MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Philippines Trip
Day 2 - April 9 2017
Mike and I got moving around 6 and headed to the hotel gym and pool. After cleaning up, we met up with our friend and driver, packed for our overnight adventure. Another US employee is in Manila and we pick him up after stopping at a local restaurant and Starbucks. We all began the two hour drive to Batangas Port.
The port has many boat lines that take you to the various beaches and areas of the island. Workers are shouting at each person walking in to try to get them to take a specific line. Our driver (and protector) shoo’d them away and we headed to the line that was recommended by our AirBNB host. Next, we filtered into a huge room filled with people awaiting their boats. A half hour later, our boat arrived, and everyone piled into the ferry. The hour-plus boat ride was a bit uncomfortable with the heat, lack of air circulation, and tons of people jammed in. Once we docked, we found our liner’s truck that would take us to the Sunset Hotel and Villas.
The AirBNB hosts are actually the same people that run the Sunset hotel, which sits right on the sand of a secluded and less visited beach. We checked in at the hotel and are shown to the two bedroom, five bed villa. It was gorgeous, new, and clean.
We quickly cleaned up and headed down to the beach for a swim. The water was the perfect temperature, just cold enough to be refreshing, but no so much it’s shocking. It was crystal clear and you could see your toes in the sand when neck-deep in the water. The beach was all but ours and the view was gorgeous with the lush land and palm trees hugging the bay. After some beach time, we headed to the oceanside restaurant and bar of the hotel. As villa residents, we were welcome to all of the same amenities as the hotel guests, including the pool, lounges, and various perks. We ordered some food and the local, very strong, beer, Red Horse. We passed the evening hours with rounds of beer, food, and plenty of conversation.
