Travel Snaps: Nine hours at sea

Posted on 25 June, 2012 by nikkacorsino

It’s always a delight to try something new whenever I travel. This year, I have tried the Bicol Express, a sleeper bus, and only recently, an overnight ship, among others.

Traveling this way does have its benefits: you tend to take everything ever so slowly without the slightest guilt, maybe even enjoy the sunset (or sunrise) without the usual frantic pace. That doesn’t come everyday for most of us, so it’s certainly something worthwhile, especially for the curious.

The following are some photos I took during a recent nine-hour trip from Batangas to Caticlan onboard 2Go Travel’s Cebu Ferry 3. We took the 8 PM trip, docking at the Caticlan Jetty Port by 6 AM.

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Caticlan and nearby Boracay at 6 AM

Sailing to Caticlan? Boracay is just another ship away

Posted on 24 June, 2012 by nikkacorsino

Let’s face it: flying to Caticlan is so freaking expensive a one-way ticket costs half my sister’s yearly tuition. Kalibo is almost always the better choice for the average Pinoy flyer who wants to get to Boracay with a bit more money to spare for actual enjoyment rather than a plane ride that’s just two hours earlier–theoretically.

Which brings me to another way we average wanderers can reach Asia’s best beach and the world’s second: by ship.

Hours may be long, and the seasick among us may cringe at the thought, but this new traveling experience isn’t as bad as we stereotype sea travel to be (at least for me).

2Go Travel–a venture by Negros Navigation, Superferry, Cebu Ferries, and Supercat–started offering Batangas-Caticlan-Batangas trips only last March, and the vessels servicing this nine-hour route, I found out as I was aboard Cebu Ferry 3 one June weekday, were outfitted to outclass a typical seaborne bunk.

Let me count the ways why:

1. Above average sleeping quarters.

Cabin-type room which fits four people

Each cabin comes with a flatscreen and a desk, among others.

The ship provides four classes of accommodations, three of which are airconditioned: the Stateroom, the Cabin, and the Tourist (the Super Value Class, also their cheapest, is non-airconditioned).

We stayed in one of the cabins, which had two double bunks, accommodating up to four people at a time. It was my first time to ride a ship, and I must say I was impressed–the room looked and smelled clean. It also had everything I would normally expect from a hotel room–a private bathroom, flatscreen TV, table and chair, a cabinet, and yes, a large mirror. Of course, each room has four lifejackets as well.

I did sleep quite well, save for one or two instances I woke up feeling nauseous (sleeping while floating needed some getting used to, as did sleeping horizontally on a moving bus and spending 14 hours on a train, the latter I’m yet to write about).

The airconditioned Tourist Class. All in all, a ship can accommodate about 900 passengers across accommodation classes.

2. Chic common spaces.

2Go Travel’s lobby bears accents of the brand’s signature magenta.

Guests can take their meals at this mezzanine lounge.

Those who may have qualms about traveling by sea may be swayed by the vibrant, chic interiors of this hotel. You have to hand it to them really–as a roll-on, roll-off vessel that transports cargo trucks at the same time, they could simply have opted for dank interiors that remind you of hospitals.

Instead, the lobby has cushioned chairs and three gigantic flatscreen TV sets all around. It looked the way any decent hotel should, and that’s saying something considering what we sometimes have to pay for in other places.

The lounge, on a mezzanine no less, offers spectacular views from outside. The ship’s cafe–which serves full meals–was done in the same tasteful touch as the other spaces in the hotel.

The hotlel’s cafe serves up reasonably priced food for passengers in a mix of funky and classy.

You can also enjoy cocktails at the bar, which is located at an open deck one level above the cafe. An in-house band plays every night, and lounge chairs are also provided. Between that and enjoying the quiet of your room, I believe the nine-hour cruise to Caticlan would pass by without a hitch.

The open deck is sure to be a treat when taking the morning cruise. At night, this is where the in-house live band performs.

3.Great value for money.

2Go’s rates offer great value since a fare computation includes both the cruise fare and the accommodation, and the cheapest one goes for about P460.

To book a Batangas-Caticlan trip, you can use their online booking engine (http://travel.2go.com.ph/) in the same way you would book a flight.

It does offer group packages for at least 10 persons. A cabin-type accommodation would cost P2,100 round trip per person during the lean season (from March 1 to 21 and June 16 to November 15, 2012), and P2,700 during the peak season (March 22 to June 15, and November 16 to December 15, 2012).

4. Best for families and groups of friends.

The accommodation types would naturally compel you to bring in the rest of the gang for some nine or so hours of whiling the time away, alternating between cocktails and TV and plain old staycation. And since 2Go’s group rates are very competitive, provided you have more time than cash to spare, it offers a fairly good deal for families who’ve been wanting to go on that Boracay trip but have been continually thwarted by prohibitive airline rates. Its facilities certainly make group travel the norm rather than the exception, although going solo might not be that bad too.

5. Different take on slow travel.

There may be just two types of people who would go for this cruise: those who are after the value for money, and those who are after the travel itself. Sure, the nine-hour transit, plus the almost two-hour travel from Manila to Batangas, would eat up so much time others wouldn’t even want to hear any of it. But for those who can, regardless of the reason, it’s simply another way to travel. The sheer novelty of it all is so appealing you just have to go for it.

DIRECTIONS FROM METRO MANILA (CUBAO) TO BATANGAS PORT

View Larger Map

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BUT THE DESTINATION ISN’T BORACAY:
A hike to seven waterfalls
A cruise along the cleanest river in the country + a crocodile love triangle
Riding a canoe that won’t please anyone who couldn’t swim
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This trip was hosted by Kairosolutions & 2Go Travel. Thanks for reading!

Travel Snap: Back to school in Boracay

Posted on 5 June, 2012 by nikkacorsino

Pretty cool to study right next to one of the world’s best stretches of white sand, eh? This photo was taken nearly a year ago while on a stroll along White Beach in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan. It wasn’t the best time to be in the island, as the sun had been elusive and there were intermittent drizzles throughout our three-day stay. Imperfect though the timing may be, all’s good in the life of a child who most probably sees Boracay as just any other beach to grow up next to for a long, long time.

Ode to 2011: The Year in Pictures

Posted on 30 December, 2011 by nikkacorsino

Earlier, I had written about my word for 2011–DISCOVER. [See: My word for 2011: What's yours?] To fully give justice to this fantastic year, I’m putting together photos that speak exactly about how this year has been for me:

We headed to Iloilo for the Dinagyang after an initial disappointment that we couldn’t head to this year’s Sinulog. But it turned out to be everything but a compromise because of how FANTASTIC the experience was. It also proved to be a GREAT start to the year, paving the way for several more trips, including seeing three other big festivals out of town.

The road to and from Banaue was three hours shy of 24 hours, that’s why it’s one of those trips you only take once in your life. But on a more positive note, Banaue’s authentic provincial feel and laidback charm all beguile the senses, making it one of the must-see destinations in the country.

One of the most remarkable experiences I have had in the eight days I was in Malaysia was waking up for the sunrise while in one of its most beautiful beaches, Redang Island. This made me realize I was living a lackluster life before that. It was a renewal of passion I didn’t know I needed. It wasn’t bad either that I had seen a smaller Malaysian version of Brazil’s Carnival, the ultimate festival in my books.

It was my first time to set foot in Mindanao, and it left quite an impression on me. Davao City made my encounter with humongous crabs possible, and it was also Davao which gave me my shortest 2 hours and longest five minutes. It also decided it would not allow me to simply stay there overnight, thus a flight delayed for 24 hours.

There–finally–the Boracay mystery dispelled. But it was far from ideal, because I was sent there for work and I felt pressured and stressed half the time. I was half loathing it in fact, because it struck me as too noisy and too crowded (and it was July!). The beach looked far from ideal, if my numbered souvenir photos are any indication. I resolved never to return to this over-hyped place again, but now that I come to think about it, I haven’t seen its famed sunset yet (yes, major FAIL), so maybe I’ll be back quicker than I thought.

Doing the traditional Visita Iglesia during Holy Week had never struck me as a great opportunity for taking photos, but this year it had been exactly that. I had had a very light feeling about shooting from the very beginning, so maybe that was the trick that did it.

Finally seeing the Masskara was one of those you strike off your Bucket List, only that it wasn’t included in mine to begin with. But I had a great time, even after missing our flight and spending an arm and a leg for the next available one to bring us to our destination. And it didn’t hurt either that unexpected things like this happen.

Coming to think about it, I don’t know which between MassKara and Bacolod City is the better travel destination. Bacolod, the home of the MassKara Festival, is brimming with artistic pieces from its buildings to its museums to the perfect taste of its ube piaya.

Saying goodbye to loved ones is never easy, but then these events have their way of sending us lessons like nothing else can.

The streets are brimming with life–movement, light, and people all coming together for that unique moment we truly live for. And 2011 has been like this too–waiting for those moments and living–and LOVING–every minute of them.