Wednesday, January 16, 2008

road trip - part 1

Have you ever felt that need to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, the longing to see the fields and tress instead of buildings ... the serenity that only you can find in the province? I'm a city girl through and through and i can't imagine myself living in a rural area (no offense to those who live in the province - this is just me talking) but i do like to get away from city life once in a while... just to feel the unpolluted air caressing my face and the wind flirting with my hair... just to smell the grass and the raw earth... and be at one with nature.

that's why lisa and i decided to go on a road trip (to laguna in particular) friday afternoon and set to leave saturday morning. that's one of the best things i like being single, you can plan a trip in mere minutes without worries, no questions asked!

call time is at 7am but when she texted me if im already awake at around 6am i was like yeah just woke up, will just txt you when i'm ready yadda yadda and was about to go back to sleep when she texted again its raining, i was like - shit! and go over to the window and wahhhhh it cant be! we dont need the rain on this trip! nevertheless the rain didnt stop us, i was like it's only raining in manila, i'm sure it'll be sunny in laguna... guess am not a good fortune teller!

me and lisa raring to go and reach the city limits ...

see its effin rainin.. but still happy to see that we're leaving manila

already in the SLEX... still raining, have i mentioned that we really have no idea where we're going?

we planned to follow the sun or the viaje del sol which im sure you've heard before, for those who doesnt know yet... viaje del sol is "the way of the sun" a colorful map of batangas, laguna, and quezon that has hidden treasures of cafes and restaurants, inns and country homes, and artist studios

our first itinerary is to visit the PettyJohn Pottery somewhere in Bucal and boy am glad to say that were able to reach Calamba with no problems at all (meaning we didnt get lost yet - uhmmm i forgot to mention that i am the "navigator" of this trip! so good luck)

but before anything else we have to stop at jollibee calamba crossing to have a breakfast and look who welcomed us? none other than jollibee himself! :)

yummy breakfast.. beef tapa and coffee, but wait...
i swear jollibee loves me!
after having the hearty breakfast we're set to find treasures... with a firm vow that we'll never ask for directions, we'll find these treasures on our own... yeah right! well that's where the thrill of the journey is ayt?

ok, so i guess we're lost... need the map to remind us that we're actually looking for the next turn or whatever... PettyJohn pottery is located somewhere bucal and pansol according to the map but hey, were like traveling for an hour already and still no pottery in sight! so swallowed our pride and began our "where is...." questions!

yep this is at pansol, the hot spring bed of laguna with colorful array of donuts in the road

uhmm at this point i can't count anymore how many times we got lost and asked for directions! so it seems we're way too far now to look for the pottery so decided to reach san pablo and look for kusina ni salud
too bad it never stopped raining so we cant go out and play in the fields as planned...
we were like traveling for quite some time now and realized we're heading in the wrong direction! we're like oh i think this isnt the place.. we'll just notice we're lost - noting that there are no other vehicle ont he road just us - and giggle like fools - but at least our instincts can tell us that we're on the wrong track!
tracing our way back and decided to pull over here... if laguna have mmda's on the road, boy we surely have gotten tons of tickets for those illegal parking and turns we've made!
i am surprised and quite happy that these folks knows this so and so place, so when we stop and ask for direction they willingly help us, guess we really look helpless and lost or maybe they think we're some stupid city gurls!

yehey! finally we we're able to find san pablo!
one of the funniest "where is..." we have is when i was askin where can we find kusina ni salud, and the man was like, kusin ni san luis daw! the other man said mali, lusina daw! LOL we cant help but laugh and then an old lady butt in and helped us and say we're way over off the track...

so finally we're able to reach the street where we can find the elusive kusina ni salud, about time i'd say since we're like travelling for almost 3hours already! yeah 3 hours from calamba to san pablo... go figure how we're able to do that! ;)
nice carabao but a bit snobbish i think...
hmmm lil did i know that am going to eat his kind at kusina ni salud... sorry kalabaw!

the tiring journey and the quest to find kusina ni salud is all worth it i'm telling you... but i just have to post all about it tom.

25 meow:

mon said...

Hello Pusa, Just want you to know that I was assigned in San Pablo Laguna year 2000 to 2001. There's a lot of beautiful places to discover there.

philippine dragonfly said...

kusina ni salud? naligaw na kayo. dapatdi sa calamba. mas malapit sa san pablo yun...pero yan ang thrill ng unplanned trip hehe

ruthie said...


gusto ko rin itich! but less the rain! hahaha!

so glad you enjoyed your trip! we alipin sa gigilid needs to have our day offs as well...hihihi..

take care!

carlotta1924 said...

huwaw now THAT is a road trip! kung me sarili akong coche hay andami ko na sanang napuntahan.

feeling ko kasama ako jan sa road trip nyo and yeah, i do agree it's fun being single! hahaha! =)

Snap Catch said...

hehehehe that's so niceeee!!! mind if I ask you ???? sa dami ng province na malapit sa Manila at Laguna pa ang pinuntahan niyo? dahil ba sa Buko Pie? hehehehe

gandang pusa nagawa ko na assignment ko sau ... check mo ganda dito may message me sa inyo ni diwata hehehehe

pusa said...

@mon - yeah too bad it was raining that day

@tutubi - quite right, hey lam mo napaparanoid ako sayo! there was this guy taking photos of the place and i guess some photos of me - wahhhh i was like is that tutubi?

ruthieeeee mwah korekness sister!

@carlotta - you should try this viaje del sol, bring a good navigator though :)

@pretty - hahaha wala lang that's the first place that came to our mind since sawa na kami sa tagaytay! :)

jojitah said...

my dear pusa saang jollibee yan? mukhan nadaanan mo aketch a. LOL!

gusto ko ding magroadtrip!!! gamit ang kalabaw sa pic! LOL!

reyna elena said...

Last December 2006, I was in Manil with Joey, a friend from San Pablo, Laguna. He's been in the US for a very long time. He went to Syracuse Univ and in London for studies. So, we travelled together in 2006 to Manila. From the airport we went to Malate, had a blast and in the morning, I drove him to San Pedro. Yes, I was the driver.

Ang bwisit na Joey, he no longer has any clue whatsoever how to go to San Pablo and what do I know? Ako pa? I've been away for so long? All I know, there's only one main road in the Philipines and we won't be lost.

Guess what, we ended up driving on the slope of what I was told was Mariang Makiling and Mt. Banahaw!!! As in! Helllooooo!! Where in the world are we???? We were soooo lost, it took us a day to drive from Manila to San Pablo! I was glas I was with Obet, my uhum...

malen said...

uyyy masaya yan kaso less the raindrops sana..pero mukhang enjoy

pusa said...

@jojitah - hanu taga-laguna ka ba my dear jojie? sa me calamba crossing un

hahaha gusto ko nga rin sana bumaba ng kotse at pumarada sakay ng kalabaw!!!

@reynz - at least enjoy me kasama kang fafa! kiver kahit ginabi hahahah, sa next post ko pagsasabihan ko yan mga tiga-laguna na maglagay ng mga signage/marker nun mga bayan/street nila noh para di naliligaw ang mga tao! hahahaha

@malen - honga eh, nakapag-picnic sana kami sa palayan kun walang ulan! pero masaya to pramis... so kelan na tayo mag EK?

luna miranda said...

some road trip you had, pusa! i'm impressed...even the rain didn't dampen your spirits!:)

funny photo of the good, ol' kalabaw...i think she was PMS-ing. inismiran ka eh! :D

Webster Twelb said...

dapat sa 'min na lang kayo pumunta! ndi pa kayo nagkaligaw ligaw..akalain mo nakadaan p kau ng victoria..! Anyway..cguro nag enjoy naman kayo sa view..maganda dun!


BURAOT said...

kakainggit naman yang road trip nyo.. makapag road trip na nga ulet.

Anonymous said...

huy, saan yang kusina ni salud? masarap ba? i used to do that too when am in manila. kahit na may opis tatakas kami, ahahaha. drive kami ng friend ko sa tagaytay o kaya laguna para lang mag emote :D

kyels said...

I've always wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the city but no chances to do so yet!

The road trip looked really fun! Heehee.


kiko said...

Uy dagdag na puwedeng puntahan pag-uwi ko. Salamat ulit!! :)

Nasubukan mo na ba yung tour ni carlos celdran at yung kay ivan mandy ata yun? Maganda rin sigurong i-try yun.

dailyphotographer said...

I totally agree, it's fun being single. Anytime you wanna head out for a road trip, then go. We passed by the same Jollibee San Pablo sign when we went to Villa Escudero. That's the farthest south that I've driven.

bertN said...

Dapat pala kayo ang kasama ko sa "long drive" hindi yung mga kasama kong "rinky-dinks", my wife included LOL. Everytime we get lost or the outside temperature/weather changes more than what is convenient for them, they act like it is disaster LOL.

jojitah said...

my dear pusa sa calamba ako naghahanap-buhay. LOL! isang jeep ka na lang pala, 3mins away kung walang traffic, kaya pala sabi ko kilala ko si jollibee o. LOL!

pusa said...

@luna - yeah, not even rain can stop my wanderlust soul :)

honga eh kinain ko tuloy sy!

@webster12 - san ba un inyo? LOL ewan ko nalibot yata namin ang buong laguna! o enjoy naman kami sa view :)

@buraot - go road trip na! teka pd na ba ulit ipangbyahe si tagpi mo?

@kenkya - ekkkk sori po kahit pabalikin mo ko dun nd ko kayang ituro kun pano puntahan un kusina ni salud! basta sa me san pablo sya near papuntang villa escudero... oo sarap un food nila at madami un servings

@kyel - we really had fun! you should do the viaje del sol when you get back here

@kiko - oo masarap tong road trip, basta kelangan me magaling ka na navigator! LOL

i havent tried em yet pero i'm planning to one of these days :)

@dailyphotographer - being single rocks! oo kusina ni salud pala eh malapit papuntang villa escudero ;)

@bertN - LOL! dapat mga gala ang kasama sa byahe, iwan ang whiners! hehehe

@jojitah - shemay sayang angtagal namin paikot ikot ng calamba!!!

Webster Twelb said...

sa Biñan..liko ka lang sa mamplasan exit..etc etc etc..lapit lang!


Nina Lumberio said...

Salamat sa Christmas Greetings. Happy New Year kahit super late na yong greetings. Gusto ko rin ng road trip pag uwi ko kaso ang hirap kasi mag drive sa Pinas eh. Anyways, where do you get the viaje del sol MAP?


pusa said...

@nina - you can download the map here , then pag me napuntahan ka kahit isa or un una mo mapuntahan na place na kasali sa itenerary they'll give you a big map :)

@webster12 - pusang ligaw talaga! LOL

rino said...

Hi Pusa,
This viaje del sol would make a very exciting bike ride. I will try to invite my bike friends to do this trip. Have a nice day!

Ambo said...

di na ako nkadaan dito huli na pala ako hehehe. miss ko na ang mga kalabaw na yan. dati akong magsasaka kasi. ;-)


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