Adventure Accounting

In building this blog, I was presented with a spelling crisis. Blogger identifies "Travelling" as misspelled and suggests "Traveling". MS Word identifies "Traveling" as misspelled and suggests "Travelling". Hello confusion. So of course, I Googled (Googled is now a verb nowadays, eh?) It is "Travelling" in British English and "Traveling" in American English. According to various sources. So there. I'm gonna use both. ^_^

We were lucky enough to find a van who charged us relatively cheap. We got it at Php 12,000 for 3D2N. Others charged us Php 15,000 excluding gas for the same itinerary. Approximate Cost per pax Van Rental with Gas(Php 12,000/9 pax) 1,333.33 Punta Riviera Rooms (Php 11,500/9) 1,277.78 Meals in Bolinao 500.00 Transient House in Lucap (Php 3,000/9) 333.33 Contribution for food in Alaminos 300.00 Entrance fee of Hundred Islands Park 20.00 Lunch on the way home 100.00 Pasalubong/Souvenirs 500.00 TOTAL 4,364.44

I’ve seen plenty of postcards of the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan. I dreamed of seeing the actual beauty of the place someday. But I didn’t plan to see the place reeling from the aftermath of a typhoon.

After Conquering Coron with my officemates, we were itching for another trip and a second trip was set-up. We want another one and we want it soon. It was summer. We booked the Busuanga flights for Coron five months in advance – too long of a wait. A land trip will be much easier to arrange. We settled on invading Pangasinan – to see the sunset of Bolinao and the Hundred Islands in Alaminos.

Being the diligent cost-monitor, I’ve compiled a list where my travel contingency fund goes to. The travel package could be all inclusive but there are just some expenses that one could easily overlook. Terminal Fee Is the Philippines the only country who charges such? This Php 200.00 is levied on Filipino passenger going to domestic destinations. This cannot be avoided nor minimized. Just put it in your budget.

Budget breakdown for this Palaui trip: Approximate Cost (in Php) TravelFactor package 5,500.00 Restroom fees 10.00 C2 drink in San Vicente port 20.00 Coffee at the resort 30.00 Trike to Budyok 10.00 Dinner at Budyok (pansit with drinks) 60.00 Kalesa back to bus stop (shared by group) 20.00 Pasalubong 400.00 Cab on the way home 100.00 TOTAL 6,150.00

I was elusive to bid farewell to the beauty of Cape Engano; but I was giddy for my meeting with the toilet and take a refreshing shower. Baua Beach Resort had rooms for big groups. The common bathroom was located outside. Private houses/villas were also available. The resort was quite spacey – with a playground and a spacious lawn to roam about.

Cape Engano was an hour’s worth of boat ride from Anguib Cove. After a rainy night, the weather was cooperating. Look at those clouds. This is where and when I got burned. Make sure to protect your skin with sunblock. The climb is high but easy. And the view will make it leisurely.

I mustered all my courage and confidence to join this trip. I’ve been browsing TF’s website for quite some time and I’ve been itching to go somewhere. I was suffering from the I-just-came-from-a-trip-and-I-am-looking forward-to-the-next-one syndrome after my Corregidor trip and I got interested in TF’s Palaui trip. It was far far far and unheard of. I registered as a solo traveller, I prayed and emailed my reg form and paid the fee. And what a nice surprise, May 3 was declared a holiday! Wohooo! I would this that this was the trip that gave me “freedom”. It was the first time I travelled solo with a bunch of people I did not know. The hardest part here was waiting in McDo El Pueblo. I didn’t know anyone and I was feeling kinda shy so I stuck with myself while waiting. My Ipod and mobile phone browsing kept me company. Note to self: bring books when travelling. And good grief, the bus was delayed for about two hours so I pretty much drained the battery of my phone. The plan: