We were invited to go to Romblon by Prof (My officemate) last Thanksgiving 2008… and wow! It was all about Sibika and Kultura! :p At first, I really don’t know what to expect, what to see, do, eat in Romblon. It was an unchartered territory for me, but instead of worrying about it, the idea in turn, made me very excited – The Idea of an Adventure! There were a lot of Firsts that I was able to do in this trip. For instance, my first time to eat kambing… :p Mmmm… :p
Part 1 – HOW WE GOT THERE!
Getting to Romblon was an Adventure in itself… a total of almost 20 hours of travelling by Land, Sea, and Uhmm… Habal-Habal :p On a long and winding rough road at the middle of the night… It was so exhausting but a lot of fun!
From Alabang we took a 1 1/2 hour bus ride going to Batangas Pier (P115)
Batangas port has a new terminal 2, a clean and air-conditioned terminal. Since we came from work, we left Alabang quite early, we arrived at the port at around 2PM and waited until past 4PM. We waited in the Terminal for more than 2 hours… The terminal has food stalls so during that time, we were able to eat before sailing… but there’s still so much time left to kill, So, it’s time for some picture taking action.. :p
From Batangas Pier, the Ferry (RORO) M/V Ma. Xenia (Operated by Montenegro Lines) going to Odiongan Port Leaves at 5PM (Deluxe P725 + P30 Terminal Fee) Boarding started around 4:30PM, and the Ferry left late at around 5:30PM
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That was My First Time Riding a Ferry (I mean a big one! As an Adult :p)
Since we bought the Deluxe Ticket… This what we have for our room… which, by the way, we share with more or less 200 other passengers… and several cockroaches :p
At first It may seem crowded and a bit chaotic since people are trying to settle down and finding their assigned beds. But once everyone is settled and the ship starts sailing, the room becomes more peaceful. At this time most passengers already asleep, some are resting, and some taking pictures :p If you are already a tired and anxious passenger… This is the moment you have been waiting for – Sleeping Time. Hey! it is a 10 hour trip and there’s not much to do…
During this trip, it was a good thing that the sea was not that rough and the travel was as smooth as it can get. It was very calm. If you have sea sickness, I bet, you’ll be able to get used to it in no time…
By the way, we met the Vice Mayor of the Town we were going to… My Officemate, Marlon, know him personally so we were able to have a small chat :p
We woke up few hours before disembarkment… Nothing else to do but eat, tour the ferry, and what else.. take some shots! :p
The ferry has it’s canteen which sells coffee for P25, which surprisingly I found very good, I think it was kapeng barako. they also sell Tapsilog, Adobo with Rice, Cup Noodles, Hard Boiled eggs, and bottled water :p The Prices were reasonable…
The Ferry arrived at Odiongan Port (Island of Romblon) at around 3AM. We disembarked and rode a Jeepney (yes! at 3AM) for a 1 hour ride going to the town of San Andres. It was an hour of bumpy ride (yes! at 3AM) there was no other source of light aside from the headlights of the Jeepney… it was really, really dark and very seldom you see a house or establishment :p
After the Jeepney Ride (around 4AM), we arrived at the town of Jun Carlo. We were greeted by Marlon’s cousin and a couple of “Single” Motorcycles (Habal-Habal is called Single Here). This is my first Time Riding a habal-habal… and according to our itinerary… it won’t be the last either :p So were off to Marlon’s house, where his parents are expecting us. It was another bumpy 15 minute ride on a pitch dark road :p But I love the cool breeze running on my face :p
At last… After all that travelling, we arrived at Marlon’s house safe and sound, and suprisingly, not that tired. It was almost 5AM..
No time to sleep.. The adventure is Just starting… :p Coffee… Coffee.. Then we’re off again!
Watch out for Part 2 – Day 1
Originally Posted on: www.DENCIO.com
