Sabangan

The beach bum in me will brave long drives to get to a decent beach.  It was my first time to visit Laiya, a 4 kilometer stretch of warm sandy beaches in Batangas, and I wasn't disappointed.  You take the Lipa or the San Juan exit along the Star Tollway, thereafter you drive through the inner towns; true enough, as my colleagues predicted, traffic can sometimes come to a crawl, a complete stop even.  We got to our destination, Sabangan beach resort, after 4 hours of travel.

The lush greens and the homey feel wiped off the groggy feeling that I had on the bus.  The pool made my eyes twinkle and a smile broke--I could get used to this lazy pace.  It was a welcome respite from all the frazzles of city life.

Rooms were reasonable at around P10k for 4 people; the air-conditioning was strong, the beds were cozy and the bathroom was clean.  To top it all, the room rate was inclusive of buffet meals (breakfast, snacks and dinner).  How can you beat that?

The best part of the trip?  The beach was clean.  No rocks, no jellyfish.  No trash.  The water was very clear.  The waves were a bit high, but quite manageable.  The only cause for concern (specially non-swimmers) was that the water depth would increase drastically just some 20 feet away from the shoreline.  Biglang lalim, as the fisherfolk would say.  The resort was wise enough to establish floating buoys to mark the swimming perimeters, and the kids were reminded not to go too far out.  Fun rides were available--banana boats, wave runners, and inflatable skis, for a reasonable fee of course.  Lots of beautiful beach bodies in bikinis, too!

It can get to be tiring to travel almost 300 kilometers back and forth just for an overnight stay, but I still think I'm a spring chicken!  I can do this!