[February 2015]

Our trip to Baler was an impulsive decision made by my colleagues at work. We came up with this out-of-town-trip idea one time when we were having merienda in the office. We've been wanting to do something like this for the longest time, but none of our plans pushed through. With this one, we were determined to make it happen. With just two weeks away from our planned day of departure, we prepared all the stuff that we needed for our journey to the surfing capital of Aurora, Baler!

Transportation
With most trips, everything comes to motion when tickets have been purchased. （￣ー￣）We booked our bus tickets online with JoyBus a few weeks before the trip. It's possible to buy roundtrip tickets already so for convenience, we already bought ours. We purchased tickets for their Cubao terminal. We chose the night trip so that we would just be sleeping on our way there during the four-hour travel time.


The bus was very spacious. The seats can be reclined so you can sleep comfortably. There's even complimentary food and drinks! It's a bit cold inside the bus because of the aircon, so have your jackets ready! They provide blankets though to make your travel more comfy! :)

Accommodation
We reserved a room at Pacific Waves Inn. The resort was just walking distance from the ocean shore, so the beach was very accessible to us.

There were also hammocks in front of the rooms, in case you just want to chill and relax. :)

Our Adventure Starts!
It was still early dawn when our bus arrived at the terminal. From there, we took a tricycle to reach the Pacific Waves Inn resort. The reception was not even open when we arrived because it was that early in the morning. Good thing the people there were still accommodating (though still sleepy-eyed and yawning xD). We left our things at the lady in the reception and rented a tricycle to start our tour around town. The tricycle driver also served as our tour guide for the day.

The tricycle driver is a certified tourist guide! *thumbs up*

my colleagues all set for our Baler adventure!

Millenium Tree
After eating a hearty breakfast at The Rolling Stores (the famous food stalls in Baler), our first stop was this famous Balete tree in Baler which they have named as Millenium Tree. It is around 600 years old already and also been named as the largest one of its kind in Asia.

That's one huge tree indeed!

such a majestic tree

There were no people yet there because it was still too early so we had the tree all for ourselves. Our tour guide said we could go inside the tree and climb up, but I chose not to. (ーー;)

captivated by the tree

There was some locals there who sold coconuts and other local goods for the tourists who visit the tree.



It was a unique experience to stand before that very old tree. It has been a witness to a lot of events in the past, and the secrets and mysteries of all of that are all within its intricately twirled branches.


Our next stop: Ditumabo Mother Falls!