just the three of us. It was so quiet and dark on the otherside of our room. Our friend Darcy was humming a horror sound, trying to scare the shit out of us. Haha! What we did before sleeping was talking, talking and talking. 

The next morning before heading to the beach, we bought a sapsap (dried fish)   P 10.00 as a pasalubong. There are vendors that will approached you to buy their stuffs. Their sapsap is the best. I cooked it. They are crunchy and not salty.

We headed to the beach and walked a bit to the right ride of the resort. This where the magic happens

at the back: Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar 

the horizon

trying this shot haha! did we nail it?

We left the lodge at exactly 12:00 noon. 

For Reservations at Bagac Bay Beach Resort:

Manager: Ms Charito Fernandez

Mobile Number: 09189265023

E-mail: bagacbaybeachresort@yahoo.com

Our next destination is Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. The entrance is P 685.00 per head. Expensive right? but the tricycle driver told us we can get a discount. He introduced us to Priscilla Pangan. The owner of sari sari store in front of Bagac Bay Beach Resort. She listed us, as her guests. Instead of paying P 685.00 per head we only paid P 500.00 per head. In return, we gave her P 100.00 tip. 

How to get to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

From Bagac Bay Beach Resort, ask a tricycle driver to take you to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Expect to pay P 20.00 per head. 

Priscilla Pangan told us that the tour will start at 1:00 pm. In addition to the tour, she said that we can access the pool inside the Las Casas. We were hungry that time and the meals inside the Las Casas are expensive. We decided to take our lunch in a carinderia just before the gates of Las Casas Filipinas. 

masarap and abot kayang lunch!

History of  Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

"José "Gerry" Acuzar, owner of New San Jose Builders started to rebuild Spanish mansions in Bagac in 2003.[2] Each house was dismantled brick by brick, numbered, transported to his property in Bagac, reassembled in the same order, and then restored. Houses were chosen based on their historical, cultural and architectural value. Acuzar bought houses which were in a state of neglect, from the owners, and in some cases also purchased the lot where the mansions stood. "

                                                                                                                                                                                                       -Wikipedia

an astonishing landscape of Las Casas Filipinas

Paseo de Escolta

"UNAD" the tour guide. The one who revealed the stories and controversies surrounding the houses of Las Casas.

An astonishing view from one of the houses

"MEMA"- Me ma pose lang

The wanderer 

Lola Basyang with the kids

                   

the tikbalang statue

we wanted to dip in the pool, but the thought of dressing up again made us say "NO"

More houses to be re-constructed, sooon

A few reminders:

* Bring a bottle of water with you

* Wear comfortable clothes

* Before getting in some of the houses, you are required to remove your shoes or slippers. It is much better to wear slippers during the tour

We left the Las Casas Filipinas at 4:00 pm to catch a bus at 6:00 pm going back to Manila . If you could stay at night it would be wonderful. They said that the place is splendid at night.

The last in our itinerary is to taste The Taro Ice Cream of Geno's Ice Cream. The origin of Geno's Ice Cream is at Orani Bataan. We were glad they opened a branch in Balanga Bataan. 

How to Go Back from Las Casas Filipinas to Geno's Ice Cream at Balanga:

Ask a tricycle driver to take you to the Jeep Terminal going to Balanga. Expect to pay P 15.00 per head. In the jeepney station ,we waited atleast 20 minutes since they were scheduled to depart at 4:30 pm. Expect to pay P 35.00 each. Once you are at the Balanga Terminal, take a tricycle going to the market and tell them to go to Geno's Ice Cream. Fee is P 10.00 each.

1 gallon of Taro Ice Cream

Geno's Ice Cream store is located at the Market. It has a green gate and offers services for birthday parties. We thought we could try some of their flavors in a cup, as what other blogger had said. The guy working in the store told us they sell their ice cream per gallon not in small cups. A lot of sacrifices has been made to try this ice cream. We ended purchasing the 1 gallon and decided to eat it in the bus going back to Manila. The price of 1 gallon Taro ice cream is P 460.00. The store will hand it to you covered in a styro with salt and ice to preserved the Ice Cream. The span of the ice cream inside the styro will last up to 8 hours.

Before we take the Bus going to Manila, we ordered a meal for our dinner in a fast-food to keep our stomach full during the travel. The Manila Bus left Balanga at 6:30 pm.

January 30, 2015 (6:30 pm)- Departure at Balanga Bataan

and that's how we spent our 30 hours in BATAAN!!!