trip to lian
I woke up extra early today, Jasper picked me up at my place and then Frida at her hostel in Manila. Jasper’s a friend from the Philippines that later joined me on a trip to Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand while Frida’s from Mexico (we’ve also been on tons of adventures from Couchsurfing in Japan to Bali and Gili Trawangan!)
It was a long road trip to Lian in Batangas but we arrived just fine. Nino, another friend, was the one hooked us up with a sweet villa, it was a pretty good deal to have a seaside vacation house all to ourselves.
matuod beach
We went to check out the beach. The sand was dark and has such weird texture, the water seemed to stretch out endlessly but it never reached past our upper body. Nino said it was called Matuod because it only reaches your knees, which in Tagalog is called “tuhod.” He said that it was even possible to walk all over to the other island near the horizon, unbelieavable!
The beach was wonderful and we were able to do some stand-up paddle boarding while blasting some tunes. We were the only ones there, it was like paradise. Frida and I basked in the sun while the dudes played further from the shore.
One of the highlights of the day was being able to see such a beautiful sunset as it fell in between the island mountains in the horizon. We soon returned as the tides kept on rising up.
night time tarot readings
At Nino’s place, Nino gave us some tarot readings while we waited for the guys to get dinner. We all waited for our turns and I have to say they were really accurate.
We also had pizza and drinks, it turned out to be a fun night for everyone. I was resting on the hammock, enjoying the night’s sea breeze.
I went out back to the beach to find some dogs who were a bit territorial. I still pushed through and saw a lot of stars. I took a moment to get a bit introspective and ponder about my life and the upcoming trip to Bali.
I later came back with the group for some more stargazing later that night and retired for the day a bit earlier than everyone else as they drank the night away.
morning swim
The next morning, I headed out to the beach. I saw a hen with its chicks and the dogs from last night. I was quite surprised to see a lot of tiny dots as the beach was at its low tide. As I moved closer, the tiny dots seemed to stir as well. They happened to be thousands of soldier crabs, they disappeared just as fast as they appear. Sensing the vibrations from my footsteps, they reacted accordingly.
As I explored to beach, there were plenty more aquatic creatures such as sea cucumbers and starfish. Matuod beach had its own rustic charms as compared to the more paradise-like beaches of Cebu, Bohol, and El Nido.
I went to take a dip, which was so refreshing in the morning.
Some fishermen were also trying to catch some fish. Nino appeared soon after a while, playing the guitar as I continued to swim around. I later went back to Nino’s place and we played some games on his Switch, we especially had fun playing Smash Brothers.
After an hour or so, we packed up our things and got ready for the long trip back, but not after a photo. On the way back, we stopped by McDonald’s for a late lunch. Dropped Frida off her hostel which was pretty near my place.
