the last time i spent the Holy Week outside Manila was way back in 2006 when we went to Pangasinan. so this year, as early as January, i already decided to spend it in the island of Marinduque.
it was Wednesday afternoon when we traveled to the port of Dalahican in Lucena from Alabang. a three hour bus ride from Metro Manila. upon arriving at the port, people were already lined up to buy tickets for the trip to the island. we expected the crowd since it was peak season. 
there are three major ports in the island of Marinduque. one in Cawit, one in Buyabod and another in Balanacan. since we are going to the capital town of Boac, we chose to take the trip via Balanacan port since it has the shortest travel time by boat.
we took the 11:45pm schedule RORO (roll on roll off boat) M/V Torrijos. we chose the airconditioned accomodation as we were planning to take a good rest. surprisingly, upon reaching the room, it was already full. some were already sitting on top of the cabinets inside the room.
we learned that some of the people inside the room has the non-aircon accommodation but decided to take the aircon accommodation instead. making it full. we then asked that ship inspectors that we should have a decent seat since we bought our tickets for that accommodation. but according to them, they cannot do anything. they will just ask the people with a non-aircon ticket to pay an additional payment and it's up for us to just sit anywhere.
it was really disappointing as it made no sense of buying an aircon accommodation since in the end anyone can occupy the aircon accommodation seats even without a ticket. so we didn't slept during the three-hour trip. good that the person infront of us chose to talk to us and cheered us up. he said that this problem was already raised several times against the ship's management but problem still reccurs.
we arrived at the Balanacan port around 2:30am and took a 40-minute jeepney to the capital town of Boac. Nadz and i decided to do the topload ride and it was one of the best jeepney ride because of the beautiful nightscape of the island as displayed by the beautiful moonlight.
40 comments:
I've never tried the local boarding. I was supposed to go on one with my teammates for our Boracay outing, but I (with other friends) took the plane instead to utilize the PAL miles. I hope to try one someday.
i've been to this place. stayed in torrijos with a friend who is a local. nice place. too bad i didn't have a camera then.
never been to marinduque
yan ang gusto ko sa blog mo
lahat ng hindi ko napupuntahan
makikita ko dito
where is marinduque exactly?
hehe
Hi Dong. sayang naman ang binayad para sa aircon. pero di bale safe naman na nakarating. Happy trip na lang at enjoy kayo dyan sa Marinduque.
Ingat Lagi
The is one cargo ship there.
I haven't tried the RORO yet but I have friends who traveled to Panay via RORO, mukhang OK naman. Peak season kaya siguro ganon kagulo. But ships from Cebu to Bohol, Iloilo to Bacolod, CDO to Camiguin---tickets for aircon and non-aircon were strictly followed. Wala lang siguro pakialam ang management ng barko. Looking forward to your Marinduque photos.
Indeed it is disappointing when proper travel etiquette and decorum are not observed. However, in my case, during times when traveling is at a peak, I tend to reduce my expectations and I console myself that what matters is to reach my destination safely... Comfort takes a second seat.
Nice pictures as usual... :) The tungsten effect seems to invite nostalgia... :)
haaha...
i remembered our roro experience...!
hehehe...
great shots! i really find it difficult to take pictures at night, hehee...
di pa ako nakakasakay ng boat,, wawa naman ako.. hehe! well lugi nga kayo sa aircon.. sana maayos na yan ng managament.. ^^
wow. start na ng series. may preview na agad ng mga morion ah. aabangan ko stories mo about this festival kasi i have never been to this place.
ayos to series opener mo kasi combination ng nightshots at eskapo - dong ho trademark pareho to eh.
Oh no, that is not so right.
This happens to me on my trip to Shanghai too. We went for a night cruise in a big ship to look at the beautiful lights at The Bund. Can you imagine the ship was packed with so many people (I think easily few hundreds) and we dont have seats and we had to stand for 1 hour to watch the night lights. Grrrr.
To think back I dont remember seeing any life jackets nor do they tell us how to put on the life jackets in the ship.
Next time if I ever go to The Bund, I will get a smaller boat and pay more...lol BTW nothing much fantastic about the cruise, you can always take photo of the night lights from The Bund itself.
We know that the RORO system has been just introduced here in the Philippines. While watching a cable program (blame it on tv!) it mentioned something about the reputation of the RORO being a high risk design. It must something about that enormous door that beckons every time you ride one.
cool night shots. =)
I hate to wait in long lines! Too bad this was a learning experience for you.
takot ako sumakay sa roro, i dont know..
looking forward to see your photos from the festival.
Rode a RORO only once before, when my freinds and I traveled to Mindoro. That ride was idyllic, wala masyadong tao, not like that RORO ride you experienced.
Looking forward to the rest of this set. :-)
My officemates also went to Marinduque to capture Moriones shots!
wow ganda pla dito! kailan kaya...tsk....tc
looking forward to more pics from Marinduque... alala ko T2 dun sa roro... hehe
Another trip in the making. Can't wait. I hear Marinduque has got lots of old houses. I have always wanted to see that province
kuya dong! how are yah? it's been a while!
That's quite an interesting way to spend Holy Week. Loved it!
you have escaped so well, ang galing... nice trip...
Nice and active night scene!
ei dom, nag-marinduque ka pala. na-experienced mo rin yung ro-ro :D
lest people think this is the case everywhere in the philippines, let me say na hindi naman :)
What is a topload ride?
hai donG...now that's a real sleepless trip!!arriving at 2.30am?erm...bet u gonna wake up late the next morning...ahaks!
Another fine post, Dong.
Beautiful these night pictures, with great lights effects.
You weren't able to sleep during the three-hour trip? Badtrip naman yun.
I'm sure Marinduque made it all worth it, though. :-)
How interesting and you sure you were not sleepy? Bet not huh which so many thing to discover :)
Hi Dong, that's really disappointing if you paid more tapos yung iba nakikisuno sa inyo... I rode on top of jeepney once and I agree with you, it's fun!
How come Philippines has a lot of things like that. Lack of specification..
Finally, somewhere I have been to: Marinduque. I also took a RORO and the boat jampacked---people were sitting/lying down on every available surface. It was a nightmare, really.
Thanks for sharing this trip. great nice shots :)
I always enjoy your posts because of the stories you tell with such vividness.
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joy
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sana kuya nilalagay mo din dito kung mgaknu yong fare, para mapaghandaan nung mga bumabalakbumisita din.
sana maayos na ng management ang ganyang problema para lahat ng byahero ay masaya...{huh? nag rhy-rhyme?..hehe}
advantage talaga ang byumabyahe ng madami e dahil kahit nagkakaroon ng mga ganyang aberya..masaya padin=D
wuhooo....sumakay ka dong sa taas ng jeep??? ang saya naman nun=D
hay kaya ako ayoko magbyahe ng holy week sa marinduque, maraming pasahero at ang hirap magbiyahe....pero grabe ang ganda ng mga pictures mo at namiss ko tuloy ang marinduque parang gusto ko uling umuwi pero parang may phobia na ako sa lantsa o yun RORO...salamat for sharing this para maging sikat naman ang Marinduque hindi lang tuwing may bagyo hehehe
Sorry your Roro trip wasn't as pleasant as expected. The huge number of people traveling to Marinduque during Holy Week must have compromised normal sleeping arrangements.
I hope that your stay in Marinduque was memorable.
Thank you for this entry..great help. dito ako mag hollyweek..now I knw what to do....:)
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