Short yet Sweet Baler Birthday

The sun was already scorching the roads of Baler when we arrived and it was only past 7:00 in the morning. We all struggled to keep sane despite the lack of sleep, hunger, and excitement. The sunlight hurt my eyes the moment I stepped out of the car to look for our transient -- but I was too giddy to complain. After more than a year, I was finally back in Baler, one of my favorite beaches in the country albeit its non-white sand shore.

This trip was pretty spontaneous, I must say, but everything went smoothly. We were in Baler for two reasons: 1) to celebrate our best friend, Sheila's birthday and 2) to practice surfing.

Weeks before her birthday, Shei was already dropping hints in our group chat room. Since men do not have the gift of reading between the lines, I was the one who told Marv that something may come up for Sheila's birthday, and hence, we kept that weekend free. And of course, I was right.

A few days before our trip, Sheila, Neil, Marv, and I spontaneously agreed to spend the weekend in Baler, provided that we would be able to scout for inexpensive accommodations. I immediately checked with Myra of Desiree's Lodge, the inn where we stayed during our last visit in Baler, but it was already fully-booked.

READ: Haller Baler: Sun, Sand, Surf, & Shoot

I tried other homestays in Sabang (because I prefer those near the beach) but all of them also had no available rooms. I was about to tell my friends to just postpone the trip when I received a text message from Myra -- she gave us the contact number of Hannah's Transient, a newly-constructed transient near the beach (contacts at the end of this post).

I called Hannah's Transient and luckily, there was one room left! And of course, I booked it already! For PhP2,000, we got a newly-constructed room (still with no paint but everything else is okay already) with one bed and a private CR. The caretaker assured us that they will just provide us with 2 mattresses and bedding.

Hannah's Transient is located in an alley at the right side of Iglesia ni Cristo in Sabang. This is Marv showing you the way hehe.

We were all set! With no decent plans whatsoever, the four of us just decided to meet up at 11:00 PM on Friday night and drive to Baler. But it was already around 1:00 AM when Marv and I arrived as Marv suddenly decided that he needed to have a haircut (thank God for a salon in Anonas that is open for 24-hours). After eating breakfast, we started our no-stopover-drive to Baler.

All of us were excited but Neil was the most ecstatic as it will be his first time to try out surfing. He kept on insisting that he did not want to wear a rashguard only because he wanted to feel the chest pain haha!

I only slept for 2 hours max (and Sheila too) because Neil was driving like a lunatic while he and Marv kept laughing like hyenas every time the car flew (oh yes) over potholes or rough roads. Boys will always be boys, especially those two.

When Sheila took the wheel, of course, I was required to sit with her in front while the two crazies slept like babies at the back. The drive to Baler was never dull for me as it always seemed like a grandeur road trip when you look out the window. There will be mountains, grasslands, extremely tall trees, and pretty-looking dams.

Grabbed this from Neil

We had experiencing mixed emotions when we arrived in Baler. A small part of us (well, a big part of me) wanted to go to the beach already, hunger was pushing us to look for a place to eat, and sleepiness started to kick in when we tried to test our beds.

We decided to go the town proper and look for a carinderia (the one we frequently went to during our last visit). However, when we got there, we discovered that they no longer offered those combo / value meals. So we looked for another place to eat and found a street filled with carienderias near the museum, they called this The Rolling Stores. Unfortunately, we did not like what we ate and decided to stick to beachfront restaurants instead (#medyomagastos).

We went back to Sabang after eating to check out the beach. But my three companions could no longer bear the heat and decided to go back to homebase and rest first until the sun goes down (boooo!).

Testing the new toy

Trip's best photo haha

Wonderwoman colors

Dark skin, messy hair, don't care. These are all part of the package.

Couple rashguards

It appears that I'm the only one who's happy to be under the sun again!

Ano nangyari, Shei? Baket mo ako iniwan? Hehe.

Jampacked Sabang Beach. No more available surfboards so we weren't able to go surfing.

Instead, we decided to have dinner before it got dark, ahead of everyone who weren't tired of swimming yet. We chose Baler Surfer Grill because of three reasons:

1) It wasn't there yet when Marv and I first when to Baler

2) The presentation of the food was enticing

3) We loved how they transformed an old Voxwagen into a grilling station!

Car-Grill

The engine heehee. Photo grabbed from Shei

Honestly, this was one of the highlight of my trip to Baler (aside from surfing, of course). I really loved the place. It had wooden chairs and tables with a fantastic view of Sabang Beach and at the other side, one can enjoy its unique car-grill and the colorful lights. They also played reggae music which I love listening to especially when I'm at the beach. I'm struggling to recall the songs that my friends and I were enjoying while we ate dinner but I can certainly remember what we've ordered.

Their signature dishes are served on a wooden chopping board

This was Marv's inihaw na bulalo. As I'm writing this, I'm trying my best not to drool over the photo

I'm a sucker for caramelized onions!

So happy we tried this place

Celebrated Shei's Thirsty-First birthday in Rushie's Point with a couple of beers and...

...tequila shots c/o Neil a.k.a. Jose Cuervo Jr.

We spent the whole night talking as if we rarely see each other (which was impossible since we get-together probably 2-3 times a month). Perhaps it was because of the alcohol that made us laugh like hyenas that night or perhaps not -- just the lack of sleep.

Our Day 2 was much more eventful than the previous one. We were up before 6AM and immediately went to the beach after having breakfast. We found out that there were no available surfboards and instructors (again) from Charlie Does. Luckily, we found two available boards so we took turns: two will ride at the same time while the other two will take photos. Such a perfect plan!

I'm warning you, the next few media in this article will be us trying so hard to stand on the board. Don't say I didn't warn you heehee.

Shei and Marv came first (Neil probably had butterflies in his stomach, that's why lol). Marv & Shei were wearing couple rashguards too haha. These people are seriously weird hehe. I'm with the right crowd!

Couple rashguards haha!

When it was our turn (Neil and I), the waves became bigger and stronger (although relatively smaller to what Marv, Dana, Dinno, & I experienced), which made Marv very envious!

Marv got in Neil's way haha.

Almost!

We became 4 giddy children, excited over our videos, but dying in hunger. Our first-time surfer, Neil, was extremely glad that he was able to stand up on his first try. He felt so stoked afterwards, already planning his 2nd visit to Baler even if he was still there! Funny thing was we all felt the same way!

It was a short but sweet stay in Baler with our best friends. And as I'm writing this today, I'm badly craving for our next roadtrip back to this place. Soon, I pray. Perhaps next week? :)


Contacts

Hannah's Transient
09393844943
Not beachfront but near the beach
No TV
Has safe parking area
Can borrow utensils; can use refrigerator and tables & chairs
Very accommodating caretakers