Travel Philippines: Bataan and Pampanga Roadtrip, Monsoon rains, Travel Stubbornness and Safety.

in #travel7 years ago (edited)

Within the first week of August 2017, in Luzon we are experiencing some heavy southwest monsoon rains. But we think that it isn't a typhoon and it is normal during wet season in the Philippines spanning the months of May to October in the specific province that we went by, the province of Bataan. so we still didn't hesitate to continue our trip because we already set our vacation leave ahead of time and no one wants to spoil the party. But as what we anticipated, we learned our lesson. From Manila @ 06:00H, we traveled Orani, Bataan for 4 hours.

The stubbornness series

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Ride for the day: Toyota Tamaraw FX '94 MT
The original itinerary is to climb Mount Natib, located in Orani, Bataan. But the tour guides warned us because of some little landslides that's happening at the moment we came at their registration area.
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Reached Mt. Natib foothills @ 10:00H
So we decided to just accept it and even appreciate the rain. "Screw it! we will go to the beach anyway!"

We filled our own gas tanks as well with this delicious Lomi.

Our 2-day journey map.

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From Orani to Morong, Bataan

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Arrived Morong, Bataan @ 12:30H
While we are finding a camping spot somewhere in Morong by looking at the map we carry, we saw the Laplap waterfalls and we became curious and asked some people on the street for directions and when on the spot, we stopped by the hillside to go down and what we saw is a little sanctuary.

Laplap waterfalls and Morong hanging bridge

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@dredridingshoe and @bonbon
I almost get drowned because the water is too deep and has no shallow area. We stayed for an hour until the rain comes.

Morong Beach

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Morong Beach 15:00H
This beach is located in the west coast of the country.
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The waves aren't calm by the time and we liked it because the water is just shallow and the shallow area is approximately 200 meters from the shore.
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The sand.

But this is what's behind

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Disappointing.
The strong waves, and these massive garbages are the yearly struggles of the natives in Morong, Bataan and nearby places. I talked to the fishermen about it and they were pointing out the Manila Bay as the origin of the garbages. They clean up those mess before the dry season and then rehabilitates the area. Lucky that this place has many concerned citizens because this beach is owned by the government and not their own.
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But based on research, these massive garbages are coming from Vietnam passing through West Philippine Sea because of the monsoon season.
We set a camp for the day at the beach, had our lunch and got drunk a little, went to the waters while it rains (Love it!) and when the rain stopped, we traveled to the province of Pampanga.
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Left Morong @ 18:30H

Sinigang and Adobo, two of the most famous Filipino dishes.

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SinigangIMG_7798.jpg
Adobo
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Pampanga

No one wants to go back to Manila yet because we were still enjoying the precious moments together, so i offered them an overnight stay to my mother's house. But the travel time from Bataan to Pampanga went up to 6 hours instead of 3 hours because of unexpected floods and as we get near our place, the bridge has been destroyed that resulted us to turn back to a farther route. We got home @ 12:30H
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Mama's bantam chicken
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Mama's periwinkle
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Our group picture with my mother before we went back to Manila.

When it rains during your trip
  • Accept and appreciate the weather. You can still enjoy by going to more beautiful places such as beaches and waterfalls. Just be cautious to the weather especially when you go to surfing. Ask the guides or the natives for your safety. You can also do food tripping. Rainy days can get you somehow delayed, and you can save boring hours by stopping by to a cafe or a restaurant. Have a staycation. Simply book a room to a hotel, resorts or inns, or go to a place you find relaxing.
  • Be always ready rain or shine. Always bring an umbrella or raincoats, and for waterproofing your belongings especially your electronic gadgets to keep them safe.
Tips to avoid the bad weather for your trip
  • Chase the sun. Weather apps and forecasts solves the problem. Don't be like us who insisted to go to the place regardless of the weather. You can prevent it by choosing the place where the weather is good as the first move. Also follow the weather forecasts on tv or in the internet.
  • Research not only on your itinerary, but also to your safety concerns.

The nature tripping continues...
Follow me for more of my posts and my future blogs.

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tc happy tour =D that tamarraw still in good condition hehe

This post received a 4.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @gwapology! For more information, click here!

Yeah it is ! Thank god! pwede sa pang mataasan at lubak. Pero hindi yata kaya ang Baguio

pwedew cguro pag di puno hehe

Sinigang, Adobo, and Empi? My favorites! I hope i can make it out with you guys some time soon, you really do go on some of the most awesome trips man. Keep up the kick ass work, you got my upvote brother!

you got a 100% upvote and a resteem from ur little sister!^_^ great photos especially with mama and you wearing the team philippines shirt.

You are brave. I try to go in February.

Haha yeah hiking isn't ideal on rainy days..

This post received a 4.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @haleyaerith! For more information, click here!

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by olivercuico from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.

It seems all you guys have had a nice time.. keep on steemin!

Although the long ride made us all so tired, that was still a great time! :-) Thanks for reading my post.

OHHhh my!!!! I miss sinigang. :(

Why? You live overseas? you can still cook it

I'm living in Slovenia now, and wala akong mabilhan na Filipino product here.

Great post and Great Journey. Sad to see and hear about all the garbage washing up on the shores of the beach.

Yeah but when the amihan season comes the residents will then clean and rehabilitate this place to look good before summer comes

This post has been upvoted by the @teamphilippines curation trail.

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Wow! Thank you very much @teamphilippines! Appreciate it

The beach photos are making me kinda sad :( Nice adventure though. Nothing beats sinigang (and a bit of empi) on a rainy day.

Brader ayos na ayos yan...

good post oliver. yes, screw the rain and the mudslides and all that trash, too. good for u to have a good time despite any troubles.

This post has received a 1.04 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @banjo.