Nothing too exciting happened at work this week so this week’s post will mostly highlight my weekend adventures.
About two weekends ago Sarah and I attempted to go to Antipolo, Rizal since I found some cool places to explore. Unfortunately, our attempt reconfirmed our understanding that transportation here isn’t as straightforward as it seems in the states. The app I downloaded gave us poor directions and even the locals we met along jeepney rides told us it was mostly private car travel in Antipolo. That Sunday we gave up after two jeepney rides, where we ended up in Pasay (at an MRT station), still over an hour away from where we wanted to be.
This is why we opted to take a grab to Antipolo, Rizal, instead of dealing with the hassle of trying to find public transportation. Our first stop was Cloud 9, where we had a small breakfast and explored their facilities. They had a small museum with artifacts from various periods and a 360-view deck that you could get to by crossing a hanging bridge. The bridge was pretty shaky but it wasn’t nerve-wracking for me.
Later, that Saturday (the 16th) we took grabs to Hinulugang Taktak Falls and the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site. Regrettably, we found out at the gate entrance that the petroglyphs site had been under reconstruction for the past three months. That was bad on my part, I just relied on a google search, where it said it was open. Thankfully the grab driver agreed to take us to the nearest restaurant (without charging us extra). We ended up stumbling upon a Coffee Project for a late lunch before heading to our accommodation for the night.
The next day we bought breakfast at the resort’s restaurant before heading out. Through an online search, I found the directions on how to get to Daranak Falls. Like most places here, there isn’t just one straight line from one destination to another. Unless you take a grab, however you can’t take a grab directly to the falls. In some provinces, especially the ones far from Metro Manila, grab isn’t a provided service. Therefore, we booked a grab that took us to Tanay Public Market, where we found a tricycle to take us to the entrance of the falls.
I quite like tricycle rides. Even though it’s a little cramped, the open air just really helps fight against the formations of headaches (due to the bumpy roads). When we got to the falls we had to pay an entrance fee, and we had to additionally pay a fee to access the Batlag Falls. Which was well worth it, in my opinion. Because it took a bit more effort to reach the falls (due to the steep incline), it was less crowded and a nice place to swim. We spent nearly three hours swimming there before we headed back to Siena.
The travel back to Siena went pretty smooth; we got to ride a few jeepneys and tricycles to get back to Antipolo (and to grab dinner at a cafe) before booking a grab directly back to Siena. Overall I’m glad that all my planning for the trip was actually useful.